Twilight Princess: Best Zelda Game Ever or...

[Ashley]

Best Zelda game ever?

I just finished the game today (late bloomer, I know) but I really adored it. I bought the GC version but played it on the Wii (because the Wii was hooked up to the nicer TV, but I am taking my GC with me when I get married). The story was extremely good, it was fun to have an adult-Link game, and I found the difficulty just right. Plus it was LONG! I logged 103 hours and I didn't do most of the sidequests. Most things I could figure out what to do without too much trouble, but it was challenging enough to keep going. Good variety of puzzles, too.

I'm sure there's been plenty of other Twilight Princess threads, but I didn't want to spoil anything for myself and plus, I'm the admin, I can make a duplicate thread if I want. =P

So what did you enjoy about it? What didn't you like?

[Gelka]

I really didn't like the game much. My dad did though. He printed this like 200 page cheat guide off the internet. He refused to go any further without first consulting it also. >< I have to admit though swinging the wii remote to kill the bad guys is fun! ^^

[Peanut]

Eh, I enjoyed Twilight Princess but also felt that it fell short of being the greatest Zelda game of all time. I loved the entire feel of the game, there is no Zelda game that is more epic then this one. However, it felt like the first three dungeons took up half the game...which would be fine if the last 5 dungeons weren't significantly more important then the first 3.

[spoiler]I also didn't like how there was no good reason to want to kill Ganondorf. I mean the only reason why you even went after the guy is because he gave his power to Zant and because of the sages saying he was a bad guy. But, he never did anything in front of you to support this. He just sat in Hyrule waiting for you to come and kill him. This is my main problem with Twilight Princess, if you are unfamiliar with The Legend of Zelda and don't know that Ganondorf has been the main villain for the past few games, you would wonder why you are fighting him.[/spoiler]

Besides that, I loved the sword fighting in this game. Especially in the final boss fight...though I kind of wish there were more oponents to use those moves on...So yeah, good game just not as great as it should have been...

[Reon]

I'm the admin, I can make a duplicate thread if I want. =P

Plus your getting married ^^ So until after the marriage, we can't whine or complain about anything you do - only say CONGRATULATIONS =D!!!

And... I've only touched the game Twilight Princess, never actually "played". To many of my friends have Xbox 360's ... 0.o

[Shiningmonk_e]

I like LOZ:TP but I don't think it's the best zelda ever. My personal favorite is A Link to the Past for the SNES. Man I love that game!

[Fantasy Dreamer]

I really liked it a lot, too, Ash. But as for it being the best Zelda game... well, I haven't played all of the Zelda games that have been made, so I can't exactly say its the best. But out of the ones I've played, I'd say its the best out of those.

I really liked the storyline and the plot a lot. The sword play was awesome, and actually more like a a real sword, not to mention, being able to draw and use your sword on horseback was more than amazing. I also liked...

[SPOILER] that in this version, it was kind of implied that Link had a love interest other than Zelda. I mean, to say that they love each other because he met her as a kid and promised to help her and ended up saving her has always been a bit of a stretch for me. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind ZeldaxLink pairing, but for Link to have a childhood friend that he obviously cared for in some way, and to have such 'touching' moments with her (like when she got her memories back and such), was refreshing. Its more likely that the unlikely hero from the peasant village in the woods would end up with the mayor's daughter as apposed to the princess of the whole nation/world.[/SPOILER]

But I guess that's just my two cents... :p Regardless, though, I really liked the game, and that's one of the very many reasons.

[Robin Firedrake]

I liked the game! And Peanut, what the heck do you MEAN he didn't do anything? He makes Zant go out into the world and turn it to twilight and take over Hyrule castle. That sounds a bit like something to me. Plus, epicness. Sword fight with king of evil = epic win. Though the replayability is very lacking.

[Cognitive Gear]

I really enjoyed this game, but not nearly as much as other games in the series.

Pros:

+Fun Swordplay
+Link actually wears some sort of armor.
+Unique-ish art style.

Cons:

-Peanut's spoiler text.
-Easiest Zelda game yet. (IMO)
-Too short. (May be related to the previous point...)
-Super slow beginning.
-Game does nothing really new.

It was still a solid game, though. Definitely enjoyable.

[Peanut]

I liked the game! And Peanut, what the heck do you MEAN he didn't do anything? He makes Zant go out into the world and turn it to twilight and take over Hyrule castle. That sounds a bit like something to me. Plus, epicness. Sword fight with king of evil = epic win. Though the replayability is very lacking.

Addmitingly, it has been two years since I've played the game. However, I don't recall any instance where Ganondorf told/encouraged/did anything to make Zant go out into Hyrule and do what he did. He did give him his power, though and, if you interpreted things a certain way, I could see how you could come to that conclusion. With that being said, without a statement within the game saying something along the lines of "Ganondorf made Zant do these things" then ultimately what Ganondorf did is rather subjective. Still, even if I was mistaken, I don't think Ganondorf was controlling Zant like some sort of puppet. It really seemed like Zant choose to do these things (mostly from his lack of remorse and already corrupt beginnings) which means he alone should have had to pay for them. But, eh, those are just my thoughts...

[Kkun]

This game is fan-freaking-tastic. It's my favorite of all of the Zelda games. I played it on the Wii. Using the Wii remotes made for what I considered to be an almost flawless gaming experience. I adore the control scheme. My only complaint about the game is that I never felt too threatened by any of the bosses. It was like "Oh, I'll just use the item I gained in this dungeon in some way." Still, phenomenal. I want to play it again at some point very soon.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

TP's dungeons were too easy to the point of frustration. I wanted some serious challenge.

Then again, everyone talks about how hard the Ice Dungeon/Temple is in LTTP as well as the Water Temple in OOT. I found them to be incredibly easy. XD But seriously, only having to hold one small key at a time in TP doesn't make the game any hard.

And the boss battles, as epic as they were, provided only some items to have no use besides for those boss battles. Lame. (The spinny disc of uselessness?)

Otherwise, I still thoroughly enjoyed TP. =)

[Peanut]

TP's dungeons were too easy to the point of frustration. I wanted some serious challenge.

Then again, everyone talks about how hard the Ice Dungeon/Temple is in LTTP as well as the Water Temple in OOT. I found them to be incredibly easy. XD But seriously, only having to hold one small key at a time in TP doesn't make the game any hard.

What Ryan doesn't mention is that he is and has been very good at The Legend of Zelda Games (come to think of it, you beat the Water Temple for me...and the Shadow Temple as well I think...but that's irrelevant). Though I didn't mention this before, these were my other problems with Twilight Princess. The first three dungeons were understandably easy, but that last few were a little to easy for me. The boss battles I can excuse because they were epic and that's all I usually ask for from boss battles, but the temples should have been more difficult.

[Midori]

A lot of what I love about Twilight Princess is the tiny details. For example: Examine Link standing normally in a field. Now examine how he stands when there's an enemy nearby. Even his basic standing posture (in both human and wolf forms) is subtly different in both cases. There are all sorts of things like that that make you feel like Link is alive. That's one thing that Nintendo is really good at.

My theory on Twilight Princess is that it is three quarters of the best game ever. What was there was very good and definitely worthy of being a zelda game, but it needed a few more months of development. Mind you, with it being developed as a Gamecube game and then the Wii bearing down on it, it was just a victim of unfortunate timing.

Anyway, I am very glad I purchased it. Being a Zelda fan from the very first game, I had moments during the game where I almost cried from nostalgia. Particularly just from wandering around Hyrule Field and breathing the atmosphere in all the various places...the overworld of this game is just amazing. It just oozes the same atmosphere I felt while I was playing the first Zelda game when I was 5-10. Man, now I want to play it again.

I do agree that at times it was disappointingly easy or tedious, especially the boss fights. Next time I play it I shall go without any heart containers or optional items (not like there are many nowadays).

Also, Midna is my favorite sidekick ever.

[Nate]

Though the replayability is very lacking.

QFT.

I played the GC version of Twilight Princess, mainly because I wanted to play it on the system it was made for. It was an act of defiance against Nintendo for delaying it for no good reason JUST to get people to buy a Wii on launch day.

Also, Link has always been left-handed, and making him a righty in the Wii version is fail. It's not a "ZOMG THAY ROONED ZELDA 4EVER!!!!111!!!!cos(0)!!" type deal but it's an important part of Link's character, at least to me. Plus, the control scheme. I know people say it's good and "immersive" and whatever but seriously I just want to swing a sword, not leap around my living room holding a piece of plastic. Pressing B works just fine, I've never not felt immersed in a Zelda game JUST because I have to press a button. If that was the only thing keeping you from feeling immersed in previous Zelda games then why do you even play them?

The game itself. It lacked replayability and it lacked interesting bosses. Well actually, Ganondorf was interesting if you used the fishing rod in the battle with him but otherwise not. The dungeons were fun, and the sidequests were worthless. I beat it and tried to play it again but it was so boring the second time I couldn't make it through.

Midna is my favorite Zelda character.

I disliked the graphics. It suffers from the "BROWN IS REALISM" crap a lot of games suffer from these days. Wind Waker's graphics were superior. Heck even Ocarina of Time's graphics were superior, and that's a freaking N64 game. There's no excuse for why TP looked the way it did.

In short, it was an acceptable Zelda game. Not epic enough to topple Ocarina of Time, and not fun enough to sit in the top five. To its credit it is better than the original game, as well as Zelda II. However every other Zelda game is just crafted so much better, with worlds that feel more alive and interesting. And they have, y'know, COLORS.

Except for Link's Awakening.

[Bobtheduck]

Midna is my favorite zelda character ever.

Other than that, I didn't get far enough in this game to really judge, because I don't have easy access to a wii, and when I do it's always Wii sports or Wii Play or Wii fit or Wii do household chores or Wii walk down the street to the corner market or...

[Mr. SmartyPants]

What Ryan doesn't mention is that he is and has been very good at The Legend of Zelda Games (come to think of it, you beat the Water Temple for me...and the Shadow Temple as well I think...but that's irrelevant). Though I didn't mention this before, these were my other problems with Twilight Princess. The first three dungeons were understandably easy, but that last few were a little to easy for me. The boss battles I can excuse because they were epic and that's all I usually ask for from boss battles, but the temples should have been more difficult.

I was just trying to keep a low profile. =p

But yeah, Zelda dungeons have always been easy for me, granted Master Quest upped itself in the difficulty of the dungeons. Dodogo's Cavern... holy frick... But for some reason, the Forest Temple suddenly became super easy. XD The Forest Temple I considered the most difficult in OOT (though not saying much. Simply took the longest time) suddenly became the easiest in Master Quest. Funny, I think.

They need to make all future Zelda games have really difficult dungeons that people will get frustrated with. =p

[blkmage]

Except for Link's Awakening.

I only played Link's Awakening DX, so that statement caused me some confusion for a few minutes.

[MangArtist]

I liked the game.(more so on the GC) The ending was awesome! Zant was cool up till the end, though. T_T
I'm still curious as to what Zant did to Ganondorf at the end. O_o

Fantasy Dreamer:
[spoiler]Link had 3 girls in Twilight Princess. XD[/spoiler]
Peanut: They probably expect everyone to play all the other games and hate him right off the bat after all the trouble he caused in Hyrule before. =P But I can see what you mean.


They better continue the story... T_T Spirit Tracks looks lame.

[Kkun]

QFT.

I played the GC version of Twilight Princess, mainly because I wanted to play it on the system it was made for. It was an act of defiance against Nintendo for delaying it for no good reason JUST to get people to buy a Wii on launch day.

Also, Link has always been left-handed, and making him a righty in the Wii version is fail. It's not a "ZOMG THAY ROONED ZELDA 4EVER!!!!111!!!!cos(0)!!" type deal but it's an important part of Link's character, at least to me. Plus, the control scheme. I know people say it's good and "immersive" and whatever but seriously I just want to swing a sword, not leap around my living room holding a piece of plastic. Pressing B works just fine, I've never not felt immersed in a Zelda game JUST because I have to press a button. If that was the only thing keeping you from feeling immersed in previous Zelda games then why do you even play them?

The game itself. It lacked replayability and it lacked interesting bosses. Well actually, Ganondorf was interesting if you used the fishing rod in the battle with him but otherwise not. The dungeons were fun, and the sidequests were worthless. I beat it and tried to play it again but it was so boring the second time I couldn't make it through.

Midna is my favorite Zelda character.

I disliked the graphics. It suffers from the "BROWN IS REALISM" crap a lot of games suffer from these days. Wind Waker's graphics were superior. Heck even Ocarina of Time's graphics were superior, and that's a freaking N64 game. There's no excuse for why TP looked the way it did.

In short, it was an acceptable Zelda game. Not epic enough to topple Ocarina of Time, and not fun enough to sit in the top five. To its credit it is better than the original game, as well as Zelda II. However every other Zelda game is just crafted so much better, with worlds that feel more alive and interesting. And they have, y'know, COLORS.

Except for Link's Awakening.

TL;DR version: Nate is a curmudgeon.

<3

[Nate]

Dodogo's Cavern... holy frick... But for some reason, the Forest Temple suddenly became super easy. XD The Forest Temple I considered the most difficult (though not saying much. Simply took the longest time) in OOT suddenly became the easiest in Master Quest.

I had a similar experience. The Deku Tree was different, but not too rough, Dodongo's Cavern was a nightmare, Jabu-Jabu's Belly was tougher, and the Forest Temple and Fire Temple were really hard too.

I was dreading the Water Temple because that one gave me so many problems in the original game but...the Water Temple is ridiculously super easy in the Master Quest. And every dungeon after that was a cakewalk. I dunno if it was just that I got into the groove of the new puzzles easier or what, but after the Fire Temple it was no problem.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Oh man... the Water Temple in MQ was an absolute JOKE. I beat that thing in a record time. XD

I thought that the Fire, Shadow, and Spirit were somewhat challenging. Of the three, I think the Spirit was the most difficult. Still, every dungeon all pale in comparison to Dodongo's Cavern. XD

[Cognitive Gear]

Oh man... the Water Temple in MQ was an absolute JOKE. I beat that thing in a record time. XD

I thought that the Fire, Shadow, and Spirit were somewhat challenging. Of the three, I think the Spirit was the most difficult. Still, every dungeon all pale in comparison to Dodongo's Cavern. XD

It's true. The only real complaint I had about Master Quest was that all of the enemies had been increased in difficulty EXCEPT for the bosses. That was a huge letdown.

But other than that, Master Quest was awesome. I can only hope that they offer more things in it's line of difficulty in the future.

[ich1990]

I agree with what most people have been saying here. I played the GC version of Twilight Princess and had a very enjoyable time doing so. The details, more than anything else, were what made TP such a blast to play. Simple things like being able to swing your sword while running literally had me transfixed. I probably spent twenty minutes just running around while slashing with my sword.

That is not the only great new feature, though. The armor, as has been mentioned, is amazingly cool looking and is very distinctive. The magic armor in particular is sweet looking. Speaking of graphics, I am going to disagree with Nate and say that it is the best looking LoZ game so far. I guess people will just have to look at screenshots and judge for themselves.

While we are at it, let's not forget double hookshots. That is actually something I joked about way back when I first played OoT. I didn't think they would actually put it in a game. Horseback fighting has also been the dream of many of LoZ players, my self included, since OoT.

The fighting is also the best out of any Zelda game so far. There are plenty of new special attacks, great standard enemies (those darknut fights are awesome), a totally epic final boss fight, the aforementioned horseback fighting, and, of course, the ball and chain.

All of this stuff is absolutely wonderful, but it doesn't quite make it the best game in my mind. All of my complaints have already been stated on this thread. The dungeons were easy, the puzzles were uninspired, the plotline was short (I think it only took me around 40 hours to beat everything, including the cave of ordeals), some items were totally useless outside of a dungeon (like the command rod and the spinning disc), and the characters were unmemorable (aside from Midna, of course, who was the best upgrade from Navi imaginable, and Zant).

So, not the best game ever but definitely close. I plan to pick up the wii version some day and try a three heart run.

[Ashley]

Then again, everyone talks about how hard the Ice Dungeon/Temple is in LTTP as well as the Water Temple in OOT. I found them to be incredibly easy. XD But seriously, only having to hold one small key at a time in TP doesn't make the game any hard

You and Nate both get out of my sight. I HATED the Water Temple in OOT, and I hated the Water Temple in TP. Too confusing. Then again, I really think I'm lacking the inherent "gamer's logic" so many boys I know have. I can hear a dialogue box and be completely stumped as to what to do next in more difficult games, but some of male friends instantly "get it."

That's one thing I really like about the direction Wind Waker and Twilight Princess both took -- they were both much easier without being boring. I felt like I was being easily guided into what I was expected to accomplish next. But I realize that's just me, and that a lot of people didn't like the watering down.

Admittedly, the bosses were MUCH MUCH easier than I anticipated. The only really challenging one to me was Ganon beast.

Still, I think that makes Twilight Princess stand out to me is both the artistry (it had, to me, a very unique artistic flavor) and the blend of traditional Zelda elements (3 things to collect followed by 4 things; compass, map, new weapon; etc.) and new ones (like having a different race to the typical three).

[Robin Firedrake]

I do have one complaint. The only truly tough monster(s) was that darknut trio in the caves of ordeal.

[KeybladeWarrior]

I can't say it is the best Zelda game. It was rather easy like OOT and Wind Waker. The graphics were pretty and the storyline was decent. I still think the best Zelda game has not come out yet.

[Jingo Jaden]

In my mind Zelda OOT crushes TP on several levels, although TP was mildly enjoyable on my part I guess the biggest dissapointment was that it was a GC developed game, which made the sword control I hoped would be superior sort of half finished in a way.

[Fantasy Dreamer]

Fantasy Dreamer:
[spoiler]Link had 3 girls in Twilight Princess. XD[/spoiler]

You're right! XD He did. Such a player... Lol

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Midna is my favorite zelda character ever.

This.

Midna made the game for me. I enjoyed the crap out of it, but it wasn't my favorite. That honor actually goes to Wind Waker. However, the interaction and relationship between Link and Midna was the highlight of the game.

[Whitefang]

Good game, yes, but the linearity was restricting on Final Fantasy X levels. It would be acceptable if either the story had a more congruent plot or it was limited to the first 1/3 of the game, but it's just so frustrating to be told where to go in a game where the main character is supposed to be my Link to the game world.

Other than that, I echo most of the other sentiments in the thread.

+ I liked a lot of the characters, though only Midna was developed enough to care for her.
+ Decent boss fights, though very repetitive and entirely uninspired. The only one that required a little thought was Beast Ganon, and only then because I had trouble with the Wii controls to stop him (should have done more training on those goats)
+ Very cool world to explore once you were able to, but many of the locales just felt empty once you found them. Abandoned village should have been optional. Loved riding around on Epona, loved fishing.
+ Music is great. Spent a lot of time in Lake Hylia just sitting around. Needs to be orchestrated next time, though.
+ Wii controls are excellent. Both for swinging the sword and shooting the bow and arrow.
- Simple dungeons. The best and most complete dungeon was probably Snowpeak Ruins, but the saving grace is the atmosphere. I also want to like the Temple of Time, but the dungeon design is ultimately too simple. Though, in retrospect, every dungeon in LoZ is easy, especially if you know what to do. The difference in TP is that there aren't many options to explore.
- Items. The Dominion Rod, Spinner, Ball and Chain, and even Clawshot felt like glorified big keys that you could equip. Ball and Chain is the only one that is useful for the cave of trials (the others are, again, necessary to ensure that you can only complete this cave in the final stages of the game, but they don't help in any other way).
- Right-handed Link. Understandable in that Nintendo has compromised on this before, when they reversed the sprite in A Link to the Past when Link faced east instead of using a new set of sprites. Still, I would have rather used my left hand to swing or just have my right hand control the sword. Either option would have been superior to what they settled on.

Maybe I'm just too old for a kid's game.
Anyway, just my opinions, Nintendo did a really good job on this one, for sure!

And my old opinion stands, aLttP as best GAME ever...ok, maybe a bit generous, but best Zelda for sure.