The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess was released in October/November of 2006 for the Nintendo Gamecube and in November/December of 2006 for the Nintendo Wii. It was the last game published by Nintendo to be released for the Gamecube and was one of the launch titles for the Wii, which was the first time a Zelda game was available at launch for any game system. Although, the game was delayed so the game could be made a launch title for the Wii and support the motion controls from the system. Many people believe that greatest game in the Zelda franchise is The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64, but The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess is every bit as great as that game was and even surpasses Ocarina of Time in some cases in my opinion.
The story takes place a hundred years after the events of Ocarina of Time and begins in Ordon Village, a small farm town located in the south in the land of Hyrule where Link lives and works as one of the Ranch Hands for the Ordon Ranch. Things seem relatively peaceful for the small town, until monsters attack the village and capture the kids from the village. Link pursues the monsters but encounters a mysterious wall blocking his path. Link is soon dragged to the other side of the wall by an unknown creature and transforms into a wolf. After his transformation, Link falls unconscious and a Shadow Beast then finds and imprisons Link. At the prison, Link meets up with another mysterious creature, Midna, who guides Link to where Princess Zelda is. Zelda explains to Link and Midna that Hyrule was attacked and conquered by the King of the Twilight Realm Zant. In addition to conquering Hyrule, Zant also stole the Light of Hyrule from the Light Spirits, which is why the land of Hyrule is cast in Twilight. Zelda tells Link that in order to stop Zant and save Hyrule, he must first restore Light of Hyrule and save the Light Spirits. After this meeting, the main part of the game truly begins and so does Link’s quest to save Hyrule. The overall story is very well done and very intriguing and this story provides something a little different than the usually story about the Triforce. I would easily say that Twilight Princess had a story that was just as great as Ocarina of Time but it is hard to compare the two since both of them provided a different story that had very different plot focuses.
The graphics and the overall presentation offer something different that what previous Zelda games had. The graphics and art style used in the game give Twilight Princess a more realistic and edgier look. All the landscapes and environments as well as the characters in this game look amazing and have excellent detail. This is definitely my favorite art style for any Zelda game and one of my favorites art styles used in any game and I hope they use this art style for future Zelda games. The soundtrack for Twilight Princess keeps many of the classic tunes and sounds from previous Zelda games and adds some new music tracks as well. Most of the music tracks provide a little more of a serious mood to the game and the different areas. Some tracks that are used in this game that appear in previous Zelda games, such as music used Zora’s Domain, are remade slightly to fit the mood of this type of Zelda game and it works really well. Even the new music that was added to this game has that Zelda sound and quality to it. Even though the music does not change much between Zelda games, I would definitely say that the soundtrack for Twilight Princess is my favorite in the series.
The core gameplay has not changed all that much for Twilight Princess from other Zelda games but the controls have changed a little for the Wii version of this game. Twilight Princess is an Action Adventure game that focuses on exploration and item hunting like most Zelda games. This game uses many gameplay mechanics, such as the ability to target and focus on an enemy, that were introduced in Ocarina of Time. The Nintendo Gamecube version of the game shares similar controls to the other Zelda Gamecube game, The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker. Although, the Wii version of Twilight Princess introduces some new controls that take advantage of the Wii Motion controls. The controls are very basic and require both the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. Players can move around with the control stick on the Nunchuck and attack with their sword by swinging the Wii Remote or Nunchuck. You can also point the Wii Remote at the screen to aim with items such as the bow to shoot at different targets and enemies. This new control scheme is very good and works really well with this game. Another new feature in this game is the addition of Wolf Link. At different points in the game, such as entering the Twilight, players can play as the Wolf version of Link, which is another great feature in this game. Wolf Link is introduced very early in the game and his gameplay and his mechanics are fairly simple. Wolf Link can run around with the control stick on the Nunchuck and attack enemies by swinging the Wii Remote. Wolf Link also has other abilities, such as digging in the ground or and his sense mode, which can be used to follow scent trails and see enemies that are not visible (Mostly used to see people in the Twilight Realm). The gameplay for Wolf Link mostly involves in exploring the Twilight Realm for different insects that contain the Light of Hyrule for the Light Spirits. Upon entering a new and twilight part of Hyrule, Wolf Link is greeted by a weaken Light Spirit, who gives Link a Vessel of Light, which he can fill with the Light (or Tears) that he gets from defeating the insects that have the Light. Once all the Light has been collected, the Light returns that part of Hyrule and Link turns back into his human form. The addition of Wolf Link is a great one that really works well in this game and it changes up the gameplay a bit from the normal sword fighting and exploration. Other than the new controls (Wii Version) and Wolf Link, this game plays like any other 3D Zelda game in the series. Although in terms of gameplay, it is hard to tell if Twilight Princess is the best in the Zelda series since other Zelda games, such as Ocarina of Time, have also provided great experiences when playing them. Although I will say this, Twilight Princess should definitely be in the discussion when it comes to best game in the Zelda series.
All in all, The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess is an amazing games and one of the gem titles for the Wii and Gamecube. This game does everything right in all aspects. This game has a great and interesting story and a good soundtrack that fits the different moods and themes used in this game. Twilight Princess features a new and more realistic art style for the graphics, which are easily the best in the series. The great gameplay, controls (Wii), and the experience this game provides tops off what this great game has to offer. There may be many debates to which is the best Zelda game series, among games such as Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time. Although, I would definitely say that The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess is my favorite game in the Zelda series. I would also rank it in my top ten of games I have ever played. Overall, I would give The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess a 10 out of 10.
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