Twilight Princess

Meggo the Eggo

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So I finally got around to beating this game. And I have to say...

I'm disappointed.

The graphics were the most realistically beautiful the Zelda series has gotten so far, the music was decent (except for that weird music that played when you were fighting those dark, flying, dragon-looking monsters and there would be this awful, off-key trumpet blast whenever you hit the monster with your sword), the gameplay ROCKED, but there are still a few things that bug me.

Like Link's constantly expressionless face. NPC reactions/emotions were pretty good, but Link still needs some work.

Beyond a few gasps, glares of determination, and nods, Link didn't show much reaction to game events, especially in most cutscenes. And oftentimes when he did, it felt kind of lame. I think this is why I liked Wind Waker so much... Link had some really dynamic reactions, and I think when you get that kind of response from the hero/character the player controls, it really helps the story along. The game becomes more entertaining and interesting to watch because the hero is no longer just a proxy of what you press on the controller, but seems to have a personality of his/her own.

Even Amaterasu from Okami showed more feeling than Link and she was a wolf for the WHOLE GAME (but I think Midna was a more helpful sidekick than Issun).

Which brings me to wondering... do you think they'll ever make a Zelda game where Link actually speaks? Like have his own say in the dialogue or maybe even *shock* voiceovers? I know there are a lot of RPGs/adventures now-a-days where the hero speaks a lot and/or has voiceovers. But will this ever happen to Link? He's traditionally been silent/passive in all the Zelda games. And if they did give him a voice, they'd have to pick a personality for him. His personality would no longer be left to the imagination or be left in the hands of the gamer. That's weird to think about.

I felt the story was subpar, too. Cliche (which sometimes can't be helped), convoluted, and loads of weird/mostly unexplained imagery in the cutscenes (I usually found myself saying, now where did that come from?). There were bits and pieces of the story I liked, but I can't say much more without going into spoilers.

I dunno. I guess I'm just disappointed because it didn't come close to the storyline standards set by OoT or Majora's Mask. If it weren't for some completely awesome scenarios and sweet gameplay, I might even say I liked Wind Waker better.

But I haven't lost faith in Phantom Hourglass... I expect that to be completely fun. As soon as I beat WW, I thought continuing that story arc would make such a fun game ^_^ Very glad Nintendo decided to do that.

Sorry about the long-winded post. I'm just kind of sad, because this is the only Zelda game I haven't wanted to play through again and make sure I've picked off all of the sidequests. :/
 
The gameplay for the Wii version was negligible imho. Imprecise controls made it so you needed to go at least one or two extra rounds with bigger enemies. The story, I thought, was better than most of the games.

It didn't live up to Ocarina. But no Zelda has.
 
I had no problems with the wii controls.

There was something lacking in Twilight Princess though. I'm finding it harder every day to compare stuff of the past with stuff of the present. The reason is I think is because of how relative game experiences were new then and are familiar now. I think back in the day, we filled in a lot of the gaps with our own thoughts and ideas from a younger period, basically conflated the experience in many ways. I remember thinking how massive and nuanced Ocarina of Time was when it first came out. It was like a spiritual experience almost playing it. Now, it seems kind of tame. Similarly, with maturity in thought and experience, Twilight Princess seems really limited in its scope, not at all as majestic as OoT. The thing is, it probably really is comparable in scope to OoT in all facets of its design. The question you gotta ask yourself regarding the old games: do you love the game, or do you love the vague collection of ideas you have of the game when you first played it?

As for Link and giving him a voice or personality, I don't know. It's conceivable, but not likely anytime soon. I think they'll stick with the fine Japanese tradition of the silent, blank canvas protagonist. I don't really have a problem with it. That would be equivalent to giving Mario full voice-overs. That would just be... weird. Both have their loveable utterances. Maybe in the future Link will have a voice when they perfect voice-recognition technology and AI and other stuff, allowing the player to speak through the character and interact vocally with the world. That would be more consistent with what they're aiming for.
 
I thought Tw. Princess was good, but it was not the best Zelda ever made. I did think the Wii-mote control scheme worked a lot better than i thought it was going to. Im just waiting for Phantom Hourglass now.
 
I'm at the third dungeon right now (always hate water dungeons in Zelda games). I don't have any problems with the Wii control scheme. Spuds - maybe your sensor bar isn't set up right? Or try standing different distances from it - that might help.

I'm enjoying it thoroughly. I love fighting on horseback! So far that's the best feature of the game. I didn't like the bug-hunts all that much, though playing as a wolf is OK in general.