Official Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess thread

Another day with no school (cancelled this time) means epic Zelda playtime, to the tune of 9 1/2 hours. I was able to finish the Temple of Time, Sky Temple and Twilight Palace. I also found all the heart containers and golden bugs, and I upgraded my bombs and arrows to max. Only for very few heart containers did I have to check a FAQ.

The last thing to do before Ganon is beat the Cave of Ordeals, which should be done tomorrow. Time on the clock is just over 27 hours, so I'm probably looking at 30 hours for completion.

I do have a question: the knight who teaches you the skills is clearly Link from another era. Were there ever any hints or developer comments towards which Link that was?
 
Garcia said:
I'm also replaying TP. 2nd run after beating it right when it got released.

Definitely savouring it even more than I did back then. I'm 29 hours in and I just beated the monstruosly epic 4th boss. Thrilling battle despite having experienced it beforehand, seriously WOW.

Taking my time to explore Hyrule, collect Poes, complete sub-quests, find caves, etc.

I seriously didn't remember this game being so insanely huge and packed with stuff to do. I mean of course it's a Zelda, but holy shit ! it just hit me today after realizing I've been playing this for almost 30 hours and I'm still a long, LONG way to go.

Such a great experience and lovely visuals. In fact I've been paying way more attention to all the details that you don't notice while playing at a normal pace. For the first time I noticed the awe-inspiring starry nights you can sight see in Kakariko Village, BEAUTIFUL. Also the way Hyrule Field slowly changes it's hue during sunrise and sunset, and how your sword turns orangey as the sun fades out. Expierencing sunsets is such a relaxing experience in this game. Makes me wonder how insanely epic the same effect would've been had it happened in Shadow of the Colossus.

Anyway. What an experience this is. 4 years after beating it once I barely remember anything. I had absolutely forgotten how surreal and fantastic the setting was for the Master Sword Grove for example, and like that, many, MANY tidbits of story, characters. It's like playing the game for the first time sans the holyshit-effect it had on me during the first run.

This makes me excited to replay the game. I, like you, beat it a few weeks after launch and have nearly forgotten everything about it. I think it's due time to replay it.
 
22 hours in, finished Snowpeaks (what an awesome dungeon), and just collecting bugs/poes/hearts/fishing.

I remember very little from playing this four plus years ago, which is great because all the little details of the puzzles are completely fresh. Like many, I think I unfairly treated the game the first time through too; I enjoyed it, but I rushed through it, and held it up to expectations coming out of Wind Waker at every opportunity. Now without that looming over me, I'm free to enjoy it as its own experience, and it's very good so far.
 
I'm glad to see this thread bumped. Count me in for +1 on the Twilight Princess Defense Force! This was actually my first Zelda game and, boy, did it floor me when it came out! I guess it being my first Zelda left me exempt from the rehash criticisms, but I've gone back and played the other Zeldas and I still think this installment is among the best. I actually loved the vast landscapes, galloping across them and looking for hidden caves and whatnot. The intro is a bit tedious and the characters aren't as rich as in MM, but the magnificent dungeons more than made up for all that.
 
Replaying it again since the game first launched, crazy to think that it's been close to 5 years. I never understood all the hate some people give the game, I enjoyed it when it first came out and I'm really enjoying it now. So much in fact that I find my self looking forward to Skyward Sword, and even crazier is that after I'm done with TP, I'm going to go and start a new game in Spirit Tracks and actually finish it this time. Ha.

I still want to play the GCN version of TP, as much as I enjoy the game, I hate motion controls. It's a shame that the GCN version doesn't support widescreen...
 
fart town usa said:
Replaying it again since the game first launched, crazy to think that it's been close to 5 years. I never understood all the hate some people give the game, I enjoyed it when it first came out and I'm really enjoying it now. So much in fact that I find my self looking forward to Skyward Sword, and even crazier is that after I'm done with TP, I'm going to go and start a new game in Spirit Tracks and actually finish it this time. Ha.

I still want to play the GCN version of TP, as much as I enjoy the game, I hate motion controls. It's a shame that the GCN version doesn't support widescreen...

I just bought the GCN version off of eBay and I'm playing it through the Wii on an SDTV. Am I going insane or does the GCN game look noticeably more vivid and colorful than the Wii version? I wish I had two identical TVs to compare simultaneously, but playing the Wii and GCN openings back-to-back, it's like the Wii version isn't color-corrected. But it's just subtle enough that I might be seeing things.

Besides that, the far less obtrusive HUD, proper map alignment, and the tighter controls are making for a much more enjoyable playing experience so far. I had re-started on the Wii recently and *hated* the waggle swinging, even though I was totally fine with it in 2006. Weird.
 
Interesting that this thread was bumped. I just had a strange dream about Skyward Sword, I dreamt the game would have machine guns, under water exploration, stealth, and a final mission where you have to take down a worm like alien.
 
Joe Shlabotnik said:
I just bought the GCN version off of eBay and I'm playing it through the Wii on an SDTV. Am I going insane or does the GCN game look noticeably more vivid and colorful than the Wii version? I wish I had two identical TVs to compare simultaneously, but playing the Wii and GCN openings back-to-back, it's like the Wii version isn't color-corrected. But it's just subtle enough that I might be seeing things.

Besides that, the far less obtrusive HUD, proper map alignment, and the tighter controls are making for a much more enjoyable playing experience so far. I had re-started on the Wii recently and *hated* the waggle swinging, even though I was totally fine with it in 2006. Weird.
I found this video real quick and it certainly looks like the GC has better colors.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFDqbIZ5jMA

I've been meaning to replay Twilight Princess for the last year or more, but I've been wanting to play it on gamecube to avoid the waggle and have Link as a lefty again. Not anything game breaking, but it would be nice to play it GC this time. Although, wii has widescreen...
 
Oh, I could live with it.

It's just that the first time I played Twilight Princess I still had an sdtv so I just played it 4:3. Now that I have a widescreen I wouldn't mind playing it in that format.
 
Odd that this was bumped again only a couple days ago. I'm also replaying the game after re-purchasing a Wii. I played it a few years ago, but sadly never quite finished. But I knew when I got my Wii I had to have TP as well. I love everything about this game, even the slow opening hour.

Surprised to hear some people didn't care for it. This is the best Zelda since LTTP, imo.
 
I too am replaying the game after buying a copy last week.
I always thought it went WW >> TP but it's really just WW > TP.

Also, Link is a lot more expressive than I remembered.

Also, the whole "Save Kakariko Town" story arc that culminates with your first King Bulbin battle on the bridge has to be the best story/action sequence in any Zelda game. I kind of felt let down at the end, knowing that I'd be back in a dungeon before too long.
 
Just picked up a used Gamecube copy today after taking advantage of Gamestop's B2G2 sale. I original bought TP on day one of the Wii launch, but I could never really enjoy it because... I hate Wii controls.

So I started a brand new game today. Wow, I'm basically playing the game for the first time as I literally don't remember any of the 10 hours I put into the game back in 2006. Definitely looking forward to finally, truly, experiencing this game.
 
Reluctant-Hero said:
Just picked up a used Gamecube copy today after taking advantage of Gamestop's B2G2 sale. I original bought TP on day one of the Wii launch, but I could never really enjoy it because... I hate Wii controls.

So I started a brand new game today. Wow, I'm basically playing the game for the first time as I literally don't remember any of the 10 hours I put into the game back in 2006. Definitely looking forward to finally, truly, experiencing this game.

Don't you love that? The only thing I like about having a truly shit memory.
 
Twilight Princess is pretty damn incredible compared to most other games. The dungeons are so polished and Nintendo puts so much thought into it, it really shows.
 
After finishing off OoT3D I went and picked up the Wii version. Well, I finished my replay of the Wii version (had only played the GC version before). I...dunno, I think maybe I was too hard on this game at the time. It's a lot better than I remembered. I know I said some bad things about how the artstyle did not hold up but y'know what, it still looks good for a Gamecube port (course at the time of saying it I didn't have any component cables).

The beginning wolf link and tear collecting portions can go rot in hell though. Also, the economy is terrible, so many rupees but nothing to buy. The arbitrary wallet cap is annoying especially when you can't pick up a rupee and have to put it back in the chest. Poes can go the fuck the way, why didn't Nintendo keep a chart for them like they did for the bugs?

Still, I think this might be my favourite Zelda game. The best dungeon and story wise. Also "Ballad of Twilight" is the greatest Zelda track.
 
Crewnh said:
After finishing off OoT3D I went and picked up the Wii version. Well, I finished my replay of the Wii version (had only played the GC version before). I...dunno, I think maybe I was too hard on this game at the time. It's a lot better than I remembered. I know I said some bad things about how the artstyle did not hold up but y'know what, it still looks good for a Gamecube port (course at the time of saying it I didn't have any component cables).

The beginning wolf link and tear collecting portions can go rot in hell though. Also, the economy is terrible, so many rupees but nothing to buy. The arbitrary wallet cap is annoying especially when you can't pick up a rupee and have to put it back in the chest. Poes can go the fuck the way, why didn't Nintendo keep a chart for them like they did for the bugs?

Still, I think this might be my favourite Zelda game. The best dungeon and story wise. Also "Ballad of Twilight" is the greatest Zelda track.
Twilight Princess is better than Ocarina o Time, now Ocarina of Time was more revolutionary for its time blah blah but Twilight Princess is simply the better game. I told myself not to play it again before Skyward Sword came out to avoid Zelda fatigue but I couldn't help myself. This game is just so immense and detailed I discover something new everytime I play it and I've finished it more than 4 times already. This is also a title that I just can't rush, I need to absorb every inch of the experience every time I play it.

Yet, it has one big flaw and that is the fact that Nintendo fired all the texture artists and discovered the bloom button for the first time. Still the style, art and great 3D models save the game from looking like a turd if only we got some higher res textures.
 
[Nintex] said:
Twilight Princess is better than Ocarina o Time, now Ocarina of Time was more revolutionary for its time blah blah but Twilight Princess is simply the better game. I told myself not to play it again before Skyward Sword came out to avoid Zelda fatigue but I couldn't help myself. This game is just so immense and detailed I discover something new everytime I play it and I've finished it more than 4 times already. This is also a title that I just can't rush, I need to absorb every inch of the experience every time I play it.

Yet, it has one big flaw and that is the fact that Nintendo fired all the texture artists and discovered the bloom button for the first time. Still the style, art and great 3D models save the game from looking like a turd if only we got some higher res textures.
Agreed about TP having some great models and an art style that people were way too hard on.
Disagreed about it being better than OoT. The pacing of the game was still shot to hell thanks to all the weird unintuitive overworld stuff and the blatant padding present in many of the wolf sections.
 
Crewnh said:
The beginning wolf link and tear collecting portions can go rot in hell though. Also, the economy is terrible, so many rupees but nothing to buy. The arbitrary wallet cap is annoying especially when you can't pick up a rupee and have to put it back in the chest. Poes can go the fuck the way, why didn't Nintendo keep a chart for them like they did for the bugs?
To be honest this is a problem with most Zelda games in general. I had this problem in OoT for example, and you don't even get a proper wallet unless you collect all the Gold Skullatas.

It's also a problem in the original Legend of Zelda too and all the other 3D Zelda (except Wind Waker, fucking Tingle).
 
Big One said:
To be honest this is a problem with most Zelda games in general. I had this problem in OoT for example, and you don't even get a proper wallet unless you collect all the Gold Skullatas.

It's also a problem in the original Legend of Zelda too and all the other 3D Zelda (except Wind Waker, fucking Tingle).

more than tingle's fees is the fact that you can carry 5000 rupees at once, if I remember correctly, whereas TP got stuck at, what? 1000? terrible, specially because nintendo put nothing but rupees in the chests.
 
Nintendo-4Life said:
TP love? FINALLY!

This game was/is amazing. I still have no idea why it got the backlash it has gotten.

Because the game has the worst pacing, particularly the beginning, of any Zelda game I can think of. It drags sooooooooo muuuuuuuuuch, meandering about with over long tutorials, story sequences and stupid tears of light hunts. I love Twilight Princess but fuck the opening of the game. Way too many hours spent doing dick all.

The rest of the game is mint though.
 
EatChildren said:
Because the game has the worst pacing, particularly the beginning, of any Zelda game I can think of. It drags sooooooooo muuuuuuuuuch, meandering about with over long tutorials, story sequences and stupid tears of light hunts. I love Twilight Princess but fuck the opening of the game. Way too many hours spent doing dick all.

The rest of the game is mint though.
This is the long and short of it for me. I loved the graphics, art direction, dungeons, NPCs, and overall arc of the story, but it had the worst flow of any Zelda game in recent memory. I think people would be looking back on it much more fondly if it weren't so Goddamn clunky.
 
Nintendo-4Life said:
TP love? FINALLY!

This game was/is amazing. I still have no idea why it got the backlash it has gotten.

some part of me remains disappointed because nothing came out of the E3 2004 tech-demo. Everything in that video looked so impressive and grand and open, that getting brown, boring, almost empty hallways for an overworld was kind of disappointing.

TP does have its flaws.
 
EatChildren said:
Because the game has the worst pacing, particularly the beginning, of any Zelda game I can think of. It drags sooooooooo muuuuuuuuuch, meandering about with over long tutorials, story sequences and stupid tears of light hunts. I love Twilight Princess but fuck the opening of the game. Way too many hours spent doing dick all.

The rest of the game is mint though.
It's kind of funny because I didn't notice any of that in my first playthrough. It wasn't until the second one that I thought "wait this is still an opening sequence isn't it?"

But I mean really now, that's doesn't justify the hate this game got at all.
 
The Twilight Realm really was the worst. Not the concept or story place or anything but actually playing in it. It's visually intimidating sometimes but that's overlooked by the fact that everytime you enter it, you're forced to do this very linear progression collecting light tears or doing some other bullshit. Also killing those things gets boring after the very first time you figure out how to kill them.

And then once it's all finished you have this area you've already been through, forcing you to explore again to get the secret shit in the game. It's just so bleh by that point.
 
Big One said:
The Twilight Realm really was the worst. Not the concept or story place or anything but actually playing in it. It's visually intimidating sometimes but that's overlooked by the fact that everytime you enter it, you're forced to do this very linear progression collecting light tears or doing some other bullshit. Also killing those things gets boring after the very first time you figure out how to kill them.

And then once it's all finished you have this area you've already been through, forcing you to explore again to get the secret shit in the game. It's just so bleh by that point.

absolutely valid complaints. i am replaying the game and i agree. i would actually levy the same criticism at METROID PRIME 2, though there you have the benefit of a less linear structure in that you're not chasing dots on the map. that said, there is a surprising amount of variation when you are looking for the light seeds, and something as simple as getting inside a house or scaring a bug out of a fireplace by lighting it becomes its own little puzzle. it is definitely "lesser" gameplay as far as the rest is concerned, but i actually get in the groove of it and enjoy the fact that it's a complete 180 from normal zelda thinking. a whole game like that would be horrendous, mind you, but in little pieces it's not too bad. that structure ends after the third dungeon, correct? i just finished up the one for kakariko, about to go up and meet the gorons. i can't recall how long the light seeds remain an element.

the implementation of a "dark world" should never mean that it's simply visually drab. both the aforementioned games could have handled it much better. in MP2 i expected more shifting between the two realms for puzzle solving via manipulating morphed geography, etc., and the same for TP; neither delivered on the promise of that.

still both awesome as hell, i should say.
 
sphinx said:
some part of me remains disappointed because nothing came out of the E3 2004 tech-demo. Everything in that video looked so impressive and grand and open, that getting brown, boring, almost empty hallways for an overworld was kind of disappointing.

TP does have its flaws.
I believe they started from scratch in 2005 so it's actually kinda impressive what they managed to build in just 2 years.
 
I think i'm the only person in the world who enjoyed TP opening sequence. I generally enjoy the slow, village life beginnings in games. Of course I like my MM openings too but there was something special about TP.

Blows my mind when I hear people say stuff like "omg, it has such a boring 6 hours opening!". Wtf? it only took me around 2 hours or so on my first playthrough (to reach the Forest Temple).
 
I enjoyed the village sequence as well, the set up of Link's life, village and friends. It was meaningful to set him up as a normal rancher dude and keep him grounded. It's just every thing with the wolf form during those early hours is absolutely dreadful.

Also my memory is probably bad but this Link is a lot more expressive than I remembered. Still not as entertaining as Wind Waker Link, but still cool. I do enjoy the little glare he does every time Midna hops on his back.
 
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