The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Preview (WII)

Nintendo will be releasing two versions of Twilight, but it's the Wii edition that's looking incredible.

by Robert Workman on Monday, June 12, 2006

People have been begging for it. We're talking like the old days, back in the days of The Ocarina of Time. A follow-up in The Legend of Zelda series that was worthy of that N64 title, and not just some passerby game that tried to inject some originality into the formula, like the kiddie-transformed Link in The Wind Waker or the Expansion Pak-fueled Majora's Mask. No, we're talking about the need for a full-on Zelda adventure that makes us remember, no, cherish the brand the way we did back on the NES and on the SNES, and with Ocarina. And we waited and waited and waited some more upon the announced Twilight Princess for GameCube, and it's finally looking like it will surface this fall.

But the real shocker is, along with being what could be the last great title for the Nintendo GameCube, it will also be one of the more high-caliber titles for Nintendo's new system, the oddly named Wii. Yep, a version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will be surfacing on Nintendo's next-gen machine, and it looks to have a full adventure in check that will please fans of the older games, while attracting new ones with its multi-layered story and its mixture of classic gameplay and the new twists that will keep adventurers invigorated in continuing on.

The game gives you control of Link, a young man who's raised up in a tiny village, as he is ordered by the mayor to attend a summit in Hyrule. He begins his journey to get there, unaware that dark forces have seemingly creeped up upon the land. As enters into a strange realm known only as the Twilight Realm, he finds himself transformed into a wolf, and during his confusion, he finds himself captured. A strange figure named Midna manages to come along and set him free, and, with Midna's help, Link sets off to make things right again before the land of Hyrule settles into darkness.

Catch that? Yes, there are some segments in the game where you won't be controlling Link in his human form, but rather as a wolf, trying to set things right in the Twilight Realm while using the assistance of Midna's magic. This puts an interesting twist on things, as Link will have to use the wolf's cunning ways for survival instead of the weapons in his usual arsenal, such as the sword and shield and arrows to fire at enemies.

But most of the time, Link will be in his human form, travelling from village to village throughout Hyrule to solve the darkness that has overocme it. He'll talk to townsfolk, find a few puzzles to solve, equip new items and use old ones on-the-fly, and, of course, scavenge through many dark areas where enemies are just waiting to gang up on him. The GameCube version will have all this, and should be an outstanding game in itself, but Wii owners will have a little more compatibility up their sleeve.

The Wii-mote allows users to pull off a number of motions throughout Link's quest to help him proceed ahead. The first main component that comes into play is with the general aiming system, which allows the user to point the Wii-mote at different targets to shoot at them with a bow and arrow, or set up a grappling hook to reach otherwise unobtainable areas. We checked this out in a preview build of the game and it plays rather well, although aiming takes a little getting used to since you have to point the Wii-mote at the system to aim and not directly at the TV. Small issue, really, as we found the rest to work very timely.

Continue...

Do you Recommend this Preview?

Yes (100%)No

(1 Votes)

Latest Article Comments (0)

Advertisement

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
  • GenreAction Adventure
  • Release Date11/01/2006
  • PublisherNintendo
  • DeveloperNintendo
  • ESRBT - Teen