Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Just in time for the beginning of classes tomorrow, I have completed the game. I beat Ganon, saved Hyrule from his clutches, and freed Midna from her curse. i have completed Twilight Princess
The total game time on my save file is 59 hours, 14 minutes. Unlike some other Legend of Zelda games, this one does not offer you a chance to save after you beat it, nor a master quest version. So, my time does not include the time it took for me to run from the entrance to the castle (I saved right before the boss door) to the boss door, the time it took for me to defeat Ganon in all his forms, or the time it took for the credits to roll and all the loose ends to wrap up (though not completely, and I'll talk about that under the cut). All of that together took 1 hour, 11 minutes, according to the menu records.
I enjoyed playing the game. I could have beaten it in the recorded time, because I spent a good deal of time wandering around trying to gather poe stuff before I realized the 60 poe goal doesn't get you anything very interesting, given the abundance of rupees in the game, but I had gathered over 50 of them.
This was a fun game. I was very glad to see the double clawshot. It makes the game a lot more fun than the way clawshot was in other Zelda games, though I was a little disappointed the designers made the clawshot so picky about what it grabbed (in other Zelda games, you could hook onto a chest and pull yourself over). But what is more disappointing is that the story behind the game has changed so little.
Even with the added elements of the Twilight Realm, the addition of gathering tears of light, and all the other neat and truly innovative stuff that was in this game that hadn't been in previous ones (scents, different hooks, the city in the sky, Midna's help in jumping, etc.), the game's plot is much like the others I've played. You start out as an unknown caught up in events that lead to your awakening as the hero of Hyrule. You have to gather shards of one thing or another. You'll end up fighting Ganon at the end. I'm beginning to agree with some of the criticism that the games are beginning to be too much rehash.
Don't get me wrong; I enjoy the series very much. Twilight Princess was a large part of why I wanted to get Nintendo's new console. But instead of hearing that there's a new Zelda game out, I'd like to hear that the group that put the others together has released a game with similar gameplay but an entirely different story and plot. I love the puzzle-oriented action game style of Legend of Zelda, but I'm getting tired of playing the games and suddenly saying to myself, "Oh, right. I need the Master Sword for that," and "Oh, there's a clawshot target. I wonder where I'll pick that up." A new story done by the same crew would be great for gamers. The new games could even use some of the same tools, because those are cool, but I think a new story would make the gameplay less predictable.
But I think any future LoZ games should definitely include the mirror shield and some sort of gliding tool (like a deku leaf).
Now, about Twilight Princess: In all, a great game. The minigames are fun and not maddeningly difficult. The flow of things is generally good. The speech patterns of the NPCs are very well done and somewhat adaptive. Midna's hints are often useful, though she does often seem to channel Navi (annoying, unhelpful, and one-track repetition) from previous games.
And for the real spoiler material, I got to the end of the game and wondered what the heck Link's dream about Ilia betraying him meant. I mean, Midna had been using me the whole time to get what she wanted, but she was quite open about that and helped me along. I knew I was going to have to fight Zelda as soon as I stepped into the throne room, and I don't think that's what it meant. Ilia recovered her memory and was as sweet as ever, so it wasn't literal. What the heck did it mean?
Also, I was kind of disappointed that after all I'd gone through, and after all the affection shown me by the three leading ladies, Link just leaves everything behind one morning without saying good-bye to anyone and wanders away from Ilia, who has loved him since the beginning of the game and who made Link's eyes brighten every time he saw her.
So, the story in Twilight Princess was a little ragged in the loose ends department. However, I did like that Midna sealed her world off instead of acting as though the two worlds could trade with each other or something. It was fitting after the way the plot had progressed.
One more thing: The music is awesome. I loved all the music, except the Malo Mart grand opening thing. That got old quickly.
Would I recommend the game? Yes, very much so. There are a few parts where it gets a little maddening, like when you have to veer away and then back to get a strike while riding Epona, and when Midna tells you to do one attack but what you need is another one, but those moments are few and far between. By the way, it's the spin attack, not the charge-up-the-blade one that dissipates the dark fogs.
Have fun!
The total game time on my save file is 59 hours, 14 minutes. Unlike some other Legend of Zelda games, this one does not offer you a chance to save after you beat it, nor a master quest version. So, my time does not include the time it took for me to run from the entrance to the castle (I saved right before the boss door) to the boss door, the time it took for me to defeat Ganon in all his forms, or the time it took for the credits to roll and all the loose ends to wrap up (though not completely, and I'll talk about that under the cut). All of that together took 1 hour, 11 minutes, according to the menu records.
I enjoyed playing the game. I could have beaten it in the recorded time, because I spent a good deal of time wandering around trying to gather poe stuff before I realized the 60 poe goal doesn't get you anything very interesting, given the abundance of rupees in the game, but I had gathered over 50 of them.
This was a fun game. I was very glad to see the double clawshot. It makes the game a lot more fun than the way clawshot was in other Zelda games, though I was a little disappointed the designers made the clawshot so picky about what it grabbed (in other Zelda games, you could hook onto a chest and pull yourself over). But what is more disappointing is that the story behind the game has changed so little.
Even with the added elements of the Twilight Realm, the addition of gathering tears of light, and all the other neat and truly innovative stuff that was in this game that hadn't been in previous ones (scents, different hooks, the city in the sky, Midna's help in jumping, etc.), the game's plot is much like the others I've played. You start out as an unknown caught up in events that lead to your awakening as the hero of Hyrule. You have to gather shards of one thing or another. You'll end up fighting Ganon at the end. I'm beginning to agree with some of the criticism that the games are beginning to be too much rehash.
Don't get me wrong; I enjoy the series very much. Twilight Princess was a large part of why I wanted to get Nintendo's new console. But instead of hearing that there's a new Zelda game out, I'd like to hear that the group that put the others together has released a game with similar gameplay but an entirely different story and plot. I love the puzzle-oriented action game style of Legend of Zelda, but I'm getting tired of playing the games and suddenly saying to myself, "Oh, right. I need the Master Sword for that," and "Oh, there's a clawshot target. I wonder where I'll pick that up." A new story done by the same crew would be great for gamers. The new games could even use some of the same tools, because those are cool, but I think a new story would make the gameplay less predictable.
But I think any future LoZ games should definitely include the mirror shield and some sort of gliding tool (like a deku leaf).
Now, about Twilight Princess: In all, a great game. The minigames are fun and not maddeningly difficult. The flow of things is generally good. The speech patterns of the NPCs are very well done and somewhat adaptive. Midna's hints are often useful, though she does often seem to channel Navi (annoying, unhelpful, and one-track repetition) from previous games.
And for the real spoiler material, I got to the end of the game and wondered what the heck Link's dream about Ilia betraying him meant. I mean, Midna had been using me the whole time to get what she wanted, but she was quite open about that and helped me along. I knew I was going to have to fight Zelda as soon as I stepped into the throne room, and I don't think that's what it meant. Ilia recovered her memory and was as sweet as ever, so it wasn't literal. What the heck did it mean?
Also, I was kind of disappointed that after all I'd gone through, and after all the affection shown me by the three leading ladies, Link just leaves everything behind one morning without saying good-bye to anyone and wanders away from Ilia, who has loved him since the beginning of the game and who made Link's eyes brighten every time he saw her.
So, the story in Twilight Princess was a little ragged in the loose ends department. However, I did like that Midna sealed her world off instead of acting as though the two worlds could trade with each other or something. It was fitting after the way the plot had progressed.
One more thing: The music is awesome. I loved all the music, except the Malo Mart grand opening thing. That got old quickly.
Would I recommend the game? Yes, very much so. There are a few parts where it gets a little maddening, like when you have to veer away and then back to get a strike while riding Epona, and when Midna tells you to do one attack but what you need is another one, but those moments are few and far between. By the way, it's the spin attack, not the charge-up-the-blade one that dissipates the dark fogs.
Have fun!