Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess Preview
Nov 10, 2006
Who needs porky plumbers when you have the beloved, pointy-eared protagonist featured in your console launch? Twilight Princess will be available on day one for Nintendo's Wii, and it's certain to go home with basically every system owner. Nintendo invited us to its Washington headquarters to get familiar with Link's brand new bag a little earlier than everyone else.
The setup was almost ideal for an immersive experience. We had a decent screen, a decent chair, and a large chunk of time in which to explore the new-gen world of Hyrule. This accurately portrayed how it will be when you get your very own Wii home, plop in front of the couch, and play Zelda for hours on end. The only distraction was sometimes being confused by the audio of your neighbor's TV, but we got something you won't have: friendly Nintendo employees there to help us out of any pinches.
Twilight Princess definitely feels like the N64 smash, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It's actually the same world, but in a much different time. Link is a simple ranch hand in a simple town full of other everyday people. Even at these early stages, however, there is much to do and personality abounds.
Your horse Epona is with you almost at the outset, and really helps with traversing the expansive land. Link quickly amasses a list of tools and weapons -- including a sword, slingshot, and fishing pole. With your blade unsheathed, there are plenty of swinging options. Simply swinging the remote will cause Link to flail away in turn; it's worth noting that the Wii recognizes subtle movements, so you won't be developing tennis elbow anytime soon. Link can also do a leaping attack when Z-targeting an enemy (remember that from previous games?), and the familiar spinning slash is done by jostling the nunchuk from side to side.
The slingshot, and subsequent projectile weapons, requires pointing the remote at the screen and taking aim. It's worlds easier and faster than using an analog stick like in "normal" console games, and is even superior to using a mouse. While there is a period of adjustment, you'll quickly grow comfortable and never look back. Fishing emulates actual casting and reeling in, but you need a keen eye to get your timing down. You also pick up a lantern and bottle in short order, but there's no trick to their use. Each of these pieces of equipment can be mapped to the directional pad to be instantly equipped whenever you need them.
The world outside the village has become much more dangerous, as you find out when some of the children go missing attempting to emulate your sword-swinging style. Link has problems of his own, however, as he gets sucked into twilight -- which is engulfing the land -- and is warped to a strange location. This starts the wolf portion of the game, where you go from agile fairy boy to four-legged beast.
Control for movement and attacks are basically the same. While wolf-Link doesn't have access to equipment, he's got his own unique characteristics. A dark creature known as Midna lends you a hand early and often, but her intentions may be as dark as the atmosphere. She helps Link tap into his wolf powers -- like the ability to pick up scents, listen to "spirits," and dig with his claws. She'll even allow you to reach extreme heights. The game constantly keeps you guessing about when you'll turn into a wolf, and when you'll turn back.
Once we hit the first dungeon, we were back to regular old Link. The overlying theme here was monkeys. We kept being tasked to save more and more of these squeaky simians, while battling hostile insects and plants. Dungeon structure was similar to previous Zelda games and you even have the map, compass, and boss key to collect.
Puzzles were all over, and usually dealt with bomb plants. Upon smacking them with your sword or slingshot, their heads became time bombs. Often, these have to be used to clear debris in order to progress. Finding the boomerang makes this a lot easier, as it can bring the bombs directly to your hands, or even deliver them to a predetermined location. For example, pre-load your targeting to hit the bomb plant, then a massive boulder, let fly, and it'll do the work for you. How cool is that?
After this first dungeon was completed, we had already amassed a gameplay total of around six hours. The surface was barely scratched, yet some current- and next-gen games would've already been near over by now. We were now able to explore more of the world, which again brought back memories of Ocarina of Time.
The next city we came to was in a bad way, and we were the only available heroes around. A theme seems to be wolf-Link having to track down lightning bugs to regenerate a light being and thus cleanse the area. The city was teeming with them, both indoors and out. They're crafty little things that can only be seen in spirit vision.
Without spoiling too much, Link had to master the art of sumo -- along with the art of cheating by donning iron boots. We learned one of seven secret sword techniques: how to finish off a downed opponent by running them through. We also experienced combat on horseback, in both multiple-adversary battles in the field, and a one-on-one sort of joust competition. This was extremely sweet, to say the least.
The second dungeon was reached at around the nine-and-a-half-hour mark. It was flowing with molten lava -- which meant a hot time for Link and a few burnt-up wooden shields. The iron boots came in handy for walking along walls and ceilings, which also meant this was a multiple-floor dungeon. One enemy of note was a fire lizard, whose only weak spot was his tail. Thus, Link had to shimmy around the creature and target the vulnerable area while avoiding its fire breath.
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is an epic masterpiece that no gamer will want to pass up. From these early impressions, it's easy to see the validity of the Wii's new control scheme, and it's apparent the designers listened to player feedback from the last few Zelda titles. You'd better set aside a whole month of free time for this bad boy. Meanwhile, we'll get a full review out to you as soon as possible.