The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Comments by Kristan Reed

To put it simply, The wii is never going to have the best graphics but I've had more fun on it with zelda and wii sports since yesterday than i've had in the last few years.
This game is truly great and sets light to you inside and not many things do that.
This along with my Wii is the best purchase I have made for years and just as I thought I was growing out of gaming......This locked the door in front of me and pulled me back into my chair.
People ranting about the graphics compared to the other big 2 need to get a life. I prefer this to any game I have on my 360 and so do all my mates so far..... nuff said buy one if you ever remember what gaming used to feel like. The best zelda so far. Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

floppylobster,

Eternal Darkness did not make it on to your list of great GC games. Just wondering why?

Sort of cheap to make the Wii version the only one with widescreen when GC games were perfectly capable of doing 16:9 in the first place. It's just Nintendo who never bothered to give us an option for it except in very few games (First- and third-party).

@EuroSexMachine

"Europe is Sony land, you lot are responsible for nearly killing NIntendo"

I think you'll find that the GC died prematurely because of poor 3rd party efforts (read: shovelware that looked and played better on other platforms), Nintendo's trickle of quality titles and no online capacity whatsover. In short, the GC died because of Nintendo's short-sighted-head-in-the-sand approach to what is a phenominaly competitive market and a seriously demanding customer base.

The Wii looks to be adressing some of those issues but it will need more than mini games, GC ports and MORE shovelware (this time with ill-considered crowbared controls) to succedd in the long term once the inital novelty has worn off.

They have all the ingredients for sucess, for sure, but don't blame US if they fuck it up again, asshole.

"Europe is Sony land, you lot are responsible for nearly killing NIntendo"


Well EXCUUUUSE me if i didn't buy every single Mario sports title.

looks at Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario power Tennis, Mario DDR Mario Party 6 & 7.

I only had the capacity (and money) to buy the exclusives, you know Metroid Prime, Zelda Wind Waker, Metroid Prime Echoes, Mario Party 4 & 5, Mario Sunshine, Super Smash Brothers, Resident Evil 0.

Plus third party versions of Gamecube games usually came considerably later than the PS2 and Xbox versions maybe i should wait kindly for Mr EA to launch SSX on Tour + Mario Characters by when the PS2 and Xbox version would be a budget prices.

Anyway what does nintendo do they shun me the loyal Gamecube owner in favour of making a AAA gamecube game into their new shinier console's launch title.

The third party devs let them down not me.

>Wii is available on an equaly powerful, much cheaper and much older platform.


Its avaialable on another platform which is equally powerful??

Which is that then? Or are we currently living in the land of make believe?


>Sod this awkward wand rubbish, i'll have the GC version.

Yes, because pointing at the place you want to shoot your arrow is oh so much harder and slower than moving a cursor around the screen with an analogue stick??

uh?

Just read this entire thread...

WTF? Its almost as if everyones forgot that the 360 launched with a fair few xbox conversions ...

As for the comments saying the platform will go the way of the cube.. hmm.. Basically it's all down to 3rd party support, if enough people buy the console then more developers will support it. The ps2 was least powerful machine last gen, people hated developing games for it, but yet it sold 80 odd million units, so it'd be silly not to develop for it.

Seems to me that "hard core" gamers buy a nintendo platform, refuse to buy anything other than nintendo games for it.. then scoff that it's not got many games on it. Whereas they buy a sony or msoft platform and only buy 3rd party games...

Hmmm.. thinking about it.. that kinda makes sense... If you have the general quality of most nintnedo games then 3rd party games might look rubbish in comparision? Hmmm.. Oh i dunno.

Third party games that where actually good where few and far between on the GC so I'm not surprised no one bought them. Resident Evil 4 did fine despite its non nintendoness didnt it.

I don't believe it was Nintendo's original plan to release Zelda for the Wii. They always said is was coming for the cube and after seeing that they can release or actually need Zelda for the launch (there is no "real" 1st party game except Zelda) they still kept their word and released Zelda for the cube.

There was always a lot of speculation if Zelda would be postponed to accomodate the Wii's launch. It very much depends in which way you look at it. People like to think that Nintendo screws around with them because they are charging 250 euros for the Wii just to play a game that is available for the GC too; While in reality the game the game could have easily been for the Wii only but they kept their promises and released the GC version too. Maybe it was a late decision to make a special Wii version but nevertheless: You do have a choice. And choice is exactly what Microsoft and Sony keep bragging about, giving the consumers choice.

It doesn't take a genious to guess that Nintendo would very well be a lot happier if Zelda was only available for the Wii. It is a system seller. If you want to buy a Wii then be happy about the fact that you can play Zelda on your new console. If you never really thought about getting a Wii in the first place then why exactly the rants about Zelda being available for both systems? Nobody's forcing anyone to buy a Wii.

My thoughts about the cube: Looking at my games collection most of the games are Nintendo titles. There are of course some exceptions, Resident Evil 4 being the most prominent I guess.

I don't entirely blame the weak 3rd party support. Many of the games were released for either the xbox and/or the ps2 too and I just don't find them all that interesting. This is exactly the reason why I don't own a ps2 or the original xbox. The games just didn't do it for me. And of course they would not on the GC.

But I also found many first party titles not really that good as they were for the N64. Super Mario Sunshine was a bit dissapointing, Wind Waker was an awesome game until I found out that most of the time I will be looking at a blue screen full of water, the Mario sports titles did not really do anything new and Mario Party was as dull as can be once you played two of them. I guess again expectations are to blame. The N64 was an incredible console for me and I really hoped that the GC sequels could keep up with the tremendous experience their predecessors delivered.

If you have the general quality of most nintnedo games then 3rd party games might look rubbish in comparision?

You were right the first time. Looky here:

"There are 1400 PS2 games in existence, 900 of them are totally worthless. We figure it worked for Sony, it can work for us." -quote from the link

http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?si...

Adam: I totally would understand you if the delay of Zelda was only due to the release of the Wii. I doubt that. Yes I am a very big Nintendo fan but seeing as Nintendo always stated that they will not rush the new Zelda (looking back at Wind Waker) I am quite confident that the Wii's launch did not delay the game for an entire year. Personally I'd rather have a very well done game than a rushed one, especially if it is such an important franchise that Zelda is.

And yes, I can understand the anger about the game basically being a GC game. And as you said Nintendo is a company that has to see as where to get the money. And Nintendo does not have other sources of income like MS or Sony do. Nintendo solely relies on its consoles. I agree that finances should not come first but who are we kidding - it is an industry. Nevertheless I find some statements in this thread exaggerated even if they are justified.

Hmm.

The usual suspects.

But it wouldve been bad business to release it a year ago on the cube.. as no-one had one!

As for all this "boo hoo, a new console is getting *just* a conversion of a game from the previous platform" business.. as i said before.. look at the 360 launch.. same shit, no-one complained.

And im LMAO at some of the comments on here. "if we keep posting that the wii is no more powerful than the cube, then people might believe it, and not buy it, and buy my console of choice instead.." ..

Just because its not as powerful as the other two, doesnt mean it's not more powerful.. Just because the ps2 wasnt as powerful as the cube/xbox and dreamcast, doesnt mean it wasnt more powerful than the ps1.. :-)

I've played through the whole of zelda TP.. And not once did I think 'I really wish the graphics were better here'. Why? Because i was too busy ENJOYING myself. Now if i was playing something dull and crappy like oblivion, then I start noticing how great the graphcis look.. mainly because i'd die of boredom if it wasnt for them!

Do we really know if Zelda was ready a year ago? Apart from WW, most previous Zelda games have been delayed so that Nintendo has been happy with the quality of the game. If I remember correctly, OoT was delayed several times before it's final release.

Purely from a business point of view, it made sense for Nintendo to delay Zelda to allow it to launch with the Wii. It's a launch title that will sell the Wii. However, it would have been easy for Nintendo to not release for the 'Cube at all, thereby ensuring that more people would have needed to buy a Wii to play it.

So, be thankful that it's also coming out on the 'Cube, rather than having a go at Nintendo for delaying the game.

I'm pretty sure I've read reports that the delay allowed Nintendo to flesh the game out some more and from the reviews the consistent quality in the game and the length back this up.

With regards to the controls, I and another have already mentioned the scenario horseback archery scenario. Everyone remembers that in OOT right? It was a bit of a pain aiming with the analogue stick and the ability to point and shoot sounds like it's an addition well worth having in the Wii version.

I hate to say it, EG are Ninty fanboys...

It scores an 8, obviously...

Oh, EG are everone's fanboys depending on context. I remember that they were Sony fanboys when they "marked down" Gears of War, and again when they were running that "ridiculous number" of PS3 articles the other week, only to then become MS fanboys when they reviewed Resistance and Genji. And now they're Nintendo fanboys, because they've given Zelda a score that is entirely in line with its review average. They're such whores.

On the whole "why did the GCN die" issue, I would say it was because Nintendo's own first-party output was weaker than on any of their preceding consoles, in terms of quality to an extent, but mostly quantity; there were a few titles in the first couple of years, but they dropped off very quickly, which is the kiss of death for a Nintendo console, given that they're sold primarily on the strength of the first-party line-up. The subsequent drop-off in third-party support and sales just reflected that...

And as for the delay to GCN Zelda; obviously, it had a lot to do with the development of the Wii version, but I don't believe that the GCN build did not also benefit from that extra development time. Delays on Zelda games are, historically, a good thing; OoT benefited from them, as did MM, which was released nine months later than Japan in the West, but with a vastly improved save system. TWW, on the other hand, was rushed out to fill a gap in the GCN schedule, and was clearly unfinished as a result. I do think the delay was initially made for the benefit of the GCN version - remember, the initial delay was from Christmas 2005 to Q1/2 2006 - I just think that, by the time they actually finished it, they realised it probably wasn't worth releasing it on the dead Cube any more, so they optimised it for Wii and repackaged it as a launch title. From that perspective, I'm amazed that the GCN version is getting released at all, given it would make more financial sense to keep it Wii exclusive...

@elvenearth
Eternal Darkness... Umm... I always meant to get around to playing but I guess never did. I should probably track it down if you're recommending it. I also left off Super Smash Brothers which is also not bad. There's probably others I missed for sure...
I enjoyed the utter frustration of the first Monkey Ball... And I almost forgot Chibi-Robo when doing my list so if anyone hasn't played that then give it a try. Especially if you enjoyed Pikmin.

@ Muddtallica
TP is the closest thing to OoT I've ever played - but with better controls and better visuals. No doubt you'll love it and I hope you do.

I think my impressions of the Wii had been slightly diminished due to the brilliance of the DS. The DS (which I play a hell of a lot) introduced me to a whole new way to play and think about games, and in some small way that stole a bit of the Wii's thunder. I do love that they haven't tried to voice the characters in Zelda with voice actors. The day they start doing that is the day Zelda becomes more like a Hollywood movie and less like a good book. But enough. If I've started to compare video games to books I've clearly gone too far.

Morning
Surely Zelda is a game you are going to buy no matter what the score, or system?
I came in very late on Zelda games WW was my first, played a few others since, they are great games. I will be playing on GC as the Wii does nothing for me AT THE MOMENT, just like it took Resi Evil 2 to buy a ps2,KOTOR to get me to buy my xbox, which I still love, it will take Assassins Creed/Alan Wake to purchase a 360 ect.......
............"Eternal Darkness... Umm... I always meant to get around to playing but I guess never did. I should probably track it down if you're recommending" off subject but a brilliant,brilliant game if you haven't played, get it for your Wii (I knew I could tie that in somehow)
Slaters

p.s. lets all prey the mighty Gunners (no really we are!) stuff Chelski today

I think people are being mislead into thinking it's the Wii's killer app. It isn't, Wii sports is. Zelda is a gamecube game with a couple of additions to coincide with the console's release, another reason to get a Wii rather than the sole reason.

Wii sports is the game that i've seen the most people get excited about, the game that everyone can play (even those unaccustomed to gaming), the one that people are asking about. Gamers obviously focus on Zelda because, well, it's Zelda and has such a good lineage.

@smelly

"As for all this "boo hoo, a new console is getting *just* a conversion of a game from the previous platform" business.. as i said before.. look at the 360 launch.. same shit, no-one complained."

You wish: Condemned, Amped 3, COD2, PGR3, Kameo, PDZero, Quake 4 - all console/platform exclusives.

Without doubt the 360 had the best lineup of the three launch portfolios.

"Now if i was playing something dull and crappy like oblivion, then I start noticing how great the graphcis look.. mainly because i'd die of boredom if it wasnt for them!"

How can anyone love Zelda to the nth degree but detest Oblivion? They really aren't a million miles apart...no..wait...I'm wrong! One is published by Nintendo and one by MS!

Love really is blind, no?

I think people are being mislead into thinking it's the Wii's killer app. It isn't, Wii sports is.

Never a truer word. Zelda is the focus for the more hardcore, traditional gamers, but Nintendo knows full well - and has said many times - that it can't be a contender in this generation off the back of those people alone.

Wii Sports is what is getting the coverage in the mainstream press, and it's what is making a much wider audience interested in the Wii. Looking around my friends, most of whom are in their twenties and thirties, it's absolutely amazing how many of them are planning to buy a Wii in the next couple of months, or who tried to pre-order one - the kind of people who would NEVER have pre-ordered an Xbox 360 or a PS3. Even more astonishing is that quite a few of them are planning on buying a Wii for their parents, their girlfriend or their sister at Christmas - because said relative has actually requested one.

I love Zelda to bits, and am really excited about Mario Galaxy, but it's not traditional franchises that are going to make or break the Wii.

I must say I've been playing Wii sports every night. And it is so much fun - but only if you can play against someone obviously. I can finally play against my girlfriend and we are on equal terms of skill. We're taking it around to BBQ tomorrow (Summer here) and there will be endless matches of Tennis and Boxing and a few rounds of baseball. And each one will be different and each one will be fun. And it's all because we're playing with friends.

And way back in the day that's the reason I got into games. I remember hanging 'round at a friends house taking turns at trying to beat SabreWulf. The game was alright but the real fun was talking and laughing at how good/bad we were at it and mucking around (in fact we played on a ZX81 before that too).

That's what I've always enjoyed most about gaming and I have to thank Nintendo for helping bring the focus of gaming back to that point - Sharing the experience. And that's the reason I bought a Wii. It's about playing with or against other people, and that's always been more fun.

(and Microsoft deserve some credit for Xbox Live).
(and Capcom for StreetFighter 2).
(and the Dreamcast for pushing innovation).
(and London Studio for Singstar).
and the list goes on...

Adam: I don't think the point about the 360 ports is totally invalid; bear in mind that the Wii's main selling point to a new user is its controller, in the same way that the 360's is its graphics, and Zelda has been optimised for the Wii Remote, which does make a difference. Obviously it doesn't utilise the hardware as fully as a true Wii title would, but the same could be said of the 360 ports. I do accept that Zelda is a somewhat bigger deal than King Kong, though...

Back to the GCN/Wii version issue: it is true that by releasing the GCN version they can potentially sell more copies of the game in the short term, but it's indisputably harmful to their longer-term aim of getting Wii consoles into as many households as possible. The GCN is finished now, and has been for a year; even if they had released it as planned last year, it would still have been little more than a swansong game, and thus would have sold more like a Majora's Mask than an Ocarina of Time. Repositioning it as an exclusive launch title gives it a whole new lease of life commercially; its profile skyrockets, it shifts many extra millions of consoles, and will continue to be bought throughout the new console's lifespan. Releasing it on the dead Cube as well diminishes its potency as the Wii's primary system-selling exclusive, removes its sheen of newness, and risks creating consumer conflict and confusion as to which version is superior, for minimal immediate financial benefit; I may yet be proven totally wrong, but I'll be surprised if GCN TP sells anywhere near what the Wii version does. Why did they do it, then? I'm not naive enough to think it was just out of goodwill or charity; I think it was more because they realised that simply cancelling the GCN version at such a late stage would create massive ill-will amongst many of their most loyal fans, tarnishing the image of both the company and the series...

floppylobster: Oh, can I just pick your brains one more time: with the Wii sword controls, is there any level of recognition of how your swinging the remote? That is to say: does a horizontal slash translate appropriately, or a vertical slash, or a stab? Or is it really just the same as pressing a button, meaning, that you have to use the old Zelda convention of "push forward + sword input for vertical slash, target + forward + sword input for stab"? Thanks for your information, man!

(Oh, and DUFFMAN5 - that's right, you'd better take those mercenaries down. The weekend's gone pretty well so far, what with another 4-0 for the Reds - Jamie Carragher, goal machine! - and Everton losing. It would really top it off to see Chelsea's campaign to buy a third consectutive title take another blow. Sorry to be so partisan, but this is important stuff. :P)

floppylobster:

"@elvenearth
Eternal Darkness... Umm... I always meant to get around to playing but I guess never did. I should probably track it down if you're recommending it. I also left off Super Smash Brothers which is also not bad. There's probably others I missed for sure..."

Definitely recommended on my part, my personal favourite on the Cube. I believe you can get pretty cheap copies 2nd hand or on ebay these days.

What's wrong with the site? None of the graphics work on the front page and the forum is down. Been like that since yesterday.

"How can anyone love Zelda to the nth degree but detest Oblivion?"

It really isn't hard. Trust me.

Adam: Oh, heck, I'm sorry. I'm not sure what I'm even saying now. :( All of my last few posts have been frustrating, painful attempts to make the same point, but all of them have just spiralled out of control length-wise whilst still not quite communicating what I actually meant in the first place; something that wasn't helped by the fact that all you inconsiderate people kept saying stuff in the interim that I felt I also wanted to talk about, just confusing my thinking even more. Looking over everything I've written so far, I can't actually remember what my point was. :(

Forget it, it's hurting my brain to try and talk about this any more... I'm pretty sure that what you were saying was reasonable enough, so I'm not even sure why I what I was arguing about anyway, or if I was even arguing with you at all.

Argh, it hurts. I want to play Zelda. :(

Man, I wish more arguments here could be resolved like this.

@floppylobster

To confirm what others have said: Eternal Darkness is fantastic. I (a very important Internet person and therefore worth listening to) normally don't go for replaying games, but Eternal Darkness was the exception to the rule. Make sure you play with surround sound.

I must admit that nearly 15 hours into Wii Zelda, I'm not 100% convinced that this game actually benefits in any major way from having motion-sensing controls since about 85% of the game is played using the analogue stick and buttons. Using the sword by moving the Wiimote and Nunchuk is certainly fun but the same control method just doesn't feel right in wolf form. Also the pointer system for the Slingshot and Boomerang is very accurate and works well but most of the time you'll find yourself using the Z-targetting which locks on to objects and enemies so you'll only need to use it manually for those things that are off-screen (which is rare).

Exceptional game though as expected but it's somewhat ironic that the Wii's best launch game by far is one that doesn't really need its controller... I've a feeling that I'd have enjoyed this game just as much with the GameCube controller to be honest.

I'd give the game 9/10 easily as it's a beautifully made and very enjoyable game but the Wiimote seems a bit wasted... even the onscreen pointer, in the form of a blue fairy (Navi?) is a bit wasted... why not have had it act as a cursor highlighting the names of objects and people as you moved it around so it actually had some use?

@Rambaldi - MS don't publish Oblivion, 2K do. Hence it coming to PS3. What gave you the idea MS published it?

Right then. I'm off to buy Eternal Darkness. Curse that person who put me off it with some vague comment about it when it was first released.

Muddtallica,
It doesn't matter which way you swing it. It just goes Heeya! But if you swing it while pushing forward on the analog you stab. And if you shake the Nunchuck back and forth (not the Wii-mote) then it does spin attack. I did notice myself having to use my brain to think how best to attack and then how to do that attack, so that's a good thing I think.

I also think the point's been well made - Let's get off this forum and get back to playing whichever game we were here to talk up. And when we've done that let's get off that game and get outside for the fresh air (or whatever it is that mother's are always going on about).

I look forward to playing some games against you people online sometime. That'll be the best way to settle who's right.

"Condemned, Amped 3, COD2, PGR3, Kameo, PDZero, Quake 4"
'cool', 'meh', 'meh', 'ok', 'fun', 'awful', 'meh'.

I sure prefer Twilight Princess' 'fantastic'.

On another note, there is actually nothing wrong with the camera whatsoever, so it's not fair to treat it like a problem. The controls are somehow slower than they will be on cube, but I feel that the added physical effect weighs up for it.

Also, the pointer is on-screen in case you need to aim fast.

I've just been reading up on Twilight Princess on Wikipedia. Pertinent excerpts;

Originally believed to be scheduled for release November 2005

August 2005 - Nintendo announce that the game will be released some time after March 31st 2006

Feb 2006 - Reggie announces that the game will be launched in Fall 2006. At that time, people complained that the release was being delayed to coincide with the Wii launch. Perrin Caplan (Nintendo VC) confirmed that it would be released on the 'Cube as well.

September 2006 - Nintendo announce final launch dates.

Whilst there's nothing I can find to say that Nintendo did deliberately delay the game so it could launch with the Wii (perhaps someone here is able to add this detail), OoT was delayed by 2 years, so a 1 year delay to TP is not unreasonable considering Nintendo's past form with this series.

Was the 'Cube TP delayed because of the Wii launch? I'm not so sure it was.

Was the game delayed because of the Wii but during that time the game was further polished? Possibly, but that is to the benefit of us all.

@oehort

Look dude, I'm not saying they were all great games (at least 'good' though), but I was just trying to prove a point to smelly (not that hard) that the 360 did actually have a very healthy stable of exclusives at launch..unlike the Wii and the PS3

You didn't use Kameo to counter ZeldaTP did you? That would be the worst example in the world.

""Condemned, Amped 3, COD2, PGR3, Kameo, PDZero, Quake 4"
'cool', 'meh', 'meh', 'ok', 'fun', 'awful', 'meh'.

I sure prefer Twilight Princess' 'fantastic'. "

I completely agree, and that's why it's a must buy... for my GameCube.

"I'm not saying they were all great games (at least 'good' though), but I was just trying to prove a point to smelly (not that hard) that the 360 did actually have a very healthy stable of exclusives at launch..unlike the Wii and the PS3"

You could have said that without the tired old "omg you only hate Oblivion because you hate Microsoft" line. That just makes you sound silly.

Well I just took my own advice and got back to playing Zelda and damn what I fool I've been. The game is freaking awesome. I take back everything I said about it - except that the opening is a little slow. How come nobody told me I was talking out of my arse when I said it was missing the darkness of MM? That's all, I'm a fool, and now I'm going back to play.

@Adam:

"there were no XBox1 games held back a year and released on 360 with no graphical update"

No-ones seen the GC version yet.. How do you know no graphical update?

Besides, the fact its using nicer controls (for aiming weapons, etc) is (to me) a much better update than prettier pixels to wank over.


"You wish: Condemned, Amped 3, COD2, PGR3, Kameo, PDZero, Quake 4 - all console/platform exclusives. "

I was refering to all the xbox games which were converted to 360....

But funny as FECK that you pointed out Kameo.. As that was a gamecube conversion too!

"How can anyone love Zelda to the nth degree but detest Oblivion? They really aren't a million miles apart...no..wait...I'm wrong! One is published by Nintendo and one by MS"


???????????????????

Zelda and oblivion are COMPLETELY different games.. Only a complete retard would try to compare them!

But as you're asking me to.. Zelda is a fun game with shitty (in comparision) graphics. Oblivion is a shitty game with a crap story, and dull "gameplay" long load times, crap frame rates.. But with great graphics.

Oh and before some geeky twat accuses me of being a fanboy for that statement.. No i dont hate the 360, yes i own one.. My dislike of oblivion has NOTHING to do with what platform its on.. and for the record... Having played this all the way thru... I rate this as my 4th favourite zelda:

1. Zelda (snes)
2. Zelad OOT
3. Zelda WW (love the style of it)
4. Zelda TP (too easy.. not a lot to do outside of main plot)
5. Zelda MM (too hard!)

PS : Microsoft didnt publish oblivion. It just happened that oblivion was a game which appeared on the microsoft system. And nintendo didnt just publish zelda, they devloped it too.. If you're going to accuse people of being "pro" or "anti" a system (which is the saddest thing in the world imho) then at least get your facts right.. Or you'll just end up looking like a sad friendless geek who masturbates over his console too much.

My only gripe is that it isn't as long as I had hoped for...

After looking something up in a FAQ I spotted in the index that I did not have very far to go from the point I'm at, whilst I was hoping to be going on for quite a while.

I heard here and there that it would last you 60 hours just to do the main story line. This is simply not true :(

How predictable.

@smelly

"Zelda and oblivion are COMPLETELY different games.. Only a complete retard would try to compare them!"

I'm sorry, but this sounds like some misunderstood gothy teenager trying to tell be that "System Of A Down and My Chemical Romance are SOOOOOOO different".

Really, Monkey Ball and Zelda are different, GRAW and Oblivion are different, but Zelda and Oblivion? That different?

Large open worlds? Check
Fantasy Middle Earth esque setting? Check
Young individual trying to save the world from evil? Check
Horseriding? Check
Sworldplay? Check
Upgrades and magical items? Check
Dungeon crawling? Check
Sidequests? Check
Monkeys in a ball? errr...

P.S. My mistake with MS and Oblivion

/bows

Well I've been playing this wonderful, wonderful game for around 24 hours now and can confirm the game just gets better and better the further in you get. I've now done the second dungeon and the three Light Spirit quests. There are a few frustrating moments in the game (but mostly the difficulty is spot on) and the save system is flawed should you decided to save and quit the game in the middle of a dungeon (forcing you to retread your steps from the start!).

As for the graphics, well the artwork is outstanding and there are some gorgeous cutscenes but at times the game does look uncomfortably like the N64 games with some very bland and empty areas and plenty of low-res textures. At times the game does look a bit "grainy" but I'm not sure if that's because I'm using composite or not. Overall though the game does look great once you get used to its last-gen origins with nice use of bloom for the Twilight realms. I didn't notice any framerate issues or popup though which is nice nor did I notice any v-sync tearing (something most 360 games are plagued with) so technically the game is solid. Not seen any bugs or glitches either (which is nice considering, again, how every 360 games requires patching) and despite the lack of any real camera control (apart from Z to snap it behind you), I haven't had any issues with it.

Utterly amazing game, very reminescent of Ocarina of Time but that's no bad thing and the Link/Wolf aspects of the game make it very interesting although I'm still not convinving that waving the Wiimote/Nunchuk feels right for the beast form. Aiming with the bow using the Wiimote is amazing though, it's so accurate and I'm finding myself using it more because it's so enjoyable. This is definitely one of those games that you want to play to see what comes next but at the same time you don't want it to end.

I wish there was more to collect though, you know like little sidequests since a lot of the larger areas feel empty and pointless. It would have been nice to have had a few secret underground caves to discover with some mini-puzzles as a way of locating extra Heart pieces (like Ocarina of Time) instead of them being stuck in trees and dungeon chests.

Also the game's enemies have laughably bad A.I., when they notice you they just run toward you. Not only that but the majority can be dispatched with two swipes of your sword or a single arrow so there's little challenge in fighting them. I'd like to have seen more advanced A.I. and tougher opponents in this game rather than them acting the same as all the other games, i.e. brain-dead! Mostly the enemies are just obstacles in your way, stopping you from getting from A to B and when killed kindly drop hearts and rupees. They only become a problem when they attack in numbers. I guess it wouldn't be Zelda if the non-boss fights were challenging though...

Playing Zelda: Twilight Princess after nearly a year of playing games on the 360 has made me realise that technology might mean prettier hi-def graphics and advanced physics/A.I. but on Microsoft's system it also means rushed buggy games that require patching, cut-down features, v-sync issues, framerate woes and broken/laggy multiplayer modes. That's the price you pay for adopting newer and superior hardware I guess but it's just something that hit me while I was playing Wii games over the weekend that's all. I've had more fun playing Zelda for 24 hours so far then I have most Xbox 360 games with the exception of Oblivion, which still still remains the system's finest hour to date by far. It made me realise that superior technology doesn't mean superior games and that Nintendo really do make the best games. With the 360, you get the impression that the graphics are the focus of the game for most developers not the gameplay.

I can't wait for Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Mario Galaxy along with Metroid Prime 3. I bought the Wii just for those games.

Only Oblivion stands out on the Xbox 360 as being better but then it's a bigger, deeper and more freeform game that isn't without its flaws (you're led by the hands too much for example and those long loading times).

I don't know... there's a charming, timeless feel to the best Nintendo games and it seems true of Twilight Princess so far as I've played. This is the closest Zelda game yet to capturing the epicness of the wonderful Ocarina of Time. Nintendo games might date graphically but the gameplay rarely does.

Sure it might have been more aesthetically pleasing with hi-def bumped mapped graphics, an orchestrated soundtrack and spoken dialogue but then it wouldn't have felt quite so... Nintendo. It's kind of hard to explain really... whatever Zelda: Twilight Princess is a game that's hard to fault but easy to love.