Metapreview - Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)
by Blake Snow 
{ Nov 4th 2006 at 8:00AM }
Nintendo lifted what appears to be the first of at least one more embargo late last night on advanced industry previews of the highly anticipated Zelda: Twilight Princess for Wii. Rather than getting in the way of what's being said, let's cut to the chase:- GameDaily - "Twilight Princess may be the greatest Zelda ever ... Jaded critics will no doubt find lots to complain about, but don't listen to them. Twilight Princess is not only the Wii's quintessential killer app, but also one of the best adventure games to come along since Resident Evil 4."
- Game|Life - "I was worried that the Wii version of the game would be rendered gimmicky and unsuitable for long-term play sessions. But now I've played it, and not only has every lingering speck of doubt been scrubbed clean, I was actually shocked at how well it worked."
- Gamespot - "Twilight Princess' now-mandatory use of the Wii remote has been the subject of much 'love it/hate it' talk online, and we'll admit to mixed emotions ourselves after having played it the first times, but after spending a longer period with it, we have to say that we're still on the fence but leaning towards being cool with it--with some reservations."
- 1UP - "If Twilight Princess manages to uphold the level of quality seen in its opening hours for the entire duration of the adventure, it will unquestionably go down as one of the greats. Imagine Ocarina of Time, but polished and expanded and refined and generally perfected."
- Kotaku - "The game is remarkably cinematic, but not in the cheesy Hollywood-wannabe way that so often traps the gaming industry ... Does Twilight Princess need to be on the Wii? Probably not. But the game is a little better for it."
- Planet GameCube - "But ever since the announcement of the Wii version, there has been the debate over which version of Zelda is going to control better. My friends, the debate is over: Wii Zelda is the real deal."
- IGN - "If Wii Sports is for the non-gamers, Twilight Princess is for the hardcore. After I spent 10 hours with the game, I barely managed to squeak by two temples, with the third so far off that I could scarcely imagine getting there, let alone approach the objective. (For the record, out of 30 or so journalists, nobody came close to the third temple.)"
- GoNintendo - "I seriously cannot see myself playing the Cube version and enjoying it nearly as much. I know that it is the same core game...and I would enjoy the story just as much...but the physical connection of actually feeling like Link is absolutely priceless."
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
Optimus Prime @ Nov 4th 2006 4:34PM
@ Marc:
Use paragraphs!
No one is going to read your post because people like their text in bite size chunks; its just easier.
See what i mean?
comanderlink @ Nov 4th 2006 5:03PM
I am so hyped right now. This game is really going to rock. I'm glad the Wii version is getting good things said about it, but I'm still going to get the GC version simply because I'm a stubborn Zelda fanatic who finds the idea of changing the franchises long established perfect controls somewhat revolting. I'm going to get a Wii though and play the GC version on the Wii. I just have to wait for my birthday to come around in December.
Trolls always make me sad, simply because they are missing out on one of the greatest game franchises in the history of videogaming. I lament for you gaming souls...
I swear, #40 though must not be older than 12. Shoddy graphics? Sure they may be bad now, but so are the graphics for every game made in 1998.
hollerback @ Nov 4th 2006 6:40PM
#44:
Ocarina of Time DID have shoddy graphics. Good "for the time;" but I still say too early for 3D. Everything was blocky, squared, and a lot of the details mashed together. For me, it was a hinderance to GamePlay rather than a compliment. Contrast it to something like Metal Gear Solid which was 3D, easy to navigate, and the camera angles complimented gameplay. Even a platformer like Tomb Raider with its obscure ledges was easier to navigate.
Granted, MGS came out a couple of years later, but I didn't find the images to interfere with my gameplay.
That's not to say that OoT didn't have some really great areas. Gerudo Village was ace, where the 3d graphics came in very sharp and clear. If the whole game was done like Hyrule Town -- 3d characters over pre-rendered backgrounds -- it would have been a much cleaner game. But instead Nintendo wanted to push 3D so fast and so furiously that it frustrated this Zelda fan.
And really. For all the whining about "Sony Fanboys," people need to understand the idea of "cognative dissonance." I love the Final Fantasy series for its immersive worlds, good-to-outstanding voice acting, and character development. I don't love it because it is a "SONY" game. I could care less if the games I liked came out on the Nintendo Wii or the 3DO: they're immersive, complex, captivating games.
Zelda has failed to do that since "A Link to the Past," although Wind Waker was stellar until the hours-padding "Find the Triforce Pieces!" quest.
I have no doubt in my mind that Twilight Princess will be a fabulous game. But Zelda, to me, is a franchise without a heart: just nostalgia. To this day, Link has no character whatsoever. Zelda barely does. And Ganondorf is just the evil demon to beat. It's fairly sad when the majority of your franchise's character development comes from a Cartoon Series in the late 80's (Well Excuuuuse Me, Princess!). Fun action/adventure, but hardly "The Best Game of All Time." I never felt Ocarina of Time was the best game ever, and I highly doubt I will feel the same about Twilight Princess.
Games like Star Control II, Return to Zork, Phantasmagoria, Final Fantasy VI/VII/VIII/X/XII, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill II/IV, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, The Legend of Zelda, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Secret of Mana, SimCity 3000, The Sims, and Civilization I/II/III/IV are all games that I feel trump Ocarina of Time in their respective genres/years.
I suggest looking them up.
Matthew Greathouse @ Nov 4th 2006 6:51PM
Umm....Hollerback...all I can say to you is that if you had difficulty playing OOT, you must not be very good at games. You've basically tried to bash a game that redefined 3-D adventure games as was known at the time. Zelda:OOT established many of the gameplay elements that you know now. I mean really, you can try and blame the graphics, but if you coulnd't beat OOT or stuggled with the controls because of the 'graphics', you are stating more about you gaming abilitiy than you are about the game. You will find that consistently, all the reviewers and gamers feel that OOT controls are the most intuitive and friendly for the era.
hollerback @ Nov 4th 2006 7:04PM
Matthew:
Ocarina of Time revolutionized WHAT exactly? 3D rendered worlds had been around in PC gaming since the early-to-mid-90s. Inventory systems and puzzle-based gaming have been around since the original text-based Zork in the early 80s. Targeting systems have been on PC games for years. Tomb Raider brought us into intricate 3D-world platforming 2 years before Ocarina was released. Tomb Raider II had Lara driving snowmobiles and Venetian speed-boards a year before Epona came on the scene.
Revolutionary for Zelda? Yes. Revolutionary for gaming? No. I'm not saying it was a BAD game, but hardly as revolutionary or mind-blowing as Zelda nostalgics would have the world believe.
As I listed before, there are several other "mold-breaking" games in their respective genres that are far better than Ocarina. Personally, I thought Wind Waker was much better in visual design, smoothness of gameplay, and "immersion" factor than Ocarina. But you can't stop Zelda gamers in their obsession with an "older, mature" Link.
Muttley @ Nov 4th 2006 7:51PM
Famitsu? What did you say? Oh... 40? Thanks. EGM? Perfect score? Are you sure? Thanks. Gamerankings? Number 1 spot? Thanks.
Thats why they hate Zelda.
n3rrd @ Nov 4th 2006 8:53PM
Wow. Hollerback, do you even know what the point of Link is? He's a link to the game world, and not an actual character. I don't have the quote at hand, but Link is closer to you than anyone else.
As you said, Link has never had character. He has no lines in games; no responses, nothing. Everything you read in a Zelda game is a one sided response, but it's that way for a reason.
That isn't to say that the gameplay isn't rehashed, but it's good gameplay. This isn't directed at you, personally, but countless people have complained about the minor changes to Zelda in the last twenty years over multiple versions (between eleven to thirteen). What about Grand Theft Auto?
In under five years, they've managed to churn out five games (almost half the number of Zeldas) with little to no changes in the gameplay, graphics, or game engine. On top of that, the engine has been recycled in almost twice as many games.
mr8ucket @ Nov 4th 2006 9:06PM
@hollerback
Ok, first off OoT in my opinion had far better graphics than any of the games you mentioned. Metal Gear Solid was the most pixilated shit on earth. FF7, hello I have box’s for hands. FF10, the laughing scene and Tidus alone made that game suck (nice graphics though). Oh, I've played and beaten all the games I elaborated on above oh and I enjoyed them all to an extent, but not Zelda standards. Beat Oot? Nope. Not yet. But, the mechanics, puzzle solving, story and Sandbox game play are years ahead of their time. I started a new game a few weeks ago and plan on beating it before the 19th. Oh, and in case your wondering I never owned an N64 or played it till the dawn of this year. This game has a heart one beyond that of any of the games you bluntly boasted of ridden with there ultra complex anima style story lines and often horrible voice acting. A young boy who grows though opposition and time, The Quest to save a kingdom and princess doomed to die; such a beautiful fable. Zelda games speak to the heart though the simplistically clear battle of good vs. evil and story of true love. You my friend should reflect on the words you wrote. As for me, I'm ready to start a Journey one could only dream of, my trusty stead and sword by my side. That my friends is what the true legend of Zelda all about.
BlackYoshi @ Nov 6th 2006 10:17PM
You just called the Sims better than Ocarina of Time. Get out of my internet.
T-Bag @ Nov 4th 2006 11:02PM
Am I the only person who's hated basically every Zelda game? I've grown up with Mario games my entire life, but for some reason I've always despised the Zelda series...
Revo @ Nov 4th 2006 11:44PM
@ T-Bag:
Yes. Yes you are.
Jonn @ Nov 4th 2006 11:59PM
So many fanboys. So much.
>The love for Ocarina of Time never ceases to baffle me. I absolutely hated it. Shoddy 3-d graphics way too early for its time,<
That makes no sense. Are you saying the 3-D graphics themselves were early, or that the graphics of Zelda were early?
>Twilight Princess looks good. I'm excited to see it, but by this point am pretty over Zelda. It's always a variation on the same story with no character development whatsoever.
No way this can trump FFXII.<
He said, without the slightest bit of sarcasm.
Say, didya hear? The monster that's been chasing the gang is some guy in a mask!
VanGuardian1 @ Nov 5th 2006 1:01AM
I have no doubt that FFXII will be a great game to play, but for now I want Zelda : TP and a Wii to play it on beyond explanation. This will be my first time getting a console on launch day, and I'm 27, btw. (after watching the zelda retrospectives, I'm even gonna give majora's mask a try on VC)
hollerback, I understand what you're saying, and while I was in the same situation, I actually preferred the 3d towns over the 2d background hyrule town. It's just personal preference. I'm going to try to beat OoT again, I think my biggest problem is that I never got Epona (never could manage it for some reason), so I spent so much time going back and fourth that by the time I got to become an adult, I was rather bored with it.
Finnyous @ Nov 5th 2006 10:12AM
@ hollerback
for the past 3 weeks joystiq has posted these legend of zelda retrospectives. If you want to see first hand what was inovative about OOT I sugest you watch them.
The animations alone trumped anything else out there as far as graphics go, nothing out there moved that smooth. And I think that was one of the most important things about the game.
Metal Gear to me felt like I was moving through a maze which I could only go up, down, left, right with shody animations.
And Lara Crofts movement always felt stunted like you weren't always in control of her movements. And theres no way you can tell me that the tomb raiders weren't blocky looking, just Lara looked like she was a series of blocks placed together
and FF7... come on now that games characters were more blocky looking then a tetris game
While OOT had a massive area where you could seemingly go anywhere and link pretty much felt like he would do exactly what you wanted him to and did it with style. Nintendo clearly consintrated alot on link and what he looked and played like because he was by far the best looking character from any game out at the time. It was also the first time you could go anywhere and do anything on such a large scope (mario 64 was the only thing close before it)
and one final note on charecter development... Miyamoto said that he will NEVER give link a voice, because when you play a Zelda game YOU are link
Kimosabae @ Nov 5th 2006 12:05PM
@ 42:
"So why doesn't Paul Gale Have like 8 stars already. Really though his posts are always a good read."
8 Stars my ass. Paul Gale has got to be the most articulately irritating Nintendo fanboy I've ever come across. His assiduous and saccharine gushing about all things Nintendo rashes my skin something fierce. Being a Ninty fan myself, I think he makes Nintendo fans everywhere look bad.
Sad to see he's affiliated with 1up, of which I still consider to be an amalgamation of somewhat venerable videogame journalists, despite the publications' recent shortcomings.
I've never read anything from Paul Gale outside Joystiq blogs and I hope it stays that way.
-SynikaL
Paul @ Nov 5th 2006 1:22PM
@ 46/marc,
I hate the xbox series, i like the playstation series and love the nintendo series, i see xbox and playstation fanboys coming in here and lying all the time and you are doing the same, it doesent matter if we are all nintendo fans but you are still lying about sales figures and i know because i receive them every second week.
No the gamecube did not sell more than the xbox, the xbox so far has sold almost 26 million consoles worldwide, the gamecube sold just over 21 and a half million.
I dont like the fact that the xbox sold more than the gamecube but thats not our fault so please dont lie about it.
hollerback @ Nov 5th 2006 3:30PM
To the Screaming Mimis of Hyrule:
I'm aware of the (silly) notion that Link is supposed to be the "Player's Link to the Gaming World." But, for me, it does not connect. If "Link" is supposed to be the player's link, what do we say about Mario? Luigi? Princess Peach? Samus? Kid Icarus? Sonic? Mega Man?
ALL early characters from video-games are "Links" and most of Nintendo's flagship characters suffer from the same dearth of character development. If you want a game where you, the gamer, are a true "Link" check out the early incarnations of the ZORK series. Or any text-based game: another example would be the Gateway Series. Now THOSE are games where you feel "Linked" to the gaming world.
From my standpoint, its very difficult to truly feel "connected" when it's a 3rd-person perspective game, and cannot explore the myth of the world you're in.
Zelda fans constantly clamor for a deep, mythological, story-driven land of Hyrule with their "Twilight Princesses," Goddess Lore, and Triforces. But you cannot truly explore these facets without using your character to discuss and delve into the mystery. And then they turn around and defend these short-comings as being some prophetic high-concept "Link" to the gaming world, when it falls short.
The story element of Ocarina of Time is about as intricate as the Dagger of Xi'an from Tomb Raider II: both have a serious dearth when it comes to exploring our main character, both talk about mysticism, both involve exploring.
Zelda is a fun adventure game, but again I'll posit that Ocarina of Time is not and was not revolutionary for the whole of gaming. Revolutionary for the Zelda franchise, yes. Revolutionary for gaming -- no. And yet no one can tell me how it was revolutionary or "The Best Game Ever!" outside of gaming site scores (which are biased toward franchises, anyhow, since they have such a cult following) or the Zelda Retrospective (which I indeed watched).
Look it up. I'll even provide links to the ones you probabaly don't know: Zork I. Return to Zork. Gateway. Phantasmagoria. Civilization. Star Control II. Final Fantasy VII/VIII/XII. Metal Gear Solid. Tomb Raider. Street Fighter II. SimCity.
These games were revolutionary and/or the best of their genres for their times. Ocarina of Time simply wasn't. Not a bad game, but not the greatest most revolutionary game ever.
FinalDelerium @ Nov 5th 2006 7:26PM
Hollerback
I'm not quite sure ocarina was revolutionary in that it introduced new elements to gaming, but it was one of the first that combined a vast 3d world with free exploration, an innovative inventory system, clever use of the 'time travel' technique, the firing of the arrows from horseback, all sorts of crap, plus all the stuff that zelda franchises are made of, into one complete package. It may not have been your fave game of all time, but to a lot of people, you could play it from start to finish and be thoroughly entertained the entire time.
Except for that gorram water temple.
Also, my wii purchase includes TP, also bought windwaker (i dont have a Gamecube) and ocarina of time and master quest (also on the gamecube). So i have at least three (four if you include master quest) zelda games to get through once the wii comes out. I think by the time i'm done, i MIGHT be sick of the franchise. If not, then bring on majora's mask and link to the past.
Ritz @ Nov 6th 2006 2:17AM
So, take a look at what I found in a video interview with a couple members of the localization team. Either that sensor bar is super tiny, their TV is really large, or a combination of the two. But anyway, look =(
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/5404/ztpwiicj0.png
LinkGCN4 @ Nov 6th 2006 9:52AM
This game is the only reason I want a Wii. I'm torn. I hate the Wii, but I want this game. And I sure as hell don't want to be caught buying a gamecube. Halo 3 is doing strange things to my mind...
justchris @ Nov 7th 2006 4:34AM
@hollerback,
Okay, wait, wait, you're trying to tell me that Ocarina of Time was somehow less immersive, complex or captivating than the original Legend of Zelda? You do remember the story of LoZ right. Princesses kidnapped, triforce split, gather the pieces, rescue the princess. That was it for the story right there. Now, I'll admit AoL was a much, much better story, as was LttP, but they both pale in comparison to OoT. OoT had intrigue (like LttP did, only it was clever and not obvious *from the beginning of the game*...I mean, seriously, who didn't know even before they started playing who Agahnim really was?), plot development, character development for everyone (except Link of course) so that Ganon is no longer just "the big monster" but has motivation, personality, *character*. I agree, Wind Waker was a nice game, but the story just wasn't as good as the story in OoT. The actual writing may have been better, but the core plot was inferior.
And graphically, Ocarina of Time had a few glitches, but that doesn't change the fact that the game was, and still is beautiful, even with it's dated graphics. Now there I'll agree, Wind Waker was much, much better animated, graphically WW blows OoT out of the water in every conceivable fashion, but that does not in any way diminish the quality of the work done in OoT.
And come on, Phantasmagoria? I mean, really? That's what you're going to bring up in comparison.
And also, FFVIII? Now, I liked the game, but I'll admit that the characters were weak, good story though. I'm much more partial to FFXII, the mechanics aren't my favorite, but they're workable, and the story is nearly of the quality of FFT (why wasn't that in your list?) which had the best story of any FF game *ever*.
And none of that stops OoT from being one of the top 5 games I've ever played. It's not nostalgia, I went back and played it again when I preordered Wind Waker, and though it didn't have quite the quality of excitement a first play-through has, it still hands down beat any other game I was playing at the time.
Jeff @ Nov 7th 2006 5:57AM
Shadow of the Collosus was good, so was Okami. But neither game made me go back to play it and grind it to the end like Zelda.
Anyways, if the fanboys use the Okami excuse, they've never owned a Nintendo system. Sony's marketing team really got them early in the PS1 days. "Sony PlayStation makes my penis more manlier than Nintendo."
I own Okami too, very nice game but not something I'd hold onto after I finish it.
Wii @ Nov 12th 2006 5:13PM
This is going to be one great launch!
Jason @ Dec 25th 2006 3:41PM
this game is awsome.i highly recommend it for all statigists,gamers,people think slowly and the way through, and people who like action. The games main story line is you live in a village that is basiclly isolated u fight a bunch of wierd cannabils save a kid then ur friends get kidnapped then ur in hyrule as a wolf then u escape, see zelda go though hell then a bunch of dungons thenfind the master sword then find like three pieces of a twilight mirror then fight ganandworf.