Impressions of Zelda: Twilight Princess

After three trailers, 30 minutes of gameplay footage, and a plethora of screenshots, we can no longer say we don't know anything about the game!

How are you feeling about the game in general? Be specific. Don't just state whether you like it or not, but explain why.

I'm extremely hyped. A lot of my worries of the game have been put to rest because of E3. To begin, the graphics are phenominal, and they'll look even better on my TV. The draw distance is practically infinite, the water flows beautifully, the characters are terrific, and the game has a nice blend of realism and fantasy. It looks very appealing to me. I love the NPCs. Their facial animations are just superb. This game totally negates the reasoning behind the use cel-shading for better facial expressions that Nintendo used for WW. In this game, the faces actually move! It may be a small detail, but I find it amazing, because compared to a lot of other games I've seen, this game has so much more personality. And it is great to see that the horse's mane moves in such a silky fashion. They definintly fixed that! The fact that you can name your horse was a smart idea that will please everyone.

The opening town is immense in scale. Aonuma says that it is an indication of what we can expect from the size in general of this game. If this is true, the game will be truly enormous, which is major plus. Taoru village looks really fun. I can't wait to explore it in depth, talk to all of the NPCs, and complete all of the mini-games and sidequests. I love Link's costume, and the fact that he is a cowboy, very much. The orchestrated music is a welcome addition and everything that I've heard thus far is awesome. Hopefully they don't forget to include the more catchy tunes as well. Everything in the first village just seems very clever and well done to me. It is clear that effort went into this game.

As for the twilight realm. I don't have much to comment on, simply because we haven't seen much. I don't much like the idea, but given the developer's past track record, I'm willing to bet that this will be a terrific innovation that keeps the game from being a rehash. Personally, I don't feel it appears to be a rehash anyway, because there is a lot of new stuff. But, it does appear this will be another story revolving around the Triforce. Hopefully, the twilight realm offers a fun diversion, but mostly takes a backseat to the normal game.

Horseback combat. Obviously I'm going to have to play it to give accurate impressions, but I wasn't overly impressed. It looks very arcadish, which is clearly bad. It looks like the type of thing that doesn't take any skill, something that everyone is the same at. Move in, tap b a lot, win. Sure, you may get hit a few times, but so will everyone else. Just by looking at it, it seems that skill may be a non-factor. Hopefully I'm wrong. Other than that, it looks like it could get tedious and repetitive.

Dungeon. The dungeon showed at E3 was a forest dungeon. I always love the forest dungeons in Zelda games. They are very atmospheric. I'm hoping this game has a fully realised forest (but this is off-topic). I like the monkey theme. It is pretty funny when the baboon, slaps its ass (looked very reminiscient of the Skull Kid in MM). It appears that you save monkeys, who will then help you in various ways. I would bet that the Baboon will be the mini boss (I bet that you have to roll into the podiums to make him fall, watch the GDC trailer) and this will turn him good. He will then help you fight the first boss, which looks way too much like an upgraded Kalle Demos. The boss looks sort of hard, and it could be interesting, but I'm generally under-whelmed. Oh well, I'll look forward to the "giant fire guy". The dungeon looks like a combination of the swamp from MM and the forbidden woods. I like the "African music" because of the monkey theme.

The combat looks semi-improved. It seems like it is very parry-intensive, which could be good or bad depending on how it is implemented. I like how Nintendo slowed your swinging power down. In WW, you hit so fast, that the enemy never stood a chance. In this game, blows are slower, feel more powerful, and seem more calculated. I like it. I didn't like that the Z button called upon a hint. I mean, Link travels alone (apparently), so who is going to give him a hint. Plus, it is just a waste of a button. Zelda is about figuring things out by yourself, so hopefully this feature will be removed. The combat looks harder (I hope it really is), but I hope they tweak it to perfection. I hope that there are a wide array of enemies to keep things fresh.

Overall, I'm very hyped for the game, and realize that it is ultimately of a very high quality. Please let Nintendo tweak it to perfection by the end of the year! No delays please!

Now for your thoughts. I'm especially interested in hearing from those who actually went to E3 and played the demo. If this is you, please reply. For everyone else, just base your impressions off of the gameplay movies like I have.

Horseback combat. Obviously I'm going to have to play it to give accurate impressions, but I wasn't overly impressed. It looks very arcadish, which is clearly bad. It looks like the type of thing that doesn't take any skill, something that everyone is the same at. Move in, tap b a lot, win. Sure, you may get hit a few times, but so will everyone else. Just by looking at it, it seems that skill may be a non-factor. Hopefully I'm wrong. Other than that, it looks like it could get tedious and repetitive.

In the video during the conference, Nate Bihldorff of NOA is playing and he breezes through the horseback combat stage, probably because he has plenty of experience and was practicing before E3. If you watch different footage (without the commentary) of IGN people playing it for the first time, they seem to struggle more, take longer, make more mistakes while getting used to it, etc. I wasn't at all disappointed, and it looks much more thrilling than the majority of past Zelda combat.

I didn't like that the Z button called upon a hint. I mean, Link travels alone (apparently), so who is going to give him a hint. Plus, it is just a waste of a button. Zelda is about figuring things out by yourself, so hopefully this feature will be removed.

I think that was there specifically for the E3 Demo so that people trying it wouldn't get stuck and be frustrated.

I love the NPCs. Their facial animations are just superb. This game totally negates the reasoning behind the use cel-shading for better facial expressions that Nintendo used for WW. In this game, the faces actually move! It may be a small detail, but I find it amazing, because compared to a lot of other games I've seen, this game has so much more personality.

Exactly.
Everyone went on about how the TWW's cartoon graphics gave the characters more personality, but if you've seen the TP footage, those character's expressions convey tons more personality. In TWW it was like, "This is my happy face. This is my angry face. This is my sad face." Facial expressions in TP don't have to hit you over the head saying what the person's mood is to convey plenty of emotion.
Twilight Princess facial expression
The Wind Waker facial expression

I'm thrilled with what I've seen of Twilight Princess. It's very likely this game will take the title of My #1 Favorite Video Game over Ocarina of Time if Nintendo doesn't let me down.

ok i actually played the horse battle and i will say it is everything you could want and more. let me state clearly that horse combat is NOT a breeze. one man in front of me on the third day, could not for the life of him hit the boss, for 10 whole minutes he sucked, it is not simply run up to people and tap B till it hits the person, you have to be directly in the right spot and facing the right way to actually hit enemies. also i had my ass knocked off my horse once and then the enemies began to quickly circle around me and rush in a club me to death. i had to take a red poition as i was a quarter heart from death. also i game overed twice in the bridge joust. any fears that horseback comabt would be to easy, let me tell you know, it is not. but its also the most thrilling and intense gaming ive ever played.

^I'm very very very glad to hear that simm. I was one of the suckers that though youde simply have to run and and press B, but the fashion in which you describe it.. it sounds excellent, envigarating(sp)..

by anychance simm, can you run us by the horse combat control?

well its pretty much A to accelerate in the same way OoT did, and B to swing your sword. however targeting is a different matter. if you lightly press L epona will target the nearest enemy and run towards that person. if you Press L hard you will lock on that person. you tap L to switch targets quickly, also if your not locked onto an enemy and you are surrounded you will begin to auto lock on the nearst enemies. it is much easier to hit enemies on your left side since link is left handed and can get the best swipe on that side. its much harder to hit somebody to the right of you, also its very difficult, almost impossible to attack in front of you, but it can be done. also if you hold down B, link will charge the sword and when you release it, unleash a mounted circular swipe. which is very handy when your surrounded, but dont wait until you are surrounded to charge or you will get pelted and not have enough time to charge. if you do get knocked off your horse, get the hell back on as quick as possible or your ass will be joining the grass your standing on. although it wasnt easy for me, it was impossible for this one person i mentioned to hit the boss. you have to have enough energy to get beside him and quickly stab him before he runs away or quickly turns. its not a calk walk, but its not quite ninja gaiden fusterating either.

Originally Posted by simmaria

ok i actually played the horse battle and i will say it is everything you could want and more. let me state clearly that horse combat is NOT a breeze. one man in front of me on the third day, could not for the life of him hit the boss, for 10 whole minutes he sucked, it is not simply run up to people and tap B till it hits the person, you have to be directly in the right spot and facing the right way to actually hit enemies. also i had my ass knocked off my horse once and then the enemies began to quickly circle around me and rush in a club me to death. i had to take a red poition as i was a quarter heart from death. also i game overed twice in the bridge joust. any fears that horseback comabt would be to easy, let me tell you know, it is not. but its also the most thrilling and intense gaming ive ever played.

Awesome. That is good to hear. I would like to think that Nintendo put a lot of work into one of the game's big features.

Did you play the other parts of the demo? If so, tell us about those too. How did the combat feel? Were the puzzles clever? Basically anything you want.

what impressed me the most in the town scenes was the outer forest scenes! it was full of life! you could hear the leafs whispering in the wind and see some squirrel's wandering in the suns spots on the ground coming trough the trees above..

This game looks amazing. I've preordered it from EBGames.com already, actually. You can order it <a href=http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/product/243453.asp>here</a> if you want.

Im very pleased to hear that the horse battles are challenging. My main worry about Zelda games (and a lot of Nintendo games in general) is that they are much to easy. Some Zelda games (Wind Waker) you can breeze <no pun intended hehehehehehhe> right through. As Shiek said, tell us more about the demo. I would love to hear a first hand impression of how game game feels overall. Not many of us are as privledged as you simmaria. By the way, how did u get to E3?

i think the game looks really good and is going to appeal to a whole new crowd, but with the new crowd we get poser fans who seem to think they know everything just because they have played one game but none the less we will alwayz remain on top

Okay here's my impression on Twilight Princess:

Presentation: The overall look and feel of the game seems like it will not stray far from the 3-D zelda formula. It looks like it will be a good entry into our classic series. I've read some where that you could even pet the goats, which is a nice small edition.

Story: The story seems very well put together, as most zelda storylines are. I won't spoil it for anyone but it looks like it is coming along very nicely. I'm especially interested in the character, Ilia.

Battle System: It looks as if the Twilight Princess battle system could be one of the best yet. I'm quite worried about the Finish move though. I'm hoping it won't always guarantee a kill of an enemy. Besides that almost everything looks good.

My doubts of this game being too dark can finally rest. I'm highy anticapted for this one!

I was on 1up.com, and read something rather disappointing. They said that the combat and gameplay in general was dated. I really hope this isn't the case. I've never really liked that site anyway, and nothing I saw in the trailer looked "dated" to me. I think by dated they mean Link doesn't have 10 billion unnecessary moves that all do the same thing like other action games. I agree with Linkprry about that finishing move in a way. I really don't want to use that move on every single enemy. It's not like it takes much skill or anything. I like how they slowed down the combat, as I mentioned earlier, because it sort of prevents you from being cheap against enemies. It still doesn't look very hard or strategic though, which I find unfortunate. I've said many times that the combat system is one of the main areas where Zelda can improve, and I'm not seeing it. Oh well, it will still rock anyway.

Those who played the demo:

How does the combat feel?
Were the puzzles difficult?
Is 1up accurate in their statement that the gameplay is dated? Or are they just being needlessly controversial?
Is it better than previous Zeldas?

Any comments, especially those who were at E3, are appreciated.

The finishing move only seems to activate a certain distance away from a fallen enemy. It's not like you can just walk up to something and kill it. You have to knock it down first.

From what Iv'e seen in the gameplay vids and trailer, the combat system looks to be as innovative as Wind Waker's was compared to Ocarina. It's using the same system only on hyperdrive. And mounted battles will certainly be tough, haven't even been able to master mounted archery yet XD. The horse seems to have a much wide pivot point than Link does on foot. Link can turn around in an instant, while a horse has to make a circle. This slight cumberment in movement will mak all the difference.

Originally Posted by Shiek 84

Dungeon. The dungeon showed at E3 was a forest dungeon. I always love the forest dungeons in Zelda games. They are very atmospheric. I'm hoping this game has a fully realised forest (but this is off-topic). I like the monkey theme. It is pretty funny when the baboon, slaps its ass (looked very reminiscient of the Skull Kid in MM). It appears that you save monkeys, who will then help you in various ways. I would bet that the Baboon will be the mini boss (I bet that you have to roll into the podiums to make him fall, watch the GDC trailer) and this will turn him good. He will then help you fight the first boss, which looks way too much like an upgraded Kalle Demos. The boss looks sort of hard, and it could be interesting, but I'm generally under-whelmed. Oh well, I'll look forward to the "giant fire guy". The dungeon looks like a combination of the swamp from MM and the forbidden woods. I like the "African music" because of the monkey theme.

First off, thank you for a well thought out thread.

Second, I also liked the look of the monkey/forest themed dungeon. It looks to me like you need to collect maybe 5 or 6 monkeys throughout those rooms to cross that bridge that was cut by the bigger baboon thing. I just hope the monkeys can look out for themselves though. I hate escort missions.

Third, at first I agreed with you about the Kalle Demos looking boss. But after I saw the eye come out of the main flower that you slash, I figured the designers had combined Gohma and Demos. I hope they give it a little more firepower and a few more attacks before the final version though.

im pretty sure the z button will be used as an item button, but i think the z was also the info button for the WW demo at e3 2 years ago.

One thing im really impressed with is the field, especially when its cloudy and you see the light beams from the sun shining through. Its little details like that that really up the presentation points for a game. One thing i want to know is if the water on the field from some of the videos was from the rain, or they're always there (not the rivers but it seemed like their were random puddles everywhere on the field). I really like the layout of the village, and think it will be the best one yet. The music for the boss battle on horseback is an instant classic imo, it isnt so much catchy, but it has a certain hero feel to it that was only also pulled off as well with the classic overworld zelda theme. im also glad to see the lantern make a return, and the new boomerang that rips up floor tiles looks awesome.

One thing im skeptical on is the wolf combat, i hope it doesnt turn out to feel im limited on my moves. Another thing im skeptical on is the finish move mechanic. I think Eiji said that there are different variations of it, but i hope u dont need to do that everytime u want to kill something, cause in one of the videos link knocked the enemy over, but since he didnt use the finish the enemy got back up again.

I dont have a problem with how link walks, though i think i liked it better when his boots werent so skin tight on him. Before his boots were a lot bulkier.

I also sem to be one of the few that got the impression that the combat got more difficult. It looks like i'll have to use my shield a lot more often as the enemies attack more often and quicker.

Originally Posted by Shiek 84

How does the combat feel?
Were the puzzles difficult?
Is 1up accurate in their statement that the gameplay is dated? Or are they just being needlessly controversial?
Is it better than previous Zeldas?

Any comments, especially those who were at E3, are appreciated.

combat: a little bit different, the parry threw me off a bit at first. its a great addition and so is the finish move.

puzzels: ok the demo was somewhat easy, i got thrown off once, and couldnt find a key later

Gameplay: out of their minds, its refined and improved. id like to know what they consider up to date.

Better?: tough one, its very very possible.