"Anyway, as a reward for repeatedly stabbing a baboon up the ass, Link gets a boomerang." "This is the start of a trend that I really enjoy in Twilight Princess--" Him saying that right after mentioning the baboon boss fight always made me laugh.
@@harchierspebbington7137 This game was already seen as much darker than previous LoZ titles, so I don't think players would care in the long run, just as long as the wolf actually got a finishing move for foes that weren't poes.
After the lackluster english dubs in totk and botw, your segment on voice acting made my jaw drop with how spot on you were. I've recently gotten into your reviews and love them! As many others have said, your attention to detail is astounding.
But I don't watch Anime so I don't know if zelda's japanese voice acting is as good as an industrial standard. But a lot of other people playing in english also seem to put the voice acting in japanese because they think that the japanese voice acting is better.
@@thebuddah1253 Little details and nuance? Obviously you can't know that without knowing the language. But feeling and emotion? That transcends all language barriers and the Japanese voice track has that in spades over the English dubs of BOTW and TOTK. Saying you can't judge acting and performances in other languages is just a laughable thought when world cinema is as big as it is and you have South Korean movies and TV shows becoming mainstream hits
Yea that why, not everything awesome else about it. Like its only Zelda that looked more realistic and tried that route, that all Zelda fans still want in 2024 and before they sold out the Franchise 4ever now ugh. But the story is definitely the best part
Small nitpick: Ther Hero's Shade is not a Stalfos, it's just a ghost. Actual Stalfos appear in the game, and they look completely different than him. Plus, you can actually find his grave in Hyrule Castle, in a very well hidden area in the courtyard, which by itself kinda debunks the whole Stalfos theory.
Apparently he is the Hero of Time from the Ocarina of Time and Majoras mask. In those games, is Link the Hero of Time? (Obviously a different link to TP link)
@@theophanyfd5422 Except he doesn't look like a Stalfos at all. If you look close he just looks like a ghost with a skeletal face. His arms are muscled (albeit translucent) and with no exposed bone.
Same. I never saw it as a twist. If that WAS their intention then yeah thats just silly - but until a lot of people labelled it a ‘twist’ I genuinely just thought it was Zant behaving like any villain would when backed into a corner
I remember when i was smaller reading about the then untitled twilight princess game that was in development in a Nintendo Power magazine. I remember seeing a dungeon layout that was never put in the actual product along with some pretty creepy enemies, makes me wonder how much was replaced/cut for the final product.
I remember reading about it in my elementary library in some Disney magazine that showed a few upcoming games in a few years. The magazine compared it to Windwaker in some aspect as I think I remember. Man, I am 21 now and missing elementary. T.T
I found no one else who shared my complaint. The track Midna's Lament is a gorgeous song. I was so annoyed it kept getting interrupted by those enemies. Of course because they spawn in the same fucking place all the time it's almost as if Nintendo did this intentionally. But hey the track is in Super Smash Brawl so...YAY!
you could argue that it works this way, with link being annoyed at enemies when trying to help Midna, comparatively: in majora, your life is far more threatened by the crashing moon than a random enemy in this game, enemies are still a threat, however small would it be better if the game overrode battle BGM? probably but the difference is a bit on the negligible side
@@dmas7749 How exactly are stationary Dekurhana plants or diaper people with meat cleavers threatening in this game? That plus the fact that the enemy encounter music is not exactly what I'd call tense. It might be a negligable oversight to you, but it simply an unnessecary one at best and and worst it shatters immersion altogether, like it dd for me and many other. If it were guardian music like in botw, i would not complain, but it isn't.
I once borrowed it from a friend for the gamecube and got to the twilight palace before i had to return it but later i bought it for the wii and completed it from the start
I think the reason Link's face looks so bland, even when he's emoting, is a combination of his irises having a glassed, washed-out color, and his eyes not properly finding a focus point I think. Like in the shot you showed, his eyes just tracked around the room in a floaty motion, instead of "snapping" more realistically to different focus points.
-Grizzly dirty art style -Massive fanservice to the first game in the 3d branch of the series, to the point of essentially remaking it's final boss -Seems to dismiss the second game in the series -Seen as a disappointment compared to the airtight trilogy of classics that came before it - Confused plot that thinks it's better than it actually is Yeah, Twilight Princess is MGS4
16:00 thank god you acknowledged this! bugged me so much, especially when I'm running through Hyrule Field feeling like a badass hero with the music then I get near an enemy... *blech*
26:20 You actually can look downwards using the cucco by holding backwards on the control stick to slow down. 26:30 You can skip this cutscene using the minus button 26:45 Actually you CAN turn the motion controls off for this mini game. Just disable the pointer in the menu.
3:57 I love this. “In order to restore the area Link has to...” **squints at the words on the script** “...hunt... bugs....... for some reason.............. Okay.” He sounds like a news reporter after a co-worker put something ridiculous on his teleprompter as a prank and he has to just roll with it. It’s hilarious.
funny though, you stated one of the good changes was the fact that rupees are returned to chests if the wallet is full. Apparently, for some reason, this feature was removed for the HD remake
the gamecube version is the definitive one - for the most obvious reasons that it sees link as being left handed and that the world map in the GC version is the correct way round. the wii version is just a port.
+Joshua Oxenford A very good port in fact, that severely improves aiming. The map critique depends on which one you played first, otherwise it's a mute argument. And Link being left-handed, although a neat tradition, is (and sorry if I come off as mean) one of the stupidest critiques you can give to an overall game. It really does not, in absolutely no way, hinder the enjoyment or diminish the quality of the overall game.
I just liked the fact that link used to be left handed. I can't think of a single other lefty in video games. I'd also argue that the direction of the map in twilight princess is VERY important. Imagine a game based in the real word with Asia, Europe, the Americas, etc. Now imagine that the game developers flipped the world map... yea, It would be wrong. Hyrule has always been a specific way around and flipping it takes away from the lore that the series has presented over the last 30 years. The wii port didn't present itself as a 'master quest' style flip of the map either, but rather, it was flipped just to make link right handed for right handed people who'd be using the wii remote. This seems fine, and i'd have though it a fair reason to flip the game, if it wasn't for the absence of a left-handed game mode for lefties. Personally i'm right handed - I just think it's wrong to purely cater to only one group of people and ignore rest like that, especially at the expense of diminishing the canon of the game's lore.
spin attack can be instant and not charged in the GC version too. just like in ocarina of time, just rotate the stick quick and hit the attack sword button. it will do an instant spin attack. as for the wii version releasing first, that was only true in some places. several areas got a simultaneous release of the two. and as long as you're mentioning controls, riding epona in the wii version sucks cos the camera is always defaulted right up the horse's ass, where as you have proper control to combat that issue in the gamecube version. i know that's a pedantic point - but so was the point about spin attacks, which was false anyway.
well the argument was about the gamecube vs wii version being the definitive version - the release isn't a mark against the wii version. i was just correcting the misconception that the wii version was released 1st everwhere. interesting note though: the wii version doesnt run at a higher resolution despite being 16:9. the wii version actually cuts out a lot of the picture. it just cuts the top and bottom of the image away to make it run at the wii's native 16:9. the reason gamecube games still run at 4:3 when played on a wii is because the wii actually has a gamecube inside it also, pretty much - and it just launches the game via that. so although 4:3, you actually get more picture on the gamecube version.
+Joshua Oxenford Technically, the wii version should be the definitive one, as it came out first. Although, I do understand that Nintendo developed it with the gamecube in mind.
Looking back on this.. I really liked your humor in the earlier review and I would like to see it come back. Just how you tell a joke with the exact same serious tone as the review just gets me by surprise all the time. And the fact that they only last a few seconds makes sure that it doesn't get boring, and nothing is forced.
I'd say the humor is still there, the Demon's Souls video has many genuinely laugh out loud moments. I think the Team Ico games are just... a bit too serious for humor. Like, they're just TOO good to not say "let's sit down and talk about some serious shit". I love the humor too, but the latest videos I feel, gain a lot from lacking humor.
Something that really annoyed me about the Palace of Twilight was the sword upgrade. Or should I say, the cool and handy sword upgrade that is only useful in that dungeon. Who thought that was a good idea? "Oh, hey, let's reward the player by giving the Master Sword an upgrade since it's nearing the end of the game! But it can only be seen or used in this dungeon! Just let us keep it.
Of all the 3D Zelda games, this has to be my favorite (next to Skyward Sword). Everyone says Ocarina of Time is the best, but Twilight Prince outperforms it in every way. This was my first Zelda game. I did go back and play OOT and MM, but they failed to suck me in, as they both felt more like a chore. TP has a really nice mood and Milda was a great sidekick, as she wasn't intrusive (and also a bit mysterious). I didn't like the wolf form at first, but it grew on me after a while especially when given control over the transformation. The dark world is probably a bit too gloomy, but that only helps make the normal world seem better. I love the exploration, as there is lots to see and many secrets to uncover. It's just amazing. I do agree the beginning is extremely slow, but I think it was intentional to give you a relaxing start to a very long, action packed game. However, people with little patience will be turned off. Which is shame. Lastly, the graphics look great for a Wii/Gamecube game. Too me, this is how a Zelda game should look. Wind Waker is beautiful, but it looks too kiddy for my tastes. It's a damn shame TP didn't come out in HD as it would've really helped, but maybe it will get a re-release someday. I can dream right? PS- I've played this game 3 times.
+Alien D. Martian Haha. Yep and now I get to play it for the 4th time, but at least it'll be the Gamecube version and be an enhanced version. I've already preordered!
+Seasoning the Obese I never found any of the fishing in any Zelda game "fun" haha, but I think TP progressed in a way that was never a chore. I will say there are some parts that are a bit tedious, but that's any game. Maybe it's just the fact that it was my first Zelda game, but I'm glad it was.
Twilight Princess doesn't really deserve the hate that it gets. It was a game made to address the outcry from the fans of OoT who hated WW. I feel like it succeeded. It takes OoT's gameplay and improves and modernizes, as well as expanding the world and dungeons in a natural way. The real truth of the matter is that Nintendo could make the best game of all time and the people who claim OoT is the best game ever will still continue to say that. People tend to latch on to the first Zelda they played, or the one that appealed to them the most. I had the original Zelda when it was new, and played it again and again. Link to the Past is really the one that sat the best with me though, and it's still my favorite to this day. It's why I think they should make more 2D Zelda games like it, and less like Phantom Hourglass and Skyward Sword. Other people don't care for the 2D Zelda games at all, and feel like they're the worst in the series. Tl:dr This game was made for a specific reason and targeted a specific group of the fanbase. The sale of the game reflect this, and no amount of internet comments from me or anyone else will change the truth. Twilight Princess was a very successful game, and actually one of the most focused games in the entire series.
I agree with you. The 2D Zelda games are more difficult in general, but most of those aren't exactly challenging either unless you're a more casual player. Moving the games into 3D lowered the challenge even further, and made them take longer to complete instead. As I said, Zelda 2 was definitely the hardest by far, and it's also the least liked.
***** Majora's Mask wasn't really 'focused'. I mean, sure, it too was a great game, but by its very nonlinear nature it isn't 'focused', but rather spread out.
I dissagre about Zant. I thought that was a wonderful twist. You spent the entire game terrified of that guy, and when you finally get to know him he turns out to be a total loon. I loved it.
TheRepty818 I liked the fact that Zant himself actually wasn't strong at all, and that his power was given him by Ganondorf. Without Ganondorf, he would be nothing. I love these twists where you suddenly see the true enemy behind the scenes who initiated it all.
i feel like it was just handled poorly. dmc3 is a game that does this really well with arkham/jester. arkham is this brooding evil mcevil guy who gets off on the idea of evil to the point he kills his wife to be more evil. he is of course also disguises himself as the jester an obnoxious coward that seems really incompetent even in his fights. this connection is only revealed come mission 13 he defeats everyone and claims the stage as the main antagonist and really highlights the most important part of this kind of twist ; expectations. zant is expected to be like darth vader but he's actually more relatable to kefka palazo minus the competence. arkhams reveal shows he's not the complete stoic but in actuality a massive nutjob with no grip on reality, but is still intimidating because of this, arguably more so. it also helps that unlike zant arkahm defeats you, and two other boss fights (one of which being the final boss of the game) with a single sweep kick showing you had good merit to be afraid of him where zant just gets demoted to an over glorified boss rush and a baloon you pop afterwards.
@@Neogears1312: yeah, arkham was great, and i liked the kefka comparison too, it feels like they drew inspiration from that for zant but didn't fully comprehend what made kefka a great villain
The art direction in this game is fantastic, every dungeon and area feels completely visually distinct. This is overall my favorite Zelda game despite the slow start (which built immersion for me) and odd story structure. It's also the easiest Zelda game to recommend considering everyone and their mother seems to have a Wii tucked away somewhere, and I'm certainly not recommending Skyward Sword.
+Arden Thomas It's the worst 3D Zelda game. The controls rely too much on motion and really limit the game's mechanics (and sometimes just borderline don't work), and the game reuses the same environments over and over to pad out the length with boring fetch quests. The one thing I can say for it as a positive is that the Zelda character in that game is easily the most compelling she's ever been, so the otherwise standard story feels more motivated. Still, Twilight Princess is better in almost every way (even if it too has its share of fetch quests XD).
Worst? It was my favorite. I like it more than ocarina of time, twilight princess or windwaker. I haven't played majora's mask though. I never had problems with the controls and I didn't even own an original motion plus, just a cheap chinese one.
I'm assuming what you liked about Skyward Sword was the story, so I would absolutely recommend Majora's Mask. One of the best stories in any game ever.
I just finished the GameCube version of this game and from what I see it is far superior to the Wii version. With nearly full camera control and no motion controls, the gameplay feels very solid and similar to the N64 games. I played a little bit of the Wii version beforehand and the motion controlling of the swordplay was boring and not needed. By the way, the Dolphin emulator provides a far better graphical experience (on an average of 760p-1050p) than the blurry console resolutions. All in all I felt the game was maybe a little too easy. I only needed Google help finding the last 14 poe souls because I wanted to finish the game faster. Some dungeons got me stuck but mostly because of my own stupidity, not that they were too hard. Unlike most people, I didn't feel that Ganondorf "cheated" his way into this game's story. Ganondorf was foreshadowed at least twice before his reveal. The thing that actually bothers me is how Zant becomes a joke after entering the Palace of Twilight. He was a pretty good villain before becoming that high-pitched voiced crazy guy. I didn't hate Ganon's inclusion and the finale with Hyrule Castle was extremely epic, except for the fact that the dungeon is VERY short for what it builds itself up to be. I haven't beaten The Wind Waker yet so I can't compare TP to it. But comparing to OoT and MM it's an okay game, pretty fun with a great atmosphere of darkness and excellent music. The Hyrule Field theme is absolutely great.
+Roger França I don't think that he's saying that the Gamecube version is worse, more so the Wii version is simply the one Nintendo wanted us to play, making it the "intended version."
+Roger França OoT got along with no full camera control. That's the point of Z-targeting. Motion controls are perfectly fine. It's just a glorified button. Unless you have severe arthritis, I don't see how it can be an inconvenience. "boring and not needed." What a horrible critique. Boring, yes, but are you saying shaking a Wii Remote is supposed to be funner than pressing a button. "Not needed". It is very needed in this case. I see more of a hardware mistake than game mistake. The lack of a button makes it pretty much essential to remap the B button.
***** It' an adventure game, not an RTS or MOBA where precision is a must. When is the last time you got completely screwed over in Skyward Sword because of motion controls?
Difference here is that the motion controls in Skyward Sword actually work, and you can walk around in first person to explore new areas which kinda solves the camera problem. TP's controls were so horrible that I couldn't even bother finish the game.
While I agree the Wii version is likely Nintendo's preferred way for you to play, this is undeniably a GameCube game first and foremost. They just slapped some motion controls on and mirrored the screen to accommodate right handedness.
Really wish they'd given you the option of flipping the game back for left-handed players. I, myself, am right-handed, but I always liked the little quirk of Link being a left-handed protagonist up until the Wii version of TP, then he's been right-handed ever since. Personally, I would have personally enjoyed the challenge of playing Link left-handed to keep with the longstanding series tradition at that point.
I would love to hear your thoughts on TP:HD , like what you did with windwaker , I feel like they improved on some aspects , like the vine climbing is faster and the bug hunt is much shorter
+TheKSH991 the tears of light hunt was still pretty annoying in the HD version. A little bit less annoying but still pretty annoying. The fact that they changed the vine climbing animation was good tho. Thing is, they still left a lot of things that needed fixing (imo) unchanged, like the fact you move extremely slow while walking on walls (with the iron boots in the 2nd dungeon), they didn't include a way to switch between day and night (of all the things that needed fixing this was imo the most important one, just why?), they left the issue with Midna´s Lament in the remaster, etc... Also some of the improvements felt like missed oportunities tbh. The Ghost Lantern was alright but honestly, a way to switch between day and night would have been WAY more useful for Poe hunting. Also, the new dungeon is just a Cave of Ordeals in Wolf form. I was expecting a real dungeon, with puzzles and shit... So long story made short: the HD Remaster improves the game in some aspects but at least imo, the improvements are minimal.
JealousBishop WW came before twilight princess dude , plus WW is like a no brainer when it comes to thinking about making a remake , it's graphics are timeless , in fact if I didn't know WW ever came out on the gamecube I would have thought it was a brand new zelda game
Matthewmatosis: "...if they actually attempt full-on voice acting, I have no doubt that it will be a trainwreck." Breath of the Wild: "the prophecy has been fulfilled."
Also I'd like to point out what seems like a glaring analytical flaw to your take on TP's Sword combat. The fact that all the enemies can be killed with standard swordplay does not remove the fact that some enemies can be killed faster or more efficiently with the expanded moveset. And it was clearly designed for the player to be able to do so in that way with some moves. I'm replaying the game for the first time in 9 years, and already this has become apparent. The toadpolis that spit at Link can be picked off with the bow, or Link can use the shield bash to reflect the shot. Or similarly with the tektites you could bait and swing at them or use the bow, but using the back slice is far and away the best way of killing them. Even the sumo mini boss in the Goron Mines I noticed you could bait the punch from the boss and then do a leaping slash, or get in his face, shield bash, and then do repeated pierce attacks. Not only does having the hidden moves being optional expand the ways in which to kill enemies, it also encourages experimentation and leads to a nice "ah HA" moment when you find what works best. Having the enemies designed to die at the hand of only one move bottlenecks the fight from the start and puts the fight on rails. With your example of the Darknuts being designed with the counter attack in mind, that is only the ever approach to killing those enemies that can be utilized, even when more than one Darknut in a fight is introduced. In TP, when taking on multiple Darknuts using the hidden moves make the fight significantly more manageable than baiting two or three swings at a time.
+Led Vogs I figured out how to kill enemies the faster way on my first play through and... the fact that it was so easy didn't make it any more enjoyable. There's a complete lack of tension with the sword combat in Twilight Princess regardless of whether you're swinging your sword over and over or figured out how to do it in one shot.
In my opinion the "Hidden Village" is my favorite place in all of Zelda. I LOVE the western theme to it, I LOVE the feeling of killing the bulblins with my bow, there are SO many buildings to explore inside, I think it is odd for all of those cats to be in there, I like the howling stone song, it's fun talking to the Cucco, it's kind of a twist to see a person still living there, and MUCH MUCH more to love about this place. I have a saved file just to do the "kill the bulblins" section.
Maybe it is just me, but I played Ocarina of Time first when I was younger then when I was older I played Twilight Princess. Twilight Princess does borrow a lot from Ocarina, but in my opinion it is the better game and personally I think many people who don't like TP is blinded by nostalgia, but I might be wrong.
Sometimes, it might be the case with Ocarina of Time. But not other games (unless they're think the first game is better than the rest) Also, it's expected that you played Ocarina of Time when you were younger since it came out 8 years prior. I like Twilight Princess. But I like other games better and it has nothing to do with nostalgia. Some say people only say MM is darker than TP cause of nostalgia. Nope especially since most people didn't even give MM a chance when it came out. MM is just a darker game.
gameaddict51 Arguable. Both Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess are dark, but in very different ways. Majora was more about the inevitability of death and sorrow, while Twilight was more about betrayal and fear. Calling one darker than the other is doing a disservice to both.
+LiveAnotherDave I sincerely hoped for that too but alas this was more of a rushed port than anything else. The game is great, but it could've been better with several tweaks. One of those is Midan's Lament, which didn't make it in... somehow =\
Christ, this game was my childhood. When I was younger, according to my save file, I put over 70 hours into it. I know that it doesn't even have that much content, but the world is just entrancing. I spent hours just riding through the fields and finding things. I wasn't that good at locating things, really, so I was still finding stuff hours and hours into it. However, I replayed it a few months ago, and I realize how... hollow it felt. I feel that if this game had been made on more modern hardware, it would've been superior in a multitude of ways. For example, a lot of cutscenes suffer from extremely stilted animations. This ruins the suspense in a lot of moments such as Lanayru's presentation.
After watching the TPHD retrospective that the Nintendo Devs did, its funny how right the phrase "Ocarina but bigger" is. They wanted the game to be bigger to match the realistic style thanks to improvements in hardware since the N64.
It frustrates me how some Ocarina of time fans, Fail to see that the songs being continued looped is what is annoying. At least Twilight Princess mixed it up, But Ocarina of time you ether get looped music when outside, Or Nighttime noises instead of Music that goes well with the environment. Not to mention, No Music Exist's on Hyrule field at night.
The feeling I had from this game was a series of exquisitely beautiful elements that failed to form a cohesive whole. There are so many little things I loved, like the warm home of the yetis with the giant pot of soup, the zora queen, and the whole business with the stalfos warrior. But looking back on it I strain to even remember what Zelda's role in the story was, which makes me wonder if the game wouldn't have been better not being a Zelda game at all, but an original property. There was simply too much... stuff going on, in addition to the pressure of being a direct sequel.
I’m very late to this but I like to think of this as majoras mask 2.0. It has nearly nothing to do with Zelda and it’s more focused on link as a character. It’s the legend of link if anything
I'm surprised you didn't mention the incovenience of having no way to manipulate time in this game, especially since the poe sidequest is partially affected by the day and night system, which can become an annoyance. That, and the fact that the Ooccoos are the most godawful-looking characters in the entire franchise. God I hate those... things.
I never finished the poe sidequest precisely for that reason. There's also no way to know where the ones you've missed are or which ones you've already gotten so if I wanted to get the last remaining ones I'd have to check every last corner of the world and wait for daytime to pass every single time. Fuck that.
Glad I wasn't the only one waiting for him to mention that, considering it's a horrendous game design flaw and arguably the biggest flaw in the whole game.
+Razorslash I was about to argue that Tingle is actually the most godawful-looking character, but then I remembered those soulless eyes...those green nipples... Man, Ooccoos are the WORST.
There's plenty bad about the game. The fact that it barely got anymore meaningful story going on that OOT, yet features way more cutscenes. The absolutely tedious first 30 minutes. The lack of functionality for the wolf form. The abyssal climbing speed. The fact that Zelda could have not been in this game and nothing really changed. The fact that Ganon could not have been in the game and it would probably better for it. The absolute destruction of Zant's character. The completely pointless cut scene after the fused shadow is completed, which serves no purpose at all except trying it's hardest to be edgy. The encounter music taking priority over Midna's Lament is an immersion breaking disaster. The fact that Hyrule Castle Town seems to be brimming with live but there's nothing really in it. The fact that the citizens don't even react to the castle being apprehended. Another immersion breaking disaster as well. The sidestory of the Ilya being resolved way to late at a point where many players probably forgot about it all together. The absolutely dated looking graphics. Link looking like a wooden puppet when ever he's supposed to express emotion. The non-optionality of the controls. The fact that it's way to willing to be like OOT and not like it's own game. Non of these are mere nitpicks at all
"The fact that it barely got anymore meaningful story going on that OOT, yet features way more cutscenes." What? TP has way more story than OOT - there's Zant and Midna's backstory, Ganondorf's execution, the entire world becoming engulfed in Twilight. The only story in OOT is some boy has to collect stuff and kill an evil guy. "The absolutely tedious first 30 minutes." This is the only point I agree with. "The lack of functionality for the wolf form." The wolf form allowed for some great secrets in the overworld - 12 years later and I'm still finding some of them. "The abyssal climbing speed." The climbing speed wasn't that bad. They improved it in the HD remaster anyway. "The fact that Zelda could have not been in this game and nothing really changed." Would you make that same comment about Majora's Mask? That game doesn't feature Zelda at all and people still love it. "The fact that Ganon could not have been in the game and it would probably better for it." Again - other Zelda games like Majora's Mask, Skyward Sword, the DS games, The Minish Cap all have no Ganondorf and they mostly don't get hate. "The absolute destruction of Zant's character." How was his character destructed? Zant just revealed his true personality later on in the game. Not only that - he killed Ganondorf! "The completely pointless cut scene after the fused shadow is completed, which serves no purpose at all except trying it's hardest to be edgy." It's not pointless and it's not edgy. It's a warning to Link about greed and power. You know the lack of story you were complaining about earlier? This contributes to it. "The encounter music taking priority over Midna's Lament is an immersion breaking disaster." It created more immersion for me. Midna's Lament gave me a sense of urgency, and the enemy music looping in gave me a sense of danger. "The fact that Hyrule Castle Town seems to be brimming with live but there's nothing really in it." Telma's Bar? Malo Mart? Agatha? The (pointless but still there) fortune-teller? Hyrule Castle itself? "The fact that the citizens don't even react to the castle being apprehended. Another immersion breaking disaster as well." That's because the citizens cannot see the castle barrier. Only Link, Midna and Zelda can. And it didn't break my immersion. "The sidestory of the Ilya being resolved way to late at a point where many players probably forgot about it all together." Illia's sidestory may have been a bit late, but I certainly don't think players forgot about it. It was more of a reminder of Link's Ordon life and why he needs to save the world. "The absolutely dated looking graphics. Link looking like a wooden puppet when ever he's supposed to express emotion." The graphics aren't dated. They're better than Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time. Link never expresses emotion? Look towards the end of that "pointless cutscene" you mentioned earlier. He doesn't show much emotion in any of the games as the players are supposed to have their own image of him. "The non-optionality of the controls." Just avoid the rubbish Wii version. 99% of Wii games have this problem - including other Zelda games like Skyward Sword. "The fact that it's way to willing to be like OOT and not like it's own game." OH GOD I'M DEALING WITH ONE OF THESE ZELDA FANS. LET'S GET THIS STRAIGHT. TWILIGHT PRINCESS IS A GAME ABOUT AN ORDINARY FARM BOY WHO HAS TO TURN INTO A WOLF AND TRAVEL BETWEEN TWO REALMS TO DEFEAT TWO EVIL VILLAINS. OCARINA OF TIME IS A GAME ABOUT A FAIRY BOY TRAVELLING BACK AND FORTH THROUGH TIME TO KILL A KING WHO RUINED HYRULE MARKET. *THEY DO NOT MATCH.* IF TP WAS ANY LESS LIKE OCARINA OF TIME, FANS WOULD COMPLAIN THAT IT'S NOT ZELDA.
Links live is in jeopardy because his secluded forest villiage is attacked by an evil force. He sets out on a journey into Hyrule in order to fix that's wrong. He later learns that a foreign force (which in the same force attacking his village) has infiltrated Hyrules court and causes trouble all over the country, while Zelda is powerless to do anything. He then sets out to collect 3 items which will unlock a secet weapon to smite evil. During this quest he is confronted with the various problems of the peoples of the land and afterwards he has a stand off with the main villian and everthing goes awry. He enters the temple of time and takes the Master Sword. Hyrule Castle is captured by Ganondorf. Link sets out to collect 5 more items in order to progess and open up the final dungeon. He then enters Hyrule Castle and has a face of with Ganondorf, who changes into a boar. Which game's story did I just summarise? 2. That fact alone doesn't remedy the fact that the Wolf has about as much functionality as *one* transformation mask from MM. Said MM has 4 more of those, countless other masks and a time travel mechanic, despite the fact that it had 1 year of dev time and came out a decade earlier. The wolf form and the shadow realm are supposed to be TPs main gimmick, just as sailing is for WW, masks and time travel is for MM, motion controls for SS, ect. It is utterly inexcuseable for a main gimmick to be so underdeveloped. 3. I personally found the climbing speed to be dreadful but I guess that's up to personal preference. Ah yes, the the HD remake. Sorry but I'm not inclined to spend another 40 bucks just to buy the same game again + a few minor fixes and a dungon i can unlock by buying a toy. 4. No I would not make the same point about about MM, because I staunchly believe that part of the reason MM is such a good Zelda game and such a great sequel to OOT is the fact that there is no Ganon, no Hyrule and (almost) no Zelda in it. MM had the balls to be entirely it's own thing and that's what makes it great. Thus I stand by my point: TP would have been a much greater game if neither Zelda nor Ganon had been in it. TP already introduced 2 perfectly great unique characters in Midna and Zant and should have spend it's time exploring their characters rather than shoehorning in Zelda and Ganon for the sake of nostalgica bait. Point is; TP DID have Ganon and Zelda, and they served no purpose. So I will critisise them accordingly. 5. Also, SS did feature Ganon, the game just refuses to call him that. Demise looks, acts and fulfills the same role as Ganon. 6. He was destroyed because there was very little build up to his eventual derangement. He was introduced as a calm and collected villian and stayed this way for most of the game until it was time for his boss fight. Had we seen him lose his cool slowly but steadily because Link crossed his plans way to effectively I would not complain about this. Essentially my problem is this: Zant was the driving force behind everthing that happened in this game up to this point, he has a personal connection to the heroes sidekick, which is a great setup for a main villian. The the game just goes: Nah, this guy is a loon and Ganon was behind it all. ( who btw has done jackshit throughout the course of this game) It was a cheap twist for the sake of having a twist and for the sake of shoehoring Ganon into the game. Zant as a character was wholly underutilised, which is sad, be cause he, like Midna could have been the best thing about the game. 7. It was utterly pointless and edgy. There is no point in warning Link of all people of abuusing power, because Link never ever considers this to be an option. It is not a theme important to his character. On my fist playthrough I admittedly thought it would be important for Midna later on, seeing how she tried to use an ancient and potentially uncontrollabe relic of great power for the sake of revenge, but the game never connects the dots on these things. Heck, it still astonishes me that Midna turning into a monster had no effect whatsoever on her character. It also never connects the theme to Zant who could also have been nicely woven into the narrative. Instead the scene is about Link and Ilya, neither of which desire power, nor consider abusing the powers they alread have ( in case of link). It is so utterly detached from everything going on in the game. If I think about TP I don't think of the game that made the use and abuse of power and how it can corrupt even the noblest of heroes it's central theme, because it didn't, which is also astonishing, cuz you'd expect the "Game of Shadows" to be about some sort of corruption. So really, I see no reason not to call it a pointless pseudo philosophical throwaway line. The game might aswell had Ganon go: "Remember kids, always eat your veggies" at some point. It was just as much to do with what's going on in the game and also "teaches the player a message for life." 6. Okay there's 4 shops of interest to Hyrule Castle Town. Great. So the dev might as well just could have slapped 4 shops into the middle of Hyrule field and called it a day. Of course that's cheap but, pretending there is more to HCT by simply adding countless nps that you can't interact with is equally as cheap. It just creates an illusion of things goingon, supposed to distracting you from the fact that there is not much going on. 7. That's a cheap cop-out. The citizens SHOULD have reacted to whats going on around them. And if it is actually true that the citizens cant actually see the barrier, thats a decision the writers made, and as such a decision they also *not could have made*. That is one of the very things that made both OoT and MM so great. The nps reacted to what was going on around them and thus it felt more real to the player. In TP there's no urgency invoked to actually fix the probelm of the Casle being apprehended. I just thought: "yeah I can't do shit about it and nobody seems to care anyway, so whatevs. Guess we'll get to then when the story line decides to." 8. And even after that cutscene he still looks incredibly wooden. The point is that the game tries to emulate a realistic artstyle, but fails at this because the console can't handle it. But that's a general problem with realistic artstyles. A few years later a there will be newer and better technology to make the artstyle even more realistic and all previous instances will loook dated. Link absolutely should expess emotion often you have to look no further than WW to see why. There Link does it all the time and it's one of the reasons WW is such a great game. It characterises Link tremendously without the use of cutscenes, voice acting or text, which only a few lines that form his face, while simultanously not sacrificing the "Link as the vessel for the player" part. This only works because WW has a less realistic, cartoony, artstyle and that's why I'm not at all impressed by overly realistic games anymore. Ultimately TP tries way to hard to be edgy, yet, as Mathew pointed out, there's nothing really in it that compares to previous instances in the series where actual scary or atmospheric shit was invoked. OoT, MM and even WW all feature things that are way more creepy than anthing TP presents, which is utter irony, considering that WW is the most lighthearted of the bunch. (I'd actually argue that Links wooden looking features in TP are even creepier than any of these, because porcellain dolls are fucking creepy, but i doubt that was the intention.) 9 Just because other Zelda games have this problem too, doesn't mean it's not a problem here. 10. -TP has largely the same story as OoT. -It begins with a plant dungeon, a fire dungeon and water dungeon, then the objective shifts and one has to enter 5 more dungeons. -It features adult link and a more realistic artstyle. -Zelda and Ganondorf are in it (albeit they both serve less active rolls). -Both feature a temple of time, with the same music playing in it, where link has to set the master sword into it's pedestal to open up a portal. -It features the traditional Hyrule, with both hyrule castle and Hyrule field. -The first temple after the objective shift features 4 poes who stole flames which Link needs to retrieve in order to progress, it is also a sand dungeon where you need to shift forms in order to progress as well, reminicent of the Desert Colossus. -The Lost Woods, full with Sarias song and Skull Kid. -Epona returns and is even used for the title sceen (which is one of the most strikingly obvious references to OoT). -Goma and Morpha are both in the game as well. -Even the Hylian shield returns, for the first time since OoT. (He actually goes over this at the end of the video, have you not watched it?) Also fuck those people that say TP would have been bad had it been too different. As Matthew rightly pointed out, part of the success of the Zelda series is thanks to it's willingness to give unique spins to it's formula. The only thing that sets TP apart from OoT is the shadow realm and the Wolf from, both of wich are heavy underutilised. TP had the potantial to be a great Zelda game, had it been allowed to be it's own thing. Sadly it wasn't and rather panders to nostalgia and edgyness boners. Which is a shame, since even though i am highly critical of some parts of the series, it's not like I don't want them to be good. The inverse is true. I want every Zelda game to be good, which is why I am so critical of it.
Great review as always Matt! 35:15 This part particularly hits home for me. lol Zant was such a cool, menacing villain. By far my favorite in the series. It's a shame the team didn't didn't expand more on his 'true' character and just decided to replace him with a completely out of character counterpart. A very impompetant storytelling decision, really. It kind of makes me want want to see an alternate fan-version of the ending (if not the entire game) to give Zant the proper characterization he deserves. I'd also like these improvements applied to the other lost potentials in the game (wolf Link, shadow realm, etc.)
I don't know why, but I really can't remember much of Twilight Princess. I can probably play OoT and Majora's Mask blindfolded, and I have a pretty solid memory of Wind Waker and Skyward Sword, but some of the areas in this video just look totally foreign to me.
I have the exact same issue but with Skyward Sword, because none of the places look like they are connected and part of a bigger world. Of any of the zeldas Twilight Princess feels the most like home to me.
I suppose it's a generational thing but OoT was the first game that I played, I started it when I was 7 and took almost three years to finish it playing on and off because whenever I got stuck I would just have to wait until I figured it out. To me it was the most incredible, immersive, transitively beautiful work of art. It turned me into a gamer, it introduced me to an entirely unique method of human expression, and it has this deep nurtured place in my heart. But as I grew up and played all of the Zelda games, while the 2D ones never quite hit me in the same way, I felt that MM, WW and TP just built and built upon one another, to the point where I now feel like TP is my favourite Zelda game. It's terribly subjective but then so is any one person's opinion on anything, and especially on Zelda games. Really we all know that almost every game in this series is an absolute triumph, and choosing which climbs just that little bit higher is going to come down to simply what resonates with you. For now that's twilight princess, but I don't doubt that my opinion could completely change on the subject. What matters most is that we all love and respect what incredible games they are, not get mired down in petty squabbles over which masterpiece is the most masterpiece-y. Happy questing folks
@@cosettapessa6417 absolutely obsessed of course haha, just an amazing experience. I'd struggle to rank it subjectively but if I make an effort to be objective I think it's the best game they've made. I am SO excited for tears of the kingdom
I think TP is the best Zelda game, but I also played it as my first Zelda game. Everything was new to me. So I cannot really relate to this review at all. Btw, any game that makes me cry is a win in my book, and believe me, the ending of this game always gets me.
That basically explains everything about my point of view. It was my first, but I still think that it was the best. From the stunning soundtrack and scenery, to its amazing plot and characters, I loved twilight princess. I never viewed the beginning as draggingly long, but I do agree that it was a pain to play through again when I replayed the game. I don't agree with many of his points though... I loved the wolf link form! I liked how you could play it whenever you want and was not restricted to just human link.
Dan Sanchez Heh. I really like TP, but I understand Matthew's points. The thing is, Nostalgia Factor is a huge influence on my mind. Elder Scrolls V: Dragonborn is basically one long, involved pandering session to fans of the Elder Scrolls series(such as myself) who started with Morrowind. It's the same thing with Twilight Princess, but I ultimately loved the game for it despite its flaws. Different strokes for different folks. Ironically enough, the first Zelda game I ever seriously played(but didn't finish until quite a while later, after I'd played and beaten Ocarina) was Majora's Mask... And Matthew's right: Anyone making that game their first Zelda game is going to be overwhelmed.
Jack Daone I agree! I loved TP but I have to disagree with it being overwhelming for a first game. At times, being a young child, I did get very frustrated at some points, but over all I wasn't really overwhelmed.
@Daniel Callahan Yes, that's important if you ask me. In a new game I want new music, not just repeated content. That may be a strange concept for zelda fans.
"Isn't as memorable" WTF???? -Hyrule Field. -Lake Hylia. -Midnas Theme -Boss Defeated. -Midna's lament. -Faron Woods. -Twilight. -Hidden Village. -Zant battle. -When you beat a boss and get a fused shadow/Mirror shard. -When Link makes that pose in the Eldin Bridge. -When Midna breaks the Mirror ... This is original music.
I disagree with you about Zant. I Liked that he was not yet another serious villain. He also had very good reason to be pissed. you had outdone him in every turn so going crazy was exactly what this character shoud do.
The point was that he was set up to be the serious main villain, making him go crazy felt out of character and completely forced. The whole game he's pretty much a badass that actually conquers hyrule and the twilight realm. Link doesn't "outdo" him at every turn he actually is defeated by Zant at first when he nearly kills Midna and turns Link into a wolf permanently but only AFTER they collected the fused shadows. He was cold, calculated, and dangerous which is much more interesting than when he lost his mind.
Crazy villains are also difficult to pull off anyway. They often feel arbitrarily made that way so you don't have to explain how what they do is justifiable. Because they're insane, it's all fine. There's also hilarious anime logic when explaining the cause of insanity: for example, somebody saw someone they love murdered in front of they're eyes, therefore crazy. That's not how insanity works. They also had a the rare benefit of making a realistic villain that isn't out to destroy the world for a 98th time, instead it's a matter of conquest and a power struggle. That's always too small of a scope, though, isn't it? To me, this is the biggest loss.
The thing that's amusing is that a villain isn't supposed to be an all-round bad person, they're just supposed to stand in opposition to the protagonist, and often through having a different goal, but also best when tied deeply to the character in some way. Most often, however, they intentionally make them unsympathetic, and spiteful, and not tied to the character at all, other than people the world's evilest roadblock. This is what separates nurse Ratched from an avalanche. I never thought that these end of the world bringing villains could ever have empathetic motives due to how innately extreme it is, but then Wakfu blew my mind with such a simple twist to it. But yes, joker and majora work basically due to the lack of an origin story, though, which is a cop out in itself, but a whole lot more effective than not leaving it a mystery. It would be midichlorians all over again. The common theme just seem to be a complete lack of subtlety.
***** Because villains are a trope and a tool and in no way mandatory. It's also arbitrarily assigned to certain settings, but it can be set in a modern (relatively) day drama like it was in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which basically shows how to use it right because it sheds all of its unecessary associations.
"Nintendo shouldnt have voice acting in zelda (unless its giberish) because it would be a trainwreck" I played breath of the wild, you are an actual genius to have predicted this.
17:40 wow, he was right, the voice acting for the english version of breath of the wild is pretty bad. Speaking gibberish would have actually been better at this point.
@@Makkuvideos Eh, I think the voice actors were mostly finding their footing in Breath of the Wild. They've vastly improved in Age of Calamity, especially Mipha's VA. While I don't think the accent would work for every version of Zelda, for this version of her I think the accent fits her fine.
I personally hated the fight with Ganondorf, him hiding behind the princess, then transforming into a beast in anger then running away from you, the one person he wants to crush permanently, THEN finally calming down for a 1 vs 1 battle is totally out of character and flirts with cowardise. Remember, in Ocarina of Time, you pissed him off so much he punched the floors off his castle just to get you. He then crumbled his home over your head and then, finally, snapped out of control.
and the two zelda on the NES, and the skyward sword one even if I hated it. We never see him die for good and it's never even once stated that it is not the same one.
He was petrified. I bet you 10 bucks that removing the sword will make Ganon fleshy again in the following minute. Also, Petrification can be reversed in a number of ways. Dispel magic and Break Enchantments are good ways but if you're going *by the book* then it wouldn't work. The petrification was not an arcane spell but rather a special effect of the sword meeting it's nemesis. If you treat this case as you would a basilisk then Stone To Flesh will work, as does a Wish or Miracle spell and their limited counterpart. If you have nothing like these, just smash the statue and resurrect the bastard. If you're not nosebleeding yet and get the joke then hey, you're amazing. If not you missed something good when you were young. DnD was amazing.
I used to have the same gripes about the "edgy" cutscene of dark versions of Link and the upside Illias. I always assumed it was, as Mathew suggests, just Twilight Princess' attempt to be edgier than Wind Waker. But It actually is a clever use of visual symbolism. It doesn't represent Link or Illia at all. It's not giving examples of individuals, or even potential individuals, but concepts. it is projecting him and Illia as placeholders for Adam/Eve and varias concepts of the human condition because it's an anectdote (a somewhat biblically themed one) that is being projected through Link. And so "Human Condition" is represented through various Links. And Illia represents temptation. They are generic placeholders, and if it was any other face being used, this cutscene would seem less like Link being in a state of hypnosis, interpreting a tale, and more like an arbitrary little movie that the gods are literally playing for him in his brain. It's supposed to be interpretive to Link. Not an interpretation of him. The is not some arbitrary edgy suggestion that Link might have a dark side. It is not even hinting any bit of corruption in Link. The gods are not giving him a cautionary tale. It's strictly informative, explaining what the Triforce (a magical get-whatever-you-want thing) does to mortal souls. Link is Humanity. Illia is Temptation. Triforce is Apple. I do not think Link has ever (or will ever) show a hint of corruption reguardless of how dark the LoZ games become. It would counteract the nature of his purpose. Like a foolish Zelda. Or a charitable Ganondorf. Every Hero/Link is Courage personified, and if any of them were sucesptable to cowardice/unkindness/greed, they simply would not posess pure Courage, and therefore not be The Hero.
Might have been aiming at lofty concepts (cannot emphasize "might" enough there), but I think the execution was downright embarrassing regardless. Setting aside the faux-edgy tone, it just looks silly to the point of completely distracting from any sort of greater messages it might've been trying to convey. I think they're pretty cringeworthy at the end of the day, "visual symbolism" or no.
Nailed the predictions on voice acting in future Zelda games. Uncanny. Also your analysis style throughout your videos are amazing and I'm sorry I've only found them now. :)
Your side rant about the camera control is exactly why the GameCube version of TP is far superior. That, and the ability to perform unlimited quickspin attacks instead of having to wait for it to "recharge"
Even after playing every 3D Zelda game, Twilight Princess is still my favorite due to the large amount of dungeons, fun combat, large world, and epic climactic final boss fight.
The WII and the GC version's are almost EXACTLY the same. The only difference is the controls and the map is flipped. Also, you are not allowed to complain about controls in any form if choose to ignore it's a GC game ported to WII. Of course it makes you use the motion controls, if it didn't, there'd be no point in releasing the REAL version, GC. Yeah, I said it. The game was made for GC and was ONLY PORTED TO WII because they took to long. The difference's between them are EXTREMELY slim, as I said at the beginning. Controls, and the entire game is flipped. Otherwise, it's exactly the same.
If you consider it was made for the Gamecube first, then they already had the set-up they needed for a more classical set-up. Leaving that out might give you a reason to own the other version if you have both consoles, but it's valid to expect that someone looking to buy the game that only owns one of them would want them to have a comfortable control scheme. Regardless of what your favorite development kit is, it's still an issue that held the experience back for a lot of players.
***** I own the GameCube version also, and hate the Wii version. I get what you're saying about reviewing what most people own and play, but because it was released on both consoles with different mechanics for each, it would have been a more balanced review overall if the reviewer had taken the time to play with the GameCube version; not to completion necessarily, but to at least enough to fairly compare and contrast the differences and pros and cons of each for ALL players, especially since that's the platform it was created for in the first place. Surely this guy knows someone with a GameCube and could have rented that version for a few hours.
***** I understand that, but I'm just saying, in my opinion, his complaining about not being able to use a GameCube controller for the Wii version seemed a bit much to me...if you think you'd prefer the controls of the other platform the game was released on, play that version instead of complaining only about the controls on one version, or acting like Wii players are entitled to access to both control schemes when it actually makes perfect sense that controls would work better on the original platform and Nintendo wanted you to play with motion controls, so to give the option to use a GameCube controller would have defeated the purpose of releasing it on a Wii. So anyway, all that to say, any review on a game released on multiple platforms is always more balanced when all platforms are taken into consideration. For example, in his OoT review, he notes briefly that OoT on 3ds has improved graphics and the iron boots are equipable which improves parts of the gameplay. Same can be said about noting that there are advantages, disadvantages, and differences, however small, to playing the GC version. He nitpicked enough to gripe about the occasional inadequacy of motion controls, so it's only fair that I can nitpick and say that he should mention that these inadequacies are non-existent in the GC version.
@yedaperry "He nitpicked enough to gripe about the occasional inadequacy of motion controls, so it's only fair that I can nitpick and say that he should mention that these inadequacies are non-existent in the GC version" Duh. He said at the start of the review that he will focus on the Wii version only. Also, thats why he wanted the Wii version to be able to play with GC controllers, wich I completely agree with. TP is always a pain for me to go back to these days since I have the Wii version and I hate the motion controls, wich are basically the same as if it were designed for a controller (the aiming is amazing though, feels like playing a shooter on a PC). "or acting like Wii players are entitled to access to both control schemes when it actually makes perfect sense that controls would work better on the original platform and Nintendo wanted you to play with motion controls, so to give the option to use a GameCube controller would have defeated the purpose of releasing it on a Wii." Enttled to access both control schemes? Why the fuck shouldn't they be entitled to both? They are playing on improved hardware capable of running GC and motion controls. Not sure if I understood you correctly, but do you really think that its better to leave the option out to use the GC controllers for the Wii version? Might as well leave the option to play GC games for Wii, then. If Nintendo is confident in their motion controls, then I see no reason not to let the Wii players plug in a GC controller for TP if they want. The motion controls were rather forced.
I found that Twilight Princess's similarities to Ocarina improve the gameplay experience rather than harm it. Playing these games with a long time between them would probably cause some resentment towards TP, since it would be something you interpret as recycling of old concepts, but when I first played TP, I was in the middle of a playthrough of Ocarina on the virtual console. Seeing these similarities back to back made me realize that the concepts from ocarina used in TP were truly an evolution of the concepts, like the variety of bombs, accesibility of the Zora tunic, and enormous improvement of the clawshot over the hookshot. For those reasons, I can easily say that Twilight princess is my favorite 3D Zelda game. It felt like the first time a 3D Zelda game was overall wholly improved over its predecessor. The game undeniably has many flaws (like the first two hours of the game), but I find that it has the most forgivable flaws out of any 3D Zelda game up to date.
Exactly, I always saw Twilight Princess's similarities to Ocarina of Time to be beneficial to the series. It helped preserve and reestablish the lore from Ocarina, while also putting a unique twist on it. While Majora's Mask and Wind Waker are fantastic games, they pale in comparison to the scale of Twilight Princess's grand interpretation of the series' lore.
I don't know. While your review was logical and made sense, I just don't think Tp is nearly as bad as you make it out to be. Sure it was a little closer to Oot, and a little more linear, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem, considering just how great it is. It has it's own style that is, in fact very different from Oot and the other games in the series. It has, by far the most character development, story, good items, and amazing bosses/ dungeons than any other 3D console game I've played. I also kinda like the difference in Toon Link, and Tp Link's personalities. I feel that if this Link were over-exaggerated like Toon Link, he would be too simaller to that incarnation. Instead, this one tends to be more quiet, mature, and has a very satisfying personality in a completely different way. I also love this art style, and music. They obviously had a lot of effort put into them for this game and look/sound stunning, even without the HD version. In my opinion, you are underrating a very strong game quite heavily, but an opinion is an opinion, and I mean no offense in any way. :) (also ikr about the Midna's Lament problem! They really should have fixed this!)
He never called Twilight Princess a bad game and while his criticisms may sound harsh, he doesn't hate TP overall and merely just doesn't give it very much respect because of how unoriginal it is. Zelda games are very malleable and can be drastically different from previous titles but TP doesn't even try to hide the fact that it was made to appease OoT fans who weren't happy about Majora's Mask or Wind Waker.
I see people rip on Twilight Princess all the time, but in reality it did a lot of the Zelda tropes better than any other game in the franchise. It had the best dungeons, the best boss fights. The most unique art style. An amazing villain (that isn't Ganon). And without a doubt, the best companion out of any Zelda game. Midna was actually an interesting character, and she served an actual purpose in the game's story. My point is Twilight Princess is a severely underrated Zelda game, and it gets way more hate than it deserves.
Ninja of Irony I agree that it had the best dungeons and companion, but Zant was cool until they destroyed his character, it's art style is releastic and generic, and the boss fights were too easy. But hey, all of that is only up to opinion.
I was livid when they released this game on Wii first. Ever since the days of OoC people were looking foreword to a high fidelity Zelda on a new console. It didn't help that there were really nice renders of a high fidelity Link vs Ganondorf fight in circulation that likely belonged to some internal tests or some early abandoned pre-alpha. When Wind Waker came it felt kind of like a cop out and when they finally gave us something that looked close to these renders they didn't give it to the console that it was anticipated for first. Funny enough, Wind Waker has aged much better in my opinion and is overall a game I enjoy far more than Twilight princess now. What turns me off from Twilight Princess now is the ridiculous levels of post processing, there is so much bloom and blur that it look like Link is inside a sauna for the entirety of the game. This kind of thing always was an issue for Nintendo productions. Starting of with the more vague looking pseudo 3D on the FX chip for SNES, build-in forced FXAA on N64 and extreme post processing filters on a lot of GC/Wii/WiiU games. This was also the last Nintendo game I played for years since I didn't see much value in the Wii with it's dumb gimmick controlls and lack of third party games. Got to play a most of the interesting titles later on when I got a WiiU.
It is an awesome version of the game. It improved the wall climbing that TP Link was notably slow at, they added a lantern to let you know when Poe's Souls are around lessening the confusion of the originals. The graphics were preserved with a removal of bloom to show off the environments and characters models (unlike Wind Waker HD, which added a bloom effect to the water), you have an option to play the game like the GC version on Normal Difficulty and the Wii version (minus motion controlled sword play) on Hero Mode, which is a fantastic way to please fans of either version. Like Wind Waker, many of the items use the gyro control and the bow really benefits from this change in controls. My biggest complaint about this near perfect package would be the framerate. It can stutter at times when riding Epona in Hyrule Field, and though the dungeons play perfectly, I am baffled by the framerate being worse than the originals. Don't get me wrong, the additions and improvements give it the highest recommendation from me, but I would still get the GC version since it plays that little bit better, despite the Poe's Souls being a pain to find.
Although i think you're on the point regarding the tutorials in the beginning, i found myself to be very appealed to the vibes of the first segment of TP. It was so over the top cheesy - like the rest of the game was gritty and aetheric - in the way the characters lived in peace and harmony (too unreal for even high fantasy to ever touch) but still sold it very charming. That harsh contrast to the rest of the game made the fact, that link was sent on an adventure he never wanted any business with in the first place very touching for me. Even though he shows almost no emotions in TP i cared much for the sidequest around his hometown ... and even less for the rest (except midna ... she's cool). One think that is also very big about TP are the 3D Zelda series iconic items and mechanics and what they learned from the three previous titles: Sword, Bow, Hookshot, Boomerang, Horse and arguably the Iron Boots (which i mention for a reason). They had very fresh ideas about all those items and most of them are imho the best you can make of it. So i see it less as a recycled OoT but as remastered and highly polished 3D-Zelda best of. 1) The sword techniques were superb and though they were optional (which as you stated shouldn't be optional, to influence more creative enemy design) they felt intuitive to use and gave a feeling of progression in character-skill ... more than a double-charged spin attack ever could. And walking while cutting grass ... who doesn't love it? 2) The bow-aiming felt more refined than in any other zelda game and the option to connect bombs to the arrows created a satisfactory weapon and puzzle solving tool. 3) The iron boots took all the good things of OoT and WW, combined them and added a bunch of new stuff: Walk under water to the point of even placing bombs there, refining the OoT underwater movement and combing it with the good aspects of MM Zora mask, outmaneuver heavier enemies (gorons), resist gysers and walk up water currents, pull down objects you're hangning on - for example to drop in the treasure island chicken game and the dragon-boss - use the magnetic properties of iron to walk on walls and the ceiling. They are used in four or even more mechanical ways BEFORE you even get the zora-armor!! That is much considering it's the underdog of the items. And i respect those design decisions much, because i had the choice to walk up a waterslide or pull down a chicken because they thought of it. They considered that players would try out those things and implimented it, which makes the world so increadibly much more believable to me. btw. did anyone notice, that the Iron boots is the item that is seen in most bossfights throughout the game? 4) Don't forget that before all the tutorials ruin the start, the first thing you are introduced to after learning how to walk, is how to call and to ride your horse. That is remarkable and i think you understated the use of epona in TP. You sit on horseback nearly everytime you're not damned to be a wolf. Also fighting and precise shooting while riding, is a thing i consider stylish and well done. The boomerang and the double hookshot got praised enough and they deserve it. Also TP is the first 3D Zelda not to have a magic-meter and i didn't miss it one bit.
I've played this game like 11 times yet i can never remember much of it other than the scary desert, wolf link and the cats, and midna being sick and the spirit but thats it i literally cannot remember anything else
I feel TP is one of the weakest games in the Zelda franchise. When i think of the Zelda games that really stick out in my memory its just about every single one except TP and Skyward Sword. TP wasnt a rehash but as you said in the review, it felt too familiar. It felt like an inferior version of OOT. I did enjoy TP and its honestly nearly impossible to play a "bad" Zelda game but TP just didnt have the impact that the others did. I havent played TP in a while and ive played OOT much more recently on the 3DS and honestly if i had to pick one to play right now i would still pick OOT
The LACK of CAMERA CONTROL is not the fault of motion controls! Many 3rd Person Wii games have found good solutions. Just two give two: -The fairy good be used to turn the camera like a crosshair in a FPS. -Turning either Nunchuck or Wiimote in addition to pressing a button turns the camera. I don't understand how Nintendo could be so incompetent. Or maybe they thought no one would care. And unfortunately the vast majority doesn't care (as I have found out)... even long-time Zelda fans. You and I are an exception. :(
ZedK49 Japanese game designers have a really hard time making stylistic decisions that make sense both for their own audience and for the US audience. Japanese market usually expects extreme, overly- dramatic character behavior to express the emotional depth of a situation. This is a part of the reason a lot of people either love or hate things like Anime. I hate it just as much as you do to be honest. And I hope BotW doesn't go down that path because I think it will.
Honestly, I think this is one of the much better games in the series. I don't understand why people complain so much about it being "too similar" to OoT. Over the entire run of the 3D games in the *series*, which spanned almost 20 years, this is the only 3D game in the *series* that actually feels like a proper *sequel* to the original 3D game in the *series*...There's a reason that I made that word bold. This is a *series* which means, more of the same. That's what people want. More of the same. While you can dissect this game as much as you want, point out it's flaws, talk about how other games bring more new things to the table..but at the end of it all....This was still the best selling game in the series, only surpassing OoT if you combine the sales of both of the console versions. This is what people wanted. While I won't deny the WW art style has aged much better, I never felt it was right for the Zelda series. Even though that was a perfectly fine game and played well, it's still one of my least liked in the series because of how much it deviates from the Zelda feel in look and setting. As much as I do adore MM, TP is the only other 3D game in the *series* that actually *feels* completely like a Zelda game and I feel that it's ridiculous to use that as a negative point against it. While I completely agree with every other negative point in this review- the wolf form feeling over all poorly implemented, the story feeling really sluggish and getting in the way of the actual gameplay, I appreciate this game so much just because it feels like a proper return to form. I don't play the Zelda *series* to go sailing, or to fly through the skies on a bird, or conduct trains...I play them because I want to traverse the open fields of Hyrule, and explore the dungeons hidden in the deep darkest corners of the land. While I can appreciate the creators wanting to craft newer experiences, I've never been in the camp of believing that difference just for the mere sake of it is a good idea and I think that the series would do good with some proper grounding. Literal pun intended. Such deviations should be a rare luxury. Not the set standard for the *series*. One of the things that made me appreciate Termina so much initially was how, at the time, rare it was for the series to explore beyond Hyrule. In hindsight, I can't say I feel the same way. If it wasn't so much for the *series* trying entirely to hard to be different and innovative with every entry, I wouldn't give this particular game in question more praise than it deserves. All the games in the series that try so hard to deviate from the general look, setting, and feel of the *series* tend to be the worst selling and most under appreciated in the *series*. You could say that people as a broad general audience should be more open to new experiences..but I don't think that's exactly a fair demand to make on people who are consuming products of a *series* and are really only contributing to that *series* because they want more of the same. I think the series would be much more successful if the developers quite worrying so much to make everything feel so radically different from the Zelda norm, and instead just focused on making the best *Zelda* experience possible. To be completely honest, if you or anybody else feel that that Zelda experience is growing tired or cliche, than you as an individual might want to take a break from the series instead of demanding the overall experience change. Pokemon is the best example of this. Sure, it gets flack for being pretty much the same game over, and over again...but it's easily one of Nintendo's best selling, if not the best selling of their franchises. Pokemon games know exactly what they want to accomplish and provide the Pokemon experience that the fans buy the games for and the *sales reflect this*. While I appreciate the willingness to experiment with the likes of WW, it's one of the last games in the *series* I ever replay, favoring instead to just replay OoT or, yes, TP over again for the Zelda experience I crave when I want to play one of the games. I love OoT, but the only reason it's still the fan favorite and the crowned king of the series is because none of the other games have ever dethroned it by doing what it does...but better. TP came close to this, but fell flat on it's face from trying to deviate. People can complain all they want about this game being "OoT 2.0" but that's why it sold so well, that's what people want, and it's not fair to call it that...because in that regard, it failed.
It's interesting what you say about the feel of the game because when I played through the game the first time, I could never shake the feeling that it just DIDN'T feel like a Zelda-game... Also, I can't really agree with you in regards to the parts about change and the use of Pokémon as an example. Sure it might sell, but does it make the games BETTER? In my opinion -- no. Especially not Pokémon. The Pokémon games have become stagnant and stale. I intend to buy Alpha Sapphire, but that's only because Sapphire was my first Pokémon game, but after that, I don't intend to spend any more money supporting that franchise. It's just so. Freaking. Boring. Playing the exact same thing over and over again. Give us another game like Pokémon Colosseum. A game focused on an actual STORY rather than the tired "beat 8 gyms, beat the elite four" bs.
WolfieboyMachi Yeah, I honestly feel like WW would be a much better game if it had dropped the few connections it has with Zelda and focused on being a pirate adventure game. Focused on sailing and treasure hunting. Same with SS. It's different enough that it could have easily been it's own IP. Just because it's gotten stale for you doesn't mean the series looses strength. Pokemon adds new elements with every iteration. They improve it while leaving the core experience intact or changing the over all feel of the game. Because Pokemon knows exactly what it is, it's a stronger series, with a more unified fanbase, and sells extremely well. Compared to Zelda where the feel, quality, and sales of the game shift dramatically all throughout the series...Pokemon is successful and consistent. Despite what people say, at the end of the day they really do want consistency. As I said earlier, if you yourself find a series to be getting stale, then you yourself need to take a break from the series instead of demanding it change to suit your tastes. I don't mean that in a negative way. If one finds that the only way they can keep interest in a series is if it's changed drastically...Then they obviously aren't feeling it anymore. I applaud Pokemon immensely for being able to upgrade and improve there games without loosing sight of what their games are about or how they feel. I love Pokemon's consistency and I wouldn't never want to seem them change the groundwork for their main line of games. I appreciate the side-series games for being different and knowing what they are...rare deviations that are a treat because the break away from the consistency, without changing it. I just wish Aonuma would quite trying to bang the inner mechanics of Zelda to death with a wrench. Instead, let him express his new creative ideas in new IPs, where they can flourish, instead of awkwardly shoehorning them into an existing formula that doesn't fit the same feeling. If that means getting Zelda games less frequently...So be it. I'd rather get less frequent games that feel more focused and genuine than a gamble on a gimmick every few years...Which is unfortunately what this series is quickly becoming. I would have a single complaint with WW if it wasn't batching completely the tone, setting, and feeling of a pre-existing franchise. Nor would I have as much problem with SS if it didn't feel like it had "Zelda" arbitrarily forced onto the box. Nintendo has had more than just one platformer series, RPG series, Sci Fi series, that all explore different ideas. There's no reason they can't make a new adventure series to explore their newer ideas.
theshawn666 The only thing Pokémon adds are new Pokémon, (contributing to the already overcrowded roster) plus minor tweaks to the mechanics. Save for X and Y which finally gave us what we've been waiting for for over ten years -- a fully 3D pokemon adventure. Which is why I bought it, even though I've still yet to finish Pokémon Black. Pokémon is not consistent in its quality. Ask the hardcore Pokémon fans and they'll tell you some games are vastly superior to others. A game series can keep what their games are about and how they feel (in the case of Pokémon -- catching monsters, training them to be stronger and rise up to a challenge) and still bring something interesting and different to the table. Like for instance, let's say a Pokémon game, developed by gamefreak had come out, yet instead of doing the same mundane task of defeating 8 gyms and defeating the Elite Four, the player had to, say, save the world. Like in the second Pokémon movie. Now let's say that that story, despite having a simple premise, had great characters with great character development, a fresh, well though out lore and world and a well-written story. You really don't think that would sell? Of course it would. Often times, people don't know what they want until they get it. Just look at Minecraft. I think many people are playing Pokémon both for nostalgic reasons, and because their friends are playing it. That's also something we've seen happen several times. Again with Minecraft as well as with other games like World of Warcraft. Playing Pokémon has, for many who grew up with the franchise, become a tradition. And traditions die hard. Especially when tied to such strong nostalgia. And just look at the case of the latest Zelda. A Zelda game with an open world. And people are super stoked about it. Yet another case of people being excited and open to change, and a franchise gaining for daring to improve rather than staying stagnant. Wind Waker batching the tone, setting and feel of a pre-existing franchise is entirely a matter of subjective opinion. I thought Wind Waker felt WAY more like a Zelda-game than Twilight Princess did. The Zelda games had always looked cartoony and had bright colors. Even Majora's Mask, which was a way darker game than any previous game in the series, had it. And then TP comes along being dark, gritty with washed out colors and with a "realistic" feel. How is that not botching the feel of the Zelda franchise? And while I do agree that Nintendo could benefit from new IPs to explore new ideas, I still don't think they should try and do new thigns with their already existing franchises.
WolfieboyMachi First of all. If you don't think Pokemon changes beyond just adding Pokemon, Alpha Sapphire would like a word with you. I've just spent the last 40 mins freely soaring over Hoen and that's just one of the major upgrades it brings. Every Pokemon game has fresh ideas implemented in them, built around the traditional Pokemon structure. Pokemon is consistent. The main series Pokemon games are probably the best example of video game consistency. One of the main ways this shows are with sales. Juxtaposed to the Zelda series, every entry in the series sell consistently well. OR/AS has only been out for a little over a week and a half and not only has it sold about 9 times as much as Skyward Sword did it's opening week, just a little over a week and a half and this game has already sold over half of SS's *life time sales*....by the end of this month it will probably outsell SS at least 2-3 times over. "Like for instance, let's say a Pokémon game, developed by gamefreak had come out, yet instead of doing the same mundane task of defeating 8 gyms and defeating the Elite Four, the player had to, say, save the world." You save the world in 4 of the main series Pokemon games...While still getting the badges...Did you just quit playing the games for an extended amount of time or something? Taking the Badges out of Pokemon would be like taking the dungeons out of Zelda... ."Often times, people don't know what they want until they get it" That's true for new IPs...Not really series' that have been going on for almost 20 years. People know exactly what they want out of Pokemon. If you don't believe me, all you have to do is look at the sales of the spin-off games...Yeah, people want a "Pokemon" game, when they actually purchase a Pokemon game...Go figure. "And just look at the case of the latest Zelda. A Zelda game with an open world. And people are super stoked about it." You mean the open world that is a *throwback to the series' roots*? That open world?...I'm not sure how old you are, but the further I read into your response, the younger you seem...Let me break it down for you kiddo, *Zelda 1 invented the concept of big open worlds in video games*. With the exception of SS, they've all had some fair sized open worlds. People are stoked for it because SS, which was the new deviation for the traditional formula, botched the original feel of the series entirely. This new Zelda isn't doing anything new in terms of world openness, to the contrary, it's just taking it back to what it used to be. "Wind Waker batching the tone, setting and feel of a pre-existing franchise is entirely a matter of subjective opinion" No it's not. Having a bias for or against the changes made in WW are subjective...Saying that a game in a series that changed the entire look and feel of the franchise, changed the entire layout of the world, and focuses on sailing in a series that was never about sailing is a drastic departure for the norm is not subjective in the slightest...because that's exactly what WW did. If it wasn't for the pathetically small amount of dungeons and the small handfull of references to the other games, WW could pass as an entirely different IP honestly. "I thought Wind Waker felt WAY more like a Zelda-game than Twilight Princess did. The Zelda games had always looked cartoony and had bright colors. Even Majora's Mask, which was a way darker game than any previous game in the series, had it. And then TP comes along being dark, gritty with washed out colors and with a "realistic" feel. How is that not botching the feel of the Zelda franchise?" Really?...because one of the most common complaints about TP is that *it feels too much* like other games in the series...Specifically OoT. No, the series has not always been cartoony nor was it always filled with bright colors. The first 2 games were very dull and earthy. The third game actually had pretty realistic colors for a SNES title, the fourth game was in black and white, and the N64 titles are as realistic as the N64 could manage. TP wasn't a "dark, gritty departure". It was a (much needed in my opinion) return to traditional fantasy visuals in the series. If OoT had originally been made on the GC, that's how it would look. You can look at the space world tech demo if you need proof. The only thing remotely cartoony about the older games was the concept art usually followed popular fantasy styles for the times. The artwork for the originals look similar to the original Hobbit movie (earthy tones and all), Link to the Past and Link's Awakening's artwork looked like the animated Sword in the Stone movie (still realistic earth colors). OoT/MM's artwork look like typical 90's fantasy, and TP looks like it took inspiration from LotR. They all looked traditionally fantasy...and WW shat all over that... Also, I have no idea where this notion of TP being completely depraved of color is comping from. The only parts of the game that lacked color were the Twilight Realm segments. The rest of the game actually had quite a bit of color. They just looked a bit earthy...Like they always have in the series...It actually looks more comparable to a GC version of MM in terms of color. There's a difference between trying to features or new ideas to make the experience as polished as possible...You know, what most series do...and completely changing everything up for the sole purpose of...trying to be different?...Difference without purpose is superficial and retarded. If Nintendo wanted to make a game about Pirates and sailing, then why not just make a game about pirates and sailing instead of awkwardly forcing it into a pre-existing franchise that has nothing to do with that stuff? Sales in the Zelda series are declining overall, so you can't make the argument that these changes are keeping the games relevant and interesting to the mass consumer. All the games that made the most deviations (MM, WW, SS) are some of the worst selling in the entire series, while the ones that stay true to what the series is about sell the best. Clearly, people know what they want. Nintendo has always had the problem of trying to tell the consumers what they want instead of actually listening though. Look at how much excitement was present for the HD TP tech demo they showed a couple of years back...You don't have to look very far to see huge amounts of people that are already displeased that Zelda U isn't following that sort of aesthetic.
I really don't agree with you specially with the “Zelda" feel part, just because it is not realistic looking or because it isn't on Hyrule doesn't mean it has the Zelda feel, the Zelda feel is enjoyable puzzles and side-quests, a few comedic moments here and there, talk about being a hero, and courage and overcoming the odds and exploring, saying that because you're not in Hyrule it isn't Zelda, or because you wouldn't recognize Link without his green tunic it doesn't feel Zelda is what makes a series feel stale, yes it was what sold the most but it is a clear case of the client isn't always right scenario, people thought they wanted a sequel that would grow from OOT but they really didn't I know I was on board with it, I liked TP, but it is one of the Zelda games I play less and I have every Zelda game to date, and atleast every vacation period I try to complete a Zelda marathon which is kind of my weird ritual, but when I get to TP i usually have already played OOT which atleast has the nostalgia factor alongside it, if the series want to grow storywise, or gameplaywise or any other way they have to take more risks, I know I couldn't believe myself when the new land in spirit tracks was also called Hyrule, despite the king of read lions passionately telling them to find a new land that won't be Hyrule, at the very least I respect that timeline because it doesn't have ganondorf and the madter sword in it, doesn't mean I don't want the master sword, Hyrule or Ganondorf in it, as there are other timelines that get away with having Hyrule and Ganondorf in them, but atleast they have them in more refreshing ways, four swords adventures didn't have the zoras in Hyrule but had different new tribes which felt fresh, the oracle games had Ganon in it but weren't played in Hyrule, different touches like that help keep this eternal series fresh, I know I love my Zelda it is my favorite videogame series, but I feel that they should take more risks to bring us better and more rich experiences, they have every tool to make that happen, rarely are the heroes connected or related, the series have ventured outside of Hyrule and have brought interesting tribes, villains and lore to flesh out the world, but they simply don't sometime, like this game which the only reason I differenciate and appreciate the game is because of it's lenghty dungeons, I really enjoy how long and pleasant they are to complete.
I’ve been playing a bunch of 3D Zelda games lately and after beating twighlight princess I noticed that it wasn’t that good compared to the others, I thought maybe I was going crazy or I just beat the game to quickly but after watching this video I was happy you were so harsh on it. I got nervous I was supposed to like it and just didn’t.
It's not just you, haha. For all the people who praise it endlessly and call it their favorite game, there are just as many Zelda fans who feel like it's one of the weaker entries. It's a polarizing game for a lot of people.
26:22 There is a way to look directly down. Press the Z button on the nunchuck while flying with a Cucco and the camera change to a top down perspective.
i find alot of these complaints to be a little unfair, for instance the option of a gamecube controller, the wii has a gaMECUBE built into it, and twilight princess is also a gamecube, so there's no reason to toggle between controllers. also as previously mentioned by others twilight is a sequel to ocarina and majora so its allowed some similarities, as for traversing the overworld, its better than it is in windwaker in my mind and to my taste, also u can warp in this zelda game, because u can warp in every zelda game nearly. As for the look of the game i think its aged well, or at least its aesthetic has, though not as good as windwaker. the wolf could be considered a little shallow and the twilight realm to be a little padded, though its not comparable as shallow as the sky or bird in SS. The wolf has the standard moves all links have had, its true i would've preferred a finishing move, but thats a tiny nitpick, and the wolf does offer a variety of other gameplay features, while the twilight sections have a lot of story and atmosphere, so in the end there not a waste of space as for bug hunts, they don't take that long, its not like the padding of SS. as for the fighting, while it could have been better, it was better than maybe all of the other games, i feel this list is a compliation of things that no video game gets perfect. Comparing it to windwaker, its much more free, waiting to counter darknut was very restricting and eventully dull while in twilight i killed things different every time, my final blow to zant was the mortal draw and it was awesome, as for the story u may not have been into it, but it was very good in my mind, link like in windwaker is not some spontaneous hero he has a reason a catalyst which is the children and llia. the reason the beginning is a little long, which i personally am fine with is while you do some mundane tutorials, u are simultaneously investing in characters and i think that makes it worth it. Through out the game especially in twilight sections and as u play, they do funny things all on their own, for instance, malo a fan favourite. do they forget llia a little some could argue both ways its a nice story strand regardless, as for zant not seeing an issue with him, when he's ambiguous and in control, a bad ass when u meet the real him and he's not in control very diffferent, thats a good way to transition, also we knew from the beginning of the game that ganondorf would be involved, evryone seems to forget that. As for not innovating anything as a game, twilight princess streamlines and polishes, whats wrong with that, the past two console games were way different, whats wrong with zelda returning to original hyrule after eight years. Take a look at the kirby series, that a series that people want to see ground itself, rather than being radically different every time. twilight shouldn't be considered a sell out its not an annual cod release its a return to the tried and true, as is link between worlds and no one's hating on that, yet
I have to disagree with Twilight Princess feeling like "Ocarina of Time... but bigger" being a bad thing. It was definitely meant to be a direct sequel to OoT and unlike previous Zelda games it feels like that in every possible aspect. But that's what it was, a sequel. While it's true that Zelda games, even sequels, have their own flavors, I don't think this one should get grief for being a traditional sequel. The thing is, it does do enough changes to be considered it's own game, just not as much as your average Zelda game. Would you really say this game is as similar to Ocarina of Time as you would Super Mario Galaxy 2 is to Super Mario Galaxy, or other games that just slap on a 2 at the end but don't really expand at all? In your Skyward Sword review, you said you wouldn't call Skyward Sword a "bad Zelda game" because even though it lacked exploration, an expected trait of Zelda games, the games are so prone to change that this makes it unfair. While I disagree with you there and believe that some aspects do define what a Zelda game is, I feel this notion is applicable to what Twilight Princess did. Twilight Princess being a direct sequel in every way is a type of change that other games of the series haven't done. Is it really fair to say it's bad because of that? Not to mention, many were indeed asking for said sequel, so Twilight Princess was a very good time to try this approach. Before Twilight Princess came along, Ocarina of Time was the one game in the series that I felt whose aspect needed revisiting, not just in lore, but in spirit. It was considered the best by many and has always been the center of the split-timeline theory, even before it was confirmed canon. Twilight Princess delivered that re-visitation and now because of it, I feel a sense of closure to that concept.
Twlight Princess has some great parts. The dungeons are some of the best in the series. Arbiter Grounds, you are the best. Unfortunately the game takes WAY too long to get going. Herding goats is stupid and it takes me 5 hours to get to the first dungeon instead of 5 minutes. The items, especially the spinner, are really cool. The music is great too, Hyrule field is the best in the series. The wolf stuffs kind of boring though. The world maps interesting, but doesn't excite me much though OOT didn't have an overworked with much, but that was the N64. TP is a good zelda game, but far from the best.
eh....I feel it is one of he best. it takes some time to get going but after that? it's not that bad plus I liked how calm everything was at first before the storm
just replayed the game. Everyone saying the intro takes forever is either lying or really, really bad at figuring out tutorial level challenges. I timed it and got to the wolf part in 50 minutes. You can escape the twilight hyrule in about half an hour. You should be able to get to the first dungeon in about 2 hours. It's baffling that everyone says its so long, I have to assume you're either lying which I doubt, what's more likely is you wanted to get into the game immediately so what was actually a couple hours of setting up a tone, story, characters and controls felt like 5 hours. And, I disagree with the idea that the beginning isn't fun, escaping the twilight hyrule as wolf link is great, the variety of stuff to do in the town is great and they usually last all of 2 minutes before you're doing something else so even if you hate herding goats, anyone who says you do it for longer than 4 minutes in the entire games runtime is lying, and that's assuming you go back and do it a third time for a heartpiece. The complaining about the intro is wildly overblown. Some games like this and mgs2 are shocking to go back to, what were minor complaints have been iterated and respoken so many times that they're seen as huge glaring flaws, but going back to the actual game now shows that they're barely perceptible as problems at all. It barely even bears a complaint at all.
@@christopherrapczynski204 Even 50 minutes is a very long intro/tutorial section, and the wolf part is arguably still tutorial. My favorite games usually have tutorials that end between 10-30 minutes. On top of that, several parts of the tutorial are badly explained, or at least the french translation is, and when I was 11, I got stuck at several points during the tutorial, more than in the dungeons themselves.
I honestly like the fact that Hyrule returned in TP. After the tease in WW and not seeing it at all in MM, I couldn't wait to see this region again. At least it wasn't a complete copy and paste from Oot. This Hyrule was much larger than the one from OoT. Also, I like how the Child Era timeline contains the dark and creepy Zelda titles and they are the only ones that have physical reappearances of the hero of time, my favorite Link of them all. Child Era FTW!!!
It’s rare that I lose complete track of time when doing something, but watching this video I did. Wonderful work, I wish more channels on youtube had this level of quality in their videos.
I disagree with your combat argument. The enemies can be defeated without the sword techniques but that means the fight is dictated by the enemy and Link can only strike when the enemy slips up and gives him a chance. However if you actively go out and explore the world to learn new techniques for Link, he has more options in a fight and is rewarded by being stronger, more assertive, and dictating more of the battle to his own pace. I do think that there was some missed potential with not needing every ability to dominate your enemies, but I don't think this design decision was a bad one if anything it was simply the implementation that wasn't quite at the same point.
When you said that the people of Hyrule castle don't seem to care that their castle is on fire, the game stated that they moved on into spirit forms. Basically they had no idea anything had happened. Still I will say it's confusing.
I'm so glad that Matthew didn't go on the bandwagon, and absolutely hating the Twilight Princess overworld.. I mean even though it can be extremly barren and repetitive, and there could have been much more to it, theres still alot to find and explore. Plus, for the most part, peoples expectations are probably way too fucking high with these things.. Like there's some who are already afraid that the new Zelda games overworld is gonna be too empty, just by what we have seen so far.
My favorite item was the Dominion Rod, but the big problem with it is it has limited utility. In order to be useful, there has to be a nearby statue, which means you need to be placed under very special circumstances in order to use it. Actually, this brings me to another point with my problem in this game: The items have very limited combat utility. For example, the boomerang doesn't stun enemies in this game for very long. Also, in this game, the clawshot doesn't drag an enemy back towards you, making it also useless in combat. I also feel as though the spinner should have done more damage to enemies.
I agree with your statements about items they see little to no use outside of their respective dungeons. My biggest problem with the game is that it seems to be full of good ideas that were never fully integrated, such as horse combat, which is a nice change of pace while it's needed and is then dropped 'till the very end of the game. The sword techniques could have been really fun to use had the game pitted you against stronger/deadlier foes. Don't even get me started on the transition from quarter to fifth of hearts, was it so hard to come up with an additional side quest? Finally, what really rubbed me the wrong way was that while the world is bigger than in past iterations, it paradoxically offers less exploration and interactivity than in OoT.
One of my favorite Zelda games with one of the most disappointing endings. There was no reason to ruin Zant's character, and absolutely no reason to introduce Ganon so late in the game. You had built up literally no relation with him. In OoT and Wind Waker, you saw him several times throughout the game, you saw what he had done, you had a reason to want to defeat him. Here, the impact of his appearance rests solely on the player's prior knowledge of the character. It's the "I KNOW WHAT THAT IS SO I LIKE THIS" type of mentality; it's a reference, not a real character or presence in the game, and it was incredibly disappointing.
I know what you mean. Imagine if we saw Zant and Ganondorf working together throughout the game to achieve their goals and we saw them actually play off of each other. That could have been really cool. I think all of Twilight Princess' main problems can be summed up like so: instead of trying to make it its own game, they tried to make Ocarina of Time 2 to appease those upset by Majora's Mask and especially Wind Waker.
I have never played the Gamecube version, but it is obviously the definitive version. The geometry in that game falls in line with other Zelda games (since the Wii version is mirrored). Aside from the Gamecube version being canon, you can have multiple items equipped at once and there is also free camera control. Despite Nintendo wanting you to play the Wii version there is no denying that it is a Gamecube game first and a Wii game second. (Don't let release dates fool you, they held back the GC version to release the Wii version first... gotta sell them launch Wii's, right?).
Quick Note: If you turn off the pointer in the Options menu, then you use the analog stick for the flying mini-game. So, yes, you can have it both ways.
The Hero's Shade is not a Stalfos. There are actual Stalfos's that appear in the game and they look nothing like him. Was that comment supposed to be a joke or what? He actually looks like the soldier ghosts in Hyrule Castle, with the blue skin and all. I also disagree about the Rupees in chests. There are a million ways to make money in the game and you will never feel the need to backtrack all the way through a dungeon just to grab some cash, and then make your way back out manually. It's annoying to me because as you said, it's easy to forget which chests you've opened and which you haven't. It'd be nice if the chest had a Rupee symbol on the map, but I think it's much more satisfying to know I've cleaned a dungeon out of any treasure it had to offer. So I'm glad that in the HD version, they changed it. You're definitely right about this game being such a retread of OoT that it goes a bit too far. But then again, this game celebrated Zelda's 20th anniversary. I feel like it wasn't meant to innovate on the series as much as be a reflection of the franchise's history, and pay homage to the most famous game in the series. By which I mean this game feels like the last truly traditional Zelda that follows pretty much the exact same mechanics & formula as OoT & LttP, as well as several handheld titles. The game had an overarching feel of looking back on the series and striving to move forward. If it had been the last game in the entire series, I probably would've been satisfied. But then Skyward Sword decided to shit on the franchise and ruin any idea of the series getting better as time goes on, only worse. Thankfully A Link Between Worlds was great and the new one for Wii U seems to really understand what Zelda, from the very beginning, was all about.
The Hero's Shade is 100% the hero of time. It's not only heavily implied in the game, but outright confirmed by Hyrule Historia. The reason he looks different from other stalfos is that even after saving Hyrule in two different timelines, the goddesses had more work for him to do. After protecting termina from Majora (which may not even have actually happened,) he endlessly searched the lost woods for Navi only to come up short. He eventually died, likely staving off the spirits until he was reunited with his friend, or simply fell due to the goddesses greater plan needing him to fall. He needed to survive in some form to pass on his legendary skills to the new hero of twilight. His prowess was too valuable in that timeline to completely lose his humanity and become a stalfos like any other.
You don't get it. I know the Hero's Shade is the hero of time. I didn't say he wasn't. But he isn't a Stalfos. If he did, the other Stalfos would look like him, and he wouldn't look so identical to Hyrule Castle's ghosts as a blatantly obvious reference. Nothing in Hyrule Historia suggests he met such a depressing fate.
I concede that's not the point you're making, but if you agree that he is the Hero of Time then he necessarily has to be a stalfos. "The Spirit of Link's ancestor, the Hero of Time, teaches him his secrets. Ever since returning to the Child Era, the swordsman has lamented the fact that he was not remembered as a hero." (pp. 178) I can't link you a picture but just search "Hero's Shade Hyrule Historia" and you'll find it. Even if you don't believe me that he is one or that I pulled that passage out of my ass I understand the subjective viewpoint your're presenting. While I might be inclined to agree that he looks a lot like a castle guard, I think his completely bone face alongside glowing red eyes and skeletal structure lean more towards a physical being than a ghost. Sure he's a bit bulkier than the average stalfos, but he's one nonetheless. No matter what you cannot deny the fact that he is absolutely covered in moss and ivy, which likely formed over his armor and shield before he reanimated. This overgrowth is suspiciously easy to imagine happening to a body in the Faron (Lost) Woods, don't you agree?
That passage doesn't say anything about him being a Stalfos. All it says is that he lamented not being a hero. He's clearly not a skeletal being, since you can see he still has his skin on his limbs. He's clearly supposed to be a zombie or something, hence the skeletal face. Even the Zelda Wiki says nothing about him being a Stalfos. It's also heavily implied in the game that his final resting place is in the castle graveyard, as a grave surrounded by ghosts is referred to as the place "where the cursed swordsman sleeps". Also, I think the whole "lamented not being remembered as a hero" is a mistranslation. Even if it's not, it makes no sense, because he clearly is remembered as a hero by the royal family and spirits of light. The Gorons even refer to the bow in the mines as belonging to "the hero", so at least one entire race knows he was a hero. Would he seriously care about not literally everybody in Hyrule knowing about him? Link saved both Hyrule and Termina, and even when he was a child, he brought Ganon to justice. He seems like he'd be a more humble character than that, and wouldn't be so selfish that he'd care about being praised as a hero, especially after all the selfless things he's done. And since the Gorons know he's a hero, I'd gather he continued being a hero after returning to Hyrule. It makes more sense than the fanfiction-esque theory of him dying alone in the Lost Woods.
We'll probably never know what the Hero of Time's final moments were. I whole heartily accept the fact that it makes little sense that such an incredible and prolific hero who has basically the entirety of the Hylian history resting upon his broad shoulders would be so attention hungry. One would think being responsible for the prosperity of two different Hylian dimensions would be enough for the guy. I think it's less about the regret that he feels and more about the fact that with Ganondorf imprisoned and the world at relative peace he had nothing left to do but to die. He needed to ensure that no matter what the legacy of his swordsmanship would be enough. As the most prolific hero in Hyrule he probably knew that at some point Ganondorf would escape, most likely tormenting him until his final days. He had to reanimate to ensure that his skills had some use outside of death. Regardless of whether he is a full stalfos or not is up to your interpretation. Clearly he has some aspects of the stalfos.
I agree with your point about wanting interesting things on the map, but I'm not sure if anything could make running from point A to B more desirable than fast traveling to it after you have gone through it a couple times already. I'm glad you talked about the shift in music during battle it had been bothering me forever but I haven't heard anyone talking about it
7:08 Due to several memory card swappings over 8 years, I can say that I love replaying this game over and over. Mainly because I always remember where I got stuck and try and redo it this time. Love this game as a GC title and a Zelda game.
One of my least favorite Zelda games personally. Not a total trainwreck like Skyward Sword, but even the first time I played it, I wanted to quit at the tutorial. It is so linear and boring, and explains things that are so elementary to anyone who's played a Zelda game or Wii before, it is criminal that it isn't optional. The first two hours of this game being almost completely linear just sucks all enjoyment out, and feels like a silly "fun tax" anyone replaying it has to pay. It is really off-putting. Zant turning out to be an utterly ridiculous placeholder villain, just so they could shoehorn in Ganon again is another moment that just makes me sigh. So many ways they could've taken the story, and they chose such a tired, uninspired direction.
“Twilight Princess is a copy Of Ocarina of Time” people when Twilight Princess actually tries to make you care about the characters and story of the game by getting you used to Link’s normal life before pulling it all away. Also, the Zant and Ganon complaint is one of the dumbest in the world. It would be valid if you didn’t get to fight zant or have a dungeon with him and just fight ganon, but you literally get two final dungeons and two final fights, both of which have multiple phases, more phases then any other Zelda boss. So ungrateful and such a high standard no other Zelda games are held too. People really want Zant to be a cliche boring near silent villain, instead of the unique twist that he’s a crazy bum, Ganondorf is built up from the middle of the game and does not come out of nowhere. It’s fine for every other Zelda game before Twilight Princess to use Ganondorf but once Twolight Princess does it it’s tired and predictable. Twilight Princess critisicms are some of the weakest on the internet
Fantastic job articulating the reasons I felt so half empty playing this (having played every console Zelda and lived through the series). I was 22 and really worried that I'd just lost the capacity to be captivated by Zelda magic.
You comment on the pacing being a problem at the beginning, but I feel you don't put enough emphasis on the pacing towards the end of the game. After the dungeon in the desert, there's a a noticeable lack of content in between dungeons compared to what's at the beginning of the game. Although it took a while to get going, the stuff in between dungeons at the beginning added some variety and deepened the narrative for me; after the desert dungeon, however, there's little more than "go find the rebellion member to get your next task." You even mentioned that the story surrounding Ilia returned a little late in the game, I think that's part of this much larger issue. Great review all around, though.
I don't think Twilight Princess borrowing a lot from Ocarina of Time is a bad thing. If anything, it shows how to do a Sequel well. It feels like a sequel to Ocarina ot Time-- fixing many problems it had, improving on the good things, keeping solid things, and with two games that shook things up, and fan demand for another game like Ocarina was high-- Twilight Princess was a welcome title and one I feel the series greatly needed.
I actually really like how the environments look in this game. It almost looks like LOTR to me. The character models leave a lot to be desired, though. They look kind of lifeless. I guess my issue with Twilight Princess is that it's a very "safe" Zelda game. It tried to be dark like Majora's Mask, but fails because the story is constantly being beaten over the player's head, while a lot of the story in Majora's Mask was optional. Like everyone, I think that my favorite part of this game's story is Midna. She's just a great character. All in all, Twilight Princess is a pretty good game. I would probably like it a lot better if I hadn't played Ocarina Of Time or Majora's Mask first.
Demonsplaining I actually liked this game more than majoras mask, and find that most people who like mm more write off the games flaws as features. For example, the limited time mechanic pressured me to never explore or take time to absorb my surroundings, a staple of the Zelda series and my typical gameplay pattern. People will say that the time mechanic was meant to add a sense of pressure/ atmosphere over the game, but it impeded gameplay for me. Likewise, they say the ridiculously short length (4 dungeons) was not a big deal, but it was to me.
"Anyway, as a reward for repeatedly stabbing a baboon up the ass, Link gets a boomerang."
"This is the start of a trend that I really enjoy in Twilight Princess--"
Him saying that right after mentioning the baboon boss fight always made me laugh.
Ah, So its like Dark Souls
.....I'll see myself out.
@@MrDalisclock More like Bloodborne, the "Smack that ass" simulator of FromSoft games.
Fun fact: The voice of Midna is a Japanese woman speaking English, with the audio being jumbled up to sound like gibberish.
That was brilliant on their part
if its a japanese person speaking english it would sound like gibberish anyway
Fun fact: It doesn't take even a 10 year old to figure that out. Knew it the moment she talked.
Kyle Hill sure you did
Kyle Hill you are a legend!!!
It sucks that they didn't implement a finishing move as a wolf... They could've easily done it since they had the animation for the poe souls.
this massive oversight completely ruined the wolf combat for me, if TP is ever remade or ported they should add it in
I think they deemed it too violent/graphic; watch the animation again and try to re-imagine it but with a wolf doing it to a human.
The only "humans" you fight in the game are darknuts, which are fully armored. So that's not a very good excuse.
Granted, Link might not like doing it considering he's a Human soul inside of a wolf's body.
@@harchierspebbington7137 This game was already seen as much darker than previous LoZ titles, so I don't think players would care in the long run, just as long as the wolf actually got a finishing move for foes that weren't poes.
After the lackluster english dubs in totk and botw, your segment on voice acting made my jaw drop with how spot on you were.
I've recently gotten into your reviews and love them! As many others have said, your attention to detail is astounding.
You don't actually know if the Japanese dub is good because you don't speak Japanese. The English dub really is meh though.
@@thebuddah1253 fair point. English dub isn’t terrible but it takes me out of it, I felt a lot more with the Japanese voices.
@@thebuddah1253 I'm playing tears of the kingdom in japanese and in my opinion ganondorf talks and laughs way better in japanese than in english
But I don't watch Anime so I don't know if zelda's japanese voice acting is as good as an industrial standard. But a lot of other people playing in english also seem to put the voice acting in japanese because they think that the japanese voice acting is better.
@@thebuddah1253 Little details and nuance? Obviously you can't know that without knowing the language. But feeling and emotion? That transcends all language barriers and the Japanese voice track has that in spades over the English dubs of BOTW and TOTK. Saying you can't judge acting and performances in other languages is just a laughable thought when world cinema is as big as it is and you have South Korean movies and TV shows becoming mainstream hits
Twilight Princess became an INSTANT classic when it allowed you to run and cut grass
No bap
bappy blease cut (grass)
Yea that why, not everything awesome else about it. Like its only Zelda that looked more realistic and tried that route, that all Zelda fans still want in 2024 and before they sold out the Franchise 4ever now ugh. But the story is definitely the best part
I rewatch these more often than I want to admit
Me too... me too....
Yea but this guy doesn't like this game he sucks
Small nitpick: Ther Hero's Shade is not a Stalfos, it's just a ghost. Actual Stalfos appear in the game, and they look completely different than him. Plus, you can actually find his grave in Hyrule Castle, in a very well hidden area in the courtyard, which by itself kinda debunks the whole Stalfos theory.
Well the Hero's Shade DOES look like the Stalfos from Ocarina of Time. Perhaps the Stalfos just evolved to look different in Twilight Princess?
Apparently he is the Hero of Time from the Ocarina of Time and Majoras mask. In those games, is Link the Hero of Time? (Obviously a different link to TP link)
@@theophanyfd5422 Except he doesn't look like a Stalfos at all. If you look close he just looks like a ghost with a skeletal face. His arms are muscled (albeit translucent) and with no exposed bone.
+J T Your toxicity and unlikeability are showing
@@toxic_revenant3 "toxicity."
grow up
"But instead you have to wait for the enemies to get back up and stop being invincible." Shit like this in videogames always makes me laugh XD
I always saw Zant as a guy who thinks he is calm and collected but when the chips are down he is actually a child.
Same. I never saw it as a twist. If that WAS their intention then yeah thats just silly - but until a lot of people labelled it a ‘twist’ I genuinely just thought it was Zant behaving like any villain would when backed into a corner
I remember when i was smaller reading about the then untitled twilight princess game that was in development in a Nintendo Power magazine. I remember seeing a dungeon layout that was never put in the actual product along with some pretty creepy enemies, makes me wonder how much was replaced/cut for the final product.
I remember reading about it in my elementary library in some Disney magazine that showed a few upcoming games in a few years. The magazine compared it to Windwaker in some aspect as I think I remember. Man, I am 21 now and missing elementary. T.T
+fhhh "before I came out"
A single letter makes all the difference
@@NeonStormTV ooh boy now youre feelin it huh
@@Verticom10 He is an old man by now.
I found no one else who shared my complaint. The track Midna's Lament is a gorgeous song. I was so annoyed it kept getting interrupted by those enemies. Of course because they spawn in the same fucking place all the time it's almost as if Nintendo did this intentionally. But hey the track is in Super Smash Brawl so...YAY!
you could argue that it works this way, with link being annoyed at enemies when trying to help Midna, comparatively:
in majora, your life is far more threatened by the crashing moon than a random enemy
in this game, enemies are still a threat, however small
would it be better if the game overrode battle BGM? probably but the difference is a bit on the negligible side
And it’s STILL that way in the Wii U HD version unfortunately
@@dmas7749 How exactly are stationary Dekurhana plants or diaper people with meat cleavers threatening in this game?
That plus the fact that the enemy encounter music is not exactly what I'd call tense.
It might be a negligable oversight to you, but it simply an unnessecary one at best and and worst it shatters immersion altogether, like it dd for me and many other.
If it were guardian music like in botw, i would not complain, but it isn't.
@@SophiaLilithUwU: i didn't mind it, that's just how i saw it and reasoned why i think it's fine here but wouldn't be in MM or something
I introduce you to "Chyde", a youtube user who uploads great quality Zelda videos
Discourage the player to go for a 2nd playthrough? Ha! I played through and completed the game 26 times.
I have problems.
I've beaten Bioshock almost 30 (lost count around 18 and still beat a couple times a year) but it's not nearly as long...anyone else?
52 hours of a boring start? Yes, you definitely have problems. Now if you excuse me, I have to go complete Ocarina Of Time for my 132nd time...
Charlie Turner
Well you can skip cutscenes in Twilight Princess, so the runs go pretty quick.
I once borrowed it from a friend for the gamecube and got to the twilight palace before i had to return it but later i bought it for the wii and completed it from the start
That means you should be at 33 plays through by this point
I think the reason Link's face looks so bland, even when he's emoting, is a combination of his irises having a glassed, washed-out color, and his eyes not properly finding a focus point I think. Like in the shot you showed, his eyes just tracked around the room in a floaty motion, instead of "snapping" more realistically to different focus points.
9:39 What a thrill, with darkness and silence through the night...
Oh man, that got me good.
What a thrill ....
YES
-Grizzly dirty art style
-Massive fanservice to the first game in the 3d branch of the series, to the point of essentially remaking it's final boss
-Seems to dismiss the second game in the series
-Seen as a disappointment compared to the airtight trilogy of classics that came before it
- Confused plot that thinks it's better than it actually is
Yeah, Twilight Princess is MGS4
"Ocarina of Time, but bigger." Makes me laugh every time.
in what way?
Wulbulbul Lubbubwublub gåttabbbbbnnnnnnn cc. Cc clchvhjnn,Mikkoööööllliöää
BriHard To be fair, Ocarina of Time was basically just "Link to the Past, but bigger."
And Link to the past was in turn, "Zelda 1, but bigger."
And Skyward Sword is this haircut, but with Zelda. knowyourmeme.com/photos/920736-the-barber
16:00 thank god you acknowledged this! bugged me so much, especially when I'm running through Hyrule Field feeling like a badass hero with the music then I get near an enemy... *blech*
26:20 You actually can look downwards using the cucco by holding backwards on the control stick to slow down.
26:30 You can skip this cutscene using the minus button
26:45 Actually you CAN turn the motion controls off for this mini game. Just disable the pointer in the menu.
There were a lot more misssteps in this video but yeah, those were big ones.
No way to look down without slowing down is dog shit
the game never explains or hints at this at any time tho :(
@@Thierce true
@@ThierceGod forbid you open the menu and notice the thing that says "options"
Actually there is the option to turn off pointing at the screen for aiming, which makes the flying mini game use the analog stick instead.
3:57 I love this.
“In order to restore the area Link has to...” **squints at the words on the script** “...hunt... bugs....... for some reason.............. Okay.”
He sounds like a news reporter after a co-worker put something ridiculous on his teleprompter as a prank and he has to just roll with it. It’s hilarious.
funny though, you stated one of the good changes was the fact that rupees are returned to chests if the wallet is full. Apparently, for some reason, this feature was removed for the HD remake
the gamecube version is the definitive one - for the most obvious reasons that it sees link as being left handed and that the world map in the GC version is the correct way round. the wii version is just a port.
+Joshua Oxenford A very good port in fact, that severely improves aiming. The map critique depends on which one you played first, otherwise it's a mute argument. And Link being left-handed, although a neat tradition, is (and sorry if I come off as mean) one of the stupidest critiques you can give to an overall game. It really does not, in absolutely no way, hinder the enjoyment or diminish the quality of the overall game.
I just liked the fact that link used to be left handed. I can't think of a single other lefty in video games. I'd also argue that the direction of the map in twilight princess is VERY important. Imagine a game based in the real word with Asia, Europe, the Americas, etc. Now imagine that the game developers flipped the world map... yea, It would be wrong. Hyrule has always been a specific way around and flipping it takes away from the lore that the series has presented over the last 30 years. The wii port didn't present itself as a 'master quest' style flip of the map either, but rather, it was flipped just to make link right handed for right handed people who'd be using the wii remote. This seems fine, and i'd have though it a fair reason to flip the game, if it wasn't for the absence of a left-handed game mode for lefties. Personally i'm right handed - I just think it's wrong to purely cater to only one group of people and ignore rest like that, especially at the expense of diminishing the canon of the game's lore.
spin attack can be instant and not charged in the GC version too. just like in ocarina of time, just rotate the stick quick and hit the attack sword button. it will do an instant spin attack. as for the wii version releasing first, that was only true in some places. several areas got a simultaneous release of the two. and as long as you're mentioning controls, riding epona in the wii version sucks cos the camera is always defaulted right up the horse's ass, where as you have proper control to combat that issue in the gamecube version. i know that's a pedantic point - but so was the point about spin attacks, which was false anyway.
well the argument was about the gamecube vs wii version being the definitive version - the release isn't a mark against the wii version. i was just correcting the misconception that the wii version was released 1st everwhere. interesting note though: the wii version doesnt run at a higher resolution despite being 16:9. the wii version actually cuts out a lot of the picture. it just cuts the top and bottom of the image away to make it run at the wii's native 16:9. the reason gamecube games still run at 4:3 when played on a wii is because the wii actually has a gamecube inside it also, pretty much - and it just launches the game via that. so although 4:3, you actually get more picture on the gamecube version.
+Joshua Oxenford Technically, the wii version should be the definitive one, as it came out first. Although, I do understand that Nintendo developed it with the gamecube in mind.
Looking back on this.. I really liked your humor in the earlier review and I would like to see it come back. Just how you tell a joke with the exact same serious tone as the review just gets me by surprise all the time. And the fact that they only last a few seconds makes sure that it doesn't get boring, and nothing is forced.
I'd say the humor is still there, the Demon's Souls video has many genuinely laugh out loud moments. I think the Team Ico games are just... a bit too serious for humor. Like, they're just TOO good to not say "let's sit down and talk about some serious shit".
I love the humor too, but the latest videos I feel, gain a lot from lacking humor.
True.
I did really enjoy drunk mat. I just hope to see more in the future :D
Something that really annoyed me about the Palace of Twilight was the sword upgrade. Or should I say, the cool and handy sword upgrade that is only useful in that dungeon. Who thought that was a good idea? "Oh, hey, let's reward the player by giving the Master Sword an upgrade since it's nearing the end of the game! But it can only be seen or used in this dungeon!
Just let us keep it.
Of all the 3D Zelda games, this has to be my favorite (next to Skyward Sword). Everyone says Ocarina of Time is the best, but Twilight Prince outperforms it in every way. This was my first Zelda game. I did go back and play OOT and MM, but they failed to suck me in, as they both felt more like a chore. TP has a really nice mood and Milda was a great sidekick, as she wasn't intrusive (and also a bit mysterious).
I didn't like the wolf form at first, but it grew on me after a while especially when given control over the transformation. The dark world is probably a bit too gloomy, but that only helps make the normal world seem better. I love the exploration, as there is lots to see and many secrets to uncover. It's just amazing.
I do agree the beginning is extremely slow, but I think it was intentional to give you a relaxing start to a very long, action packed game. However, people with little patience will be turned off. Which is shame.
Lastly, the graphics look great for a Wii/Gamecube game. Too me, this is how a Zelda game should look. Wind Waker is beautiful, but it looks too kiddy for my tastes. It's a damn shame TP didn't come out in HD as it would've really helped, but maybe it will get a re-release someday. I can dream right?
PS- I've played this game 3 times.
Guess you got your wish. Btw love your channel mate.
+Alien D. Martian Haha. Yep and now I get to play it for the 4th time, but at least it'll be the Gamecube version and be an enhanced version. I've already preordered!
+Seasoning the Obese I never found any of the fishing in any Zelda game "fun" haha, but I think TP progressed in a way that was never a chore. I will say there are some parts that are a bit tedious, but that's any game. Maybe it's just the fact that it was my first Zelda game, but I'm glad it was.
Taco-Man has spoken.
And thennnnnn breath of the wild came out ;)
I'm from the future. The voice acting wasn't very useful.
Twilight Princess doesn't really deserve the hate that it gets. It was a game made to address the outcry from the fans of OoT who hated WW. I feel like it succeeded. It takes OoT's gameplay and improves and modernizes, as well as expanding the world and dungeons in a natural way. The real truth of the matter is that Nintendo could make the best game of all time and the people who claim OoT is the best game ever will still continue to say that. People tend to latch on to the first Zelda they played, or the one that appealed to them the most. I had the original Zelda when it was new, and played it again and again. Link to the Past is really the one that sat the best with me though, and it's still my favorite to this day. It's why I think they should make more 2D Zelda games like it, and less like Phantom Hourglass and Skyward Sword. Other people don't care for the 2D Zelda games at all, and feel like they're the worst in the series.
Tl:dr This game was made for a specific reason and targeted a specific group of the fanbase. The sale of the game reflect this, and no amount of internet comments from me or anyone else will change the truth. Twilight Princess was a very successful game, and actually one of the most focused games in the entire series.
Have you seen the owl in OOT? And difficulty isn't that great of argument, all of the Zelda games are relatively easy. Zelda 2 is by far the hardest.
I agree with you. The 2D Zelda games are more difficult in general, but most of those aren't exactly challenging either unless you're a more casual player. Moving the games into 3D lowered the challenge even further, and made them take longer to complete instead. As I said, Zelda 2 was definitely the hardest by far, and it's also the least liked.
***** The challenge in Zelda is all about the puzzles.
Garrette "Most focused" i see you never played majora mask
***** Majora's Mask wasn't really 'focused'. I mean, sure, it too was a great game, but by its very nonlinear nature it isn't 'focused', but rather spread out.
I dissagre about Zant. I thought that was a wonderful twist. You spent the entire game terrified of that guy, and when you finally get to know him he turns out to be a total loon. I loved it.
TheRepty818 I liked the fact that Zant himself actually wasn't strong at all, and that his power was given him by Ganondorf. Without Ganondorf, he would be nothing.
I love these twists where you suddenly see the true enemy behind the scenes who initiated it all.
DrTheKay Gr8 b8 m8. Trollolololol
+DrTheKay You're freaking out over a UA-cam comment, I'd have to wonder if you're the 3 year old moron given your straw man argument.
i feel like it was just handled poorly. dmc3 is a game that does this really well with arkham/jester. arkham is this brooding evil mcevil guy who gets off on the idea of evil to the point he kills his wife to be more evil. he is of course also disguises himself as the jester an obnoxious coward that seems really incompetent even in his fights. this connection is only revealed come mission 13 he defeats everyone and claims the stage as the main antagonist and really highlights the most important part of this kind of twist ; expectations. zant is expected to be like darth vader but he's actually more relatable to kefka palazo minus the competence. arkhams reveal shows he's not the complete stoic but in actuality a massive nutjob with no grip on reality, but is still intimidating because of this, arguably more so. it also helps that unlike zant arkahm defeats you, and two other boss fights (one of which being the final boss of the game) with a single sweep kick showing you had good merit to be afraid of him where zant just gets demoted to an over glorified boss rush and a baloon you pop afterwards.
@@Neogears1312: yeah, arkham was great, and i liked the kefka comparison too, it feels like they drew inspiration from that for zant but didn't fully comprehend what made kefka a great villain
The art direction in this game is fantastic, every dungeon and area feels completely visually distinct. This is overall my favorite Zelda game despite the slow start (which built immersion for me) and odd story structure. It's also the easiest Zelda game to recommend considering everyone and their mother seems to have a Wii tucked away somewhere, and I'm certainly not recommending Skyward Sword.
why wouldn't you recommend Skyward Sword? i haven't played it, but i heard only positive things about it
+Arden Thomas It's the worst 3D Zelda game. The controls rely too much on motion and really limit the game's mechanics (and sometimes just borderline don't work), and the game reuses the same environments over and over to pad out the length with boring fetch quests. The one thing I can say for it as a positive is that the Zelda character in that game is easily the most compelling she's ever been, so the otherwise standard story feels more motivated. Still, Twilight Princess is better in almost every way (even if it too has its share of fetch quests XD).
Worst? It was my favorite. I like it more than ocarina of time, twilight princess or windwaker. I haven't played majora's mask though. I never had problems with the controls and I didn't even own an original motion plus, just a cheap chinese one.
I'm assuming what you liked about Skyward Sword was the story, so I would absolutely recommend Majora's Mask. One of the best stories in any game ever.
TP might have been the worst 3D zelda I've played, and I've played them all
That section about voice acting around 17:00 aged very well
yea the voice acting in tears is one of the weakest aspects of the whole experience
I just finished the GameCube version of this game and from what I see it is far superior to the Wii version. With nearly full camera control and no motion controls, the gameplay feels very solid and similar to the N64 games. I played a little bit of the Wii version beforehand and the motion controlling of the swordplay was boring and not needed.
By the way, the Dolphin emulator provides a far better graphical experience (on an average of 760p-1050p) than the blurry console resolutions.
All in all I felt the game was maybe a little too easy. I only needed Google help finding the last 14 poe souls because I wanted to finish the game faster. Some dungeons got me stuck but mostly because of my own stupidity, not that they were too hard.
Unlike most people, I didn't feel that Ganondorf "cheated" his way into this game's story. Ganondorf was foreshadowed at least twice before his reveal. The thing that actually bothers me is how Zant becomes a joke after entering the Palace of Twilight. He was a pretty good villain before becoming that high-pitched voiced crazy guy.
I didn't hate Ganon's inclusion and the finale with Hyrule Castle was extremely epic, except for the fact that the dungeon is VERY short for what it builds itself up to be.
I haven't beaten The Wind Waker yet so I can't compare TP to it. But comparing to OoT and MM it's an okay game, pretty fun with a great atmosphere of darkness and excellent music. The Hyrule Field theme is absolutely great.
+Roger França I don't think that he's saying that the Gamecube version is worse, more so the Wii version is simply the one Nintendo wanted us to play, making it the "intended version."
+Roger França OoT got along with no full camera control. That's the point of Z-targeting. Motion controls are perfectly fine. It's just a glorified button. Unless you have severe arthritis, I don't see how it can be an inconvenience. "boring and not needed." What a horrible critique. Boring, yes, but are you saying shaking a Wii Remote is supposed to be funner than pressing a button. "Not needed". It is very needed in this case. I see more of a hardware mistake than game mistake. The lack of a button makes it pretty much essential to remap the B button.
***** It' an adventure game, not an RTS or MOBA where precision is a must. When is the last time you got completely screwed over in Skyward Sword because of motion controls?
Difference here is that the motion controls in Skyward Sword actually work, and you can walk around in first person to explore new areas which kinda solves the camera problem.
TP's controls were so horrible that I couldn't even bother finish the game.
Mathias600RR That’s pretty pathetic, honestly.
While I agree the Wii version is likely Nintendo's preferred way for you to play, this is undeniably a GameCube game first and foremost. They just slapped some motion controls on and mirrored the screen to accommodate right handedness.
I’m curious: was the UI mirrored as well or is the map on the left on both versions?
@@lyleinnoe2210 The map is on the left in both versions.
Really wish they'd given you the option of flipping the game back for left-handed players.
I, myself, am right-handed, but I always liked the little quirk of Link being a left-handed protagonist up until the Wii version of TP, then he's been right-handed ever since. Personally, I would have personally enjoyed the challenge of playing Link left-handed to keep with the longstanding series tradition at that point.
I would love to hear your thoughts on TP:HD , like what you did with windwaker , I feel like they improved on some aspects , like the vine climbing is faster and the bug hunt is much shorter
+TheKSH991 the tears of light hunt was still pretty annoying in the HD version. A little bit less annoying but still pretty annoying. The fact that they changed the vine climbing animation was good tho.
Thing is, they still left a lot of things that needed fixing (imo) unchanged, like the fact you move extremely slow while walking on walls (with the iron boots in the 2nd dungeon), they didn't include a way to switch between day and night (of all the things that needed fixing this was imo the most important one, just why?), they left the issue with Midna´s Lament in the remaster, etc...
Also some of the improvements felt like missed oportunities tbh. The Ghost Lantern was alright but honestly, a way to switch between day and night would have been WAY more useful for Poe hunting. Also, the new dungeon is just a Cave of Ordeals in Wolf form. I was expecting a real dungeon, with puzzles and shit...
So long story made short: the HD Remaster improves the game in some aspects but at least imo, the improvements are minimal.
+Scott2781 i agree
Scott2781 tbh I agree with you , but i still would like to hear Matthews thoughts on it 😅
+TheKSH991 Twilight Princess highly needed a remake. When WW HD came out, I wondered why it wasn't Twilight Princess, which was quite dated.
JealousBishop WW came before twilight princess dude , plus WW is like a no brainer when it comes to thinking about making a remake , it's graphics are timeless , in fact if I didn't know WW ever came out on the gamecube I would have thought it was a brand new zelda game
Matthewmatosis: "...if they actually attempt full-on voice acting, I have no doubt that it will be a trainwreck."
Breath of the Wild: "the prophecy has been fulfilled."
Also I'd like to point out what seems like a glaring analytical flaw to your take on TP's Sword combat. The fact that all the enemies can be killed with standard swordplay does not remove the fact that some enemies can be killed faster or more efficiently with the expanded moveset. And it was clearly designed for the player to be able to do so in that way with some moves.
I'm replaying the game for the first time in 9 years, and already this has become apparent. The toadpolis that spit at Link can be picked off with the bow, or Link can use the shield bash to reflect the shot. Or similarly with the tektites you could bait and swing at them or use the bow, but using the back slice is far and away the best way of killing them. Even the sumo mini boss in the Goron Mines I noticed you could bait the punch from the boss and then do a leaping slash, or get in his face, shield bash, and then do repeated pierce attacks. Not only does having the hidden moves being optional expand the ways in which to kill enemies, it also encourages experimentation and leads to a nice "ah HA" moment when you find what works best.
Having the enemies designed to die at the hand of only one move bottlenecks the fight from the start and puts the fight on rails. With your example of the Darknuts being designed with the counter attack in mind, that is only the ever approach to killing those enemies that can be utilized, even when more than one Darknut in a fight is introduced. In TP, when taking on multiple Darknuts using the hidden moves make the fight significantly more manageable than baiting two or three swings at a time.
+Led Vogs I figured out how to kill enemies the faster way on my first play through and... the fact that it was so easy didn't make it any more enjoyable. There's a complete lack of tension with the sword combat in Twilight Princess regardless of whether you're swinging your sword over and over or figured out how to do it in one shot.
@@wolfsyn4674 Nothing a three heart challenge won't fix.
In my opinion the "Hidden Village" is my favorite place in all of Zelda. I LOVE the western theme to it, I LOVE the feeling of killing the bulblins with my bow, there are SO many buildings to explore inside, I think it is odd for all of those cats to be in there, I like the howling stone song, it's fun talking to the Cucco, it's kind of a twist to see a person still living there, and MUCH MUCH more to love about this place. I have a saved file just to do the "kill the bulblins" section.
I always thought cats were there for the old cat lady ahahahah
Maybe it is just me, but I played Ocarina of Time first when I was younger then when I was older I played Twilight Princess. Twilight Princess does borrow a lot from Ocarina, but in my opinion it is the better game and personally I think many people who don't like TP is blinded by nostalgia, but I might be wrong.
Sometimes, it might be the case with Ocarina of Time. But not other games (unless they're think the first game is better than the rest) Also, it's expected that you played Ocarina of Time when you were younger since it came out 8 years prior. I like Twilight Princess. But I like other games better and it has nothing to do with nostalgia. Some say people only say MM is darker than TP cause of nostalgia. Nope especially since most people didn't even give MM a chance when it came out. MM is just a darker game.
gameaddict51 Arguable. Both Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess are dark, but in very different ways. Majora was more about the inevitability of death and sorrow, while Twilight was more about betrayal and fear. Calling one darker than the other is doing a disservice to both.
2shadowgamer2 My story is the opposite and I like Ocarina better. I just feel Oot is more fun and contains a better adventure
In my opinion Majora's Mask is the best Zelda game. Ocarina of Time is prob 2nd. TP taking parts doesn't mean it's the same thing or as good..
Agreed.
Man I hope they fix the issue with Midna’s Lament in TP:HD.
+LiveAnotherDave unfortunately they didn't
+eskimobro yep :(
+LiveAnotherDave I sincerely hoped for that too but alas this was more of a rushed port than anything else. The game is great, but it could've been better with several tweaks. One of those is Midan's Lament, which didn't make it in... somehow =\
LiveAnotherDave s SPOILER ALERT : unfortunately they did not
What a jip!
Christ, this game was my childhood. When I was younger, according to my save file, I put over 70 hours into it. I know that it doesn't even have that much content, but the world is just entrancing. I spent hours just riding through the fields and finding things. I wasn't that good at locating things, really, so I was still finding stuff hours and hours into it. However, I replayed it a few months ago, and I realize how... hollow it felt. I feel that if this game had been made on more modern hardware, it would've been superior in a multitude of ways. For example, a lot of cutscenes suffer from extremely stilted animations. This ruins the suspense in a lot of moments such as Lanayru's presentation.
Well, all older games will feel limited or stunted in some way as they age. Since new games are released which progressively raise our standards.
After watching the TPHD retrospective that the Nintendo Devs did, its funny how right the phrase "Ocarina but bigger" is.
They wanted the game to be bigger to match the realistic style thanks to improvements in hardware since the N64.
It frustrates me when some tp fans pout this as if its a good thing. oot had its thing, ya know let tp do what it wants.
It frustrates me how some Ocarina of time fans, Fail to see that the songs being continued looped is what is annoying. At least Twilight Princess mixed it up, But Ocarina of time you ether get looped music when outside, Or Nighttime noises instead of Music that goes well with the environment. Not to mention, No Music Exist's on Hyrule field at night.
The feeling I had from this game was a series of exquisitely beautiful elements that failed to form a cohesive whole. There are so many little things I loved, like the warm home of the yetis with the giant pot of soup, the zora queen, and the whole business with the stalfos warrior. But looking back on it I strain to even remember what Zelda's role in the story was, which makes me wonder if the game wouldn't have been better not being a Zelda game at all, but an original property. There was simply too much... stuff going on, in addition to the pressure of being a direct sequel.
I’m very late to this but I like to think of this as majoras mask 2.0. It has nearly nothing to do with Zelda and it’s more focused on link as a character. It’s the legend of link if anything
More like the Legend of Midna.
I'm surprised you didn't mention the incovenience of having no way to manipulate time in this game, especially since the poe sidequest is partially affected by the day and night system, which can become an annoyance.
That, and the fact that the Ooccoos are the most godawful-looking characters in the entire franchise. God I hate those... things.
I never finished the poe sidequest precisely for that reason. There's also no way to know where the ones you've missed are or which ones you've already gotten so if I wanted to get the last remaining ones I'd have to check every last corner of the world and wait for daytime to pass every single time. Fuck that.
Glad I wasn't the only one waiting for him to mention that, considering it's a horrendous game design flaw and arguably the biggest flaw in the whole game.
+Razorslash I was about to argue that Tingle is actually the most godawful-looking character, but then I remembered those soulless eyes...those green nipples...
Man, Ooccoos are the WORST.
You are right to be skeptical of voice acting in Zelda, Matthewmatosis, but I have one thing to say to that:
"Open your eyes"
I understood that reference
Made me laugh when I heard him say that he was certain it would be a trainwreck. Looks like it's going to be great in BotW.
***** It looks outright revolutionary, at least by the standards of Zelda. I'm excited to say the least.
M Phylo Same!
I CAN"T WAIT TO BOMB SOME DODONGOS!
Now THIS is what I call a review. Your reviews go into so much detail.
What, a hate rant on the game full of pointless nitpicks because there's nothing actually bad about the game is a good review?
There's plenty bad about the game.
The fact that it barely got anymore meaningful story going on that OOT, yet features way more cutscenes.
The absolutely tedious first 30 minutes.
The lack of functionality for the wolf form.
The abyssal climbing speed.
The fact that Zelda could have not been in this game and nothing really changed.
The fact that Ganon could not have been in the game and it would probably better for it.
The absolute destruction of Zant's character.
The completely pointless cut scene after the fused shadow is completed, which serves no purpose at all except trying it's hardest to be edgy.
The encounter music taking priority over Midna's Lament is an immersion breaking disaster.
The fact that Hyrule Castle Town seems to be brimming with live but there's nothing really in it.
The fact that the citizens don't even react to the castle being apprehended. Another immersion breaking disaster as well.
The sidestory of the Ilya being resolved way to late at a point where many players probably forgot about it all together.
The absolutely dated looking graphics. Link looking like a wooden puppet when ever he's supposed to express emotion.
The non-optionality of the controls.
The fact that it's way to willing to be like OOT and not like it's own game.
Non of these are mere nitpicks at all
"The fact that it barely got anymore meaningful story going on that OOT, yet features way more cutscenes."
What? TP has way more story than OOT - there's Zant and Midna's backstory, Ganondorf's execution, the entire world becoming engulfed in Twilight. The only story in OOT is some boy has to collect stuff and kill an evil guy.
"The absolutely tedious first 30 minutes."
This is the only point I agree with.
"The lack of functionality for the wolf form."
The wolf form allowed for some great secrets in the overworld - 12 years later and I'm still finding some of them.
"The abyssal climbing speed."
The climbing speed wasn't that bad. They improved it in the HD remaster anyway.
"The fact that Zelda could have not been in this game and nothing really changed."
Would you make that same comment about Majora's Mask? That game doesn't feature Zelda at all and people still love it.
"The fact that Ganon could not have been in the game and it would probably better for it."
Again - other Zelda games like Majora's Mask, Skyward Sword, the DS games, The Minish Cap all have no Ganondorf and they mostly don't get hate.
"The absolute destruction of Zant's character."
How was his character destructed? Zant just revealed his true personality later on in the game. Not only that - he killed Ganondorf!
"The completely pointless cut scene after the fused shadow is completed, which serves no purpose at all except trying it's hardest to be edgy."
It's not pointless and it's not edgy. It's a warning to Link about greed and power. You know the lack of story you were complaining about earlier? This contributes to it.
"The encounter music taking priority over Midna's Lament is an immersion breaking disaster."
It created more immersion for me. Midna's Lament gave me a sense of urgency, and the enemy music looping in gave me a sense of danger.
"The fact that Hyrule Castle Town seems to be brimming with live but there's nothing really in it."
Telma's Bar? Malo Mart? Agatha? The (pointless but still there) fortune-teller? Hyrule Castle itself?
"The fact that the citizens don't even react to the castle being apprehended. Another immersion breaking disaster as well."
That's because the citizens cannot see the castle barrier. Only Link, Midna and Zelda can. And it didn't break my immersion.
"The sidestory of the Ilya being resolved way to late at a point where many players probably forgot about it all together."
Illia's sidestory may have been a bit late, but I certainly don't think players forgot about it. It was more of a reminder of Link's Ordon life and why he needs to save the world.
"The absolutely dated looking graphics. Link looking like a wooden puppet when ever he's supposed to express emotion."
The graphics aren't dated. They're better than Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time. Link never expresses emotion? Look towards the end of that "pointless cutscene" you mentioned earlier. He doesn't show much emotion in any of the games as the players are supposed to have their own image of him.
"The non-optionality of the controls."
Just avoid the rubbish Wii version. 99% of Wii games have this problem - including other Zelda games like Skyward Sword.
"The fact that it's way to willing to be like OOT and not like it's own game."
OH GOD I'M DEALING WITH ONE OF THESE ZELDA FANS. LET'S GET THIS STRAIGHT. TWILIGHT PRINCESS IS A GAME ABOUT AN ORDINARY FARM BOY WHO HAS TO TURN INTO A WOLF AND TRAVEL BETWEEN TWO REALMS TO DEFEAT TWO EVIL VILLAINS. OCARINA OF TIME IS A GAME ABOUT A FAIRY BOY TRAVELLING BACK AND FORTH THROUGH TIME TO KILL A KING WHO RUINED HYRULE MARKET. *THEY DO NOT MATCH.* IF TP WAS ANY LESS LIKE OCARINA OF TIME, FANS WOULD COMPLAIN THAT IT'S NOT ZELDA.
Links live is in jeopardy because his secluded forest villiage is attacked by an evil force. He sets out on a journey into Hyrule in order to fix that's wrong. He later learns that a foreign force (which in the same force attacking his village) has infiltrated Hyrules court and causes trouble all over the country, while Zelda is powerless to do anything. He then sets out to collect 3 items which will unlock a secet weapon to smite evil. During this quest he is confronted with the various problems of the peoples of the land and afterwards he has a stand off with the main villian and everthing goes awry. He enters the temple of time and takes the Master Sword. Hyrule Castle is captured by Ganondorf. Link sets out to collect 5 more items in order to progess and open up the final dungeon.
He then enters Hyrule Castle and has a face of with Ganondorf, who changes into a boar.
Which game's story did I just summarise?
2. That fact alone doesn't remedy the fact that the Wolf has about as much functionality as *one* transformation mask from MM. Said MM has 4 more of those, countless other masks and a time travel mechanic, despite the fact that it had 1 year of dev time and came out a decade earlier.
The wolf form and the shadow realm are supposed to be TPs main gimmick, just as sailing is for WW, masks and time travel is for MM, motion controls for SS, ect. It is utterly inexcuseable for a main gimmick to be so underdeveloped.
3. I personally found the climbing speed to be dreadful but I guess that's up to personal preference.
Ah yes, the the HD remake. Sorry but I'm not inclined to spend another 40 bucks just to buy the same game again + a few minor fixes and a dungon i can unlock by buying a toy.
4. No I would not make the same point about about MM, because I staunchly believe that part of the reason MM is such a good Zelda game and such a great sequel to OOT is the fact that there is no Ganon, no Hyrule and (almost) no Zelda in it. MM had the balls to be entirely it's own thing and that's what makes it great.
Thus I stand by my point: TP would have been a much greater game if neither Zelda nor Ganon had been in it. TP already introduced 2 perfectly great unique characters in Midna and Zant and should have spend it's time exploring their characters rather than shoehorning in Zelda and Ganon for the sake of nostalgica bait. Point is; TP DID have Ganon and Zelda, and they served no purpose. So I will critisise them accordingly.
5. Also, SS did feature Ganon, the game just refuses to call him that.
Demise looks, acts and fulfills the same role as Ganon.
6. He was destroyed because there was very little build up to his eventual derangement. He was introduced as a calm and collected villian and stayed this way for most of the game until it was time for his boss fight.
Had we seen him lose his cool slowly but steadily because Link crossed his plans way to effectively I would not complain about this.
Essentially my problem is this: Zant was the driving force behind everthing that happened in this game up to this point, he has a personal connection to the heroes sidekick, which is a great setup for a main villian. The the game just goes: Nah, this guy is a loon and Ganon was behind it all. ( who btw has done jackshit throughout the course of this game) It was a cheap twist for the sake of having a twist and for the sake of shoehoring Ganon into the game.
Zant as a character was wholly underutilised, which is sad, be cause he, like Midna could have been the best thing about the game.
7. It was utterly pointless and edgy. There is no point in warning Link of all people of abuusing power, because Link never ever considers this to be an option. It is not a theme important to his character. On my fist playthrough I admittedly thought it would be important for Midna later on, seeing how she tried to use an ancient and potentially uncontrollabe relic of great power for the sake of revenge, but the game never connects the dots on these things. Heck, it still astonishes me that Midna turning into a monster had no effect whatsoever on her character. It also never connects the theme to Zant who could also have been nicely woven into the narrative.
Instead the scene is about Link and Ilya, neither of which desire power, nor consider abusing the powers they alread have ( in case of link). It is so utterly detached from everything going on in the game. If I think about TP I don't think of the game that made the use and abuse of power and how it can corrupt even the noblest of heroes it's central theme, because it didn't, which is also astonishing, cuz you'd expect the "Game of Shadows" to be about some sort of corruption. So really, I see no reason not to call it a pointless pseudo philosophical throwaway line.
The game might aswell had Ganon go: "Remember kids, always eat your veggies" at some point. It was just as much to do with what's going on in the game and also "teaches the player a message for life."
6. Okay there's 4 shops of interest to Hyrule Castle Town. Great. So the dev might as well just could have slapped 4 shops into the middle of Hyrule field and called it a day. Of course that's cheap but, pretending there is more to HCT by simply adding countless nps that you can't interact with is equally as cheap. It just creates an illusion of things goingon, supposed to distracting you from the fact that there is not much going on.
7. That's a cheap cop-out. The citizens SHOULD have reacted to whats going on around them. And if it is actually true that the citizens cant actually see the barrier, thats a decision the writers made, and as such a decision they also *not could have made*. That is one of the very things that made both OoT and MM so great. The nps reacted to what was going on around them and thus it felt more real to the player. In TP there's no urgency invoked to actually fix the probelm of the Casle being apprehended.
I just thought: "yeah I can't do shit about it and nobody seems to care anyway, so whatevs. Guess we'll get to then when the story line decides to."
8. And even after that cutscene he still looks incredibly wooden. The point is that the game tries to emulate a realistic artstyle, but fails at this because the console can't handle it. But that's a general problem with realistic artstyles. A few years later a there will be newer and better technology to make the artstyle even more realistic and all previous instances will loook dated.
Link absolutely should expess emotion often you have to look no further than WW to see why. There Link does it all the time and it's one of the reasons WW is such a great game. It characterises Link tremendously without the use of cutscenes, voice acting or text, which only a few lines that form his face, while simultanously not sacrificing the "Link as the vessel for the player" part. This only works because WW has a less realistic, cartoony, artstyle and that's why I'm not at all impressed by overly realistic games anymore.
Ultimately TP tries way to hard to be edgy, yet, as Mathew pointed out, there's nothing really in it that compares to previous instances in the series where actual scary or atmospheric shit was invoked.
OoT, MM and even WW all feature things that are way more creepy than anthing TP presents, which is utter irony, considering that WW is the most lighthearted of the bunch.
(I'd actually argue that Links wooden looking features in TP are even creepier than any of these, because porcellain dolls are fucking creepy, but i doubt that was the intention.)
9 Just because other Zelda games have this problem too, doesn't mean it's not a problem here.
10.
-TP has largely the same story as OoT.
-It begins with a plant dungeon, a fire dungeon and water dungeon, then the objective shifts and one has to enter 5 more dungeons.
-It features adult link and a more realistic artstyle.
-Zelda and Ganondorf are in it (albeit they both serve less active rolls).
-Both feature a temple of time, with the same music playing in it, where link has to set the master sword into it's pedestal to open up a portal.
-It features the traditional Hyrule, with both hyrule castle and Hyrule field.
-The first temple after the objective shift features 4 poes who stole flames which Link needs to retrieve in order to progress, it is also a sand dungeon where you need to shift forms in order to progress as well, reminicent of the Desert Colossus.
-The Lost Woods, full with Sarias song and Skull Kid.
-Epona returns and is even used for the title sceen (which is one of the most strikingly obvious references to OoT).
-Goma and Morpha are both in the game as well.
-Even the Hylian shield returns, for the first time since OoT.
(He actually goes over this at the end of the video, have you not watched it?)
Also fuck those people that say TP would have been bad had it been too different.
As Matthew rightly pointed out, part of the success of the Zelda series is thanks to it's willingness to give unique spins to it's formula.
The only thing that sets TP apart from OoT is the shadow realm and the Wolf from, both of wich are heavy underutilised. TP had the potantial to be a great Zelda game, had it been allowed to be it's own thing. Sadly it wasn't and rather panders to nostalgia and edgyness boners. Which is a shame, since even though i am highly critical of some parts of the series, it's not like I don't want them to be good. The inverse is true. I want every Zelda game to be good, which is why I am so critical of it.
A Google User Idiot
Great review as always Matt!
35:15 This part particularly hits home for me. lol
Zant was such a cool, menacing villain. By far my favorite in the series. It's a shame the team didn't didn't expand more on his 'true' character and just decided to replace him with a completely out of character counterpart.
A very impompetant storytelling decision, really. It kind of makes me want want to see an alternate fan-version of the ending (if not the entire game) to give Zant the proper characterization he deserves. I'd also like these improvements applied to the other lost potentials in the game (wolf Link, shadow realm, etc.)
I don't know why, but I really can't remember much of Twilight Princess. I can probably play OoT and Majora's Mask blindfolded, and I have a pretty solid memory of Wind Waker and Skyward Sword, but some of the areas in this video just look totally foreign to me.
I have the exact same issue but with Skyward Sword, because none of the places look like they are connected and part of a bigger world. Of any of the zeldas Twilight Princess feels the most like home to me.
I suppose it's a generational thing but OoT was the first game that I played, I started it when I was 7 and took almost three years to finish it playing on and off because whenever I got stuck I would just have to wait until I figured it out.
To me it was the most incredible, immersive, transitively beautiful work of art. It turned me into a gamer, it introduced me to an entirely unique method of human expression, and it has this deep nurtured place in my heart.
But as I grew up and played all of the Zelda games, while the 2D ones never quite hit me in the same way, I felt that MM, WW and TP just built and built upon one another, to the point where I now feel like TP is my favourite Zelda game. It's terribly subjective but then so is any one person's opinion on anything, and especially on Zelda games.
Really we all know that almost every game in this series is an absolute triumph, and choosing which climbs just that little bit higher is going to come down to simply what resonates with you.
For now that's twilight princess, but I don't doubt that my opinion could completely change on the subject. What matters most is that we all love and respect what incredible games they are, not get mired down in petty squabbles over which masterpiece is the most masterpiece-y.
Happy questing folks
What do you think of bow?
@@cosettapessa6417 absolutely obsessed of course haha, just an amazing experience. I'd struggle to rank it subjectively but if I make an effort to be objective I think it's the best game they've made. I am SO excited for tears of the kingdom
@MrAzijn how's tears of the kingdom?
I think TP is the best Zelda game, but I also played it as my first Zelda game. Everything was new to me. So I cannot really relate to this review at all. Btw, any game that makes me cry is a win in my book, and believe me, the ending of this game always gets me.
That basically explains everything about my point of view. It was my first, but I still think that it was the best. From the stunning soundtrack and scenery, to its amazing plot and characters, I loved twilight princess. I never viewed the beginning as draggingly long, but I do agree that it was a pain to play through again when I replayed the game. I don't agree with many of his points though... I loved the wolf link form! I liked how you could play it whenever you want and was not restricted to just human link.
Cool my first was Minish Cap i think.
***** same here
Dan Sanchez Heh. I really like TP, but I understand Matthew's points. The thing is, Nostalgia Factor is a huge influence on my mind.
Elder Scrolls V: Dragonborn is basically one long, involved pandering session to fans of the Elder Scrolls series(such as myself) who started with Morrowind.
It's the same thing with Twilight Princess, but I ultimately loved the game for it despite its flaws. Different strokes for different folks.
Ironically enough, the first Zelda game I ever seriously played(but didn't finish until quite a while later, after I'd played and beaten Ocarina) was Majora's Mask...
And Matthew's right: Anyone making that game their first Zelda game is going to be overwhelmed.
Jack Daone I agree! I loved TP but I have to disagree with it being overwhelming for a first game. At times, being a young child, I did get very frustrated at some points, but over all I wasn't really overwhelmed.
Interesting fact: Midna's VA is actually speaking English, and that was distorted
I don't agree that the art style of Twilight Princess aged at all. I find very pretty despite have seeing modern with much more realistic design
"The music isn't as memorable as in previous titles". What?
@Daniel Callahan Well, most of the soundtrack comes from other Zelda games.
@Daniel Callahan Yes, that's important if you ask me. In a new game I want new music, not just repeated content. That may be a strange concept for zelda fans.
"Isn't as memorable"
WTF????
-Hyrule Field.
-Lake Hylia.
-Midnas Theme
-Boss Defeated.
-Midna's lament.
-Faron Woods.
-Twilight.
-Hidden Village.
-Zant battle.
-When you beat a boss and get a fused shadow/Mirror shard.
-When Link makes that pose in the Eldin Bridge.
-When Midna breaks the Mirror
...
This is original music.
Yeah, bullshit.
Lament and Zant battle are the only two I can play in my head and I just replayed this
I disagree with you about Zant. I Liked that he was not yet another serious villain. He also had very good reason to be pissed. you had outdone him in every turn so going crazy was exactly what this character shoud do.
I agree with you also, for me also this whole losing his marbles things just made him more likeable also
The point was that he was set up to be the serious main villain, making him go crazy felt out of character and completely forced. The whole game he's pretty much a badass that actually conquers hyrule and the twilight realm. Link doesn't "outdo" him at every turn he actually is defeated by Zant at first when he nearly kills Midna and turns Link into a wolf permanently but only AFTER they collected the fused shadows. He was cold, calculated, and dangerous which is much more interesting than when he lost his mind.
Crazy villains are also difficult to pull off anyway. They often feel arbitrarily made that way so you don't have to explain how what they do is justifiable. Because they're insane, it's all fine. There's also hilarious anime logic when explaining the cause of insanity: for example, somebody saw someone they love murdered in front of they're eyes, therefore crazy. That's not how insanity works.
They also had a the rare benefit of making a realistic villain that isn't out to destroy the world for a 98th time, instead it's a matter of conquest and a power struggle. That's always too small of a scope, though, isn't it? To me, this is the biggest loss.
The thing that's amusing is that a villain isn't supposed to be an all-round bad person, they're just supposed to stand in opposition to the protagonist, and often through having a different goal, but also best when tied deeply to the character in some way.
Most often, however, they intentionally make them unsympathetic, and spiteful, and not tied to the character at all, other than people the world's evilest roadblock. This is what separates nurse Ratched from an avalanche.
I never thought that these end of the world bringing villains could ever have empathetic motives due to how innately extreme it is, but then Wakfu blew my mind with such a simple twist to it.
But yes, joker and majora work basically due to the lack of an origin story, though, which is a cop out in itself, but a whole lot more effective than not leaving it a mystery. It would be midichlorians all over again.
The common theme just seem to be a complete lack of subtlety.
*****
Because villains are a trope and a tool and in no way mandatory. It's also arbitrarily assigned to certain settings, but it can be set in a modern (relatively) day drama like it was in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which basically shows how to use it right because it sheds all of its unecessary associations.
"Nintendo shouldnt have voice acting in zelda (unless its giberish) because it would be a trainwreck" I played breath of the wild, you are an actual genius to have predicted this.
17:40 wow, he was right, the voice acting for the english version of breath of the wild is pretty bad. Speaking gibberish would have actually been better at this point.
? I thought the champions and Zelda sounded good
yeah i don’t like it much. especially zelda...
@@Makkuvideos Eh, I think the voice actors were mostly finding their footing in Breath of the Wild. They've vastly improved in Age of Calamity, especially Mipha's VA. While I don't think the accent would work for every version of Zelda, for this version of her I think the accent fits her fine.
I personally hated the fight with Ganondorf, him hiding behind the princess, then transforming into a beast in anger then running away from you, the one person he wants to crush permanently, THEN finally calming down for a 1 vs 1 battle is totally out of character and flirts with cowardise.
Remember, in Ocarina of Time, you pissed him off so much he punched the floors off his castle just to get you. He then crumbled his home over your head and then, finally, snapped out of control.
Different ganondorf, they are all different incarnations
ChimerFox Actually it's the same Ganondorf. On most accounts, you're correct, but in this case it's the same one as in Ocarina of Time.
That's what I thought too. Ganondorf is invincible, only thing that can be done is to seal him and wish him farewell.
and the two zelda on the NES, and the skyward sword one even if I hated it. We never see him die for good and it's never even once stated that it is not the same one.
He was petrified. I bet you 10 bucks that removing the sword will make Ganon fleshy again in the following minute.
Also, Petrification can be reversed in a number of ways. Dispel magic and Break Enchantments are good ways but if you're going *by the book* then it wouldn't work. The petrification was not an arcane spell but rather a special effect of the sword meeting it's nemesis. If you treat this case as you would a basilisk then Stone To Flesh will work, as does a Wish or Miracle spell and their limited counterpart. If you have nothing like these, just smash the statue and resurrect the bastard. If you're not nosebleeding yet and get the joke then hey, you're amazing. If not you missed something good when you were young. DnD was amazing.
17:45 how sadly right you were...
When I heard zeldas voice in botw I was like “no” and switched to Japanese immediately
I used to have the same gripes about the "edgy" cutscene of dark versions of Link and the upside Illias. I always assumed it was, as Mathew suggests, just Twilight Princess' attempt to be edgier than Wind Waker. But It actually is a clever use of visual symbolism. It doesn't represent Link or Illia at all. It's not giving examples of individuals, or even potential individuals, but concepts. it is projecting him and Illia as placeholders for Adam/Eve and varias concepts of the human condition because it's an anectdote (a somewhat biblically themed one) that is being projected through Link. And so "Human Condition" is represented through various Links. And Illia represents temptation.
They are generic placeholders, and if it was any other face being used, this cutscene would seem less like Link being in a state of hypnosis, interpreting a tale, and more like an arbitrary little movie that the gods are literally playing for him in his brain.
It's supposed to be interpretive to Link. Not an interpretation of him. The is not some arbitrary edgy suggestion that Link might have a dark side. It is not even hinting any bit of corruption in Link. The gods are not giving him a cautionary tale. It's strictly informative, explaining what the Triforce (a magical get-whatever-you-want thing) does to mortal souls.
Link is Humanity. Illia is Temptation. Triforce is Apple.
I do not think Link has ever (or will ever) show a hint of corruption reguardless of how dark the LoZ games become. It would counteract the nature of his purpose. Like a foolish Zelda. Or a charitable Ganondorf. Every Hero/Link is Courage personified, and if any of them were sucesptable to cowardice/unkindness/greed, they simply would not posess pure Courage, and therefore not be The Hero.
True! I think his analysis of the cutscene was a little shallow, especially for him.
Might have been aiming at lofty concepts (cannot emphasize "might" enough there), but I think the execution was downright embarrassing regardless. Setting aside the faux-edgy tone, it just looks silly to the point of completely distracting from any sort of greater messages it might've been trying to convey. I think they're pretty cringeworthy at the end of the day, "visual symbolism" or no.
Nailed the predictions on voice acting in future Zelda games. Uncanny. Also your analysis style throughout your videos are amazing and I'm sorry I've only found them now. :)
Your side rant about the camera control is exactly why the GameCube version of TP is far superior. That, and the ability to perform unlimited quickspin attacks instead of having to wait for it to "recharge"
Even after playing every 3D Zelda game, Twilight Princess is still my favorite due to the large amount of dungeons, fun combat, large world, and epic climactic final boss fight.
The relationship with midna is by far the best in any zelda game imo
@@TROBassGuitar thats probably because Midna is only in twilight princess
The WII and the GC version's are almost EXACTLY the same. The only difference is the controls and the map is flipped.
Also, you are not allowed to complain about controls in any form if choose to ignore it's a GC game ported to WII. Of course it makes you use the motion controls, if it didn't, there'd be no point in releasing the REAL version, GC.
Yeah, I said it. The game was made for GC and was ONLY PORTED TO WII because they took to long. The difference's between them are EXTREMELY slim, as I said at the beginning. Controls, and the entire game is flipped. Otherwise, it's exactly the same.
If you consider it was made for the Gamecube first, then they already had the set-up they needed for a more classical set-up. Leaving that out might give you a reason to own the other version if you have both consoles, but it's valid to expect that someone looking to buy the game that only owns one of them would want them to have a comfortable control scheme.
Regardless of what your favorite development kit is, it's still an issue that held the experience back for a lot of players.
***** I own the GameCube version also, and hate the Wii version. I get what you're saying about reviewing what most people own and play, but because it was released on both consoles with different mechanics for each, it would have been a more balanced review overall if the reviewer had taken the time to play with the GameCube version; not to completion necessarily, but to at least enough to fairly compare and contrast the differences and pros and cons of each for ALL players, especially since that's the platform it was created for in the first place. Surely this guy knows someone with a GameCube and could have rented that version for a few hours.
***** I understand that, but I'm just saying, in my opinion, his complaining about not being able to use a GameCube controller for the Wii version seemed a bit much to me...if you think you'd prefer the controls of the other platform the game was released on, play that version instead of complaining only about the controls on one version, or acting like Wii players are entitled to access to both control schemes when it actually makes perfect sense that controls would work better on the original platform and Nintendo wanted you to play with motion controls, so to give the option to use a GameCube controller would have defeated the purpose of releasing it on a Wii. So anyway, all that to say, any review on a game released on multiple platforms is always more balanced when all platforms are taken into consideration. For example, in his OoT review, he notes briefly that OoT on 3ds has improved graphics and the iron boots are equipable which improves parts of the gameplay. Same can be said about noting that there are advantages, disadvantages, and differences, however small, to playing the GC version. He nitpicked enough to gripe about the occasional inadequacy of motion controls, so it's only fair that I can nitpick and say that he should mention that these inadequacies are non-existent in the GC version.
@yedaperry
"He nitpicked enough to gripe about the occasional inadequacy of motion controls, so it's only fair that I can nitpick and say that he should mention that these inadequacies are non-existent in the GC version"
Duh. He said at the start of the review that he will focus on the Wii version only. Also, thats why he wanted the Wii version to be able to play with GC controllers, wich I completely agree with. TP is always a pain for me to go back to these days since I have the Wii version and I hate the motion controls, wich are basically the same as if it were designed for a controller (the aiming is amazing though, feels like playing a shooter on a PC).
"or acting like Wii players are entitled to access to both control schemes when it actually makes perfect sense that controls would work better on the original platform and Nintendo wanted you to play with motion controls, so to give the option to use a GameCube controller would have defeated the purpose of releasing it on a Wii."
Enttled to access both control schemes? Why the fuck shouldn't they be entitled to both? They are playing on improved hardware capable of running GC and motion controls. Not sure if I understood you correctly, but do you really think that its better to leave the option out to use the GC controllers for the Wii version? Might as well leave the option to play GC games for Wii, then.
If Nintendo is confident in their motion controls, then I see no reason not to let the Wii players plug in a GC controller for TP if they want. The motion controls were rather forced.
I'm fine with Zelda having full voice acting, but as long as they keep Link silent, kinda like what they did with Metroid Prime 3.
NO. JUST NO, SERIOUSLY!
Hate to break it to you but....
It’s fuckin garbage
I found that Twilight Princess's similarities to Ocarina improve the gameplay experience rather than harm it. Playing these games with a long time between them would probably cause some resentment towards TP, since it would be something you interpret as recycling of old concepts, but when I first played TP, I was in the middle of a playthrough of Ocarina on the virtual console. Seeing these similarities back to back made me realize that the concepts from ocarina used in TP were truly an evolution of the concepts, like the variety of bombs, accesibility of the Zora tunic, and enormous improvement of the clawshot over the hookshot. For those reasons, I can easily say that Twilight princess is my favorite 3D Zelda game. It felt like the first time a 3D Zelda game was overall wholly improved over its predecessor. The game undeniably has many flaws (like the first two hours of the game), but I find that it has the most forgivable flaws out of any 3D Zelda game up to date.
Exactly, I always saw Twilight Princess's similarities to Ocarina of Time to be beneficial to the series. It helped preserve and reestablish the lore from Ocarina, while also putting a unique twist on it. While Majora's Mask and Wind Waker are fantastic games, they pale in comparison to the scale of Twilight Princess's grand interpretation of the series' lore.
I don't know. While your review was logical and made sense, I just don't think Tp is nearly as bad as you make it out to be. Sure it was a little closer to Oot, and a little more linear, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem, considering just how great it is. It has it's own style that is, in fact very different from Oot and the other games in the series. It has, by far the most character development, story, good items, and amazing bosses/ dungeons than any other 3D console game I've played. I also kinda like the difference in Toon Link, and Tp Link's personalities. I feel that if this Link were over-exaggerated like Toon Link, he would be too simaller to that incarnation. Instead, this one tends to be more quiet, mature, and has a very satisfying personality in a completely different way. I also love this art style, and music. They obviously had a lot of effort put into them for this game and look/sound stunning, even without the HD version. In my opinion, you are underrating a very strong game quite heavily, but an opinion is an opinion, and I mean no offense in any way. :)
(also ikr about the Midna's Lament problem! They really should have fixed this!)
nice
He never called Twilight Princess a bad game and while his criticisms may sound harsh, he doesn't hate TP overall and merely just doesn't give it very much respect because of how unoriginal it is. Zelda games are very malleable and can be drastically different from previous titles but TP doesn't even try to hide the fact that it was made to appease OoT fans who weren't happy about Majora's Mask or Wind Waker.
I see people rip on Twilight Princess all the time, but in reality it did a lot of the Zelda tropes better than any other game in the franchise. It had the best dungeons, the best boss fights. The most unique art style. An amazing villain (that isn't Ganon). And without a doubt, the best companion out of any Zelda game. Midna was actually an interesting character, and she served an actual purpose in the game's story. My point is Twilight Princess is a severely underrated Zelda game, and it gets way more hate than it deserves.
Best boss fights and most memorable villain? Gonna have to disagree with you there, buddy.
Ninja of Irony I agree that it had the best dungeons and companion, but Zant was cool until they destroyed his character, it's art style is releastic and generic, and the boss fights were too easy. But hey, all of that is only up to opinion.
I was livid when they released this game on Wii first. Ever since the days of OoC people were looking foreword to a high fidelity Zelda on a new console. It didn't help that there were really nice renders of a high fidelity Link vs Ganondorf fight in circulation that likely belonged to some internal tests or some early abandoned pre-alpha. When Wind Waker came it felt kind of like a cop out and when they finally gave us something that looked close to these renders they didn't give it to the console that it was anticipated for first.
Funny enough, Wind Waker has aged much better in my opinion and is overall a game I enjoy far more than Twilight princess now.
What turns me off from Twilight Princess now is the ridiculous levels of post processing, there is so much bloom and blur that it look like Link is inside a sauna for the entirety of the game.
This kind of thing always was an issue for Nintendo productions. Starting of with the more vague looking pseudo 3D on the FX chip for SNES, build-in forced FXAA on N64 and extreme post processing filters on a lot of GC/Wii/WiiU games.
This was also the last Nintendo game I played for years since I didn't see much value in the Wii with it's dumb gimmick controlls and lack of third party games. Got to play a most of the interesting titles later on when I got a WiiU.
The GameCube version is way better honestly go play it
Much, MUCH better than the Wii version. I could never got around the fact that the game was flipped.
+wolfpacsyxx
When you're with the NWO, you're with the NWO...
4 Life
What about the HD version?
It is an awesome version of the game. It improved the wall climbing that TP Link was notably slow at, they added a lantern to let you know when Poe's Souls are around lessening the confusion of the originals. The graphics were preserved with a removal of bloom to show off the environments and characters models (unlike Wind Waker HD, which added a bloom effect to the water), you have an option to play the game like the GC version on Normal Difficulty and the Wii version (minus motion controlled sword play) on Hero Mode, which is a fantastic way to please fans of either version. Like Wind Waker, many of the items use the gyro control and the bow really benefits from this change in controls. My biggest complaint about this near perfect package would be the framerate. It can stutter at times when riding Epona in Hyrule Field, and though the dungeons play perfectly, I am baffled by the framerate being worse than the originals. Don't get me wrong, the additions and improvements give it the highest recommendation from me, but I would still get the GC version since it plays that little bit better, despite the Poe's Souls being a pain to find.
Although i think you're on the point regarding the tutorials in the beginning, i found myself to be very appealed to the vibes of the first segment of TP. It was so over the top cheesy - like the rest of the game was gritty and aetheric - in the way the characters lived in peace and harmony (too unreal for even high fantasy to ever touch) but still sold it very charming. That harsh contrast to the rest of the game made the fact, that link was sent on an adventure he never wanted any business with in the first place very touching for me. Even though he shows almost no emotions in TP i cared much for the sidequest around his hometown ... and even less for the rest (except midna ... she's cool).
One think that is also very big about TP are the 3D Zelda series iconic items and mechanics and what they learned from the three previous titles:
Sword, Bow, Hookshot, Boomerang, Horse and arguably the Iron Boots (which i mention for a reason). They had very fresh ideas about all those items and most of them are imho the best you can make of it. So i see it less as a recycled OoT but as remastered and highly polished 3D-Zelda best of.
1) The sword techniques were superb and though they were optional (which as you stated shouldn't be optional, to influence more creative enemy design) they felt intuitive to use and gave a feeling of progression in character-skill ... more than a double-charged spin attack ever could. And walking while cutting grass ... who doesn't love it?
2) The bow-aiming felt more refined than in any other zelda game and the option to connect bombs to the arrows created a satisfactory weapon and puzzle solving tool.
3) The iron boots took all the good things of OoT and WW, combined them and added a bunch of new stuff: Walk under water to the point of even placing bombs there, refining the OoT underwater movement and combing it with the good aspects of MM Zora mask, outmaneuver heavier enemies (gorons), resist gysers and walk up water currents, pull down objects you're hangning on - for example to drop in the treasure island chicken game and the dragon-boss - use the magnetic properties of iron to walk on walls and the ceiling.
They are used in four or even more mechanical ways BEFORE you even get the zora-armor!! That is much considering it's the underdog of the items. And i respect those design decisions much, because i had the choice to walk up a waterslide or pull down a chicken because they thought of it. They considered that players would try out those things and implimented it, which makes the world so increadibly much more believable to me.
btw. did anyone notice, that the Iron boots is the item that is seen in most bossfights throughout the game?
4) Don't forget that before all the tutorials ruin the start, the first thing you are introduced to after learning how to walk, is how to call and to ride your horse. That is remarkable and i think you understated the use of epona in TP. You sit on horseback nearly everytime you're not damned to be a wolf. Also fighting and precise shooting while riding, is a thing i consider stylish and well done.
The boomerang and the double hookshot got praised enough and they deserve it.
Also TP is the first 3D Zelda not to have a magic-meter and i didn't miss it one bit.
I've played this game like 11 times yet i can never remember much of it other than the scary desert, wolf link and the cats, and midna being sick and the spirit but thats it i literally cannot remember anything else
Yo that slow climb up the wall followed by a measly ten rupees made me laugh so hard that I hit the like button.
Midna is a god tier Zelda character.
I feel TP is one of the weakest games in the Zelda franchise. When i think of the Zelda games that really stick out in my memory its just about every single one except TP and Skyward Sword. TP wasnt a rehash but as you said in the review, it felt too familiar. It felt like an inferior version of OOT. I did enjoy TP and its honestly nearly impossible to play a "bad" Zelda game but TP just didnt have the impact that the others did. I havent played TP in a while and ive played OOT much more recently on the 3DS and honestly if i had to pick one to play right now i would still pick OOT
The LACK of CAMERA CONTROL is not the fault of motion controls!
Many 3rd Person Wii games have found good solutions.
Just two give two:
-The fairy good be used to turn the camera like a crosshair in a FPS.
-Turning either Nunchuck or Wiimote in addition to pressing a button turns the camera.
I don't understand how Nintendo could be so incompetent.
Or maybe they thought no one would care. And unfortunately the vast majority doesn't care (as I have found out)... even long-time Zelda fans.
You and I are an exception. :(
turning the way you faced with the analog stick and then pressing z was pretty easy for me
brideof chucky That's not the same thing! You can do so much more with manual camera controls.
No mention of Ganondorf softly dying in the sunset while still standing up??? Instant classic Zelda moment! I mean. Come. On.
It was a little goofy.
ZedK49 Japanese game designers have a really hard time making stylistic decisions that make sense both for their own audience and for the US audience. Japanese market usually expects extreme, overly- dramatic character behavior to express the emotional depth of a situation. This is a part of the reason a lot of people either love or hate things like Anime. I hate it just as much as you do to be honest. And I hope BotW doesn't go down that path because I think it will.
Honestly, I think this is one of the much better games in the series. I don't understand why people complain so much about it being "too similar" to OoT. Over the entire run of the 3D games in the *series*, which spanned almost 20 years, this is the only 3D game in the *series* that actually feels like a proper *sequel* to the original 3D game in the *series*...There's a reason that I made that word bold. This is a *series* which means, more of the same. That's what people want. More of the same. While you can dissect this game as much as you want, point out it's flaws, talk about how other games bring more new things to the table..but at the end of it all....This was still the best selling game in the series, only surpassing OoT if you combine the sales of both of the console versions. This is what people wanted.
While I won't deny the WW art style has aged much better, I never felt it was right for the Zelda series. Even though that was a perfectly fine game and played well, it's still one of my least liked in the series because of how much it deviates from the Zelda feel in look and setting. As much as I do adore MM, TP is the only other 3D game in the *series* that actually *feels* completely like a Zelda game and I feel that it's ridiculous to use that as a negative point against it. While I completely agree with every other negative point in this review- the wolf form feeling over all poorly implemented, the story feeling really sluggish and getting in the way of the actual gameplay, I appreciate this game so much just because it feels like a proper return to form. I don't play the Zelda *series* to go sailing, or to fly through the skies on a bird, or conduct trains...I play them because I want to traverse the open fields of Hyrule, and explore the dungeons hidden in the deep darkest corners of the land.
While I can appreciate the creators wanting to craft newer experiences, I've never been in the camp of believing that difference just for the mere sake of it is a good idea and I think that the series would do good with some proper grounding. Literal pun intended. Such deviations should be a rare luxury. Not the set standard for the *series*. One of the things that made me appreciate Termina so much initially was how, at the time, rare it was for the series to explore beyond Hyrule. In hindsight, I can't say I feel the same way. If it wasn't so much for the *series* trying entirely to hard to be different and innovative with every entry, I wouldn't give this particular game in question more praise than it deserves.
All the games in the series that try so hard to deviate from the general look, setting, and feel of the *series* tend to be the worst selling and most under appreciated in the *series*. You could say that people as a broad general audience should be more open to new experiences..but I don't think that's exactly a fair demand to make on people who are consuming products of a *series* and are really only contributing to that *series* because they want more of the same. I think the series would be much more successful if the developers quite worrying so much to make everything feel so radically different from the Zelda norm, and instead just focused on making the best *Zelda* experience possible. To be completely honest, if you or anybody else feel that that Zelda experience is growing tired or cliche, than you as an individual might want to take a break from the series instead of demanding the overall experience change.
Pokemon is the best example of this. Sure, it gets flack for being pretty much the same game over, and over again...but it's easily one of Nintendo's best selling, if not the best selling of their franchises. Pokemon games know exactly what they want to accomplish and provide the Pokemon experience that the fans buy the games for and the *sales reflect this*.
While I appreciate the willingness to experiment with the likes of WW, it's one of the last games in the *series* I ever replay, favoring instead to just replay OoT or, yes, TP over again for the Zelda experience I crave when I want to play one of the games. I love OoT, but the only reason it's still the fan favorite and the crowned king of the series is because none of the other games have ever dethroned it by doing what it does...but better. TP came close to this, but fell flat on it's face from trying to deviate. People can complain all they want about this game being "OoT 2.0" but that's why it sold so well, that's what people want, and it's not fair to call it that...because in that regard, it failed.
It's interesting what you say about the feel of the game because when I played through the game the first time, I could never shake the feeling that it just DIDN'T feel like a Zelda-game...
Also, I can't really agree with you in regards to the parts about change and the use of Pokémon as an example.
Sure it might sell, but does it make the games BETTER?
In my opinion -- no. Especially not Pokémon. The Pokémon games have become stagnant and stale. I intend to buy Alpha Sapphire, but that's only because Sapphire was my first Pokémon game, but after that, I don't intend to spend any more money supporting that franchise. It's just so. Freaking. Boring. Playing the exact same thing over and over again.
Give us another game like Pokémon Colosseum. A game focused on an actual STORY rather than the tired "beat 8 gyms, beat the elite four" bs.
WolfieboyMachi
Yeah, I honestly feel like WW would be a much better game if it had dropped the few connections it has with Zelda and focused on being a pirate adventure game. Focused on sailing and treasure hunting. Same with SS. It's different enough that it could have easily been it's own IP.
Just because it's gotten stale for you doesn't mean the series looses strength. Pokemon adds new elements with every iteration. They improve it while leaving the core experience intact or changing the over all feel of the game. Because Pokemon knows exactly what it is, it's a stronger series, with a more unified fanbase, and sells extremely well. Compared to Zelda where the feel, quality, and sales of the game shift dramatically all throughout the series...Pokemon is successful and consistent. Despite what people say, at the end of the day they really do want consistency.
As I said earlier, if you yourself find a series to be getting stale, then you yourself need to take a break from the series instead of demanding it change to suit your tastes. I don't mean that in a negative way. If one finds that the only way they can keep interest in a series is if it's changed drastically...Then they obviously aren't feeling it anymore.
I applaud Pokemon immensely for being able to upgrade and improve there games without loosing sight of what their games are about or how they feel. I love Pokemon's consistency and I wouldn't never want to seem them change the groundwork for their main line of games. I appreciate the side-series games for being different and knowing what they are...rare deviations that are a treat because the break away from the consistency, without changing it.
I just wish Aonuma would quite trying to bang the inner mechanics of Zelda to death with a wrench. Instead, let him express his new creative ideas in new IPs, where they can flourish, instead of awkwardly shoehorning them into an existing formula that doesn't fit the same feeling. If that means getting Zelda games less frequently...So be it. I'd rather get less frequent games that feel more focused and genuine than a gamble on a gimmick every few years...Which is unfortunately what this series is quickly becoming.
I would have a single complaint with WW if it wasn't batching completely the tone, setting, and feeling of a pre-existing franchise. Nor would I have as much problem with SS if it didn't feel like it had "Zelda" arbitrarily forced onto the box. Nintendo has had more than just one platformer series, RPG series, Sci Fi series, that all explore different ideas. There's no reason they can't make a new adventure series to explore their newer ideas.
theshawn666
The only thing Pokémon adds are new Pokémon, (contributing to the already overcrowded roster) plus minor tweaks to the mechanics. Save for X and Y which finally gave us what we've been waiting for for over ten years -- a fully 3D pokemon adventure. Which is why I bought it, even though I've still yet to finish Pokémon Black.
Pokémon is not consistent in its quality. Ask the hardcore Pokémon fans and they'll tell you some games are vastly superior to others.
A game series can keep what their games are about and how they feel (in the case of Pokémon -- catching monsters, training them to be stronger and rise up to a challenge) and still bring something interesting and different to the table.
Like for instance, let's say a Pokémon game, developed by gamefreak had come out, yet instead of doing the same mundane task of defeating 8 gyms and defeating the Elite Four, the player had to, say, save the world. Like in the second Pokémon movie.
Now let's say that that story, despite having a simple premise, had great characters with great character development, a fresh, well though out lore and world and a well-written story.
You really don't think that would sell? Of course it would.
Often times, people don't know what they want until they get it. Just look at Minecraft.
I think many people are playing Pokémon both for nostalgic reasons, and because their friends are playing it. That's also something we've seen happen several times. Again with Minecraft as well as with other games like World of Warcraft.
Playing Pokémon has, for many who grew up with the franchise, become a tradition. And traditions die hard. Especially when tied to such strong nostalgia.
And just look at the case of the latest Zelda. A Zelda game with an open world. And people are super stoked about it.
Yet another case of people being excited and open to change, and a franchise gaining for daring to improve rather than staying stagnant.
Wind Waker batching the tone, setting and feel of a pre-existing franchise is entirely a matter of subjective opinion. I thought Wind Waker felt WAY more like a Zelda-game than Twilight Princess did. The Zelda games had always looked cartoony and had bright colors. Even Majora's Mask, which was a way darker game than any previous game in the series, had it. And then TP comes along being dark, gritty with washed out colors and with a "realistic" feel. How is that not botching the feel of the Zelda franchise?
And while I do agree that Nintendo could benefit from new IPs to explore new ideas, I still don't think they should try and do new thigns with their already existing franchises.
WolfieboyMachi
First of all. If you don't think Pokemon changes beyond just adding Pokemon, Alpha Sapphire would like a word with you. I've just spent the last 40 mins freely soaring over Hoen and that's just one of the major upgrades it brings. Every Pokemon game has fresh ideas implemented in them, built around the traditional Pokemon structure. Pokemon is consistent. The main series Pokemon games are probably the best example of video game consistency. One of the main ways this shows are with sales. Juxtaposed to the Zelda series, every entry in the series sell consistently well. OR/AS has only been out for a little over a week and a half and not only has it sold about 9 times as much as Skyward Sword did it's opening week, just a little over a week and a half and this game has already sold over half of SS's *life time sales*....by the end of this month it will probably outsell SS at least 2-3 times over.
"Like for instance, let's say a Pokémon game, developed by gamefreak had come out, yet instead of doing the same mundane task of defeating 8 gyms and defeating the Elite Four, the player had to, say, save the world."
You save the world in 4 of the main series Pokemon games...While still getting the badges...Did you just quit playing the games for an extended amount of time or something? Taking the Badges out of Pokemon would be like taking the dungeons out of Zelda...
."Often times, people don't know what they want until they get it"
That's true for new IPs...Not really series' that have been going on for almost 20 years. People know exactly what they want out of Pokemon. If you don't believe me, all you have to do is look at the sales of the spin-off games...Yeah, people want a "Pokemon" game, when they actually purchase a Pokemon game...Go figure.
"And just look at the case of the latest Zelda. A Zelda game with an open world. And people are super stoked about it."
You mean the open world that is a *throwback to the series' roots*? That open world?...I'm not sure how old you are, but the further I read into your response, the younger you seem...Let me break it down for you kiddo, *Zelda 1 invented the concept of big open worlds in video games*. With the exception of SS, they've all had some fair sized open worlds. People are stoked for it because SS, which was the new deviation for the traditional formula, botched the original feel of the series entirely. This new Zelda isn't doing anything new in terms of world openness, to the contrary, it's just taking it back to what it used to be.
"Wind Waker batching the tone, setting and feel of a pre-existing franchise is entirely a matter of subjective opinion"
No it's not. Having a bias for or against the changes made in WW are subjective...Saying that a game in a series that changed the entire look and feel of the franchise, changed the entire layout of the world, and focuses on sailing in a series that was never about sailing is a drastic departure for the norm is not subjective in the slightest...because that's exactly what WW did. If it wasn't for the pathetically small amount of dungeons and the small handfull of references to the other games, WW could pass as an entirely different IP honestly.
"I thought Wind Waker felt WAY more like a Zelda-game than Twilight Princess did. The Zelda games had always looked cartoony and had bright colors. Even Majora's Mask, which was a way darker game than any previous game in the series, had it. And then TP comes along being dark, gritty with washed out colors and with a "realistic" feel. How is that not botching the feel of the Zelda franchise?"
Really?...because one of the most common complaints about TP is that *it feels too much* like other games in the series...Specifically OoT.
No, the series has not always been cartoony nor was it always filled with bright colors. The first 2 games were very dull and earthy. The third game actually had pretty realistic colors for a SNES title, the fourth game was in black and white, and the N64 titles are as realistic as the N64 could manage. TP wasn't a "dark, gritty departure". It was a (much needed in my opinion) return to traditional fantasy visuals in the series. If OoT had originally been made on the GC, that's how it would look. You can look at the space world tech demo if you need proof. The only thing remotely cartoony about the older games was the concept art usually followed popular fantasy styles for the times. The artwork for the originals look similar to the original Hobbit movie (earthy tones and all), Link to the Past and Link's Awakening's artwork looked like the animated Sword in the Stone movie (still realistic earth colors). OoT/MM's artwork look like typical 90's fantasy, and TP looks like it took inspiration from LotR. They all looked traditionally fantasy...and WW shat all over that...
Also, I have no idea where this notion of TP being completely depraved of color is comping from. The only parts of the game that lacked color were the Twilight Realm segments. The rest of the game actually had quite a bit of color. They just looked a bit earthy...Like they always have in the series...It actually looks more comparable to a GC version of MM in terms of color.
There's a difference between trying to features or new ideas to make the experience as polished as possible...You know, what most series do...and completely changing everything up for the sole purpose of...trying to be different?...Difference without purpose is superficial and retarded. If Nintendo wanted to make a game about Pirates and sailing, then why not just make a game about pirates and sailing instead of awkwardly forcing it into a pre-existing franchise that has nothing to do with that stuff?
Sales in the Zelda series are declining overall, so you can't make the argument that these changes are keeping the games relevant and interesting to the mass consumer. All the games that made the most deviations (MM, WW, SS) are some of the worst selling in the entire series, while the ones that stay true to what the series is about sell the best. Clearly, people know what they want. Nintendo has always had the problem of trying to tell the consumers what they want instead of actually listening though.
Look at how much excitement was present for the HD TP tech demo they showed a couple of years back...You don't have to look very far to see huge amounts of people that are already displeased that Zelda U isn't following that sort of aesthetic.
I really don't agree with you specially with the “Zelda" feel part, just because it is not realistic looking or because it isn't on Hyrule doesn't mean it has the Zelda feel, the Zelda feel is enjoyable puzzles and side-quests, a few comedic moments here and there, talk about being a hero, and courage and overcoming the odds and exploring, saying that because you're not in Hyrule it isn't Zelda, or because you wouldn't recognize Link without his green tunic it doesn't feel Zelda is what makes a series feel stale, yes it was what sold the most but it is a clear case of the client isn't always right scenario, people thought they wanted a sequel that would grow from OOT but they really didn't I know I was on board with it, I liked TP, but it is one of the Zelda games I play less and I have every Zelda game to date, and atleast every vacation period I try to complete a Zelda marathon which is kind of my weird ritual, but when I get to TP i usually have already played OOT which atleast has the nostalgia factor alongside it, if the series want to grow storywise, or gameplaywise or any other way they have to take more risks, I know I couldn't believe myself when the new land in spirit tracks was also called Hyrule, despite the king of read lions passionately telling them to find a new land that won't be Hyrule, at the very least I respect that timeline because it doesn't have ganondorf and the madter sword in it, doesn't mean I don't want the master sword, Hyrule or Ganondorf in it, as there are other timelines that get away with having Hyrule and Ganondorf in them, but atleast they have them in more refreshing ways, four swords adventures didn't have the zoras in Hyrule but had different new tribes which felt fresh, the oracle games had Ganon in it but weren't played in Hyrule, different touches like that help keep this eternal series fresh, I know I love my Zelda it is my favorite videogame series, but I feel that they should take more risks to bring us better and more rich experiences, they have every tool to make that happen, rarely are the heroes connected or related, the series have ventured outside of Hyrule and have brought interesting tribes, villains and lore to flesh out the world, but they simply don't sometime, like this game which the only reason I differenciate and appreciate the game is because of it's lenghty dungeons, I really enjoy how long and pleasant they are to complete.
I’ve been playing a bunch of 3D Zelda games lately and after beating twighlight princess I noticed that it wasn’t that good compared to the others, I thought maybe I was going crazy or I just beat the game to quickly but after watching this video I was happy you were so harsh on it. I got nervous I was supposed to like it and just didn’t.
It's not just you, haha. For all the people who praise it endlessly and call it their favorite game, there are just as many Zelda fans who feel like it's one of the weaker entries. It's a polarizing game for a lot of people.
26:22 There is a way to look directly down. Press the Z button on the nunchuck while flying with a Cucco and the camera change to a top down perspective.
i find alot of these complaints to be a little unfair, for instance the option of a gamecube controller, the wii has a gaMECUBE built into it, and twilight princess is also a gamecube, so there's no reason to toggle between controllers. also as previously mentioned by others twilight is a sequel to ocarina and majora so its allowed some similarities, as for traversing the overworld, its better than it is in windwaker in my mind and to my taste, also u can warp in this zelda game, because u can warp in every zelda game nearly. As for the look of the game i think its aged well, or at least its aesthetic has, though not as good as windwaker. the wolf could be considered a little shallow and the twilight realm to be a little padded, though its not comparable as shallow as the sky or bird in SS. The wolf has the standard moves all links have had, its true i would've preferred a finishing move, but thats a tiny nitpick, and the wolf does offer a variety of other gameplay features, while the twilight sections have a lot of story and atmosphere, so in the end there not a waste of space as for bug hunts, they don't take that long, its not like the padding of SS. as for the fighting, while it could have been better, it was better than maybe all of the other games, i feel this list is a compliation of things that no video game gets perfect. Comparing it to windwaker, its much more free, waiting to counter darknut was very restricting and eventully dull while in twilight i killed things different every time, my final blow to zant was the mortal draw and it was awesome, as for the story u may not have been into it, but it was very good in my mind, link like in windwaker is not some spontaneous hero he has a reason a catalyst which is the children and llia. the reason the beginning is a little long, which i personally am fine with is while you do some mundane tutorials, u are simultaneously investing in characters and i think that makes it worth it. Through out the game especially in twilight sections and as u play, they do funny things all on their own, for instance, malo a fan favourite. do they forget llia a little some could argue both ways its a nice story strand regardless, as for zant not seeing an issue with him, when he's ambiguous and in control, a bad ass when u meet the real him and he's not in control very diffferent, thats a good way to transition, also we knew from the beginning of the game that ganondorf would be involved, evryone seems to forget that. As for not innovating anything as a game, twilight princess streamlines and polishes, whats wrong with that, the past two console games were way different, whats wrong with zelda returning to original hyrule after eight years. Take a look at the kirby series, that a series that people want to see ground itself, rather than being radically different every time. twilight shouldn't be considered a sell out its not an annual cod release its a return to the tried and true, as is link between worlds and no one's hating on that, yet
“there will be dungeons” well not all breaks from convention are good
I have to disagree with Twilight Princess feeling like "Ocarina of Time... but bigger" being a bad thing. It was definitely meant to be a direct sequel to OoT and unlike previous Zelda games it feels like that in every possible aspect. But that's what it was, a sequel. While it's true that Zelda games, even sequels, have their own flavors, I don't think this one should get grief for being a traditional sequel. The thing is, it does do enough changes to be considered it's own game, just not as much as your average Zelda game. Would you really say this game is as similar to Ocarina of Time as you would Super Mario Galaxy 2 is to Super Mario Galaxy, or other games that just slap on a 2 at the end but don't really expand at all?
In your Skyward Sword review, you said you wouldn't call Skyward Sword a "bad Zelda game" because even though it lacked exploration, an expected trait of Zelda games, the games are so prone to change that this makes it unfair. While I disagree with you there and believe that some aspects do define what a Zelda game is, I feel this notion is applicable to what Twilight Princess did. Twilight Princess being a direct sequel in every way is a type of change that other games of the series haven't done. Is it really fair to say it's bad because of that? Not to mention, many were indeed asking for said sequel, so Twilight Princess was a very good time to try this approach.
Before Twilight Princess came along, Ocarina of Time was the one game in the series that I felt whose aspect needed revisiting, not just in lore, but in spirit. It was considered the best by many and has always been the center of the split-timeline theory, even before it was confirmed canon. Twilight Princess delivered that re-visitation and now because of it, I feel a sense of closure to that concept.
Twlight Princess has some great parts. The dungeons are some of the best in the series. Arbiter Grounds, you are the best. Unfortunately the game takes WAY too long to get going. Herding goats is stupid and it takes me 5 hours to get to the first dungeon instead of 5 minutes. The items, especially the spinner, are really cool. The music is great too, Hyrule field is the best in the series. The wolf stuffs kind of boring though. The world maps interesting, but doesn't excite me much though OOT didn't have an overworked with much, but that was the N64. TP is a good zelda game, but far from the best.
eh....I feel it is one of he best. it takes some time to get going but after that? it's not that bad plus I liked how calm everything was at first before the storm
just replayed the game. Everyone saying the intro takes forever is either lying or really, really bad at figuring out tutorial level challenges. I timed it and got to the wolf part in 50 minutes. You can escape the twilight hyrule in about half an hour. You should be able to get to the first dungeon in about 2 hours. It's baffling that everyone says its so long, I have to assume you're either lying which I doubt, what's more likely is you wanted to get into the game immediately so what was actually a couple hours of setting up a tone, story, characters and controls felt like 5 hours. And, I disagree with the idea that the beginning isn't fun, escaping the twilight hyrule as wolf link is great, the variety of stuff to do in the town is great and they usually last all of 2 minutes before you're doing something else so even if you hate herding goats, anyone who says you do it for longer than 4 minutes in the entire games runtime is lying, and that's assuming you go back and do it a third time for a heartpiece. The complaining about the intro is wildly overblown. Some games like this and mgs2 are shocking to go back to, what were minor complaints have been iterated and respoken so many times that they're seen as huge glaring flaws, but going back to the actual game now shows that they're barely perceptible as problems at all. It barely even bears a complaint at all.
@@christopherrapczynski204 Even 50 minutes is a very long intro/tutorial section, and the wolf part is arguably still tutorial. My favorite games usually have tutorials that end between 10-30 minutes. On top of that, several parts of the tutorial are badly explained, or at least the french translation is, and when I was 11, I got stuck at several points during the tutorial, more than in the dungeons themselves.
I honestly like the fact that Hyrule returned in TP. After the tease in WW and not seeing it at all in MM, I couldn't wait to see this region again. At least it wasn't a complete copy and paste from Oot. This Hyrule was much larger than the one from OoT.
Also, I like how the Child Era timeline contains the dark and creepy Zelda titles and they are the only ones that have physical reappearances of the hero of time, my favorite Link of them all. Child Era FTW!!!
"If I was a robot.". You're not?
It’s rare that I lose complete track of time when doing something, but watching this video I did. Wonderful work, I wish more channels on youtube had this level of quality in their videos.
I disagree with your combat argument. The enemies can be defeated without the sword techniques but that means the fight is dictated by the enemy and Link can only strike when the enemy slips up and gives him a chance. However if you actively go out and explore the world to learn new techniques for Link, he has more options in a fight and is rewarded by being stronger, more assertive, and dictating more of the battle to his own pace. I do think that there was some missed potential with not needing every ability to dominate your enemies, but I don't think this design decision was a bad one if anything it was simply the implementation that wasn't quite at the same point.
Any take on voice acting being a 'trainwreck' now that BotW is out? Do you think it held up? Or is there maybe a full BotW review in the works?
When you said that the people of Hyrule castle don't seem to care that their castle is on fire, the game stated that they moved on into spirit forms. Basically they had no idea anything had happened. Still I will say it's confusing.
I'm so glad that Matthew didn't go on the bandwagon, and absolutely hating the Twilight Princess overworld..
I mean even though it can be extremly barren and repetitive, and there could have been much more to it, theres still alot to find and explore.
Plus, for the most part, peoples expectations are probably way too fucking high with these things.. Like there's some who are already afraid that the new Zelda games overworld is gonna be too empty, just by what we have seen so far.
Those people turned out to be correct.
My favorite item was the Dominion Rod, but the big problem with it is it has limited utility. In order to be useful, there has to be a nearby statue, which means you need to be placed under very special circumstances in order to use it.
Actually, this brings me to another point with my problem in this game: The items have very limited combat utility. For example, the boomerang doesn't stun enemies in this game for very long. Also, in this game, the clawshot doesn't drag an enemy back towards you, making it also useless in combat. I also feel as though the spinner should have done more damage to enemies.
I agree with your statements about items they see little to no use outside of their respective dungeons. My biggest problem with the game is that it seems to be full of good ideas that were never fully integrated, such as horse combat, which is a nice change of pace while it's needed and is then dropped 'till the very end of the game. The sword techniques could have been really fun to use had the game pitted you against stronger/deadlier foes. Don't even get me started on the transition from quarter to fifth of hearts, was it so hard to come up with an additional side quest? Finally, what really rubbed me the wrong way was that while the world is bigger than in past iterations, it paradoxically offers less exploration and interactivity than in OoT.
One of my favorite Zelda games with one of the most disappointing endings. There was no reason to ruin Zant's character, and absolutely no reason to introduce Ganon so late in the game. You had built up literally no relation with him. In OoT and Wind Waker, you saw him several times throughout the game, you saw what he had done, you had a reason to want to defeat him. Here, the impact of his appearance rests solely on the player's prior knowledge of the character. It's the "I KNOW WHAT THAT IS SO I LIKE THIS" type of mentality; it's a reference, not a real character or presence in the game, and it was incredibly disappointing.
I know what you mean. Imagine if we saw Zant and Ganondorf working together throughout the game to achieve their goals and we saw them actually play off of each other. That could have been really cool.
I think all of Twilight Princess' main problems can be summed up like so: instead of trying to make it its own game, they tried to make Ocarina of Time 2 to appease those upset by Majora's Mask and especially Wind Waker.
I wildly appreciate the time and energy you invested in editing these together. Nice work, and thoughtful commentary.
I have never played the Gamecube version, but it is obviously the definitive version. The geometry in that game falls in line with other Zelda games (since the Wii version is mirrored). Aside from the Gamecube version being canon, you can have multiple items equipped at once and there is also free camera control. Despite Nintendo wanting you to play the Wii version there is no denying that it is a Gamecube game first and a Wii game second. (Don't let release dates fool you, they held back the GC version to release the Wii version first... gotta sell them launch Wii's, right?).
Quick Note: If you turn off the pointer in the Options menu, then you use the analog stick for the flying mini-game. So, yes, you can have it both ways.
I think this game better serves as a starting point for people getting into zelda games then a game people familiar with zelda play.
The Hero's Shade is not a Stalfos. There are actual Stalfos's that appear in the game and they look nothing like him. Was that comment supposed to be a joke or what? He actually looks like the soldier ghosts in Hyrule Castle, with the blue skin and all.
I also disagree about the Rupees in chests. There are a million ways to make money in the game and you will never feel the need to backtrack all the way through a dungeon just to grab some cash, and then make your way back out manually. It's annoying to me because as you said, it's easy to forget which chests you've opened and which you haven't. It'd be nice if the chest had a Rupee symbol on the map, but I think it's much more satisfying to know I've cleaned a dungeon out of any treasure it had to offer. So I'm glad that in the HD version, they changed it.
You're definitely right about this game being such a retread of OoT that it goes a bit too far. But then again, this game celebrated Zelda's 20th anniversary. I feel like it wasn't meant to innovate on the series as much as be a reflection of the franchise's history, and pay homage to the most famous game in the series. By which I mean this game feels like the last truly traditional Zelda that follows pretty much the exact same mechanics & formula as OoT & LttP, as well as several handheld titles. The game had an overarching feel of looking back on the series and striving to move forward. If it had been the last game in the entire series, I probably would've been satisfied.
But then Skyward Sword decided to shit on the franchise and ruin any idea of the series getting better as time goes on, only worse. Thankfully A Link Between Worlds was great and the new one for Wii U seems to really understand what Zelda, from the very beginning, was all about.
The Hero's Shade is 100% the hero of time. It's not only heavily implied in the game, but outright confirmed by Hyrule Historia. The reason he looks different from other stalfos is that even after saving Hyrule in two different timelines, the goddesses had more work for him to do. After protecting termina from Majora (which may not even have actually happened,) he endlessly searched the lost woods for Navi only to come up short. He eventually died, likely staving off the spirits until he was reunited with his friend, or simply fell due to the goddesses greater plan needing him to fall.
He needed to survive in some form to pass on his legendary skills to the new hero of twilight. His prowess was too valuable in that timeline to completely lose his humanity and become a stalfos like any other.
You don't get it. I know the Hero's Shade is the hero of time. I didn't say he wasn't. But he isn't a Stalfos. If he did, the other Stalfos would look like him, and he wouldn't look so identical to Hyrule Castle's ghosts as a blatantly obvious reference. Nothing in Hyrule Historia suggests he met such a depressing fate.
I concede that's not the point you're making, but if you agree that he is the Hero of Time then he necessarily has to be a stalfos.
"The Spirit of Link's ancestor, the Hero of Time, teaches him his secrets. Ever since returning to the Child Era, the swordsman has lamented the fact that he was not remembered as a hero." (pp. 178)
I can't link you a picture but just search "Hero's Shade Hyrule Historia" and you'll find it.
Even if you don't believe me that he is one or that I pulled that passage out of my ass I understand the subjective viewpoint your're presenting. While I might be inclined to agree that he looks a lot like a castle guard, I think his completely bone face alongside glowing red eyes and skeletal structure lean more towards a physical being than a ghost. Sure he's a bit bulkier than the average stalfos, but he's one nonetheless.
No matter what you cannot deny the fact that he is absolutely covered in moss and ivy, which likely formed over his armor and shield before he reanimated. This overgrowth is suspiciously easy to imagine happening to a body in the Faron (Lost) Woods, don't you agree?
That passage doesn't say anything about him being a Stalfos. All it says is that he lamented not being a hero. He's clearly not a skeletal being, since you can see he still has his skin on his limbs. He's clearly supposed to be a zombie or something, hence the skeletal face. Even the Zelda Wiki says nothing about him being a Stalfos. It's also heavily implied in the game that his final resting place is in the castle graveyard, as a grave surrounded by ghosts is referred to as the place "where the cursed swordsman sleeps".
Also, I think the whole "lamented not being remembered as a hero" is a mistranslation. Even if it's not, it makes no sense, because he clearly is remembered as a hero by the royal family and spirits of light. The Gorons even refer to the bow in the mines as belonging to "the hero", so at least one entire race knows he was a hero. Would he seriously care about not literally everybody in Hyrule knowing about him? Link saved both Hyrule and Termina, and even when he was a child, he brought Ganon to justice. He seems like he'd be a more humble character than that, and wouldn't be so selfish that he'd care about being praised as a hero, especially after all the selfless things he's done. And since the Gorons know he's a hero, I'd gather he continued being a hero after returning to Hyrule. It makes more sense than the fanfiction-esque theory of him dying alone in the Lost Woods.
We'll probably never know what the Hero of Time's final moments were. I whole heartily accept the fact that it makes little sense that such an incredible and prolific hero who has basically the entirety of the Hylian history resting upon his broad shoulders would be so attention hungry. One would think being responsible for the prosperity of two different Hylian dimensions would be enough for the guy. I think it's less about the regret that he feels and more about the fact that with Ganondorf imprisoned and the world at relative peace he had nothing left to do but to die.
He needed to ensure that no matter what the legacy of his swordsmanship would be enough. As the most prolific hero in Hyrule he probably knew that at some point Ganondorf would escape, most likely tormenting him until his final days. He had to reanimate to ensure that his skills had some use outside of death.
Regardless of whether he is a full stalfos or not is up to your interpretation. Clearly he has some aspects of the stalfos.
I agree with your point about wanting interesting things on the map, but I'm not sure if anything could make running from point A to B more desirable than fast traveling to it after you have gone through it a couple times already. I'm glad you talked about the shift in music during battle it had been bothering me forever but I haven't heard anyone talking about it
7:08 Due to several memory card swappings over 8 years, I can say that I love replaying this game over and over. Mainly because I always remember where I got stuck and try and redo it this time. Love this game as a GC title and a Zelda game.
One of my least favorite Zelda games personally. Not a total trainwreck like Skyward Sword, but even the first time I played it, I wanted to quit at the tutorial. It is so linear and boring, and explains things that are so elementary to anyone who's played a Zelda game or Wii before, it is criminal that it isn't optional. The first two hours of this game being almost completely linear just sucks all enjoyment out, and feels like a silly "fun tax" anyone replaying it has to pay. It is really off-putting. Zant turning out to be an utterly ridiculous placeholder villain, just so they could shoehorn in Ganon again is another moment that just makes me sigh. So many ways they could've taken the story, and they chose such a tired, uninspired direction.
“Twilight Princess is a copy Of Ocarina of Time” people when Twilight Princess actually tries to make you care about the characters and story of the game by getting you used to Link’s normal life before pulling it all away. Also, the Zant and Ganon complaint is one of the dumbest in the world. It would be valid if you didn’t get to fight zant or have a dungeon with him and just fight ganon, but you literally get two final dungeons and two final fights, both of which have multiple phases, more phases then any other Zelda boss. So ungrateful and such a high standard no other Zelda games are held too. People really want Zant to be a cliche boring near silent villain, instead of the unique twist that he’s a crazy bum, Ganondorf is built up from the middle of the game and does not come out of nowhere. It’s fine for every other Zelda game before Twilight Princess to use Ganondorf but once Twolight Princess does it it’s tired and predictable. Twilight Princess critisicms are some of the weakest on the internet
Fantastic job articulating the reasons I felt so half empty playing this (having played every console Zelda and lived through the series). I was 22 and really worried that I'd just lost the capacity to be captivated by Zelda magic.
You comment on the pacing being a problem at the beginning, but I feel you don't put enough emphasis on the pacing towards the end of the game. After the dungeon in the desert, there's a a noticeable lack of content in between dungeons compared to what's at the beginning of the game. Although it took a while to get going, the stuff in between dungeons at the beginning added some variety and deepened the narrative for me; after the desert dungeon, however, there's little more than "go find the rebellion member to get your next task." You even mentioned that the story surrounding Ilia returned a little late in the game, I think that's part of this much larger issue. Great review all around, though.
I don't think Twilight Princess borrowing a lot from Ocarina of Time is a bad thing. If anything, it shows how to do a Sequel well. It feels like a sequel to Ocarina ot Time-- fixing many problems it had, improving on the good things, keeping solid things, and with two games that shook things up, and fan demand for another game like Ocarina was high-- Twilight Princess was a welcome title and one I feel the series greatly needed.
I actually really like how the environments look in this game. It almost looks like LOTR to me. The character models leave a lot to be desired, though. They look kind of lifeless.
I guess my issue with Twilight Princess is that it's a very "safe" Zelda game. It tried to be dark like Majora's Mask, but fails because the story is constantly being beaten over the player's head, while a lot of the story in Majora's Mask was optional. Like everyone, I think that my favorite part of this game's story is Midna. She's just a great character.
All in all, Twilight Princess is a pretty good game. I would probably like it a lot better if I hadn't played Ocarina Of Time or Majora's Mask first.
Demonsplaining I actually liked this game more than majoras mask, and find that most people who like mm more write off the games flaws as features. For example, the limited time mechanic pressured me to never explore or take time to absorb my surroundings, a staple of the Zelda series and my typical gameplay pattern. People will say that the time mechanic was meant to add a sense of pressure/ atmosphere over the game, but it impeded gameplay for me. Likewise, they say the ridiculously short length (4 dungeons) was not a big deal, but it was to me.