Wether or not it's an RPG, nothing will ever tarnish down the waves that Zelda makes in the video game world. It was more or less the reason I bought a GameCube (for Wind Waker, but got a Metroid Prime bundle), and it was pretty much what made me buy a Wii on the opening sales day. Number 99 out of 100 on sale at the store I went to, November 19th 2006.
At any rate, while I did already finish this game up almost 2 years ago now, I decided to play it again recently, after getting everything needed to play in HD. I got a new HDTV 40' that runs in 1080p quality. Too bad the Wii doesn't support that, but widescreen + proressive is already smoother.
Playing it again reminded me of the whole charm of the series, and even more of Twilight Princess. While the game was built for GameCube, it certainly was no pushover in graphics. The lens flare, lighting and overall world had no lack in quality. Even if you can poke a bit of fun at some polygonal issues like Link sheathing his sword through his hat in the cutscenes, it's not like it distract from the game itself.
I'm currently moving through the second half of the game, spending a bit of time doing extras before tackling on the next dungeon area (the desert, for those that played it). There's so many things to do, places to look at... Overall Twilight Princess felt smaller than Ocarina of Time, and even smaller than the vast sea expanse of Wind Waker, but when you take the time to cover it, you realize that it's much bigger, just spread into different sections rather than one connecting field. And each inch of the map is detailed.
The tool selection is also the most varied of any other game. Some tools get upgrades, and none of the 'longer chain' kind that Ocarina gave to the hookshot. We're talking upgrades that actually change the way you use the same tool, like Dual Claws. Not to mension the variety of objects. Actually, Majora's Mask had more tools only if you consider every mask as a different tool, but most of them were useless save for getting a single heart piece. This game only has tools and a few varying things like Arrow-Bombs and the mask that acts as a zoom that can combine with it.
Dungeon wise, I must say that it probably felt like the 'easiest' Zelda up to date, but that's probably only because of my experience with all of the previous ones. As I played through this one, I tried to go from memory, and some puzzles were easier due to knowing where to look for the solution/clue. But then I realized that this game is FILLED with puzzles, which is no different than most other Zeldas as to dungeon progression. Yet I felt that I did a whole lot more running around than other Zeldas to find the keys, tools and rewards every dungeon had, and that's where Twilight Princess still feels fresh.
Additionnaly, I'll say that the puzzles and dungeons are very fun and ingenous. Especially the Goron cave with the magnetic walls. It's one thing to think in 2D (aka Link to the Past). It's another to work in 3D (Ocarina of Time), but it's an entire new concept to think 3D and in every direction like over walls and upsidedown. So it may not be the first game that plays in 3D, but it surely is one that pushed the 3D uses further.
Plus the nostalgia is there. If it's extremely hard to put the games in a perfect timeline, there's still plenty of clues left around that provides clues and historical evidence of it's placement. And Twilight Princess doesn't escape that. The entire map has landmarks more or less placed like Ocarina of Time, at least on the GameCube since the Wii version was mirrored to help with the right-handed swordplay.
For example, Kakariko and Death Mountain are due east from the castle. The castle's placement is different being dead in the center, but that's the same as Link to the Past I suppose. Lake Hylia and other features are also positioned roughly like in Ocarina of Time. While placement is the same, the worlds couldn't be any more different in feeling though.
There's some people that seems to had disliked this game for 'being too much like Zelda', which I find ridiculous of an opinion since it IS a Zelda, how could it be anything else? Zelda defines the Action Adventure genre, and I wouldn't want it to be any different. If you haven't played this game yet, what are you waiting for?
1 comment:
I think the main issue with the game is that the developers were setting it up to become the 'Ocarina killer' to please the ravenous fans, which in turn made the game fall on its face. It's not a bad game, but Twilight Princess is definitely one of the weaker Zeldas and feels very "thin" compared to previous titles.
With how easy the game was, one could even say that this was the first sign that Nintendo had its eyes set on a different crowd already. But, that's just conspiracy theory. ;)
Post a Comment