Friday 04 May 2007

This is possibly the best game I have ever played. Nothing else need be said. It’s all kinds of amazing, all kinds of clever, and oh so soulful – thanks be to Aonuma, Miyamoto and their team for making something as magnificent as Twilight Princess, and thanks be to Iwata for keeping it on GameCube as promised, even when it became evident that this was going to be a Wii launch title. Scale is probably the most eminent feature of the game. It is vast, truly massive, and I mean big in the sense of unique content, not randomly generated dungeons or repeated game play ideas. There is something new around every corner, something new to discover or learn.

From Humble Beginnings

Like the hobbits of Hobbiton, this adventure starts out small; Link is a normal young man living in Ordon village who spends his work days helping to round up the Ordonian goats. He’s one of the best riders in the land and all the children of the village look up to him, so it’s obvious he has much potential. In typical Zelda fashion your first tasks set the scene, portraying the contented pastoral existence of the people – you must do a spot of fishing, a spot of herding and some target practice with your new catty to demonstrate to the young ‘uns just how it is done. Soon enough events take a turn for the worse as Link follows the children after a mischievous monkey only to discover that the forests are becoming dangerous in these times.

The next day Link is to set off to Hyrule Castle to offer the village tribute, but things don’t go as planned and he is sucked into an adventure that spans the length and breadth of the country. On the way Link learns to sword-fight, fights on horse-back, and comes to grips with his alternate form as a wolf in the Twilight Realm. He also learns many other skills which I cannot reveal for they are best discovered yourself. The ultimate goal is to save Princess Zelda of course and in doing so to fight the forces of evil and embrace his heroic destiny. It all sounds so epic, but, like the Lord of the Rings or the first Star Wars trilogy, it is really the story of a small group of people thrown into world-changing events, finding the courage to stand and surviving to tell the tale.

To the Fields of Hyrule

The structure is similar to other Zelda games but for those who have never entered the land of Hyrule I will elaborate slightly. You must explore the overworld (which is massive in this game), always preparing yourself or finding the way to reach an important location where something of value is kept, something which will help in the fight against the one who is causing the strife in the land. There are few games that match the feel of exploration as well as the Zelda series – behind just about every tree or rock there is something hidden, and finding these so-called “dungeons” I am speaking of is often accompanied with the joy of discovery as a new path is opened. The dungeons themselves are each uniquely themed and each feature their own sort of puzzles, but always have a similar overarching structure. This kind of game needs a fine balance between freedom (to feel the adventure) and direction (to not lose track of where we are and where we are going), and Twilight Princess has the two in perfect harmony.

Dungeons are a series of rooms, each of which will have some sort of puzzle to solve in order to progress. These are not puzzles of the Sudoku kind though – they are cleverly implemented and logically set up scenarios and will require you to always be on the lookout for ways you can affect the environment with the items at your disposal. The developers’ ingenuity never ceases to amaze me as they present new scenarios seemingly in every room. In most dungeons you will find a new item which you will need to progress and which will open up all sorts of new challenges and solutions for you. When you need to backtrack a few rooms in a dungeon, very often there is a shorter path back than the one there, or the use of a new item makes a previous room much easier to navigate, a testament to the impeccable design of the dungeons as the designers limit the repetition in the game to a minimum. The chief end of the dungeon is the boss, and these are always fantastic in design and choreography. These are not your cheap-trick bosses – they are never that difficult once you know what you need to do, but they are magnificent in grandeur and a joy to conquer.

To Stand Among the Greatest

With the Wii being in short supply and with us being in a land with no Nintendo presence to speak of, I am very grateful that Nintendo released this game on GameCube as promised. While I am very keen to try out the Wii controls, the standard GameCube controller delivers an experience that does not need anything extra – the fighting is superbly implemented and seems to have quite a bit more depth in terms of options than the Wind Waker’s system. There are “secret skills” you can learn during the game – by finding howling stones and howling the correct tune you call a White Wolf who vows to teach you should you find him with “sword in hand.” These skills can then be used in battle and I would argue are quite necessary in some fights. On the whole there is significantly more content in this game than the Wind Waker in terms of dungeons, and the country of Hyrule feels as vast to explore as the open seas were. Despite thoroughly enjoying the sailing of that game, I was thankful this time for the numerous warp points provided for getting around the land quickly.

I really don’t want to give away any details of the plot as, simple as it is, it does contain quite a few surprises and characters which are memorable and which shouldn’t be spoiled by me. For long time Zelda fans this is everything you could want in a Zelda game – a huge world to explore, lots of dungeons to raid with much variety, some brand new items, a few twists on old items, new combat techniques, a plethora of collectibles and a whole new adventure to take up. For those who have not been initiated into the world of Link and Hyrule, you are in for the gaming experience of your life – honestly, this must be the pinnacle of epic gaming. Approach the Twilight realm with respect; explore Hyrule with the glee of a child; leap for joy when you discover a hidden cache of rupees; punch the air when you conquer your massive foes; and then feel the sense of loss when you must leave this beautiful land of Zelda once your work is done and the credits roll.

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Contributor:	Peter

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