LTTP: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (unmarked spoilers)

M

Marjar

Banned
*Just a note, the version I played is the Gamecube version.

So I started this game a while ago and didn't get back into it until about a week or so ago. I gotta say, this is an absolutely amazing game, and is my favorite 3D Zelda game that isn't Wind Waker.

The pacing at the beginning and in between the first three dungeons is pretty bad admittedly, and some of it should have been severely shortened or cut altogether, but it's all worth it for the dungeons themselves and everything after you gain the ability to switch between normal Link and Wolf Link at will.

The dungeons in this game are easily some of the best in the series. The only one I wasn't a huge fan of was City in the Sky, and that's mainly because it was just a very awkwardly designed dungeon that lacked in variety (most of it just involved using the dual hookshots). The best dungeons for me were Arbiter's Grounds and Snowpeak Ruins. The former because I really loved how you switched between normal and wolf Link throughout the dungeon and because you get a fucking BEYBLADE as an item and the latter because of how unique it is. I was not expecting the dungeon to be a ruin down mansion. Plus the Yeti were adorable characters.

Also the bosses in this game, while easy, are absolutely incredible. Stallord is probably my favorite boss in the entire series now. Other standout bosses were Blizzeta and Armogohma. The sword fight against Ganondorf, while not as good as the one in Wind Waker, was also pretty kickass too.

Finally, I really liked how Midna developed over the course of the game. She's just a really endearing character and is probably the best sidekick in the series.

So yeah, despite some pacing issues and being a bit on the easy side, this game was absolutely fantastic.
 
Good to hear that you enjoyed the game! I agree with you, it's a fine entry in the Zelda series, with some superbly-made dungeons.
 
Wii version vs gamecube?

I mean, the waggle was largely unnecessary, but you DID get wide screen and an interesting aiming mechanic (though I did feel SKyward Sword ultimately improved upon it, by not relying on the infrared pointer).
 
I like the game (Midna being the best part of it) but it's easily my least favourite 3D Zelda. There isn't a single dungeon that I really liked, the overworld is bland and boring, most of the characters aren't interesting and every single boss was a disappointment. They looked so awesome, but the complete lack of difficulty ruined them.

The Water Temple boss was a joke.
 
YES so glad you loved it, my favorite zelda game bar none, midna is one of my favorite video game characters, I adore the character development of link and midna basically hating eachother to becoming best buds
 
It has the best set of dungeons (City in the Sky being my favorite) in the series. The bosses are a little lackluster since they're more about scale and spectacle than actual interesting fights, but it's still my favorite game in the series overall. I wish I had more excuses to ride that spinning top. That thing was too cool.
 
Yep, the dungeons alone prop up Twilight Princess in my eyes. I'm not sure if they are the best 3D Zelda dungeons, but they're each visually unique with neat thematic elements and some beautiful designs. Some of the early dungeons were less complex, Goron Mines is pretty terrible in general - with no standout puzzles or clever item use, and moving slow along the magnet walls was tiresome. Plus lava is boring.

However, I think the string from Lakebed Temple, Arbiter's Grounds, Snowpeak Ruins, Temple of Time, and City in the Sky is a solid stretch. Lakebed's water flow switching was interesting enough without being cumbersome like some other of the series water dungeons. Arbiter's had one of the more creative Zelda items in the series and had a good mix of combat arenas, puzzles, and wolf segments + an awesome/memorable boss. Snowpeak is a unique and humorous design concept, with solid (but not stellar) puzzles as you retrieved the various food items. Temple of Time is easily the weakest of the batch, but I still give it points simply for Ocarina of Time nostalgia. And City in the Sky is the most maze-like dungeon in the game, lots of climbing up and down to try and figure out the path you need to take.

I've always liked Twilight Princess quite a bit, and the dungeons are actually a big reason why. Not just the map design or puzzles, but the locales and themes too. The one (3D) game whose dungeons I might like more are the ones from Majora's Mask, and that largely has to do with the transformation masks elements needed in those puzzles, plus hunting Stray Fairies added a bit of a searching or hunting aspect when exploring, looking in every nook and cranny.

Also, while combat isn't really a strength of the Zelda series, Twilight Princess's Lost Hero character unlocking some skills throughout the game helped a little to give Link a small array of abilities outside of just using different items. Blocking, evading, parrying,and otherwise using those abilities enhanced the encounter design just a tad. It's just too bad the dungeon items aren't used all too often outside of their respective dungeons. The symbol hunting task before City in the Sky is also quite a drag.

Oh, and Midna is definitely the best sidekick character.
 
Marjar said:
Finally, I really liked how Midna developed over the course of the game. She's just a really endearing character and is probably the best sidekick in the series.
Click to expand...

I like you.

100% agreed. Midna is the best sidekick in the series and just a great character in general.
 
mrkgoo said:
Wii version vs gamecube?

I mean, the waggle was largely unnecessary, but you DID get wide screen and an interesting aiming mechanic (though I did feel SKyward Sword ultimately improved upon it, by not relying on the infrared pointer).
Click to expand...

Some things are better, some things aren't. Personally my biggest issue was the entire game being horizontally flipped on Wii to make the sword right-handed. Unless playing on GC, you never got to walk through the Hyrule the designers intended.

Still a superb game, no matter what.
 
I might be alone in this, but I actually preferred the aiming controls in Twilight Princess over Skyward Sword. I'm not sure what changed, but TP just felt a lot more accurate/better for me in terms of aiming with the bow.
 
I agree. TP is my absolute favorite Zelda game. The combat in the game is hands down the best combat in the franchise. Slashing while being able to my move is so good; something missed very dearly in ss. Also WW
sucks :p
 
mrkgoo said:
Wii version vs gamecube?

I mean, the waggle was largely unnecessary, but you DID get wide screen and an interesting aiming mechanic (though I did feel SKyward Sword ultimately improved upon it, by not relying on the infrared pointer).
Click to expand...

I tried the Wii version, but I didn't like the waggle or the motion controls. I much preferred how Skyward Sword controlled.

The Gamecube version is the definitive version imo.
 
I really enjoyed Twilight Princess on the Wii. It was one of the three launch games I bought for the system (Excite Truck and Call of Duty 3 being the other 2 games). I played a little bit of the GameCube version, but never finished it. I did complete the Wii version though.

All said and done, I think Wind Waker is the better Zelda for that genertion.
 
I am really hoping that the next Zelda game is more like Twilight Princess then Skyward Sword in both visual style as well as size and scope.
 
Marjar said:
The pacing at the beginning and in between the first three dungeons is pretty bad admittedly, and some of it should have been severely shortened or cut altogether, but it's all worth it for the dungeons themselves and everything after you gain the ability to switch between normal Link and Wolf Link at will.

The dungeons in this game are easily some of the best in the series.

Finally, I really liked how Midna developed over the course of the game. She's just a really endearing character and is probably the best sidekick in the series.
Click to expand...

Quoted so I don't have to repeat what OP said. While probably my least favorite 3D Zelda game, it's still very solid and the majority of the bosses (Sans the Water Temple 'boss') are great. The second half of the game alone would make it my 2nd favorite 3D Zelda, but overall, I felt like the powerups were the most unique of the series and I wish they brought back the spinning top of death. Midna also proves that sidekicks can be awesome in LoZ and if Zelda U continues with sidekicks, I hope they go more Midna/King of Red Lions and not Navi/Fi. I said this on another thread, but what they did with Zant still bugs me to this day.
 
Neff said:
Some things are better, some things aren't. Personally my biggest issue was the entire game being horizontally flipped on Wii to make the sword right-handed. Unless playing on GC, you never got to walk through the Hyrule the designers intended.

Still a superb game, no matter what.
Click to expand...

THe flipping didn't bother me, I was happy to play a new Zelda on my new system.

But I always intended to buy the GC version to play it with an unflipped world, as well as proper camera controls, but never got around to picking up a copy.
 
SoraanTribal said:
I might be alone in this, but I actually preferred the aiming controls in Twilight Princess over Skyward Sword. I'm not sure what changed, but TP just felt a lot more accurate/better for me in terms of aiming with the bow.
Click to expand...

Twilight Princess uses IR to aim, Skyward Sword uses Motion+.
 
Hands down the best Zelda imho.

Bosses, skills, items and dungeons. No other Zelda meets it... yet!

Not to say the other games were bad. OOT still remains good but TP surpassed it imo.

Midna being so awesome helped and BOMB ARROWS! Nothing more hilarious than to blow enemies up from far away.

Best minigames too now that I think about it. The story had a nice mature but not over the top tone. Zelda was a more tragic character this game and I felt the game did more for her character than most other Zelda games besides OOT/WW and maybe a few others.

The sidequests while not MM level were some of the best around too.

I would be very happy if Zelda U was mostly like TP with its own story.
 
It was really a fun game to me. Not really the best in terms of art and music, visuals etc.. but it was very entertaining, fun to play and explore. I hope the next console Zelda is more like Twilight Princess, instead of WW or SS.
 
Also I might be alone in this but fuck it, I loved the beginning, I loved link just going around his own village, herding his sheep, doing things for the local villagers, and playing with the kids, I loved that.
 
TP was incredible. I hope for an HD remake one of these days.

If only I could experience the Stallord boss fight for the first time again.
 
Twilight Princess almost killed my enjoyment of the Zelda series. I was so excited for it, I bought it day one, and then spent almost a week straight playing it... Only to sell it the day after I was finished.

The pacing isn't just bad, it's just boring. Arrive at a new area? You're stuck in the god-awful (who the fuck thought Combat in wolf form would be a good idea to just squat in place and wiggle around until the enemies are in your glowing circle?) wolf hunt the bugs for the next 30 minutes to an hour, if the terrible platforming lets you do it well.

Oh, and let's gut the musical elements so it's just half-assed howls that teach you 'sword moves'... Nice. Oh, no, Ganon steals the plot at the end, way to make all the other character/villan motivations totally worthless.

Once you get the ability to teleport, why ever both running around the split sections of Hyrule that have no real wonder or awe to them? And I struggle to remember the Dungeon items, beyond the moronic TOP and seriously... a *second* hookshot as a dungeon item? Oh, that's right, let's cap it off with the control rod...

(sigh) Sorry. I just. I wanted to love this game so much, and it just felt so contrived. I never owned a Wii, so I haven't played Skyward Sword, but I after Twilight Princess, I didn't even feel motivated to try.
 
effingvic said:
TP was incredible. I hope for an HD remake one of these days.

If only I could experience the Stallord boss fight for the first time again.
Click to expand...

You can always use one of the HD textures out there that one is really gorgeous.

jh7SCWVoJP2bK.png
 
foxuzamaki said:
Also I might be alone in this but fuck it, I loved the beginning, I loved link just going around his own village, herding his sheep, doing things for the local villagers, and playing with the kids, I loved that.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I had no problem with the village area. But the first three dungeons is really what's preventing me from wanting to go back and play the game again
 
While my favorite Zelda remains MM, TP is the one I find myself replaying the most.

It's those stretches of dungeons in the second half that are just impeccable. They've got cool theming, cool (if unchallenging) bosses, and fun items.

A poster above mocked the idea of a second hookshot, but I thought it really opened up the verticality of a Zelda game in ways that hadn't been done before. Wish it had been introduced sooner in the dungeon order for both TP and SS, because it's fun to use.
 
Abdiel said:
Twilight Princess almost killed my enjoyment of the Zelda series. I was so excited for it, I bought it day one, and then spent almost a week straight playing it... Only to sell it the day after I was finished.

The pacing isn't just bad, it's just boring. Arrive at a new area? You're stuck in the god-awful (who the fuck thought Combat in wolf form would be a good idea to just squat in place and wiggle around until the enemies are in your glowing circle?) wolf hunt the bugs for the next 30 minutes to an hour, if the terrible platforming lets you do it well.

Oh, and let's gut the musical elements so it's just half-assed howls that teach you 'sword moves'... Nice. Oh, no, Ganon steals the plot at the end, way to make all the other character/villan motivations totally worthless.

Once you get the ability to teleport, why ever both running around the split sections of Hyrule that have no real wonder or awe to them? And I struggle to remember the Dungeon items, beyond the moronic TOP and seriously... a *second* hookshot as a dungeon item? Oh, that's right, let's cap it off with the control rod...

(sigh) Sorry. I just. I wanted to love this game so much, and it just felt so contrived. I never owned a Wii, so I haven't played Skyward Sword, but I after Twilight Princess, I didn't even feel motivated to try.
Click to expand...

This is pretty much my opinion on it, but I'd like to add that the story and characters (other than Midna who is fantastic) are so bland and boring.
 
I lost interest in the game (Wii version) around the 1st or 2nd dungeon because I could see the rest of it was going to be a cakewalk though not nearly as bad as Wind Waker which was essentially broken. A little later, I restarted the game, but refrained from using any maps. Best decision ever. It's how plan to approach all Zelda titles in the future.
 
EhoaVash said:
Wtf? The double hookshot is probably the best item in the series
Click to expand...

The hookshot was totally awesome, in its own right. Getting a second one as a dungeon item and a dungeon built around that mechanic, I felt like they were just phoning it in, just like the rest of TP. (The atmosphere at the Ice area was cool, but I hated the dungeon mechanics there too)

This is pretty much my opinion on it, but I'd like to add that the story and characters (other than Midna who is fantastic) are so bland and boring.
Click to expand...

I'll largely agree. Midna was pretty cool, when she wasn't being a Navi replacement. Zelda was dull, and I don't even remember the rest of the cast, it made so little impact.
 
Man I thought this game was terrible. Thank God for Demon's Souls a few years later.

Edit: Holy cow at some of the replies in here. There are 5 games from this series that should be in the conversation for greatest game of all time, but every release after Majora's Mask has been utter trash.
 
I don't know what it is about TP that brings something so... venomous, out of Zelda fans, to the point of hyperbole.

Not that some of its faults aren't legitimate; it's just that you can sense that a lot of disappointment came from it not living up to certain (unrestrained) expectations of what it was supposed to be.
 
Glad you liked it. It was an okay Zelda game for me, though still a great game, and it was probably my least favorite console Zelda game (didn't play SS). Personally, I agree with most of Matthewmatosis's in depth review of it, though he does base it on the Wii version. I recommend watching it if you want a more critical view on the game.

Plus, the whole Hero's Shade element possibly being Link from OoT and MM was cool.

Seda said:
Oh, and Midna is definitely the best sidekick character.
Click to expand...

Also this.

EhoaVash said:
The double hookshot is probably the best item in the series
Click to expand...

And also this.
 
Tookay said:
I don't know how much I can read this thread, because TP brings something out in Zelda fans that's so... venomous, to the point of hyperbole. The years of hyping really helped and hindered it. Not that some of its faults aren't legitimate; it's just that you can sense that a lot of disappointment came from it not living up to certain (unrestrained) expectations of what it was supposed to be.
Click to expand...

I'd like to clarify, I am not attempting to be venomous, and I do not consider myself a 'fan' of almost any series. I always attempt to weigh each entry on its own merit. My favorites in the series are Majora's Mask and Link's Awakening, followed by Ocarina of Time. I never played Wind Waker, because the animation style disagreed with me, but as such, I have *never* made any criticism of that game, since I never played it, it just wasn't for me.

I poured well over 60 hours into Twilight Princess, top to bottom, did all the sidequests, and just felt my enthusiasm grow weaker and weaker with each new dungeon, each new dungeon item that felt really half-assed and just lame in concept. Oh, look, a spinning top that will be 99% useless the rest of the game, just like oh, you know, the control rod. Having a second hookshot was cool, I guess, but, it felt like, "Oh. Really? Erm... okay." It wasn't exciting, didn't feel like a dramatic new method of exploring, like the original did.

I was really excited for the game because it looked like it would continue to build on the forward momentum of the OoT and MM style Zeldas I was passionate about, and instead, it deflated it entirely. There's no reason to bother actually roaming around, and marvel at the setting, when you can teleport to almost anywhere in the map and not feel like you're missing anything.

Even the final boss was totally anti-climactic and contrived. The game just frustrated me on every level about what I enjoy of the Zelda series, not because of some misguided fandom, but because it felt... hollow, I guess. I've never had any desire to go back.
 
pje122 said:
Man I thought this game was terrible. Thank God for Demon's Souls a few years later.

Edit: Holy cow at some of the replies in here. There are 5 games from this series that should be in the conversation for greatest game of all time, but every release after Majora's Mask has been utter trash.
Click to expand...

It's not a popular opinion, but Majora's Mask is probably my least favorite out of all the 3D Zelda games.

I like the atmosphere and story, but the Great Bay and Stone Tower Temples just weren't very good, and that's half the dungeons in the game. I didn't find the sidequests aside from the Kafei one all that interesting either. Never understood the love for the game.
 
If anything I liked that the weapons were designed to be "keys" to the dungeon more so in TP because it allowed them to explore with some neat ideas. Double Clawshot was great because it made the dungeon feel like it was designed in a 3D space instead of 3D in the sense of it being just about polygons, which is probably my main gripe about Ocarina of Time (which I still love). There were dungeons that explored that feeling well like the Great Bay Temple in MM but TP had a great overall sense of space and theme to the dungeons.
 
Marjar said:
It's not a popular opinion, but Majora's Mask is probably my least favorite out of all the 3D Zelda games.

I like the atmosphere and story, but the Great Bay and Stone Tower Temples just weren't very good, and that's half the dungeons in the game. I didn't find the sidequests aside from the Kafei one all that interesting either. Never understood the love for the game.
Click to expand...

Probably because those are, IMO, my two favorite dungeons in the series. Great Bay slightly less so, but I actually liked the water changing mechanic in that one, especially compared to the Water Temple's.
 
Marjar said:
It's not a popular opinion, but Majora's Mask is probably my least favorite out of all the 3D Zelda games.

I like the atmosphere and story, but the Great Bay and Stone Tower Temples just weren't very good, and that's half the dungeons in the game. I didn't find the sidequests aside from the Kafei one all that interesting either. Never understood the love for the game.
Click to expand...

I feel the same kinda, I love everything about it except for some certain things that just turned me off, im not inlove with minigames and the game is built off of it.
 
Abdiel said:
The hookshot/ clawshoot was totally awesome, in its own right. Getting a second one as a dungeon item and a dungeon built around that mechanic, I felt like they were just phoning it in, just like the rest of TP.
Click to expand...

Completely disagree. The double hookzhot did not feel phoned in at all. It felt like a complete whole new item. I can never go back to the standard hookshot Ever again.
 
Abdiel said:
The hookshot was totally awesome, in its own right. Getting a second one as a dungeon item and a dungeon built around that mechanic, I felt like they were just phoning it in, just like the rest of TP. (The atmosphere at the Ice area was cool, but I hated the dungeon mechanics there too)
Click to expand...
bullhockey
 
foxuzamaki said:
bullhockey
Click to expand...

I didn't realize that "Monkeybars: the Dungeon" was good level design. Oh, wait.

It did nothing revolutionary. It was just an extension (hah, pun), of the existing mechanic. It doesn't even change the way you interact with the rest of the world afterwards, just like the rest of the dungeon items in that game. They're entirely forgettable.
 
I admit I kinda just laughed when the dungeon item in City in the Sky just turned out to be a second hookshot, but it really made some of the puzzles in that dungeon and the Palace of Twilight really awesome.

Oh also, I actually kind of like how Zant turned out to be just a crazy zealot hiding behind an intimidating mask. He was definitely a very weird character and that boss fight was awesome as hell.
 
Marjar said:
I admit I kinda just laughed when the dungeon item in City in the Sky just turned out to be a second hookshot, but it really made some of the puzzles in that dungeon and the Palace of Twilight really awesome.

Oh also, I actually kind of like how Zant turned out to be just a crazy zealot hiding behind an intimidating mask. He was definitely a very weird character and that boss fight was awesome as hell.
Click to expand...

That was the shadow boss (Up to that point main villan) before Ganon hijacks the plot, right? He would have been cooler as a character if all his motivations didn't get lost in the Ganon-based stupidity injection of the last 30 minutes of the game.
 
My favorite Zelda game. Has the best story and boss fights in the series. Just excellent characterization to a lot of the side-players.
 
IKy7HfA.png



I really liked Twilight Princess, myself. The dungeons are fantastic. I'll mirror the critique that City in the Sky is designed a bit confusingly, though I did love the second Hookshot. It got good use through the rest of the game, and the SpiderLink boss battle was great.

Bosses were kinda hit or miss. Some were fantastic - like the City in the Sky one and the Arbiter's Ground one. But some others were really cool, but ridiculously easy (Water Temple) and others were just plain ridiculously easy (Snowpeak).

A few of the items were pretty gimmicky and served little purpose outside the dungeon/boss you got them (like the spinner), but that's kinda par for the course with recent Zelda games.

I am, however, eternally frustrated with Nintendo for the game being forever mirrored in my mind just so they could make waggle controls "look" more natural or whatever. Maybe I'll try a replay with the aforementioned GC HD Texture mod.
 
Marjar said:
*Just a note, the version I played is the Gamecube version.
Click to expand...

Good choice.

I don't even care one way or the other about the motion controls or the mirrored dungeons.
But, having the C-stick as a dedicated camera control in the GCN version made it the definitive version for me.

I really enjoyed the vast majority of the game, it had a number of great parts to it.
Unfortunately, the horrible wolf sections absolutely killed the game for me, and has made it so that I haven't replayed it since beating it, since I don't want to have to deal with those again.

It's a real shame too, because I loved pretty much everything about the non-wolf sections of the game.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Like the Legend of Zelda driving a Spaceship!
1
251
Angry_Megalodon replied
The Legend of Zelda live-action film will release worldwide March 26, 2027
2 3
103
3K
Cyberpunkd replied
  • Featured
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom |OT| The Legend of Link? Tri Harder!
|OT|  2 3 4 5
246
14K
jshackles replied
Zelda Twilight Princess Online - Trailer (mod)
26
2K
SnapShot replied
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom | Review Thread
Analysis Review  2 3 4
170
12K
Robb replied
Top Bottom