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Dec 20, 2006 - 08:30 PM |
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Zelda <3 <3 <3 |
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looooooooooooooool
No, actually, this did make me laugh:
Anyway, so Twilight Princess is wonderful. It's very difficult to pinpoint what makes it so fantastic, but the best I can manage is: I've pretty much loved every single Zelda game I've played (1, 2, 3, 4, OoT, MM, MC, WW), and yet Twilight Princess somehow feels like the Zelda game I've always wanted to play.
There are games that are fun and there are games that reward you in unimaginable ways every second, for everything you do in it. Zelda games have always been about exploration and discovery, but a much larger part of the experience is the unabashed joy you get from them. Plenty of games can do a wide empty field, but it takes something else to make the field incredible fun to run around and explore. Every corner, every path, every cave you find, everything leads to something and there is just so much to be found and you want to find it all.
The game is spellbindingly pretty, especially for a GC title. Not only does it look technically spectacular, but Nintendo have really outdone themselves with aesthetics. Everything looks beautiful, making every location and sequence even more enjoyable to see and discover. I'm usually always in a rush to move forward in games these days, but Zelda games have that ability to calm you down, to entice you into staying a while. Go fishing, go swimming, just sit around and watch the sunset.
Character design and characterization in particular are exemplary. The story is perhaps not the deepest around, but the pacing, the scripting, the story exposition are all marvelous. Cutscenes are unusually long and plentiful, beautifully directed and often pack an unusually strong emotional punch. You really grow to care about the characters and their destinies.
Midna is a wonderful, wonderful character and has been brought to life magnificently with her detailed facial expressions and animations and her memorable voice. Perhaps the only design I'm slightly disappointed with are the Zoras, they looked much nicer in OoT style, but even they look great, maybe just not as.. graceful as I expected. The human characters looked a bit off to me when I first saw the previews, but their animations really bring them to life and add charm.
Music is amazing. I am actually very surprised. Zelda games have always had memorable music, but they've been pleasant little ditties that you probably won't listen to otherwise. But working with the setpieces and cutscenes, the TP score is dramatic and powerful, with some extremely pretty pieces at just the right moments.
I'm about 27 hours in (going through the Arbiter's Grounds) and it's been an extremely gripping ride so far. Twilight Princess moves along at a breathless pace and is easily the most cinematic and story focused Zelda so far. Some may complain this makes it more linear, but for me the style works. All would have been for nothing if the story had had nothing to offer, but the development team have really gone all out to make it as gripping as it is. Usually you're simply content with finding out what place you'll visit next, but in Twilight Princess you also have to know what happens next, it manages the same type of pull as Vagrant Story last did for me, and that is a heck of a feat.
Oh, the gameplay? Well, it's Zelda. The puzzles and dungeons are marvelous, displaying some of the best Nintendo genius since Ocarina of Time. I sometimes find the two item limit a bit annoying, but it still works. Wolf transformation can be slightly cumbersome, but considering you can do it anywhere, it's still a fantastic design device. They also put it to great use, instead of just making it an elaborate lock-key.
Sigh. Anyone who isn't into Zelda games will probably just shake their heads at all this, but hey, their loss. Twilight Princess is not only a great Zelda game (something I'm so happy about after waiting for so many years), but easily the most wonderful time I've had with a videogame in ages. I am thankful I have a GC and get to play such a great game. I'm thankful I got to buy it before release day and start it almost right away. I'm thankful Nintendo kept with it and worked so hard to give us such an amazing swansong for the GC.
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No actually haha here is the large bold happy part you'll read instead.
