Gamernode: Reviews - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

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• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight ...
• Wii
• Nintendo
• Nintendo
• November 19th, 2006

Although the camera is what I might call broken, what is available to look at through that camera is quite appealing. Of course the visuals don't stand up, technically, to HD-era games, but artistically Twilight Princess is solid. It looks very impressive for a Gamecube 1.5 game, although textures and animations (the horse and wolf running motions, in particular) can seem lacking in today's graphical battleground. The land of Hyrule is presented as a complete world, with varying land and sea -scapes, as well as a vast desert and stormy tundra. Each dungeon carries a unique theme, which is integrated not only in the the graphical presentation but straight into gameplay. The visuals are actually functional.

Beyond the familiar Hyrule horizon is the digitized Twilight Realm. This dark, computerized world is highly stylized and presents some cool effects, like the materialization of warp holes in the sky which remain visible in the distance at all times. Everything in the Twilight Realm is composed of little black squares, in a sort of pixelated dream-world. When warping, the pieces composing Link will break apart and come together, just as the Twilight creatures do when defeated. All the models in the game are done well, and even though the game has been billed as a more mature-looking title, it maintains a semi-cartoonish look in its characters, who are caricatured and very expressive. Polygonal graphics doesn't mean realistic, and Twilight Princess functions as an artistic exhibition moreso than a technical display.

The same statement is applicable to the audio. Twilight Princess includes a wonderful score that will constantly poke gamers in the nostalgia center as it remixes tunes from the Zelda archives. The mood is set perfectly in most areas by the appropriate orchestral instrumentation and engrossing compositions. The only problem here is that the sound samples are still not produced by real orchestras, but by their synthesized counterparts. Ambient noise and sound effects are well done, reusing some old sounds to keep things very "Zelda," but adding in strange bits here and there to exemplify the very obviously different themes that are already presented visually. Lastly, the player might think that the controller is talking to him, because it is. A variety of sounds come directly from the wii-mote speaker, such as the slash of a sword or the stretch of a bowstring, and although the speaker is a tinny-sounding, low quality one, the effect is innovative and effective.

All in all, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a welcome addition to the Zelda franchise, and stands strongly among its brethren. At its core, it's that same game that gamers have been playing for years, and suffers from a handful of imperfections from a bygone era. It often feels dated, and seems in need of evolution, which frankly has not been provided by the Wii remote. Despite its shortcomings, however, it still manages to produce the magical effect that Zelda games are known for, and gets better and better as the hours wear on. The bottom line is that it is a very enjoyable experience, and is impossible not to recommend to any gamer.

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