Grab your hookshot, it’s gonna be a long ride…
After witnessing what Link would look like if he were a cartoon character, fans of ‘Zelda’ were pleased, yet missed the old, realistic Hyrule they left behind way back in ‘Ocarina of Time’. Well, fans can rejoice as they are welcomed back into that world which they knew and loved… but it’s changed a tad.
Everyone’s favourite videogame mute, Link, is in this era a goat herder in the small village of Ordon…an unexpected title for a soon to be hero, but the perfect career choice for any underdog.
But things soon take a turn for the worse, when the village is attacked by monsters, Link becomes cursed and turns into a werewolf and the whole of Hyrule becomes engulfed in an unusual world known as ‘The Twilight Realm’. It all hits you thick and fast that something is most definitely ‘up’.
Fortunately, you have a little help by your side, a little critter named ‘Midna’. Midna works in the same way fairies did in the previous game, pointing out interesting information or giving you clues on where to go next, so you’re never lost or alone. She also has a big hand that grabs things… which is good.
It is amazing how much effort and detail Nintendo have put into this game.
Graphically, this is incredibly impressive for the Wii, especially when you are engulfed into the Twilight Realm. It is amazing how much effort and detail Nintendo have put into this game. The monsters which come from this realm also look more evil than in other Zelda games, and fall from the sky from huge portals that can almost be put amongst the likes of Sci-fi films, yet luckily the game does not cross that border and tries not to mix the two.
In terms of gameplay and combat, the Z target system (Where you simply press one button to lock onto an enemy) is still in use, so combat remains very simple, yet now that you have a Wii remote equipped it gets a little more interesting. By swinging your arms about like you’re a toddler fending off moths, Link effortlessly slashes, cuts and pokes skilfully with his sword. He doesn’t copy your exact movements, yet if he did, you’d probably accidentally cause huge massacres in peaceful villages which may be your cup of tea, but it’s nothing to do with the overall objective. The classic spin attack is initiated by shaking the nun-chuck left and right (which is easy, but I’m saddened this was not also initiated by the Wii remote, at we could have all looked like complete birks, spinning endlessly until we entered the 4th dimension, tripped over, or stubbed our toe, all of which I’m sure would’ve made great YouTube videos).
This instalment’s main selling point, as mentioned before, is the ability to turn into a werewolf, ditching past games features of musical instruments. Although I miss the ability to cause storms by playing an Ocarina, the ability to play as a werewolf gives the player a much more active role when it comes to solving puzzles and finding new locations.
The dungeons shouldn’t disappoint Zelda fans, following the usual patterns of puzzles, shifting of blocks and collecting small keys, but the bosses will disappoint. Although all of them are the size of the Isle of Man, they require very little effort to kill, all of them generate a similar pattern towards their inevitable deaths (e.g. Attack-Reveal Weakness-Take Damage-Repeat process a little quicker). When I see a huge dragon, I expect a bloody fight to the death, not a sequence where we both spiral around each other so we can warily slap each other on the back and then peg it.
Another problem is that, although this Zelda is by far the longest, you have to feel that at times, the only way the developers increased the lifespan of the game was by adding a load of pointless and therefore dull missions in between dungeons. The fact that you must go fishing in order to progress in the game does suggest that they were running out of ideas, whereas in past Zelda games, missions that were seen as pointless for the main quest were always optional, and taking part would get you a new reward.
To say that this isn’t the perfect Zelda is in no way a putdown however. Sure it has its moments of ‘This is taking way too long’ and ‘That was far too short’ but they are few and far between. This is a truly immersive adventure and does not in any way tarnish the Zelda series’ reputation of being one of the greatest adventure series’ of all time.
The Bad: Feels a bit too similar to ‘Ocarina Of Time’, Bosses are VERY easy.
Gold Y Award