A wolf? Why would Link be a wolf? (Twilight Princess Review)

In the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess you play as Link...and you save the princess....surprise, surprise. However, this time the designers have put their time and effort into developing the environment and characters, rather focusing on trying to be different and approachable. I guess I'm just trying to say, "dis wan don't look like car tunes."

They've gone back to the more serious story line, with the most realistic-looking Link yet. Although the color palette tends to favor the brown end of the spectrum, the world is still beautiful. I can tell that a lot of attention went to developing the look of Twilight Princess. There's a lot of detail in all the environments. The character models are great looking, and the tools, weapons, and armor are all great looking as well. However, I never found myself gazing at the beauty of the world around me (as I've done in Halo, for crying out loud) and I feel like that aspect is missing from the game. I wish they had been more grandiose in their design of the world, but it's only a minor nit-pick.

A lot of attention goes into developing the story for Twilight Princess as well. The introduction of Midna is very welcome to the series. That imp of a character who rides your back in the twilight realm, and hides in your shadow in the normal realm, had me mistrusting her from the start. Yet, she's Link's companion through the game. I started to love the way she talked and her presence made it feel like Link was not alone. By the end of the game I had fallen in love with Midna, and seen her true nature. I don't want to spoil it, but the game ends extremely well and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest.



The controls are unique for Twilight Princess as well (at least, for the Wii version they are). At first I felt awkward and wished that I could just have a thumb stick and buttons. But, when I got used to it I realized that the item selection wheel, combined with the slot-based quick select, worked really well in the game. Shooting became more fun with the Wii-mote, and aiming the boomerang became fun as well. I just wish I wasn't forced to waggle.

The world of Twilight Princess seems to be based on the Ocarina of Time world, and many of the same races and locations are found there. And, like Ocarina of Time, there's tons of side quests to complete and items to collect. There's also new items to play with and master. There's also the addition of the Wolf's abilities, and the twilight realm allows you to see and explore aspects of the world from a different perspective.

I enjoyed this game more than I enjoyed the Wind Waker. Twilight Princess had the power to pull me, as the player, into the game world. The game does a great job of developing the characters and keeping you involved in the plot. And, even though it's mostly more-of-the-same, I think this is my #2 Zelda game, right behind Ocarina of Time. I'll probably get the urge to re-play in a few years, and I'm looking forward to it already!