The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a very special Zelda game in the popular Zelda franchise. It goes back to the GameCube days where Nintendo revealed a very realistic looking Zelda for their new console. Fans were disappointed when this ‘realistic’ experience changed to the cartoony Wind Waker. Years later however, Miyamoto demonstrated an epic looking Zelda on E3. It looked very realistic and was everything fans had been asking for. It got delayed a couple of times and was eventually released on both GameCube and Wii as Twilight Princess and is one of the best traditional Zelda games to date. Now, years later, we’re able to replay it in high definition on our Wii U, but is it still fun after all those years?
Not an easy start
Twilight Princess has a rough start, especially compared to classics like ‘A Link to the Past’, where the action starts immediately, you’ll have to run some annoying errands in the village first. The tutorial of Twilight Princess is long and might scare some gamers but it’s definitely worth the trouble. The first hour of the game consists out of small gameplay mechanisms that are introduced step by step. You’ll need those mechanisms in the later game but some could have been taught later in the game for sure. That being said, the first dungeon isn’t that special or spectacular but the moment you pass that one, it’s only getting better.
Twilight Princess doesn’t have that typical epic Zelda start but what comes next is probably the best of the franchise. Ocarina of Time demonstrated how well a Zelda game works in a 3D environment, Twilight Princess can be considered as the best-executed version of a traditional 3D Zelda. The gameplay is very similar to Ocarina of Time, even the environments are basically the same, the experience, however, is a lot more epic, thanks to some innovations.
The Twilight wolf
Every Zelda game comes with an important gimmick that changes the gameplay drastically. The Wind Waker had the open sea, Majora’s Maks got the special masks and Twilight Princess has the Twilight zones and Wolf transformations. In the world of Twilight Princess, a new danger is sucking up Hyrule to its destruction. The mysterious Twilight zones appeared in the world and it’s up to Link to save the day again. Since he’s the chosen hero, he’s the only one able to walk in both the regular as the Twilight world. There’s one catch, however, if Link is sucked into the Twilight zones, he transforms into his Wolf form, which has a huge impact for the gameplay of course.
The perfect Zelda experience
Playing as a Wolf offers some new abilities like a ghost sight to spot hidden items or doors in the dark world. As Wolf, Link can even communicate with the other animals in the world to find out clues of where he needs to go next. The biggest plus of being Wolf Link, however, is your new companion, Midna. Those who’ve already played Zelda games know that the franchise likes companions. Midna is by far on of the most fun companions that can be found in the franchise.
Midna
Midna is a creature of the Twilight Zone, a creature with an interesting story, which I won’t spoil of course. It’s fun to communicate with Midna since it’s a very sarcastic creature. She doesn’t really trust Link and is confused why he is the so-called chosen hero. Unlike Navi of Ocarina of Time, talking to Midna is never boring. It’s a very strong character that truly transforms the game into something more enjoyable. Of course, Midna offers far more than just conversations, it’s an important companion to survive the Twilight zone.
As Wolf, you’ll need to use Midna’s mysterious mask to take down the enemies. Midna can transform here mask (her hair actually) into a deadly hand to take down multiple enemies at once. By locking on several enemies, Midna can force Link to attack multiple targets at once, it’s an important mechanism to survive the Twilight Zone. Besides this, Midna can also force Link to jump from spot to spot, an important tool to reach higher grounds. Without Midna, it wouldn’t be that fun to play as Wolf Link, it’s truly the beating heart and most important character of the Twilight Princess game.
Great dungeons
Besides Midna and the Wolf Link, you’ll spend a lot of your time as a regular Link, exploring multiple dungeons. It must be said, Twilight Princess truly offers some of the best dungeons of the entire franchise. The dungeons offer great new enemies, innovating new items and some of the most memorable bosses you’ll still remember for years to come. You’ll play as ‘human Link’ a lot and that’s nothing to worry about. If you thought Ocarina of Time had great dungeons, wait until you experience the Twilight Princess dungeons.
It’s not an easy game but it’s definitely worth the trouble. It will take you a little more than 30 hours to complete the main story but the game is filled with fun side activities to keep you going for a lot of extra hours. Fishing alone can get you sucked into the game for hours.
The extra dungeon
Since this is the HD remake however, it means that Nintendo included some fun extras. To make the experience a little different for the ones who already completed the original game, Nintendo included an extra ‘dungeon’ called the Cave of Shadows. This isn’t a classic dungeon but an improved version of Cave of Ordeals challenge that was already included in the original, so what do you need to do in this extra dungeon? Well, it’s not that hard actually.
The Cave of Shadows is a true test of your Wolf Link skills. In the Cave of Shadows, you’ll need to defeat several waves of enemies with a very limited stock of health. The amiibo keeps track of your progress and works as a physical high score. If you manage to complete the Cave of Shadows with the Giant Wallet equipped, you’ll be able to unlock the Bottomless Wallet, able to carry 9999 Rupees.
Amiibo support
It’s no secret, amiibo are a big deal and a lot of people collect them. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess comes packed with a gorgeous Wolf Link amiibo but the support doesn’t stop there. If you own some Super Smash Bros. Zelda line amiibo you can unlock the following extras:
- Tap the Princess Zelda or Sheik amiibo™ figures to replenish hearts on-the-go
- Tap Link or Toon Link amiibo™ figures to replenish arrows when you need them most
- Tap the Ganondorf amiibo™ figure to take 2x the normal amount of damage; stack it on top of Hero Mode for a ruthless 4x normal damage!
Our favorite is without the Ganondorf amiibo support since this one truly gives the veteran players something to fight for. It’s hard to complete the game with stronger enemies and fans have been asking for a harder mode for years. Nintendo handled this very well, giving the players the option to increase the difficulty whenever they want. All in all, the amiibo support is surprisingly satisfying in this remaster.
Conclusion:
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD is still the same game that launched on GameCube and Wii years ago. It definitely looks a lot better but the environments still feel empty from time to time. That being said, it’s a very strong episode in the legendary franchise and it’s perhaps the best traditional 3D Zelda game even after all those years. The extra amiibo support and new dungeon are worth checking out for the veteran players since the level of difficulty can increase a lot. If you haven’t played Twilight Princess before, be sure to check it out on Wii U, after the rough start, you won’t regret your decision at all. If you have played it before, it’s worth replaying again since this is by far one of the most memorable Zelda experiences to date.
