Twilight Princess in retrospect

[jetsetradio4ever]

OK, I'm not tryin to start flame wars or anything, and this may seem random as hell but, quite frankly, I feel guilty. I got TP as a present last Christmas, and played about 1/3 of the way through. (I almost beat the Goron mines.) Today, though, I started playing again out of boredom and, well, guilt. Someone payed $60 for it and I haven't played it in about 8 months.

My Wii hasn't been getting much loving lately because all the games I want to play are coming out in the next few months, so I'm not sorried about that.

I just wanted to know...what am I missing here? I mean, my brother got a Wii and TP, too, and he played a little further than me. Honestly, he agrees: it's not as fantastic as everyone says. Even one of my friends who was in my situation, but got bored and beat it one weekend recently, said the same thing. It was good, but it wasn't great. Can anyone think of any words of advice on what will make me see how awesome it is?

Thanks, and sorry for the randomness.

[Wolfrider31]

I'm right there with you buddy. I lost interest in it around the 2/3 mark and only just beat it this summer. It's not that the game is BAD by any means. All the parts are there, but it's missing something.

I think the problem is two-fold. One, the story is very minamilstic, even more so than in Ocarina or Majora's Mask. It starts off looking like a grand scale epic, but they pull back from anything approaching a meaningful plot. Finish it and then go back and play the beginning and you'll see what I mean. The game starts off and it looks like you're going to develop a relationship with every character you meet, and by the 2/3's mark EVERYONE fades into the background and becomes completely utilitarian. Now, Zelda's plot's always been minamalist, but I don't remember feeling so completely indifferent to any of the characters in OoT.

The second issue is that this game IS OoT. And Majora's Mask. And Wind Waker. It's a by-the-numbers Zelda game, and the fact that it shares so much stylistically with the N64 original just accentuates it. WW dodged a bullet by being completely different in terms of style (and having a relatively compelling story) even though the gameplay was exactly the same. TP doesn't have this going for it.

It's weird. Even the last boss (don't worry no spoilers) felt like they were trying to make it EPIC but it just didn't work. Certainly not in the way that it did in OoT.

Zelda really needs a reboot and quick because it's starting to taste a tad stale.

[BydoEmpire]

Personally, I really loved it. I'm tempted to say it's my favorite Zelda game ever (note that I'm not a Zelda series fanatic). The pacing is great, the level design and puzzles are among the best I've ever seen, it looks beautiful and the characters have... character. With that in mind, not everyone has to like every game, no matter what the overall consensus it. I would day my favorite dungeons are a little bit later in the game (though I did love the water temple), so maybe you want to stick with it. It's one of those gamses that you have to be in the right frame of mind to really enjoy. I think I dug it because I was in the mood for a Zelda game and let myself get sucked into the world. I can see not really liking it (or any other game) if you're having to force yourself to play.

[jetsetradio4ever]

I can see not really liking it (or any other game) if you're having to force yourself to play.

And see, that's the thing. I know that, if I try to force myself, I'll end up liking it even less. That's why I'm asking for comments on why I should stick with it.

But, then, I seem to have had a problem with Zelda games since OoT. That was the first one I played, so it set the standard for me. MM was...lacking after playing OoT, and WW wasn't that great in my opinion. It felt almost the same way that TP does, where it's spending so much time trying to be a kick-ass blockbuster, that they forget to make a new game.

I felt kind of let-down after a while in TP because, like you said, the beginning (about the first 6 hours) were excellent, but then it fell into a rut just like MM or WW. The reason I asked for it for Christmas in the first place was that everyone was calling it "OoT 2" and saying that it would be as amazing as OoT was. But, honestly, it doesn't feel that way to me.

[Apollo]

To be perfectly honest, after I beat the game, I had no desire at all to play it again. I realized how every dungeon only incorporates the tool you find from that specific dungeon, with the exception of the bow and maybe two others. Seriously, for those people at the 2/3 mark, when was the last time you used the Gale Boomerang? It's great if your a Zelda fan, but as a game by itself, it isn't that great.

[c0ldb33r]

There was a related thread a long time ago, and I said then, and I'll say now, that this game is way too over-hyped. When it was released people were acting as if this were the second coming of Jesus, but I felt like it was a chore. I played for hours and it just sucked :( I liked the cube Zelda much, much more. It was just more fun.

I never got into the controls of the Wii game. It always bugged me that it was just the cube version with shitty motion controls tacked on. So I can't play it because it pisses me off so much. I also own the cube version, which if I wanted to get into this game I would play the cube version since the controls don't feel like they're tacked on, but the story and gameplay aren't interesting enough to let me start from scratch.

Twilight princess = meh.

[smokehouse]

I’ll dawn the flame suit and go on record stating that other than Windwaker, I just don’t like ANY of the 3D Zelda titles. I’ve tried, I own all of them (except for TP) and I just can’t get into them. I’m the same way with Metroid, I just can’t stand what it’s become. I’m not going to flame anyone who prefers the 3D version of the games but they are just too far off from what I grew up with a love.


BTW…my buddy owns TP on the Wii and he hasn’t finished it either. When I asked him about it he stated he just got tired of it and quit playing.

[exit]

I got it right before X-mas and really got into it, then I got distracted with other things and put it down for awhile. I just recently beat it in June during my vacation and I really did enjoy the hell out of it, but I don't think I'll want to go back to it like I did with LttP and OoT. Speaking of things being useless, Epona was completely useless once you were able to turn into the wolf and warp around Hyrule.

I don't really think it's the series itself, it might just be how things have evolved in general. Games try and to pack as much things as possible now, which is great at times, but when things get too complex, the games get long and players may eventually get bored. I think it's just that the simplicity is gone and it's slowly starting to cause a negative effect.

[Gamingking]

I don't agree at all. It's your opinon though. TP was one of the best IMO.

[SkiDragon]

Ocarina of Time was not my favorite Zelda, but I think I may have liked Twilight Princess a bit more than OoT.

The story does fall flat after about the 4th dungeon though.

[BHvrd]

I just don't like the overall flow of the game.

Instead of being a nice experience that eases you into the good bits it makes you feel stressed way too much. A case of too many cooks in the kitchen.

Almost all other Zelda games had a nice flow that got you into the experience by making one thing affect another, and keep it interesting. Twilight Princess just doesn't have that same magical tranisition from one thing to another, it feels too forced and some bits are just too long in the teeth *cough*wolf*cough*.

I'm one of the few who actually loved Celda (Wind Waker). That game was a masterpiece imo.

[jetsetradio4ever]

One of my friends, being a Nintendo fanboy, likes all the Zelda games. He does say that, while Twilight Princess was "gooood," A Link to the Past was, by far the best. I, having never played it, wouldn't know. This whole discussion has made me begin to wonder what the next one will be like, though, y'know?

[geneshifter]

I played through to the 6th dungeon and stopped. I think I stopped because it is too much like OoT. I love playing a good Zelda game and OoT blew me away at the time but TP is a different game but with a lot of the same people, similar music, similar animations, similar menu system, etc... Just too much of the same.

I have low expectations for Zelda:PH on the DS as well. Looks like windwaker and I'm waiting to hear if they also repeat a lot of WW stuff in this game. Plus, I hated sailing in WW, so...

[FlufflePuff]

I personally think TP was my favorite Zelda of the series. LttP is the only one that comes close IMO. I loved the controls, the new characters, and the Wolf mechanic. I played it twice through and thought both outings were equally enjoyable. My only beef with the game was that it felt small. The overworld simply wasn't large enough to feel epic to me.

[G-Boobie]

I really liked Twilight Princess; my problems with it are mostly hype related. I don't think it was paced as well as the rest of the Zelda series, but over all, it was OK.

Windwaker is the pinnacle of the 3D Zelda series, though, even with the horrendous sailing times and triforce quest. I really loved the art style.

[Hwj_Chim]

I never made I through the wolf part. It just killed the game for me.

[ubersaurus]

I loved it, myself. The first part with the forced wolf form was weak, but once you got past that the game took off, and I enjoyed it immensely. I literally did everything you could in it just so it wouldn't end.

I don't really go back and play zelda games once I've beaten them, but I would this one someday.

[Matt-El]

If you don't like this version, purchase for another 50 bucks the Gamecube version. Thats the version I picked up and enjoyed it and played through it till the end.



And yes, I knows whut I says.

[SkiDragon]

The overworld wasn't really small, but it was really empty. That's one of my major complaints with the game. Also, many of the more interesting items see little use outside the area you get them in. And let me say that item from the fourth dungeon was about the coolest thing ever.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I haven't given the game as much time as I'd like since I bought it (Feb). So, I guess I was in a simular situation as the OP'er. Though, this weekend, I picked it up again after a 5 month break and now I've been hooked. Just played through the part with the Warthog Riders vs. Link and Epona with the ending jousting sequence and that was what got me back into the game. Started the Gorgon Mines and lost my third wooden sheild before I gave up for a while.

While most the posts seem to place an emphasis on the quality of the beginning of the game, I have to wonder why. That was the part that was keeping me from getting into the game to begin with. It was long, boring and needlessly hard due to the vagueness on WTF you were supposed to be doing. It almost killed TP for me.

[SkiDragon]

After you get out of the dumb villiage, things pick up.

[Mr. Smashy]

I played through Twilight Princess on the Cube last January. I really enjoyed it. The pacing seemed pretty good for a 20+ hour game. I didn't always know exactly what I needed to do next but it was fun figuring that sort of thing out for myself. Most games these days seem to hold your hand the entire way through. As with most Zelda games, the boss battles and puzzles are the highlights of the game.

I didn't really put too much focus on hunting for Poes, insects, or heart container pieces. Lots of them were easy to find but I imagine it's pretty tough to find every last one without a little outside assistance. I imagine that I'll play through the game again if I ever end up buying a Wii.

[UniHamachi]

Having never finished LttP, OoT or WW, I was really just blown away by TP, and it's the only one I completed. The dungoens and puzzles were quite clever and fun, but I will admit that the last dungeon and the final boss battles were more of a chore than a pleasure. Still, TP is up there with FFIII as far as RPG experiences go.

Incidentally, I started playing WW again after I beat TP, and I was disappointed with the controls and the sailing -- ugh -- the sailing was a HUGE turn off.

BTW, when I restarted WW, I was surprised to find out that I had quit in the middle of the FIRST dungeon.

[jetsetradio4ever]

I had the same problem with Windwaker. Stylistically, it was nice, but the sailing made me put it down.

[Nukie]

TP was fun, not LttP fun, but fun on its own. I firmly believe that if this game had come out under a different name and not as Zelda, it would get a very different review from a lot of people. That being said, I did as almost everyone here has done; I put it down for a few months and played other stuff, then picked it back up at first just to finish it (I'm like that with Mario Zelda, and Final Fantasy games, have to beat them all) but got into after that.

[crazyjackcsa]

Isn't it a little early to be looking at things "in retrospect"? I dug it, haven't finished it yet