The latest instalment in the epic fantasy
universe of Hyrule is thoroughly enjoyable, exciting, and immersive; in
other words, everything we’ve come to expect from a Zelda game. In fact
it’s the familiarity of our Zelda induced glee which highlights the
primary criticism of this awesome game – it’s a little too traditional
and, for the most part, unchallenging. But at least you know what
you’re getting with a Zelda game, and what you’re getting here is
around 40 hours of sofa filling gameplay that will occasionally
challenge, frequently entertain, and ultimately provide you with a
carefully crafted and exciting world to explore.
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| Link wears earrings these days so he doesn’t look out of place in trendy bars |
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Mounted combat in action |
The story assumes a familiar mould; Hyrule is
under threat from a new darkness championed by King Zant of the
Twilight world. Somehow the Twilight world is extending its reach into
the normal realm of Hyrule, bringing forth a host of Twilight monsters
with it and forcing the native populous to assume the form of
frightening spirits trapped in a kind of limbo. Hence a young lad,
typically known as Link, from a small forest village steps forth into
the green legendary hero’s clothes and must venture throughout the
lands collecting various items which will allow him to defeat the evil.
His assistant takes on the form of an entertaining imp known as Midna;
she presents herself as mischievous and incidental, with a hint of
mystery which unravels as the story progresses. Her frequent jokes and
hilarious facial expressions make her a much more welcome guide than
Navi or the Red-Lion from previous Zelda’s.
The Twilight
Princess is best described as an action adventure, much like the
previous Zelda games. Link is a silent protagonist who heroically
charges around chopping up monsters and helping people. His health is
measured in heart containers and throughout the game his maximum health
can be extended by the collection of new heart containers. The majority
of the gameplay takes the form of third person sword fighting and
puzzle solving.
The game elements of Twilight Princess
championed by Nintendo are Link’s ability to turn into a wolf, and his
ability to fight whilst riding his horse - Epona. For a large part of
the game becoming a wolf is not something Link can do voluntarily, and
this makes for some interesting gameplay as you are forced to do
without your arsenal of weapons and items for specific periods. During
these periods Link must rely solely on his abilities as a wolf.
Significantly, these consist of an enhanced fifth sense - allowing you
to see strong scents and other things which the naked eye cannot; and a
giant leap, which, with the help of Midna, allows you to jump large
heights and distances to locations previously unreachable. Both are
well implemented and used in various instances throughout the game for
solving puzzles and chasing down main quest leads.
As for the
mounted combat, one can’t help think this was somewhat neglected. There
are three specific set-pieces I can think of where this is actually
useful, and in-fact necessary. It’s a nice element and it’s very cool
when it occurs, but it certainly seems underused. Furthermore, Epona’s
usefulness in any context expires when Link inevitably gains both the
ability to warp around the world as he chooses, and the ability to turn
into a wolf at will - which is easily as fast as the horse for running
through the fields of Hyrule.
As the formula goes, each major
quest item Link is tasked to find is hidden within some dungeon or
other; within which you must fight various monsters, and solve a wide
variety of puzzles. At some point within each dungeon Link will gain a
new weapon or new piece of equipment which ultimately allows the rest
of the dungeon to be accessed and the dungeon boss defeated. Most of
Link’s equipment from the rest of the series has a presence within the
Twilight Princess – the bow, the boomerang, the lantern, etc – as well
as a few new additions such as the dual wield clawshot, allowing Link
to grapple from grate to grate in a spiderman-like manner; the ball and
chain, a huge ball attached to a chain which Link swings wildly around
his head and then hurls towards enemies; and the spinner, which is kind
of like a momentum driven skateboard with a cog on the bottom which
attaches itself to tracks along the dungeon walls.
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| The familiar warm orange glow of the Twilight realm |
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The little goblin riding link’s back is Midna, and frankly she’s the coolest ally Link has ever had |
None of the puzzles within the game are perplexing enough to leave
anyone scratching their head for too long. They involve such things as
pulling chains, pushing stone bricks, lighting lanterns in a certain
order, shooting certain targets with a ranged weapon, or, a little less
traditionally, firing a canon-ball into a block of ice. Most of the
puzzles are obvious from the moment you encounter them, and the less
obvious puzzles either have a very visual clue near-by or else Midna
will butt in and basically tell you what to do. Although some people
might consider this kind of frustration alleviation appealing,
personally I think getting stuck at a certain point in a game is worth
it just for the great feeling of satisfaction when you finally solve
the problem; and therefore it feels to me as if one or two mind-blowers
should have been thrown into the mix somewhere along the line.
The
combat within the game is fun, but disappointingly unchallenging, and
that goes for the bosses as-well. Its doubtful most gamers will need to
seek out many of the heart-pieces hidden throughout Hyrule - five of
which grant link a new heart container - let alone require the use of
all seven of the special sword abilities which Link can optionally
learn throughout the game. These special abilities come in the form of
attacks like the shield bash which temporarily stuns enemies and
deflects magic bolts, and the fatal blow which allows Link to apply the
final sword plunge into grounded foe.
Around about the time
you summersault the death-blow to a goblin, roll around the back and
plunge your sword into another, and then simply button bush another
crowd of them into oblivion, you begin the realise Link is hardly going
to break a sweat if this is the best these guys have to offer. The
dungeon bosses may seem a little more challenging at first while you
get to grips with what they do and how to defeat them, but as soon as
their weakness becomes known - and usually it’s pretty damn obvious -
they are, if anything, less dangerous than a group of average monsters.
Although the complexity and creativity of the bosses is apparent, this
is hardly the level of challenge offered by Majora’s Mask and Link to
the Past.
There are, of course, various side quests and
enjoyable distractions for Link to partake in. Somewhere in-between
eating his cornflakes and saving Hyrule, Link can play various games
and undertake various activities which are ultimately to gain items
which help him in his quest, but essentially they’re just fun things to
do. Such things include boating down the rapids into Lake Hylia, using
chickens to para-glide off huge cliffs onto a target area below,
playing a game of pseudo-hide-and-seek with a group of amusing cats,
snow-boarding into a mountain valley on an iced leaf, and (of course)
fishing. Rewards include heart-pieces, empty bottles - which can be
filled with a whole variety of useful things like lantern oil and
health potions - and larger wallets allowing Link to carry more money –
although to be honest there’s not a whole load of stuff to *buy* anyway.
The
graphics are glorious as to be expected. Perhaps not the level of
next-gen bloom enhanced glare streaming from the screens of oblivion
players, but the attention to detail and artistic style makes up for
lack of demanding 3d graphics filters. The frequently occurring
Twilight theme has a very pleasing dark-orangey look to it, with the
monsters looking stylishly tron-like. I, for one, was slightly
disappointed by the reversion back to a pastel style Ocarina of Time
look, as opposed to the cute cartoony graphics of wind waker, but of
the quality there is no doubt. It’s also a matter of debate whether you
will find Link’s new trendy earrings, which he also wears in *wolf
form*, charming or annoying.
As for the sound, even my
overbearing reviewers’ cynicism can’t fault it. The melodic music is
cool, intricate and interesting; and the sound effects are perfect.
Link’s annoying whelps and shrieks from Ocarina of Time have been given
a more manly tone, and Midna’s indistinct yaps are almost addictive.
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| This
is link pulling off his traditional spinning sword attack which has
been ever present throughout the Zelda games (minus Zelda 2 on the NES,
of course) |
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Bosses come in various forms, however it always surprises me how many of them have a *giant eye* as their weak spot |
Is this the best Zelda game ever?
Probably not, but besides it’s still one of the best games *this
millennium*, and certainly one of the best action adventure games ever
made. It may well be traditional (not to be confused with
unimaginative) and not very difficult; but most aspects are unfaultable
– the sheer length of the game, its interest-grabbing quality, the
diversity of its gameplay, and generally the very high level of
entertainment provided. If there’s such thing as a must-play game, this
is one of them.
Top Game Moment: Playing
the opening sequence of the game replicated the youthful excitement of
Christmas morning better than anything I’ve played in the last two
years.
