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20 years ago, Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo and a few of his colleagues released a little game called ‘The Legend of Zelda’. Originally for the Famicom Disk System (Japan only), a year later they released it worldwide on the Nintendo Entertainment system and it became a massive success. Over 9 games later, the Zelda series is one of the most well known Nintendo brands, selling millions of units per game. Now, to coincide with the release of the Wii console, Nintendo have given us Zelda: Twilight Princess. Can the new game and console live up to the biggest Zelda release ever (being Ocarina of Time, with over 8.5 million copies sold)? Let’s take a look…

Anyone who has played a Zelda game before will have a rough idea of what we are facing. The basic storyline always seems the same – a young boy called Link from a small village ends up being the chosen one and saves Hyrule from some evil force, and meets up with the lovely Princess Zelda at the same time. However, every incarnation of a Zelda game is different, and this is definitely no exception.

The storyline starts off following the tried and true formula, with some basic training and weapon gathering to start the day. You get a handle on the new control system the Wii has to offer, from swinging the controller for swordplay to aiming at the screen to control that highly sought after slingshot. For a change, you also start with access to your horse, Epona. Horse training is dealt by the simple task of rounding up some goats at the local ranch. Once that’s done, you are sent to deliver a parcel to Hyrule Castle and this is where the game really takes off.

I’ll try not to give too much of the story away, but you will eventually discover that there’s a Twilight Realm that is linked to your own, and the King of the Twilight is trying to take over the world of light. Most of Hyrule is covered in Twilight and, naturally, it is up to the hero to set things right. To make things more interesting, when you traverse the Twilight Realm you are forced into the form of a wolf, which changes the way in which you can interact and explore various regions. Later on, you can freely change between human and wolf form, allowing you to solve some of the more perplexing puzzles.

Once you stumble across your first Twilight Realm, you’ll meet Midna, a small imp-like being who seems to enjoy teasing you in your wolf form. Midna acts as somewhat of a guide through the whole story and even offers a ‘helping hand’ to reach certain areas. She travels on your back while in wolf form, but merges into your shadow when you are in the realm of light. If you get stuck in a certain area, your Wiimote will emit a childish giggle and Midna will give you a hint as to how to progress.

Being a Zelda game, you come across various dungeons and bosses as you strive for your goal. A lot of elements that were in Ocarina of Time have been brought forward in some aspect or another, as well as a lot of the old landmarks. There’s no ocarina tunes to remember in this one, however you will need to put on your best howling voice if you want to learn some of the special skills. Howling a certain tune, much like the ocarina of old, will unlock the chance to learn some of the more intricate moves for Link to defeat enemies with.

Throughout the game, you’ll pick up a large variety of different weapons and items, all of which will be used to pass certain puzzles or access certain areas. The old faithful boomerang, Hero’s Bow and Master Sword are all here, along with a couple new items (such as the Spinner – a spinning cog-like device which can be used to traverse tricky ground or to ride along tracks on certain walls), all of which make the game more interesting. Each time you pick up a new item, you’ll usually be forced to use it very shortly after to continue through the current dungeon. The puzzles in the game are mostly straightforward, with only a handful that actually require you to sit and think through them. Most of the bosses are also fairly simple to beat, once you figure out the technique you need to use to get passed them.

In terms of graphics and audio, the game hasn’t really progressed all that much from the Gamecube versions. No, I’m not talking about the cell-shaded mess that Wind Waker was, but back to the Gamecube versions of Ocarina and Majora’s Mask. Things are a little smoother, more refined and for those with a component cable – a little clearer, but the general feel of things is much the same. With the Twilight aspect, and some of the story paths, the game is a little darker and mature than previous incarnations, but it’s still perfectly fine for your 10 year old kid to run through. The speaker inside the Wiimote does add to the experience a little, with action sounds like sword clanks and bow shots ringing out from the controller. Usually you’ll be too busy swinging or aiming to notice, but it’s the little things that count.

Speaking of the control system, I was really impressed with the way it had all been put together. Character movement is controlled via the stick on the Nunchuk, aiming at things on the screen via the Wiimote, and various buttons for different interactions. There wasn’t really a stage through the game where I was getting confused with controls, as it’s all fairly intuitive and you pick up new movements in no time. There’s no excessive use of the motion sensor for which I’m thankful too. I’d hate to have to be flicking the Wiimote up and down to jump over things. The controls aren’t tiring in any way and I honestly can’t fault any part of it.

I’m prepared to say that this is probably the best Zelda game I’ve ever played. Twilight Princess took me roughly 35 hours to get through, so be prepared to be sitting for a while. It’s definitely not a short game, which is a nice change compared to most games that come out now. The controls and visuals work very well and once you become engrossed in the storyline, you won’t even think before you start acting. A great game for Nintendo to release with their new console, Twilight Princess is a must have for any gamer out there who’s got a little time on their hands to play through one of the best games of the year.

Note - this is a review I have previously posted on another site. It is my original work.