Nintendo Wii - Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Highly recommended

Format
Nintendo Wii
Publisher
Nintendo
Developer
Nintendo
Country of origin
Japan
Release date
UK: 25 November 2005
Genre
Action RPG

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Preview (Gamecube)

By David Rasmussen
8th Jun 05

This is your first look at the upcoming “Legend of Zelda” game, Twilight Princess, due for release tentatively at the end of 2005. Of course before this is all over I’m sure we’ll have at least several peeks at upcoming games for you to sink your teeth into… hopefully. I’d like to read about new games too, you know. So let’s begin. And we’ll approach this review by answering a few questions.

Question - Is “Legend of Zelda : Twilight Princess” going to be a GameCube release, or is it going to help launch the upcoming “Revolution” platform?
Answer - Ask Nintendo. They still have this game listed on it’s GameCube listings as a game for the GameCube on their official website so unless Nintendo isn’t telling itself something then I figure it would be for the GameCube. Which actually makes a little sense. Sure, yes, Twilight Princess on the Revolution would be nice and all but it wouldn’t be enough incentive to get GameCube fans on the boat for the Revolution… yet! But what if you crank out a Legend of Zelda game on the GameCube, get people buying it like mad and then, when they get to the end, they find out BOOM, you need to get the Revolution in order to play the game that finishes what you started here. Instant incentive, just add Revolution.
If Nintendo was intelligent (and I have seldomly accused Nintendo of THAT) then they’d take a page from the (dot)hack book and split this game into “chapters”… at least two. One on the GameCube, and one on the Revolution (which bridges the gap and compels GameCube players to snag up a Revolution so they can finish the game they started on the GameCube).

Question - Should we expect the above scenario to happen?
Answer - Uh… no way. That’d be smart, and I have seldomly felt the need to accuse Nintendo of such.
Seriously though Nintendo says it‘ll be for the GameCube… so why keep saying that if they plan to use this game as incentive to go out and buy a Revolution? I don‘t know, I just don‘t know.
But they have 6 or so months to “change” their mind so it might yet be a Revolution release. Maybe.

Question - How does this game “link” (sorry, bad pun) to previous Zelda games?
Answer - Let’s see… according to the Nintendo site the game is like this.
“When an evil shadow stretches from the heart of Hyrule to it’s peaceful borderlands, a young farm boy named Link must awaken the hero… and the animal… within.”
Oh, sure. Now I remember when I played Ocarina of Time, how it all started on the farm and Link was coming to grips with his animal side and… no I don‘t remember such a thing!
Obviously this Link has NO connection to previous Links… almost. Now UNLESS they’re planning on saying this is some “Pre Trilogy” Link and THIS Link is the father of the Link from Ocarina of Time… now I remember they talked about the mother briefly, but they never mentioned a father as far as I remember… then there’s no connection! Oh, and if they use the above scenario mentioned in Twilight Princess then the people of Nintendo Japan are smoking the same stuff the people who made Princess Tutu the Anime were smoking when they made that anime cause that’s just whacked! (Then apparently the characters in the game NARC aren’t the only ones using drugs as power-ups.)

I’m going to go with the notion that Nintendo isn’t stupid enough to do such a thing and this is an entirely new Link not connected to any previous Links… if not for the glaring fact that some of the blurbs on their site for this game rambles on about this being the lost origins of Link or something like that.
Oh dear god in heaven I hope this isn’t what I think it is or I’d be so damn disappointed!!

Bells & Whistles of a Brand New Link
Well, I know some out there didn’t think Legend of Zelda needed a revitalization ala Resident Evil 4, but it looks like this game WILL get a fresh coat of gameplay and a revitalization with some brand new tricks never before seen in previous Zelda games.

1 - While you are out traveling the land of Hyrule it seems that you will transform into a wolf (the beast part mentioned in the above blurb) and scour the land with the help of a mysterious being named Midna and what the hell is that about! No, wait, don’t tell me, let me guess… somebody at Nintendo loves Wolf’s Rain. Admit it! Link transforms into a wolf (not a werewolf) at night… ? Or was it in darkness? Guess we’ll find out when the game hits but yeah, sure, can’t tell me this isn’t something like Wolf’s Rain ‘cause it seems like it to me. Only unlike Wolf’s Rain they could transform at will, and Link cannot… or can he?
Anyway as for Midna? I’m guessing (hoping and praying) that the Midna mentioned above is a new fairy since I can’t tell you how much of a blatant ripoff it would be if Midna turns out to be some sort of “Flower Maiden”… gee, wonder where I saw THAT before.

2 - Just as we all suspected. This game WILL feature a brand spankin’ new horseback combat system that allows you to ride into battle on your horse. Yes, I know, previously you had some ability to fight on horseback but only to the extent of shooting arrows, this is a full out complete combat system.
And no, as of this point the horse has NOT been identified as Epona.

3 - New massive bosses to be fought, which is a staple of the Zelda franchise so that’s good.

4 - Yes, many puzzles (hopefully some new ones) are also back, another staple of the franchise. And you’ll also have to once again scour the land for your weapons and equipment to get through this game (as in previous Zelda games, something else that should remind you of Zelda games of old).

5 - Now the game promises to have Link… duh, and it also has Zelda… double duh… and Midna (mentioned above) as well as old and new characters… but no names.
If you scour the internet long enough you might catch a glimpse of a familiar face or two from what Zelda screenshots have been circulated around, but I’m betting Nintendo has been tight fisted with it’s images to the point that there is no real clue as to which old school characters have made it into this game, and which are brand new. Only time, and the game’s release, will probably answer that question.
If we are lucky, however, the mask peddler from Ocarina of Time & Majora’s Mask is NOT in this game.

6 - Here we go. The full intro…
“Link, a young man raised as a wrangler in a rural village, is ordered by the major to attend the Hyrule Summit. He sets off, oblivious to the dark fate that has descended upon the kingdom. When he enters the Twilight Realm that has covered Hyrle, he transforms into a wolf and is captured. A mysterious figure named Midna helps him break free, and with the aid of her magic, they set off the free the land from the shadows.

Link must explore the vast land of Hyrule and uncover the mystery behind it’s plunge into darkness. As he does, he’ll have to enlist the aid of friendly folk, solve puzzles and battle his way through dangerous dungeons. In the Twilight Realm, he’ll have to use his wolf abilities and Midna’s magic to bring light to the land.

Besides his trusty sword and shield, Link will use his bow and arrows, fight while on horseback and use a wealth of other items, both new and old.”

And that, as they say, is that.
The story is brand spankin’ new, and doesn’t even sound like it ties into any previous Zelda game.
The game is different, the promise of new NPCs and new items to use is promising, as well as the whole wolf thing (even if I think it’s a blatant Wolf’s Rain ripoff) which makes this out to be a well rounded revitalization of the Zelda franchise that’ll score major brownie points with old and new fans when this one rolls into stores in the holiday season (unless it is derailed by a rescheduling and change of platforms from the GameCube to the Revolution)!

But this is, after all, just a first look. As time passes more and more information will come to light and this game will become clearer with time. So then, no breakdown since we’re only previewing. But here is my brief thoughts on the game…

Is It Hot? - I think so. This is going to be one of the big games of the end of the year, and it’ll give the Zelda franchise a major kick of adrenaline as people rush out in droves to nab this game.
This looks so cool that nothing could possibly drag this game down, nothing.

Is It Not? - No way. Right now this game is solid looking and I’m hyped about it’s holiday release.

When? - The holidays, which should be ruled by Zelda short of any mishaps or rescheduling or something.

Wrap-up? - I’m looking forward to more words on this and other new games. As for this game? You know you’re going to buy it, so keep your spirits up, replay Ocarina of Time or Windwaker or whatever your favorite Zelda game was, and hang tight for Christmas as the time of year Zelda fans should be able to rush out and celebrate like they were releasing Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas brand new into game stores!

-- David Rasmussen 8th Jun 05

Nintendo Wii Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Images