I would call myself a Nintendo fanboy because ever since my first video game in 1991 (that's 19 years); it's always been a Nintendo system. Surprisingly, despite having a Nintendo for 19 years, I had never ever played a Zelda game, an important franchise in the Nintendo world. So when my roommate brought Twilight Princess for the Wii to the dorm, I thought I make it my first Zelda game. Twilight Princess was one of the last Game Cube games and one of the first Wii games. When the Wii first came out, all it had was games that were demos to the Wii's abilities, like Wii Sports and Wii play. But it needed a serious game. What a better way to start off with a familiar franchise like Legend of Zelda.
So naturally I got to start with talking about controls. I think they did a good job transferring over controls from the Game Cube to the Wii. They did such a good job. I can't tell how they would do it on Game Cube. The control pad is treated like buttons. Left, right and down are all your quick-access items and weapons. Up is access to Midna for teleportation and hints. The Wii's abilities are used well. The pointer is used for picking items, but has more important uses, like aiming your bow and arrow and aiming your slingshot. When it's not in use, your pointer cursor is the infamous fairy, which many fans will like. The Wii Motion is used with the sword, but it's simple. Move wiimote = swing sword. Not the 1:1 ratio of motion like Skyward Sword. But that doesn't really bother me. Some fans might be bothered that Link, who is canonically left handed, had to be made right handed since most people in this world are right handed. But that makes sense, and a lot of the controls make sense with the weapon at hand.
And controls, items and weapons are all used very well in the game. If you gain a new item, it most likely means you'll need it to complete most of the level, especially for the boss at the end of the section. But that doesn't mean it will never be never used again. It can be quite convenient in other places. When you get near the end of the game, you find out you're using all your items, all your weapons and all your skills. It all comes together well.
The basis of the story is the kingdom of Hyrule is being taken over the twilight realm. Link starts out as cowboy rancher, whose only involvement in fighting the twilight is saving people from the twilight. But when link ends up in the twilight territory of Hyrule, he transforms in a wolf. With this, Link is chosen by the gods to be the hero of time, the hero dressed in green. In the Twilight territory, Link teams up with Midna, the princess of the Twilight. Midna has been de-throned by Zant. Link and Midna team up to help each other, so Link can rescue Hyrule from the Twilight, and Midna can reclaim the Twilight world. The story objectives starts out in typical Nintendo fashion: seeking 3 pieces of artifact. But when gather all 3, you realize you're only halfway done. A perfect plot twist happens, reveals more story and more plot, and before you know it, you're searching for another 3 pieces of another artifact to finally bring the story to close, which involves a final boss fight in, you guessed it, 3 phases. The story is well put together. I really liked the parallels between the world of Hyrule and the Twilight world: Zelda and Midna, Zant and Ganadorf, Link and the Wolf (even thought they are the same). There is an even play between Hyrule and Hyrule's Twilight territory. In the beginning, you play as Link in Hyrule and the Wolf in the Twilight areas. When you get the Master sword, you can transfer between Link and Wolf on your own, but you need to learn when to use it accurately.
Graphics I can't talk about much. If you don't know this, the graphics card used in the Wii is the same as in the Game Cube. So there is no change in graphics, which also means they are on the same level as Game Cube. But from what I can tell at looking screenshots of previous games, this is the best graphics for a Zelda game.
So for being my first Zelda game, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It makes me want to go back and play older games, and even makes me consider buying Skyward Sword when it comes out. I give it 5 stars, the best rating. But hey, I may not truly know better because I've only played one Zelda game.
So naturally I got to start with talking about controls. I think they did a good job transferring over controls from the Game Cube to the Wii. They did such a good job. I can't tell how they would do it on Game Cube. The control pad is treated like buttons. Left, right and down are all your quick-access items and weapons. Up is access to Midna for teleportation and hints. The Wii's abilities are used well. The pointer is used for picking items, but has more important uses, like aiming your bow and arrow and aiming your slingshot. When it's not in use, your pointer cursor is the infamous fairy, which many fans will like. The Wii Motion is used with the sword, but it's simple. Move wiimote = swing sword. Not the 1:1 ratio of motion like Skyward Sword. But that doesn't really bother me. Some fans might be bothered that Link, who is canonically left handed, had to be made right handed since most people in this world are right handed. But that makes sense, and a lot of the controls make sense with the weapon at hand.
And controls, items and weapons are all used very well in the game. If you gain a new item, it most likely means you'll need it to complete most of the level, especially for the boss at the end of the section. But that doesn't mean it will never be never used again. It can be quite convenient in other places. When you get near the end of the game, you find out you're using all your items, all your weapons and all your skills. It all comes together well.
The basis of the story is the kingdom of Hyrule is being taken over the twilight realm. Link starts out as cowboy rancher, whose only involvement in fighting the twilight is saving people from the twilight. But when link ends up in the twilight territory of Hyrule, he transforms in a wolf. With this, Link is chosen by the gods to be the hero of time, the hero dressed in green. In the Twilight territory, Link teams up with Midna, the princess of the Twilight. Midna has been de-throned by Zant. Link and Midna team up to help each other, so Link can rescue Hyrule from the Twilight, and Midna can reclaim the Twilight world. The story objectives starts out in typical Nintendo fashion: seeking 3 pieces of artifact. But when gather all 3, you realize you're only halfway done. A perfect plot twist happens, reveals more story and more plot, and before you know it, you're searching for another 3 pieces of another artifact to finally bring the story to close, which involves a final boss fight in, you guessed it, 3 phases. The story is well put together. I really liked the parallels between the world of Hyrule and the Twilight world: Zelda and Midna, Zant and Ganadorf, Link and the Wolf (even thought they are the same). There is an even play between Hyrule and Hyrule's Twilight territory. In the beginning, you play as Link in Hyrule and the Wolf in the Twilight areas. When you get the Master sword, you can transfer between Link and Wolf on your own, but you need to learn when to use it accurately.
Graphics I can't talk about much. If you don't know this, the graphics card used in the Wii is the same as in the Game Cube. So there is no change in graphics, which also means they are on the same level as Game Cube. But from what I can tell at looking screenshots of previous games, this is the best graphics for a Zelda game.
So for being my first Zelda game, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It makes me want to go back and play older games, and even makes me consider buying Skyward Sword when it comes out. I give it 5 stars, the best rating. But hey, I may not truly know better because I've only played one Zelda game.
No comments:
Post a Comment