What else can I say about the new Legend of Zelda other than “Wow.” This is director Eiji Aonuma’s third Zelda title to date and with this installment in the series he has truly lived up to the work of Shigeru Miyamoto’s Ocarina of Time.
For the first time in the series we have a very realistic looking Link exploring much more realistic looking world. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been pleased with the art direction and character design of the Zelda series – I loved the look of Wind Waker – but this game out does the lot of them. In fact, this is the first Zelda title to have a T for Teen rating instead of an E for Everyone due to the animated blood and violence.
It just looks and feels the way it was always meant to be played. The Wii imbues the game with a new sense of verisimilitude both with the Wii remote and the graphics.
The controls can be a bit delicate at first but that’s overcome quickly and the Wii remote becomes precise and easy to control. Aiming the slingshot rapidly becomes a breeze with the only difficulty being your own unintended movements from pulling the trigger.
As a story, Twilight Princess is both engaging and entertaining and takes place in the same world as Ocarina of Time and Majora’ Mask. The inherent drama and quirky humor shine through from the moment the story starts.
Link is a young man from Ordon village who is charged with the task of bringing a present to the royal family of Hyrule. But before he can set out more sinister plans are set into motion plunging our hero headlong into the Twilight Realm.
In the Twilight Realm Link is transformed into a wolf and captured by Shadow Beings. It’s here that Link meets Midna, his guide throughout his adventure similar in function to Navi from Ocarina of Time.
Along the way you’ll engage in a good number of well designed mini-games. From fishing – where you rotate the nunchuck to reel in your line – to Goron sumo wrestling at the foot of Death Mountain.
This game has it all: from the superbly crafted gameplay and controls to the classic soundtrack and face lifted graphics. Some Zelda fans had a hard time swallowing Wind Waker, but if Twilight Princess doesn’t sate their ravenous appetites, it might be time for them to move onto a new franchise. This is unarguably the best work Nintendo has yet produced.