N-Philes

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Posted December 24th 2006 by Terry Harjanto.

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Nintendo continues to use sound and music to great effect in Twilight Princess. The familiar themes associated with areas such as Death Mountain or the Gerudo Desert make a return, having been rearranged with a wide variety of instruments and sounds that range from deep drums, to guitars, to the use of a vocal chorus. Each theme also does an amazing job of matching their associated environment. The Snowpeak region of Hyrule is accompanied by a calm and serene piano and violin melody while riding Epona across the Hyrule Fields will treat you to an inspiring and stirring orchestral piece. The style of the Twilight Realm's music is something new to the Zelda series, but it does a great job of absolutely creeping you out. Not only does music vary across areas of the game world, but also across many of the major characters within the game. Each of the character themes are of the same high quality as the rest of the music in the game and do an amazing job of accentuating the character personalities.

If there's anything that indicates a high attention to detail, it's the variety and range of sound effects within the game. Each of Link's footsteps will produce the sound of crunching snow under foot, kicked up sand, or a sharp clang on a metal surface. Enemies have their own distinct set of noises and the effects from every usable item sound unique. All of the characters in the game have their own sets of well voice acted soundbytes and naturally the major characters have a larger library to better round out their personality. Though Link does little more than yell out battle cries and other action-oriented exclamations, you can hear the determination in his voice with each leap off an edge or swing of the sword. There's quite a few children characters in Twilight Princess and each of their personalities, whether shy, brash, or serious-minded can be heard. The most amazing work, however, has definitely been invested in Midna as her sound bytes library is much larger than any other. Even though her voice sounds alien and strange to indicate her Twilight origins, it still does a great job of conveying her haughty and proud attitude which hints at other aspects of her origin.

The same level of detail also applies to the graphics in the game. Though the polygon count and texture quality isn't that great when it comes to the rendered environment, there's more than enough to make up for it. The character animation is fluid and varied, whether it be in Link's human or wolf forms. Combat is also quite a treat as Link has a variety of sword swings, stabs, and special techniques. Even though giant armored lizards and deadly jellies don't exist in the real world, they still have a life-like quality to them due to the detail of their garments and movement. The use of lighting and shadow effects add a lot to the atmosphere of the environments. Particle effects are also used in a variety of situations ranging from floating clouds of dust in the desert air to the distortion effect caused by open flames or molten lava.

Technically, the graphics in the game are not the latest and greatest thing, the game was originally built for the GameCube afterall, but you will still be stunned by the artistic impact on the overall visual experience. Those lucky enough to have wide screen capable televisions have the opportunity to further enhance the cinematic experience. Hyrule feels like a real world because far off landmarks, such as Hyrule Castle or Death Mountain, can be seen in the backdrop from places with the right vantage point. The people and animals that populate Hyrule are well modelled and are also full of life themselves because they do such simple things as turning their necks to watch Link walk by. Link himself, though not animated like his namesake from The Wind Waker, reacts to his surrounding like a real human being by noticeably turning his eyes towards things that warrant further inspection. The dungeons all look believable because of detailed decorations and pragmatic design. Whether you're in the Goron Mines, the Snowpeak Ruins, or in the City in the Sky, you'll still feel as if you're exploring a mine, a mansion, or a city. In addition, monsters are not just ugly and scary, but also daunting and intimidating because they're covered in impressive looking armor or armed with a nasty looking sword.

Heartstopper - The legend is back.

Since it is another game within the Legend of Zelda series, Twilight Princess makes use of many of the motifs, both in terms of gameplay and story, that often occur throughout the series. Much of the story mimics or coincides with that of Ocarina of Time: Death Mountain is unstable, Zora's Domain has been frozen over, the initial villain's powers are apparently born out of the demise of another from a previous game. However, there are still a few key changes that make Twilight Princess different. The overall story is less lonely compared to previous 3D Zelda games. Link is not the only adventurer seeking to save Hyrule, instead you'll find an entire underground group dedicated to that very cause and who help introduce you to certain areas of the game. Midna especially feels like a real companion: not only because of her impressive visual and aural presence, but because her own quest is central to the story, and also because she has practical skills that can be used to solve problems. Last but not least, new items and dungeon themes manage to keep this game fresh. Overall, Twilight Princess for the Nintendo Wii is an amazingly presented game that stands out, both in the library of Wii games and in the series itself.

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