Twilight Princess HD (4th March)

[Goron_3]

Well, the herding goats was to get you used to riding Epona. So if you missed that, I'm sorry, but there was a reason.

 

I still believe it was a very charming and interesting way of introducing you to the story, the mechanics, Link's past and many of the characters. But that's what Zelda is about, Zelda isn't a pick up and play game. When I play Mario I don't expect a large intro, nor do I need to know the type of person Mario is or where he comes from. But Zelda is a different franchise.

 

Applying the logic of pick-up and play games with bite size levels to a game like Zelda is broken logic. Often you can spend 2 hours or more in a single dungeon and once you exit that dungeon the new items you earned open up whole new areas of the over world.

 

I wonder if the whinny little bitch ever played Fallout 3 and moaned because there was a similarly large intro where you started life in the Vault with your father and literally went from being born to right through to the day you set foot outside and saw real sunlight for the first time?

 

You see, games like Fallout 3, Zelda or Xenoblade can't be stacked up and held to the same rules of design as games like Mario or Tetris which are much more 'pick up and play' and hence you can just dive in.

 

What's more - just an extra point, I've been playing Zelda since the NES. Hell I even have the Game and Watch Zelda! But you know, for some people Twilight Princess would have been their first Zelda experience, I'm happy for tutorials like this - that actually exist as part of the larger world and overall narrative, that teach you as you play. They are especially good for those getting into the franchise.

 

It's far better than having a separate tutorial mode or having to pour over the instruction booklet. I loved Xenoblade Chronciles X, in many ways it is a masterpiece, but sadly it falls a little short and one of those ways it does fall short is how inaccessible it can be at times. A lack of tutorials and explanations held that game back, possibly because I'm not a masaive JRPG fan or possibly because several facets of game play needed better explanation.

 

Twilight Princess holds upward of 60 hours of game play, if thirty minutes of gently being eased into the world and meeting the cast and getting to know a little about protagonist is a problem, then maybe the guy playing the game is playing a game not suited to his needs!

 

But there was no need to get you used to riding Epona by herding goats. There's just too much padding in the opening section of the game. I thought the same about The Last of Us too - if I sit down and play a game for two-three hours I expect to feel as though I'm making some progress.

 

No idea why you're getting so aggressive towards him. 'Whiny little bitch'...are you 12? He is one of the most respected video game reviewers out there - if you don't agree with his point just make a suitable response, no need to get so angry. He says at the end of the review that it is one his favourite games. If he doesn't analyse every section of the game he'd basically have a 2 minute review that consisted of 'Link wakes up, does 3 dungeons, gets the Master Sword and then does more dungeons'.

 

Oh, and no one ever claimed that Twilight Princess is a pick up and play game. He simply states that, in his opinion, the game doesn't respect your time enough compared to other games (including games from the same franchise).

[Fierce_LiNk]

This is EXACTLY how I feel and it's a big issue for me. This point really hit home when I played Skyward Sword. Skip to the 12:00 mark in this video.

 

 

Link making grunting noises and juts banging on the crystal was just stupid, as was having to choose a response which had no real bearing of the outcome. Here was his childhood friend, sacrificing herself and being encased in crystal but Link remains relatively motionless. No screaming her name and saying a meaningful goodbye, just him grunting and hitting the thing. It really ruined what little immersion I had and it was this exact moment that I realized that I wanted voice acting in Zelda.

 

Yeah, completely agree. As a storytelling experience, the Zelda series has stagnated and does need new ideas to improve this aspect.

 

Because you never hear Link speak directly, it does make it difficult to relate to him as a main character. Also, like I mentioned before, (this is related to Link and all characters) because you have to press the button before the next part of the "speech" begins, it means that whatever happens on screen can't react as fluidly as it does in other games. It's very immersion breaking. I love Twilight Princess, but I do agree with all of the criticism mentioned and I'm expecting Nintendo to push the series on to fix these issues. They didn't do it in Skyward Sword at all with regards to the storytelling, which was much worse than it was in TP and WW.

 

All of this adds up. If you do relate to the characters through dialogue and if they do react accordingly to what's going on around them (if the world is in peril...which the residents of Castle Town didn't), then it improves the whole experience a billion times over. You get sucked in and the atmosphere increases because of all that.

 

Finally, that epic tune...Midna's Lament. They used it reallllly fucking well and they destroyed the atmosphere by having the enemy music override it. I'm glad the review touched on that. It does completely ruin that section and it's such a shame as that tune and moment were wonderfully crafted.

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

That was a brilliantly constructed review - worth the 40 mins - and can't really see how the reviewer is coming across as "whiny"... and as for being a "little bitch", that's just fucking unnecessarily rude. Smh.

[Goron_3]

That was a brilliantly constructed review - worth the 40 mins - and can't really see how the reviewer is coming across as "whiny"... and as for being a "little bitch", that's just fucking unnecessarily rude. Smh.

 

Glad you enjoyed. The rest of his stuff is superb

[ipaul]

Completed this the other day, overall I enjoyed playing it, virtually no memories of it from 10 years ago so it was genuinely a bit like playing a new Zelda. It's better than I remembered but overall definitely the worst of the 3D Zeldas (never played SS so cant comment there). It just all feels a bit by the numbers, an Ocarina of Time rehash that indulges in fan service for better and worse. OoT, WW and MM are all much better. In particular it stood out a bit that the game really tries to be dark whilst being far far too easy, completely undermining the attempts at darkness. The collectathons feel more tacked on than they ever have.

 

As for what I liked - the dungeons are consistently good. There's not a bad one which is impressive given their variety. The items have some originality although it's a shame their use remains confined to their respective dungeons. I actually don't think the overworld is too big and Wolf Link was actually reasonable to play with. I liked the side characters, particularly canon repair man, the younger Gorons. Midna's pretty great too, I like the ulterior motive she has behind her and she felt likeable yet distant and awkward at the same time.

 

I'd give it probably 8/10. It's good, pretty consistent (dreadful introduction aside) and has flourishes of greatness ocasionally. Worth playing, not a patch on the 3D Zeldas that preceded it.

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

Glad you enjoyed. The rest of his stuff is superb

 

Just watched his SS review - amazing depth in his analysis! : peace:

[Blade]

So I finally completed this last night. I did enjoy the game but it did take me ages to get into it. I forgot how the game played and what happened actually. Its also difficult for me to judge it as for me compared to recent games I don't think it has aged very well.

 

The dungeons are absolutely amazing though. I loved them and I enjoyed using the items.

 

For me the main criticism is that I didn't really care for the characters or the different areas. The game doesn't encourage a connection either. I think that I am spoiled with narrative heavy games that any adventure/action/rpg that doesn't have a decent story or characters to care for just doesn't do it for me anymore. With the exception of the dungeons and some side quests I found the game a bit dull to be honest and some parts were a drag.

 

I wanted more Zant. He could have been made into such a bad ass. In the end he was just a pathetic wimp who you actually had little interaction with through the entire game.

[Glen-i]

I wanted more Zant. He could have been made into such a bad ass. In the end he was just a pathetic wimp who you actually had little interaction with through the entire game.

 

Yeah, it's such a bizarre personality shift.

 

But I've gotten over it, oddly enough. And it's because of Hyrule Warriors.

Without that insanity, I don't think he'd be nearly as fun to play as.

 

Every nutty cloud has a hilarious lining.

[Ike]

Beat the main story on Saturday on Hero mode. I've mentioned this before but Hero mode is actually really tough during certain parts where you're forced to use the Wolf form since no heart drop and you can't use potions. I noticed fairies are really rare in this game and forgot you basically had to unlock them. Didn't notice a death counter which is good because mine was probably way to high. :p

 

The HD version feels like it was nearing a little too collect-athon with the added stamps in addition to the bugs and Poe Souls, but I've enjoyed playing through it again. I think this play through has given me a renewed view of the game. It's still not as good as Wind Waker (HD), Ocarina or Majora's Mask but it's up there.

 

The dungeon designs are great, if a bit easy. I always loved the concept of the Temple of Time dungeon and of course Snowpeak Ruins. Iwata mentioned doing a dungeon in Skyward Sword that didn't feel like a dungeon, but they had already done it.

 

The story is a bit disjointed, they really could of done with explaining certain things better:

 

Like Ganondorf's execution and how it follows on from ooT instead of resorting to explaining it the Hyrule Historia.

 

And I still have no idea what happened to Zelda after she healed Midna, I'm guessing she gave Midna her her own life force but doesn't explain how Ganondorf had captured her.

 

 

Zant was a better villain until he removed his mask. The same with Kylo Ren in Star Wars VII :p.

 

Something interesting I noticed with both WW and TP's ending:

 

They both end with Ganondorf being killed.

 

WW he gets the Master Sword thrust into his head, turned to stone and then drowned at the bottom of the sea.

 

TP Link drives the Master Sword through his wound he got during his execution attempt and then Zant finished him off (I guess?).

 

 

 

Kinda interesting if Nintendo follows on from those timelines in future games.

 

A lot of people complain the overworld was a bit empty, but honestly your there for like 5 minutes. TP makes up for having some really nice locations elsewhere.

 

 

 

Also managed to clear the Amiibo bonus dungeon, Cave of Shadows. Honestly I was ready to give up if I hadn't beaten there and then. Not sure if normal mode gives you hearts, but on Hero Mode the only way to heal is by scanning the Wolf Link Amiibo, which can be used once per run, or the Zelda & Sheik Amiibos which can only be scanned once a day so you have to wait a day if you mess up. Doesn't help I suck fighting using the Wolf form.

 

The reward isn't exactly worth it either since I beat it at the end of the game.

 

Wasn't expecting to write this much, but I enjoyed playing through the game again.

[Jonnas]

Kinda interesting if Nintendo follows on from those timelines in future games.

 

Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks did so pretty well with new locations. Meanwhile, Four Swords Adventures (which follows TP) features an entirely new Ganondorf.

[Rob3008]

Extremely late to the party but finally finished this last night. After the epic showdown with the possessed Zelda to then have to ride on horseback was painful. How frustrating must this section have been in the original version without the "improved" Epona controls?!

 

Also I noticed I've space for a third tunic, anyone know what this is or how to get it?

[Rob3008]

Extremely late to the party but finally finished this last night. After the epic showdown with the possessed Zelda to then have to ride on horseback was painful. How frustrating must this section have been in the original version without the "improved" Epona controls?!

 

Also I noticed I've space for a third tunic, anyone know what this is or how to get it?

[Hero-of-Time]

Extremely late to the party but finally finished this last night. After the epic showdown with the possessed Zelda to then have to ride on horseback was painful. How frustrating must this section have been in the original version without the "improved" Epona controls?!

 

Also I noticed I've space for a third tunic, anyone know what this is or how to get it?

 

It's probably the Magic Armour you're missing.

 

http://www.zeldadungeon.net/Zelda11-twilight-princess-malo-mart-and-magic-armor.php

[Hero-of-Time]

Extremely late to the party but finally finished this last night. After the epic showdown with the possessed Zelda to then have to ride on horseback was painful. How frustrating must this section have been in the original version without the "improved" Epona controls?!

 

Also I noticed I've space for a third tunic, anyone know what this is or how to get it?

 

It's probably the Magic Armour you're missing.

 

http://www.zeldadungeon.net/Zelda11-twilight-princess-malo-mart-and-magic-armor.php

[Rob3008]

It's probably the Magic Armour you're missing.

 

http://www.zeldadungeon.net/Zelda11-twilight-princess-malo-mart-and-magic-armor.php

 

Thanks, not much use now I've finished the game!

[Rob3008]

It's probably the Magic Armour you're missing.

 

http://www.zeldadungeon.net/Zelda11-twilight-princess-malo-mart-and-magic-armor.php

 

Thanks, not much use now I've finished the game!

[Rummy]

Thanks, not much use ever!

 

Fixed that for you Remember feeling like it was an absolute troll when I played TP lol.

[Rummy]

Thanks, not much use ever!

 

Fixed that for you Remember feeling like it was an absolute troll when I played TP lol.

[Glen-i]

Fixed that for you Remember feeling like it was an absolute troll when I played TP lol.

 

I always found it useful in the Cave of Ordeals. There's some pretty tough fights there, and let's face it, by that point, Rupees have no other use.

[Glen-i]

Fixed that for you Remember feeling like it was an absolute troll when I played TP lol.

 

I always found it useful in the Cave of Ordeals. There's some pretty tough fights there, and let's face it, by that point, Rupees have no other use.

[Dcubed]

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2016/08/29/the-amazing-survival-story-of-tantalus-the-studio-that-ports-your-favourite-games

 

A nice article about the story of Tantalus (the developer of Twilight Princess HD).

 

Also, confirmation that they're working on an NX title as well

[Happenstance]

Bought myself a cheap knock off pro controller the other day and I'm finding it a lot easier to get into Twilight Princess. It's not a good game to play with the tablet if you don't find it comfortable.

 

Anyway, I forget the name of the dungeon I'm in but it's the one with all the monkeys. I haven't really played Twilight Princess since the Wii first came out but I'm actually enjoying it this time around without all the motion controls.