The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
A return to form for the Big N? Andrew Macarthy hopes so...
With so much hype regarding the next generation of consoles priming themselves to hit our stores, starting with the Xbox 360 in just a matter of weeks, it is often easy for such excitement to eclipse the steady stream of games still in development for the here-and-now machines. However, the single game that may just define this generation, and definitely should not be cast aside, is Nintendo's latest Legend of Zelda offering - subtitled, The Twilight Princess.
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Nintendo's first GameCube Zelda game, Wind Waker received lukewarm responses from some gaming circles who dubbed it with the name 'Celda', due to its cel-shaded graphics. Other disappointments included the shortage of dungeons and the drawn out sea-crossing journeys. Twilight Princess looks set to silence the critics by fixing all previous complaints, first and foremost by boasting more realistic graphics and a seemingly darker style of gameplay. The character models have been satisfactorily elongated, whilst still retaining their slight anime feel. In fact, originally penned for a November 2005 release, Nintendo have delayed the release until March 2006 so that the developers could add more content and fine-tune the game. Worryingly, the announcement of a delay leaves Nintendo with a gaping hole in its Christmas release schedule, but let's not worry about that just now.
The script writers at Nintendo aren't particularly famous for their plot-writing skills. Rather than going all out with a tale that has more twists and turns than Spaghetti Junction, you can imagine the meeting always going a little slow before someone utters, 'How about our lowly hero rescues a princess/stops kingdom being destroyed by defeating big boss in a castle looming with storm clouds? Dramatic music, dismembered enemies, that kind of thing.' followed by satisfied affirmative murmurs from the rest of the team and another cup of Toadstool tea and biscuits. Perhaps not. Much more likely is that Nintendo want to continue to adhere to their mantra that declares that gameplay is prioritized over flashy graphics and storylines. To that, I have to agree. I'd much rather be off exploring, than watching yet another five minute cut-scene that I can't skip no matter how much I batter the A, B and Start buttons.
The ins and outs of the Twilight Princess' plot have yet to be fully disclosed, but this is what we do know. The game begins with Link, a young man, living in Toaru, a village outside Hyrule where he works as a wrangler. One day he is ordered to attend the Hyrule Summit, but discovers that the kingdom has been blanketed in darkness, essentially becoming a Twilight realm. On entering, he is transformed into a werewolf and captured. Luckily, he is released by a mysterious character, Midna. Together, by solving puzzles and gathering information from friendly folk, as well as Link's abilities and Midna's knowledge, the pair set off to discover and defeat the cause of Hyrule's shadowy existence.
At E3 in May this year, Nintendo gave journalists their first hands-on experience of the game, just a little taster to what they could expect. Four different areas were playable - a town, a dungeon, a horse battle and a boss battle. As in the trailers that have been released, the detail of the graphics remains rich, and each section of play flows smoothly and in a stylishly cinematic fashion. The game has been described amongst other marvelings as just looking 'more alive.' Each of the four environments is high in resolution and beautifully crafted, from galloping on Epona to battling with a few of Hyrule's ugly minions.
Control-wise, fans familiar with context sensitive method of Zelda games from Ocarina of Time onwards will have no problem at all adjusting to Twilight Princess. The A button acts as the main action trigger, whilst onscreen prompts provide information on any other input needed. Attacking is mainly reliant on the B button, whilst holding the control stick in various directions provides variations on the method of sword attack. Furthermore, the L shoulder button can be used to target enemies for increased accuracy. Items from Link's inventory are easily accessed via the D-pad and, similarly to previous incarnations of the game, can be assigned to the X and Y buttons.
Despite the game's seemingly flawless appearance, early players did notice a few imperfections and glitches which they felt spoilt their immersion into the game. These ranged from small complaints - that Link got himself wedged into holes whilst crawling, to the rather worrying - that his trusted equine, Epona handled with the maneuverability of a dustcart with a punctured tire. Hopefully, though, in the months between E3 and the game's eventual release, Nintendo will have laid rest to these concerns.
The Twilight Princess is the title that Nintendo fans the world over have been waiting for, with first impressions being very promising. Here's hoping that it will be the game that once again exposes the brilliance of creativity and originality that Nintendo are capable of producing, whilst also offering a much-deserved all-formats chart hit and momentum that carries over to the dawning of Nintendo's Revolution console. Only time will tell.
Comments
muhahahahahaha
this is the ultimate game y
fishin on the game
will be very long
so fun it will be worth the wait
dont cry play games and wait for zelda tp to come out
and rob the best game ever is zelda oot
not link to the past
o ya more zelda tp stuff
raise animals
legendary songs
horse resimbals epona u can name ur horse
and last but not lease fun fun fun
this will be the new best game ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cant wait to 2006
muhahahahahaha
this is the ultimate game y
fishin on the game
will be very long
so fun it will be worth the wait
dont cry play games and wait for zelda tp to come out
and rob the best game ever is zelda oot
not link to the past
o ya more zelda tp stuff
raise animals
legendary songs
horse resimbals epona u can name ur horse
and last but not lease fun fun fun
this will be the new best game ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cant wait to 2006
d
it sounds good when is it out in uk
nope but itll be out soon
i have played and completed every zelda game and i think this is going to be the best game ever made
I must have this game, I was so excited it was gonna come out in xmas, and then nity delayed the game for April 2006 AHHHHHHHH!!! Oh well I'll hnave Shadow and Mario Kart to keep me busy until then
UK sucks and blows at the same time so Zelda tp will not be releses there
If you want a copy you will have to swear allegiance to the best damn place on the face of the earth the USA
All you not in the US can suck or big white all american Asses while we and a select few elite countrys play zelda tp
y in the hell did u say that to that kid say ur sry it will be released for uk europe (japan) and the usa dman ya uk will get it soon and the date for usa is march not april
yo i heard zelda will be better than any other zelda better graphics
real looking monster's and cooler weapon's
duh zelda will be better the new zelda will be awesome so good the whole world will know bout it
The Ledgend of Zelda and the Ocarina of Time and The Ledgend of Zelda and Majora's Mask were perfect!!! I had no complaints whatsoever. I just hope that this game will be the same and it doesn't change too mutch. I like just the regular real-life senario without guns and stuff.
twilight princess is going to be released april 15 2006
2006 is here
I'm looking forward to this game, I'm going to buy it the moment it comes out.I heard it has the best videogame graphics yet.
It's gonna be the best game ever, ahh! I just can´t wait.
pos esperemos ke salga pronto mucha gente lo esta esperando desde el E3 asi ke espero ke esten trabajando duro para ke no nos defrauden
Count me in Guys!
BOY I just can not wait for it to be released!!!
I just need 16 more dollars to go and I will get it!
PS.Suckers!
its so annoying that its be delayed but its good to wait so you can get a great game. And playing it on the Revolution would be class swinging the controller around the place to draw your sword.
damn damn damn damn delayed again for fall in september r later sorry fans but this is have to gonna wait
for the best game it sure is talkin more than 3 years
it might come out in 2007
The game sounds awsome, I can't wait!!!!
Is it rated T for teen? Usually it's E for everyone. Not that I exactly care if it's T or E. Is it siorsly not coming out till 2007!? I don't believe you! I don't wonna believe you! I read some where on the internet that it was coming out in April of 2006. It's March right now.
Please tell me it's coming out very soon.
If dis game comes out ill swear ill probably die coz it looks so damn cool!!!
I love Ledgend of Zelda, and this game looks GREAT!
I love Ledgend of Zelda, and this game looks GREAT!
when is it gona come out?
i hate magazell drop dead
i think this will be the best game due to the graphics and thew gameplay so if you agree then press :-D
wienner
hahahahahahahaha no u drop dead
I love zelda!!!!!!!!! i wonder if midna is really zelda in her twilight form?? anywayz link is the coolest and ganon is returning only to be killed yet again
This is definitely the best Zelda game ever made!
Although I haven't played it yet...
As long as the Ocarina of time is still in it I'll be happy with it!
Even though it'd still rock out loud without it.
when is it comming out
i love this agme soo much
i made a poem for this game it goes When Zelda is captured she will scream and shout for Ganondorf is about , Link our Hero Fights for her with all his might ,and wishes he never let her out of sight, Without her safety Link Is in pain for he will be no longer happy until Ganon Is Slain ... Ty all that is my poem
i hope u all liked it
THIS GAME ROCKS!!!! i just hope it does come out on gamecube it will be a bummer if we have to buy a whole new system for it Thats gonna be bad for nintendo
its going to be 1 bloody good game!!!
Twilight princess is going to kick ASS on both cube and Wii! WII ROCKS!
KOOL :) ?!?!?
nhxdkbfjkg;hjgzksdjfgkAHUWFEGYIUAQPEROFHJKSDFHBAJADIHSREU8YFOWEDSAKVGSBDJKFJHIORFDXSUDDJHVFBGKUYXCHGUI9SHEOSJEIUJHGDIUYTDFUIRAhlkjhfiuaydgrfuyedfalisdjhfgoziycfd.nmshgbuijerwguisrtyue9uetgfyvb7x8yudhgej5krughkfdutiysorpitgbxfhiu89c6g8ydhuijoprktenqkbhifa8y9&ZC(0idpofkgsjety4w5uy8r7e9fa0dOGSKLFhdrmunetkhjwaguyfd8vzb well when is the game comming out
hsfghdfghsfghsfghsfghsfghsghshgfshsfghsfghsfghsfgh WHEN IS THE GAME COMMING OUT
So no else thinks link is hott
ZELDA IS THE BEST GAME EVER I LOVE IT ALL
what are you guys talking about? i keep on wishing for being part of legend of zelda, on mine.But they say *no*, they dont realise that i trying to make a wish!!!!!!If you all dont tell your friends that they`re sorry or else i whont wish anymore.i`m sick of being nice to them and they treating me mean. i have feelings that get hurt easy!!!!I`m good at zelda games. one thing i dont get on twilight princess, i cant fine the key in snow peak.