I have waited for a long time to play this baby. Ever since E3 2004 when I saw it for the Nintendo GameCube. But early Sunday morning on the 19th I finally had my chance to sit down and play The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Nintendo Wii. I must warn you that I am a huge Zelda freak. Not some poor schmoe who just happened to be given this task (like some pathetic reviewer on a un-named site who slapped a pathetic score on this game). Now let me stop babbling and get on with the review. 

I am going to give you some bits of the game and try not to give away any spoilers. And let me say that this game has a TON of surprises. The story of Link and his journey through the Land of Hyrule takes place about 100 years after The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. And there are a ton of new twists and turns for Link.

When an evil darkness enshrouds the land of Hyrule, a young farm boy named Link must awaken the hero ? and the animal ? within. When Link travels to the Twilight Realm, he transforms into a wolf and must scour the land with the help of a mysterious girl named Midna. Besides his trusty sword and shield, Link will use his bow and arrows by aiming with the Wii Remote controller, fight while on horseback and use a wealth of other items, both new and old.

After all this time we have returned to the beautiful and often frightening land of Hyrule. Link has set out to be the hero once again. But this time around he is stuck between the world of light and darkness. In the Darkness world the landscapes, buildings and skies are filled with black particles and amazingly weird lighting. You can basically call it a sort of Purgatory, because you can see spirits from the world of light but you cannot communicate with them. I am sure you all know that Link turns into a wolf in the world of darkness and has a little friend who helps him along the way. The wolf version of Link can also use a special sense that will allow him to see and hear what the spirits from the light world are thinking.

In the regular world Link has a huge variety of weapons. All of the classics such as the boomerang are here as well as bombs and other goodies. Link’s horse is also back (Epona from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) and you can ride him and also fight while riding him. Epona will be very useful to you in some parts of the game for jumping fences and fighting other characters who ride beasts.

GamePlay:
The Gods (Eiji Aonuma and heavy influence from Miyamoto) who created The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time have taken what we all know and love and put the game controls to a whole new level. In terms of the Wii-Mote, slashing at your enemies and moving around is as smooth as silk. You can still lock onto enemies. This time around you can swipe your Wii-Mote and slash or to a “left-right” motion on the Nunchuk and do a spinning sword. Moving around Link is as easy as moving your analog stick on the Nunchuk. The controls in the Darkness world are a bit different. As a wolf you cannot climb ladders or open doors. But your trusty little Darkness friend Midna will help you up on buildings and also give you advice in the Darkness. Link wolf can also dig, which helps in terms of digging under fences as well as being able to dig yourself into a locked building.

Another very cool thing is that there are different plants that Link can use to blow as a whistle. Blowing one of these results in a large eagle coming to your aid. You can send this eagle to hit enemies or retrieve things that you just cant reach on your own. Blowing another flower calls for your trusty Horse Epona.

Overall I have to say that I totally love the feel of the Wii-Mote. And it feels like a dream come true combining this new controller with the gameplay of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It is easy to pick up and you dont have to stand up and swing your arms around like a madman to get something done. I actually played most of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess lying back in my bed with a big-ass comfy pillow behind me. I don’t miss the GameCube controller one bit. Overall The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has beautiful gameplay that rings of the greatness of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Beautiful job guys!!!

Graphics:
I am not going into this game as a totally new Zelda game designed for the Wii from the ground up. If you did a review like that then you are a total moron who has been out of touch with reality for the past 2 years. This is a GameCube game that has been ported to the Wii with new controls, slight graphic upgrades and most importantly for a kick-ass Wii launch. With all of the said, I remember seeing this at E3 many years ago and my jaw dropped. The graphics are simply beautiful. Link has never looked so good and if you see Princess Zelda you will be floored by how beautiful and dark she has become. Characters are nice and detailed, yet the keep that strange Zelda-Universe look to them.

Hyrule is HUGE! It is massive compared to older Zelda games. The lands are filled with lush waterfalls, beautiful lakes and rivers and green grass and bushes fill most areas. The sky is full of boulder-like clouds and a sun the beats down with a beautiful solar flare when looks directly into. Some areas have real-time day and night time as well as weather effects (rain). The Darkness levels are surreal and bright. It is basically the same levels but with a twisted, eerie dark twist. This may be a souped-up GameCube port, but it proves that even the GameCube could pump out amazing graphics.

I had not had the chance to play this game on the much-touted Nintendo Wii component cables but I have seen the differences online. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is the most beautiful Zelda game ever made. And if you own a Nintendo Wii system you MUST buy this game! It is amazing and beautiful!