Zelda: Twilight Princess Discussion (SPOILERS: BEWARE)

[James McGeachie]

thought the Wii was meant to be a next generation console.....

 

You thought wrong. The reality is Nintendo themselves say it's not a "next generation" console, it's a "new generation" console. That's just the way it is...there's 2 next gen systems and one new gen system.

 

Also I guess you can stick with the GC version all you want, just be prepared to have to search for it if you dont have it preordered...and to wait those extra few weeks until after everyone has already played it and spoilers are virtually everywhere

[Babooo]

You thought wrong. The reality is Nintendo themselves say it's not a "next generation" console, it's a "new generation" console. That's just the way it is...there's 2 next gen systems and one new gen system.

 

Also I guess you can stick with the GC version all you want, just be prepared to have to search for it if you dont have it preordered...and to wait those extra few weeks until after everyone has already played it and spoilers are virtually everywhere

 

A new generation console?? What by adding motion sensor controllers?? Lets just wait and see....I have major doubts over the Wii for some reason.

 

And about the GC version, I have no problem being patient and waiting for it. Sometimes I think people are too impatient nowadays..whats with the rush?? As long as you experience what looks to be a superb game then thats fine with me...

[James McGeachie]

I'm not saying that due to it being my personal belief by the way, it's just Nintendo themself said the whole "new gen" thing, since they dont want anyone to think of it as next gen because the reality is it's a Gamecube x 1.5 when it comes to power.

 

So what do you call a system though that doesn't fall into the typical definiton of "next gen", but offers a new gaming experience? New gen seems to fit the bill.

[triforce_keeper]

A new generation console?? What by adding motion sensor controllers?? Lets just wait and see....I have major doubts over the Wii for some reason.

 

And about the GC version, I have no problem being patient and waiting for it. Sometimes I think people are too impatient nowadays..whats with the rush?? As long as you experience what looks to be a superb game then thats fine with me...

 

You're missing the point. Its not all about the motion sensing. All the channels, wiiconnect24, inbuilt speaker, virtual console, MII'S!!! I mean now THAT is all the new generation in my eyes.

[McMad]

You're missing the point. Its not all about the motion sensing. All the channels, wiiconnect24, inbuilt speaker, virtual console, MII'S!!! I mean now THAT is all the new generation in my eyes.

 

Still even though that stuff is cool I'm gonna be honest, If I weren't a Nintendo fanboy and a bitch to the Legend of Zelda series I would get an XBox360 in heartbeat, the online service and the games that are coming are far superior to the other consoles, and it's priced very well for what it offers.

[triforce_keeper]

Still even though that stuff is cool I'm gonna be honest, If I weren't a Nintendo fanboy and a bitch to the Legend of Zelda series I would get an XBox360 in heartbeat, the online service and the games that are coming are far superior to the other consoles, and it's priced very well for what it offers.

 

But you ARE a Nintendo fanboy and a Zelda bitch, so stop talking crazy talk about getting a 360 fool

[McMad]

But you ARE a Nintendo fanboy and a Zelda bitch, so stop talking crazy talk about getting a 360 fool

 

Hey if I had the money I'd get one straight away, but I'm a poor teenager so I'm stuck with just one console for a few years.

 

Zelda better be worth it though, I could get a 360 instead so Nintendo better not let me down with their new titles.

[The3rdChildren]

I already own an Xbox 360 and will be getting a Wii at launch. Wii60 is without a doubt the way to play the game.

 

Regarding whether or not Zelda is worth it... we get a new console Zelda every three or four years and never has one of them been a disappointment. Wind Waker was still a good game, just not a great game. From everything I'm hearing about Twilight Princess I think it would be logical to conclude it will be fantastic and nothing less than.

[Babooo]

I'm not saying that due to it being my personal belief by the way, it's just Nintendo themself said the whole "new gen" thing, since they dont want anyone to think of it as next gen because the reality is it's a Gamecube x 1.5 when it comes to power.

 

So what do you call a system though that doesn't fall into the typical definiton of "next gen", but offers a new gaming experience? New gen seems to fit the bill.

 

Don't worry mate, I wasn't implying that you came up with the term "next generation" yourself.

 

Still even though that stuff is cool I'm gonna be honest, If I weren't a Nintendo fanboy and a bitch to the Legend of Zelda series I would get an XBox360 in heartbeat, the online service and the games that are coming are far superior to the other consoles, and it's priced very well for what it offers.

 

Agreed. I used to be a Nintendo bitch when I was younger and the amount of money I spent on them was awful....Now that I'm older and I look at video games outside of the world of Nintendo I appreciate things more. I think. Really do want a 360 but need to save up. And maybe a Wii along the way....

 

Right now, its only the subject of this thread that makes me want to get a Wii. And not much more besides.

 

[Emasher]

well i was reserected by watching the movies again so yea that was the best trailer to date especialy the part with

 

zelda

 

 

the opening movie is amazing with the perfect lighting,music, and umm everything.

[solitanze]

When are these freaking silence agreements going to end to the exact minute?

[Emasher]

what silence aggreaments

[solitanze]

The embargos, the inability to talk about specific aspects of the game.

[Dante]

About Miyamoto

 

Originally Posted by Nishimori: He once pointed out to me that Link shouldn't be standing upright when there is an enemy standing right next to him. And that was when the player wasn't even controlling Link!

 

 

Originally Posted by Kyogoku: That's right! (laughs) But things can get out of hand if you overdo it. On the other hand, if we don't put enough of these things in the game, Miyamoto-san will always notice it and send an e-mail saying something like: "I went to all the trouble of trying this in the game and I was sad because I didn't get a new reaction from any of the characters in the game." I called these his "sob story e-mails".

 

These were e-mails where he would describe what he did and what happened in the game, and why that made him sad. In the later stages of development, there was a sob story e-mail every night!

 

Originally Posted by Tominaga: Apart from what everyone else has said, I would say that it's the realism of the game world. In other words, whether or not the player will be able to enjoy the story without feeling that it is unnatural. This is something that Miyamoto-san mentions frequently, but I don't mean the kind of realism where each individual strand of hair is accurately depicted, but rather the fact that a shop owner is not likely to give a hearty welcome to a child that comes into their shop in the middle of the night.

[Shino]

About Miyamoto

 

Originally Posted by Nishimori: He once pointed out to me that Link shouldn't be standing upright when there is an enemy standing right next to him. And that was when the player wasn't even controlling Link!

 

 

Originally Posted by Kyogoku: That's right! (laughs) But things can get out of hand if you overdo it. On the other hand, if we don't put enough of these things in the game, Miyamoto-san will always notice it and send an e-mail saying something like: "I went to all the trouble of trying this in the game and I was sad because I didn't get a new reaction from any of the characters in the game." I called these his "sob story e-mails".

 

These were e-mails where he would describe what he did and what happened in the game, and why that made him sad. In the later stages of development, there was a sob story e-mail every night!

 

Originally Posted by Tominaga: Apart from what everyone else has said, I would say that it's the realism of the game world. In other words, whether or not the player will be able to enjoy the story without feeling that it is unnatural. This is something that Miyamoto-san mentions frequently, but I don't mean the kind of realism where each individual strand of hair is accurately depicted, but rather the fact that a shop owner is not likely to give a hearty welcome to a child that comes into their shop in the middle of the night.

 

What will we do when that man dies?

[pedrocasilva]

What will we do when that man dies?

Blasphemy! he's imortal you hear?! Imortal!! :wink:

[Kraser]

I don't want to thing a world without Miyamoto-san... Is an Idol for me!

[Haakon]

PLEASE Aonuma, don't lie!!!

 

Tell me that's true that the Wii version is also made with the Cube engine, and the game look exactly as beautiful :'(

 

Thanks Twilight.

[solitanze]

IGN IMPRESSIONS [in Part - NOT COMPLETE]:

 

[spoiler=]"Hands-on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

10 hours in, is this the best Zelda game ever made? Matt's impressions inside.

by Matt Casamassina

US, November 3, 2006 - IGN Wii's editor-in-chief, Matt Casamassina, recently journeyed to Nintendo of America's Seattle headquarters for an extensive hands-on play session with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. After logging almost 10 hours with the game - what many consider to be the most ambitious project in Nintendo history - Casamassina offers his impressions below.

 

 

 

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Bitter and Sweet

As a videogame reviewer and a journalist with a looming deadline, playing the near-final build of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a bittersweet experience. Sweet for all the obvious reasons. I could simply write that "it's Zelda" and veteran gamers would fully understand. But let me go into a little more detail for those still unfamiliar with this franchise - there might be one or two of you left, after all. Nintendo's action-adventure series has, since its conception decades ago, set the standard for the genre with incredibly deep gameplay mechanics and clever puzzles, not to mention beautiful graphics. In fact, Nintendo 64's Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is even to this day heralded as the greatest videogame ever made by too many gamers and critics to count.

 

Now, bearing that in mind, Twilight Princess is bigger, deeper, and prettier. Which is, of course, precisely the problem when time itself is a hot commodity for me, and this is where the bitter comes into the equation.

 

If Wii Sports is for the non-gamers, Twilight Princess is for the hardcore. After I spent 10 hours with the game, I barely managed to squeak by two temples, with the third so far off that I could scarcely imagine getting there, let alone approach the objective. (For the record, out of 30 or so journalists, nobody came close to the third temple.) I asked how long it took Nintendo's testers to complete the entire game the first time through. The answer is a whopping 70-plus hours. Adding insult to injury, diabolical Nintendo translator and localization manager Bill Trinen told me that he was working on his second play-through of the game. Knowing what to do and where to go, and skipping cut-scenes, Trinen said that he had logged about 27 hours to make it about two thirds of the way through the temples themselves - and that doesn't account for any of the side quests or time sucks like fishing, a single operation that could easily add hours upon hours to Zelda's depth. .

 

When publishers claim that their games are 50 hours long, seasoned players usually half that number for the truth. But with Twilight Princess, I think we can really look forward to a 50-plus-hour adventure, bare minimum. This quest will keep you busy through the holidays and beyond. So, I'm pondering this revelation a lot as I try to imagine how in the hell I'm going to find the time to beat Zelda and still review 30 other games for the Wii launch. Of course, that's more than a little terrifying, but at the same time I am absolutely thrilled by the prospect of spending some quality time with Link, Epona, and Zelda again. Oh yeah, and Midna, too.

 

There's no way to know for sure how it'll all turn out yet, as even with 10 hours under my belt I've only scratched the surface. However, if the game keeps up or gets better - as Nintendo's people promise that it does - there is simply no way that the adventure will remembered as anything but a masterful classic and quite possibly the best launch title in the history of the business.

 

Two Systems - One Game

Twilight Princess may have started as a GameCube title, but it finished a Wii one. There remains this faction of gamers that refuses to accept the possibility. You know who you are. You continue to argue that because the controls were originally designed for the GameCube pad there is no hope for the Wii build. You say that your arms will get tired using the Wii remote. You speak of mirrored worlds and right-handed Link. And you know what? It's all crap. If you buy Twilight Princess for GameCube and not Wii, you are a fool. And I state that without meaning to suggest that the GCN iteration is flawed - it isn't. It's an amazing swan song for Nintendo's older system. But neither is it as good as the Wii incarnation. In fact, were it up to me and not Nintendo (and in my dreams, it is), I'd have scrapped the GCN build altogether, forcing everyone to exclusively buy the Wii version. Honestly, Nintendo gave you five good years with GameCube; it doesn't owe you a damned thing.

 

At some point in time (admittedly, late in the long development cycle), the team making Twilight Princess decided to focus on the Wii version of the title over the GameCube one. The evidence of this truth is undeniable. Take, for example, the fact that Zelda arrives on Wii first, which is partly true because internal resources were moved from the GameCube build to the Wii one a good while ago. There are several important content-related exclusives that have come as a result of concentrating on the Wii game. The remote-enhanced control comes to mind. Using the pointer with Zelda felt unintuitive when Nintendo unveiled the mechanic last May, but it has come a long way since then. Now, slashing Link's sword with the remote feels very good and using the device to aim and target with weapons like the Hero's Bow and Gale Boomerang absolutely demolishes the traditional configuration. There really is no comparison - and there's no going back. Also, Zelda on Wii makes full use of the remote's internal speaker and this is, believe it or not, a very welcomed feature. I've always been skeptical of this speaker, mind you, because I simply don't think it outputs the best audio quality. But I have to admit that receiving audio cues and select sound effects through the controller is somehow more powerful. It actually does add another layer of immersion to the experience. And, of course, the Wii version of Twilight Princess runs in 16:9 widescreen mode while the GameCube incarnation doesn't. For many videophiles like myself, that in of itself is a very compelling reason to pick Zelda up on Nintendo's new generation console.

 

There is every reason to get Zelda on Wii, but if you're still not convinced that the controls work just fine, consider that I was just as skeptical as you are now before I put some serious play time into the game. So were the other 30 or so journalists who played alongside me. And when the gameplay session came to its too-early end, everybody in attendance agreed that the Wii remote and nunchuk combo performed beautifully. Nobody's arms were tired. Nobody felt that the continuity of the game universe had been sacrificed because the landscapes and items had been mirrored. And nobody complained that Link was a right-hander. In fact, we had a couple lefties who said playing with the game on Wii felt very natural.

 

The Ordona Province

It becomes clear from the moment Twilight Princess begins that the title is very much inspired by the classic Ocarina of Time before it. The title sequence follows Link as he rides Epona around a large, picturesque environment. He follows the corner of a chasm and Hyrule Castle looms in the distant horizon. This opening cinematic closes as the camera pans once more on Link, who has transformed into a wolf. The entire scenario is impressive both for its style and its scope. Even from the beginning, it's plain as day that the world in which Link's adventure takes place is absolutely enormous. In many ways this stylish sequence reminds me of titles like Ico, whose hero is similarly dwarfed by huge background structures. It's all beautiful and very ambient, setting the mood for the adventure to follow, but you needn't take my word for it because we have a direct-feed footage of the scene in our media section.

 

When Zelda begins, you're asked to name your hero and your horse. Link and Epona are the standard titles and I chose to stick with tradition. Afterward, the game opens to a scene in Ordon Village, which is adjacent to Ordon Ranch and a section of the Ordona Province. It's twilight and a real-time sequence focuses on a blacksmith named Rusl and his apparent apprentice, Link. At this point in the game, Link had yet to don his trademark green outfit. He's still dressed in simple farmer attire, but even without his warrior clothing he is already destined for a warrior's adventure. Rusl tells Link that he believes twilight is the only time of day that the real world intersects with the spirit world and then asks him to embark upon a journey to deliver a handmade Ordon Sword and Shield to the royal family of Hyrule.

 

The cinematic clings to the storytelling method of most Zelda games. Real-time graphics and text bubbles in favor of flashier full-motion sequences and voice samples. Interacting with characters in Twilight Princess will feel very familiar to anybody who has played a Zelda game before. I've always been a big critic of Nintendo's reluctance to put more time and effort into its story presentations and am therefore slightly discouraged to see that very little has changed. <-- -.1 point guaranteed but at least its not that significant of a problem But in the grand scheme of the Zelda experience, this shortcoming holds very little weight and indeed is lessened more and more as the game rages on and more sweeping, dramatic cut-scenes are showcased.

 

The game picks up the next morning as Link awakens in his hut. You find your way down a path, into Ordon Village proper, and then up another dirt road to Ordon Ranch. You can go at your own pace, as in any and every Zelda game and so you could conceivably spend hours in Ordon Village interacting with the people and finishing off smaller, unimportant challenges, but to advance the story you'll need to do some goat herding and that takes place at the Ranch. This particular objective is not new - we've seen and played it at game shows in the past. But we've never seen exactly how it fits into the finished adventure. After entering the Ranch, you quickly learn how to call Epona by whistling with a piece of grass. After she comes running, you hop onto her back with the A button and can then control her smoothly around the environment with the analog stick on the nunchuck attachment. You can kick your spurs to make her run faster if you want, although she only need be speedier to jump fences. Herding the goats into the barn is an easy undertaking as all you need do is nudge them forward from behind using Epona. After the task is done, you're free to go back into Ordon Village, which is where the title really starts moving, as far as I'm concerned.

 

As someone who has played and loved the Zelda franchise since its inception, I always look forward to the inevitable 'real beginning' of each new game, which is usually when Link is free to roam through the initial village, puzzles are strewn about, and something you do will eventually set the story in motion. Twilight Princess is no different and Ordon Village is the real beginning. Small huts and pimply hills surround this grassy locale, and everything is connected by way of a stream that flows down the center of town into a pond just beyond. Naturally, there are fish in this pond, and reeling them in is just one of the objectives, although it is hardly pressing. To find his way, Link will also have to use blade grass to call a hawk and solve a quick puzzle, feed a cat, buy a slingshot, and eventually meet up with some adoring kids. These villagers remain completely oblivious to the evils that are even now overtaking Hyrule and so there is a light, cheery atmosphere at the start. That will soon change, but not yet.

 

You Have Options

Link, the quiet, stoic hero, never says a word and begins his new adventure without a sword. Within an hour, practiced gamers will likely come by the fishing rod, the slingshot and a staff, and a while after that they'll gain access to the Ordon Shield and Sword, too, at which point some new combat possibilities become available. But before I get to any of that, let me go into some of the interface specifics.

 

If you hit the + button on the Wii remote, you'll bring up the collections menu, which is an interface that shows either a model of link or his wolf form on the left side and then lists the various items available to the character on the right. For instance, if Link were in possession of the Ordon Sword, an icon would display it, and if you pointed at the icon with the Wii remote you'd see the text: "Rusl crafted this fine sword. It is inlaid with Ordon goat horns." Other items on my collections screen at any given time included a Wallet, which carries up to 300 Rupees; a Quiver to hold 30 arrows; a Fish Journal, useful for documenting big catches; a list of Hidden Skills such as the Ending Blow, which is that special attack - performed by locking onto a fallen enemy and then pressing the A button - that causes Link to jump into the air and thrust his sword downward; some Letters from various people; and the Scent of Ilia, which is a sensory ability for Link in wolf form.

 

Just as important, though, is the options sub-menu, which enables you access to several customizable control and functionality details. You can change your lock-on type to hold or switch depending on your preference. You can set normal or inverted camera control. You can choose to turn the pointer functionality off so that all of your aiming is done with the analog stick. Why anybody would ever want to do that is beyond me, but the option is in place. And you can toggle Icon Shortcuts on or off. Normally, you tap the - button to bring up your inventory screen, which displays all of your usable items in a circular menu. You simply point to the item you want to use with the Wii remote, hit D-Pad left, right or down, and the item is assigned to the position on the D-Pad. It's all very simple and easy. As a side note, the circular menu expands so there is no way to know how many items you'll end up with. Some of the items Link gains access to include the Fishing Rod, Bombs, Hero's Bow, Iron Boots, Slingshot, Lantern Oil, Gale Boomerang and Empty Bottle. Now, if you don't like the idea of hitting the - button to access your items, you can toggle on the Shortcuts, at which point you hold the Z button and point to the right-hand corner of the screen during gameplay to access your various weapons and other usables. Honestly, I doubt you'll ever use it, but again, it's there if you happen to be that one guy.

 

And finally, you can fully modify your Wii remote's settings. For instance, you can turn the device's internal speaker volume up or down. An on-screen circle shows where your remote is pointed and if the angle of your hand doesn't seem to quite match with it, you can modify the settings using D-Pad Up or Down until it does. Meanwhile, you're directed to widen or shorten a a separate on-screen field so that it directly matches the placement and size of your sensor bar. And finally, you're asked to push forward or backward with the Wii remote - which either increases or decreases the size of an on-screen circle so that it exactly matches another - and when the two are perfectly aligned you know you are playing from your optimal distance. It's clear that a lot of thought has gone into making sure that the pointer's accuracy is more than merely satisfactory.

 

Warrior and Wolf

Want to know about controlling Link and the wolf? Impressions on the configurations for both, plus my experience with the first dungeon, are coming later tonight..."

 

 

 

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http://wii.ign.com/articles/744/744044p1.html

[Shino]

I don't want to thing a world without Miyamoto-san... Is an Idol for me!

 

Wow Kraser you're Portuguese!

 

One of us... One of us...

 

We have to find a solution for him, he's not that young you know.

[Kraser]

Wow Kraser you're Portuguese!

 

One of us... One of us...

 

We have to find a solution for him, he's not that young you know.

Hi there! I didn't even notice that you are portuguese too! owned xD

Oh well, he's not an old man exactly so... we can still wait for great games!And therefore, great Zelda games!Geez... this Twilight Princess will be the game of my life. I can feel it!God damn i love that japonese guy!

[Emasher]

WARNING HYPE LEVEL HAS REACHED OVERLOAD

 

AW MAN if i get one more hype over load i will probably die

[Dante]

From IGN:

 

If Wii Sports is for the non-gamers, Twilight Princess is for the hardcore. After I spent 10 hours with the game, I barely managed to squeak by two temples, with the third so far off that I could scarcely imagine getting there, let alone approach the objective. (For the record, out of 30 or so journalists, nobody came close to the third temple.) I asked how long it took Nintendo's testers to complete the entire game the first time through. The answer is a whopping 70-plus hours. Adding insult to injury, diabolical Nintendo translator and localization manager Bill Trinen told me that he was working on his second play-through of the game. Knowing what to do and where to go, and skipping cut-scenes, Trinen said that he had logged about 27 hours to make it about two thirds of the way through the temples themselves - and that doesn't account for any of the side quests or time sucks like fishing, a single operation that could easily add hours upon hours to Zelda's depth.

 

There remains this faction of gamers that refuses to accept the possibility. You know who you are. You continue to argue that because the controls were originally designed for the GameCube pad there is no hope for the Wii build. You say that your arms will get tired using the Wii remote. You speak of mirrored worlds and right-handed Link. And you know what? It's all crap. If you buy Twilight Princess for GameCube and not Wii, you are a fool.

 

 

:yay: :yay: :yay: :yay:

Impressions

 

IGN

 

ANM

 

1UP

 

GD

 

PG

 

Kotaku

 

Advanced Media

 

GoNintendo

 

GameSpot

 

:yay: :yay: :yay: :yay:

[Shino]

I'm genuinely hyped for a long time, this game seems to be everything we prayed for. THIS is why we like Nintendo, THIS is why we suffer.

[Dante]

Gamedaily:

Then there's the howling. At specific points in the game, wolf Link has the ability to set events in motion through howling, similar to the way he unlocked things by creating music in The Wind Waker. The game plays out a tune, and then the player has to mimic the howl by manoeuvring a cursor along a pitch meter that runs high, medium, and low.

 

 

Like most Zelda games, Twilight Princess is full of all sorts of colorful characters and Midna is easily the best.. A sarcastic dark spirit, Midna drops advice and will even offer Link a hand during his adventure (as both wolf and elf), and while she annoys the heck out of him, she's funny, charming, and extremely shady. It's very clear, even from the outset, that she has an agenda, but it's hard to tell whether she's good or bad. Either way, she's the best character to come out of Nintendo in years.

 

AMN's Zelda impressions:

 

But while the Wii version of Twilight Princess might lack extra functionality, such as 3D camera control, it does feature some mechanics that can’t be found in either the GameCube build of the game or any other game for that matter: motion sensing control. For instance, as seen at E3, you can control Link’s bow and arrow using the Wii-mote and simply pointing and shooting at any point on the screen you want to hit. Just like sword controls, though, there’s an easier alternative for those who don’t want to be flailing their hands all around, as you can simply lock onto enemies – Ocarina of Time-style – with the Z trigger and press the B button to fire away. This being the case, there are advantages to using the Wii-mote route, as it offers more precision.

 

While both of these items are fun, my favorite weapon, thus far, is the boomerang. With it, you lock onto objects on the screen by pressing the Z button. You can even lock onto multiples objects or enemies with the item. What makes using the boomerang fun, though, is pointing at the screen with the Wii-mote and locking onto anything you want to hit with it. As in past Zelda games, the boomerang is essential to puzzle-solving. We came across one puzzle where you have to carry a bomb to a creature to blow it up. You do this by selecting both the bomb and enemy – the bomb first – and throwing your boomerang. Doing this will cause the boomerang to swing by the bomb, pick it up, carry it to the bad guy and blow him up.

 

Overall, controlling Twilight Princess takes some time to get used to, but within 30 minutes, I felt like a pro. I was dodging enemies left and right, rolling around them, slashing at them and picking off enemies left and right. In fact, while it might sound crazy, I believe I am much better playing Zelda with the Wii-mote than the standard GameCube controller. For instance, with the slingshot, initially I was clumsy and took forever to kill anything. But, eventually, I was so good with it that I was turning around and picking things off within a matter of seconds.