Sunday, March 25, 2007

The Legend of Zelda : Twilight Princess

I'm ten hours into the flagship title for the Nintendo Wii, The Legend of Zelda : Twilight Princess, and the game has thus far turned out every bit as amazing as I hoped it would be.

The controls are highly intuitive and easy to grasp, with the Wiimote and the nunchuck making a perfect pairing. It looked awkward in the pictures that were released of other people playing the game, really, but in practice I don't even notice anything but the game experience in front of me.

And it's yet another Zelda masterpiece in a long history of them. It plays like another Ocarina of Time, with a lot of the same systems introduced in that game, such as locking on to a foe. Yet it still has the same musical tones that date back to the first Legend of Zelda game, such as making a discovery and opening a chest.

In fact, that's the only real point I have to make about the game, other than I am having a blast with it. As I walk and ride through this newest visit to the world of Hyrule, I am reminded of the glorious past visits I have made. Every little thing that has carried over from previous Zeldas that presents itself to me is a wonderful reminder of those visits, while being new and fresh in this one. Can any long-running series of games make the same claim? I think not.

It's the sheer weight of this evolution of this series that is impressive. Sure, I'm seeing a lot of the same locations I did in the past - Hyrule Field, Kakariko Village, and Death Mountain so far - but this is a whole new adventure and it's introducing new aspects, too. I'll be playing this incredible videogame for some time, no doubt.

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