The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess
For Wii, also Gamecube.
Verdict: A masterpiece of tradition and invention.
Rating: 5/5
As the must-have launch title for the Nintendo Wii, The Twilight Princess is a strange beast, much like the creatures that inhabit its contrasting worlds. Originally conceived as a Gamecube title, it was held back a year and transformed into a showboat for the Wii - a fusion of traditional gameplay and new motion sensing controls.
Taking place in a reworked Hyrule that The Ocarina of Time introduced to spellbound gamers in 1999, The Twilight Princess dishes out plenty of nostalgia. For those that played the N64 classic it’s like holidaying in your favourite destination, for first timers it’s an enviable place to be introduced to the series.
With the land of Hyrule invaded by the outcast denizens of the shadow realm and overcast by a nightmare of neon scarred beasts and alien pixelation, a young boy finds himself transformed into a wolf and entrusted with the fate of the land. With the assistance of a shadow girl he must defeat the evil Zant who wields an all too familiar power.
While containing the same puzzle filled dungeons and gorgeous graphics as the Gamecube, the Wii offers alternative controls - using the ‘Wiimote’ you aim your projectile weapons by pointing at your target on the screen. Allowing for greater accuracy and speed than the traditional analogue stick, it also takes you one step closer to feeling like you’re actually using a bow or slingshot.
Sword attacks are done by merely flicking the Wiimote and at first they don’t really justify the replacement of the button press - it’s later on when hidden moves are learned and subtler attacks like the Shield Bash reveal the true relevance of the Wii’s advances.
From start to finish, The Twilight Princess is an adventure that always delivers and never disappoints. It could be accused of recycling past Zeldas and failing to truly innovate beyond its new-found controls but the quality of the experience, the puzzle design, the boss fights, the animation, art direction and story are all executed with such finesse and self-referential confidence that it doesn’t matter. It’s Zelda through and through and you wouldn’t want it any other way.