The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

"Tell me... Do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls?"

- Rusl

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was the last GameCube The Legend of Zelda game and the first Wii Zelda game. It was highly anticipated by many members of the gaming community, and was regarded as finally fulfilling the dreams of those who wanted a much more realistic and mature Zelda game, as seen in the SpaceWorld 2000 GameCube Tech Demo. This is the first Zelda game to be rated T by ESRB and 12+ by PEGI. The reason is probably because of violence, blood (as seen when Link strikes Dark Beast Ganon; it drips when he runs around, and also when a Deku Baba is defeated), and signs of nudity- as shown by the Great Fairy. This game is also notable for being the first console Zelda title released in the United States before Japan, as the Wii version was released in America on November 19, 2006, whereas the Japanese versions were released on December 2. Because of this, Twilight Princess was one of the launch titles for the Wii alongside Wii Sports in the United States.

The Darkened Land
Link, a young adult at the beginning of the game, is a ranch worker (but has also been called a wrangler) in his home town of Ordon Village in the Ordona Province of Hyrule.

Strange beasts begin to appear in the forest outside of the village just before Link is supposed to make a trip to Hyrule Castle to present a gift to the royal family, a sword and wooden shield crafted by the townsfolk of Ordon. Colin, who in the beginning of the game served as one of Link's main motivations for fighting, was captured by Bokoblins while playing with a forest monkey, and taken to the entrance of the Forest Temple. With wooden sword in hand, Link goes to save Talo. He is able to free the monkey and his friend Talo who were caged by the Bokoblins, but this is only the beginning of his trouble.

The next day, Link is attacked by Bulblins and their leader King Bulblin and falls unconscious in the Spirit Spring near Ordon Village. When he awakens, he follows the pathway into the forest, whereupon he sees a large black wall draped over the ground. Approaching the wall, symbols begin to appear upon it, and as he nears closer a large and menacing black hand reaches out and pulls him through the wall into the darkness within.

Link, is now in an entirely different looking world. A sharp pain runs through him and he doubles over. The Triforce symbol on his hand glows, and his entire body transforms into a wolf. As Wolf Link, he is captured and held prisoner within the boundaries of Hyrule Castle, which has been covered by the twilight that spread over Hyrule. In his prison cell he encounters Midna, a rogue shadow Imp with mysterious powers, who aids his escape and helps him explore the castle in his wolf form.

In the tallest tower, he and Midna find a cloaked young woman. Immediately she explains to Link how Hyrule came to be shrouded in twilight, and reveals her true identity: Princess Zelda. Although in another world, Zelda is still the princess of Hyrule.

The Fused Shadows
It is now Link's quest to save Hyrule from the Twilight as the hero chosen by the gods. He must restore the light to all the lands in Hyrule and collect mysterious dark artifacts known as Fused Shadows in order to gain enough strength to defeat the one who rules the Twilight.

Quest for the Mirror of Twilight
After Link and Midna collect the Fused Shadow they are confronted by Zant, who heavily injures Midna and causes Link to be stuck in his wolf form. After meeting up with Zelda, Midna is brought back from the brink of death when Zelda transfers her soul and powers to Midna's body. Zelda does this at her own expense, and disappears as a result. With a newly restored Midna, Link travels to the Sacred Grove to retrieve the Master Sword, breaking his curse as a wolf, and allowing him to transform between human and wolf form at his own will.

With his newly enhanced ability Link and Midna go in search of the Mirror of Twilight, an item required to travel to the Twilight Realm, the domain of Zant. After going through great trouble in Arbiter's Grounds, a location in Gerudo Desert, when Link and Midna went to retrieve the mirror, they realize that Zant had broken it into four shards, with only one shard on the Grounds. In addition to this tremendous knowledge, the Sages reveal that they had sentenced Ganondorf to death, and had gone as far to impale him through the chest with the Sword of the Sages. However, through some "divine" fluke, he had previously received the Triforce of Power, which allowed him to survive the execution. He then used the power of the Triforce to kill the Sage of Water, break free from his chains, and pull the Sword of the Sages from his chest, leaving behind a glowing wound that stays with him forever.

With the last of the sages' power, they activated the Mirror of Twilight and banished Ganondorf into the Twilight Realm, and so he waited for a way out. He soon found his chance of escape in Zant, acting as a "god", and influencing him to become an assistant for his evil desires. Using a misguided Zant, Ganondorf found a way to seek his revenge on Hyrule. The Sages task Link and Midna with the duty of repairing the Mirror of Twilight and defeating Ganondorf. The duo then travels across unexplored zones of Hyrule in search of the missing fragments.

Final confrontations
Link and Midna restore the mirror and use it to enter the Twilight Realm and defeat Zant. With him defeated, they return to Hyrule and, with the regained Fused Shadows, Midna breaks the seal surrounding the castle. It is in the castle where Link battles and defeats Ganondorf. This releases the curse on Midna, turning her from an imp to her true form. She then returns to the Twilight Realm and also shatters the Mirror of Twilight, breaking the only known gateway between the two worlds.

Link returns the Master Sword to the Pedestal of Time, and the children of Ordon Village also return home to their families. Much later, Fado attempts to seek help from Link for his ranch by calling through his house, but the house remained empty. Link does not stay, he rides away with Epona from there, equipped with just his shield, while his friend Ilia was witnessing his leaving from his hometown. At the very end, the Throne Room of the Hyrule Castle is seen, revealing that the Castle was rebuilt.

Gameplay
In a further departure from The Wind Waker, Link is once again a young man, as opposed to a child, as in the latter part of Ocarina of Time and in The Adventure of Link. The game also takes on a darker tone, rivaling that of Majora's Mask.

Transformation
Link transforms into a wolf when entering the Twilight, a dark shroud that has ensnared Hyrule. This is not a separate place like the Dark World in A Link to the Past, but a festering malignancy across Hyrule.

As a wolf, Link is unable to use items. Instead, he resorts to abilities like dashing, biting, digging, and howling, among others. With the help of Midna, he can also warp through portals to reach far destinations instantly and create an energy field that can defeat multiple enemies simultaneously. In addition, Link can communicate with animals in wolf form as if they were people. When transformed into a wolf, Link’s sense of smell is greatly improved, allowing him to follow trails left by certain characters in the game; in the same way, Wolf Link can also see spectra and other elements that are invisible to the human eyes.

During the first half of the game, Link is a wolf only when he enters a portion of Hyrule that has fallen under the influence of the Twilight; once there, the young hero is unable to return back to normal until he purges that cursed place by reviving the Light Spirits after collecting their Tears of Light. eventually, Link is able to shapeshift from one form to the other at will thanks to a Shadow Crystal and the Master Sword.

Wii and GameCube Differences
The Wii version of the game is a mirror image of the GameCube version, meaning that East is West (and viceversa) in the former version; this is to accommodate for most Wii players being right-handed, while Link is often left-handed.

The Wii version uses the "point-and-click" feature of the Wii Remote as a "fairy" cursor (an on screen pointer modeled to look like a fairy), for accessing menus, and for using various tools such as the Hero's Bow, Clawshot, and Fishing Rod, (see Weapons, items and abilities); it uses the Nunchuk attachment analog stick for movement. In order to swing the sword which Link uses as a weapon, the player makes a slashing motion with the Wii Remote. A jab with the tilt-sensitive Nunchuk will cause Link to perform one of his secret moves, the shield attack. To use Link’s “spin attack” (a powerful attack where Link swings his sword circularly around himself), the player shakes the nunchuck side to side horizontally.

In the GameCube version of the game, the 'Y' and 'X' buttons are used for add-on weapon such as the Clawshot, Bombs, Iron Boots, and Hero's Bow. The 'B' button is used for Link's sword attacks. Tapping it once does the normal slashing motion. Pressing it two or three times allows Link to perform sword attack combos. Holding B until Link's sword charges and makes a "ching!" sound allows the hero to perform a Spin Attack. 'L' locks onto enemies or people to talk to. The C stick rotates the camera around, while the A button is for actions like talking, opening doors, and picking things up.

In order to use items in the Wii version, the game allows the player to equip the items to the left, right, and down positions of the D-pad and the 'B' button of the Wii Remote using the item screen. When an item's respective direction button is pressed, the item is switched into the 'B' button for easier use. The built-in speaker on the remote is used for sounds like the bowstring of the Hero's Bow being drawn and released, Midna's laugh, and the ever present "Zelda chime" when discovering secrets.

Items and abilities
In Twilight Princess, Link learns more moves than in any other The Legend of Zelda game to date. Link also shares similar moves between human and wolf. For example when an enemy is on the ground, Link has the option to finish them off by plunging his sword into their chest or in wolf form (on poes, to rip out their souls). With these abilities come some disadvantages. As mentioned before, Wolf Link cannot utilize any of his items, or open any doors with handles until he transforms back into a human.

As Link progresses on his quest, he can learn various Hidden Skills, which improve his repertoire of sword attacks, and even expose new weaknesses on strong enemies. In addition, he also makes use of various items that appear for the first time in the game, as well as classic tools and weapons that, in one or another way, have been revamped to have secondary uses.

Returning from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, a horse can again be ridden in Twilight Princess. The default name for the horse is Epona (the set name of the horse from the two aforementioned games) and is used as the main form of transport whilst Link is in human form and until various warp points are opened around Hyrule. For the first time, Link can use his sword in combat while riding Epona in the game. This is also the first and only game in which the player can decide the horse's name.

General Aspects
The game is meant to have a more mature atmosphere than the rest of the Zelda games, as well as significantly darker, and more rabid versions of monsters from older Zelda games. It is also supposed to be the longest Zelda game to date, accumulating at least sixty hours of play, twice as long as Ocarina of Time, confirmed by Iwata, although many who completed the game believed this to be inaccurate. Princess Zelda and Ganon also appear in Twilight Princess.

The game's story takes place several years after the events of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. As featured in The Wind Waker, Link uses special facial expressions to inform the player and give subtle clues on how to solve certain puzzles. For some gamers, the game still proves to be more challenging than other Zelda games preceding it, although all the bosses have been noted as remarkably easy, taking most gamers only one try to defeat. Another returning feature is the day and night system of Hyrule, consisting of not only the cycle of days but weather and atmosphere effects as well.

Motion capture is used to bring the characters alive in a realistic manner. This is most evident during cinema sequences.

Development
Twilight Princess was first revealed E3 2004 when Nintendo showed a teaser trailer of their new Zelda game to a small group, resulting in outrageous uproars from the viewers. When the Zelda community found out, many fans were extremely excited. Many were happy to see Zelda taking a mature turn, which, as opposed to the cartoony, cel-shaded art style of 2003's The Wind Waker, received a much warmer welcome. After ten months of silence from Nintendo, a new trailer was finally revealed at the Game Developers Conference on March 10th, 2005 to an eager audience.

It was learned at the Nintendo E3 conference on May 9th that Twilight Princess would be released October 4, 2006 and would simultaneously be released on GameCube; it was later announced that, to compensate for the fact that most players would be right-handed, the Wii version would be mirrored entirely so that Link could be right handed as well.

On September 13, 2006, it was revealed that Twilight Princess would be a launch title for the Wii and would be released on November 19, 2006; the GameCube version would be delayed until December of that year.

Graphics
Twilight Princess features a stylized, naturalistic art style (similar to, but more advanced than, that found in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask); These graphics are displayed by use of a heavily modified version of the The Wind Waker engine. This modified version of the 2003 installment's engine makes the graphics in Twilight Princess realistic, as opposed to the cartoonish, cel-shaded design of The Wind Waker. However, as the Wii version is a mere port of the GameCube version, the graphics supposedly fall short of the Wii's capabilities.

Audio
There is no extensive voice acting in the game. The characters laugh, scream, and make other such noises, as they have in previous installments on the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo GameCube. In conversations, Link remains silent, and his responses are implied by nods and facial expressions, much like other The Legend of Zelda games. The only character who is completely "voiced" is Midna. However, she says no clear words, instead speaking in an unintelligible language (similarly to E. Gadd in Luigi's Mansion).

Music itself once again plays a role in Twilight Princess, as in previous The Legend of Zelda games. While Link does not carry a musical instrument of any type until a late point into the game, he can pick grass from certain patches and whistle with it to call an animal, either a Hawk or Epona, Link's horse (later on, an instrument shaped similarly to the grass used to summon Epona is given to Link and has the same effect as the aforementioned grass). Also, while as a wolf Link can howl near the same patches, to the same effect. When Link is in his wolf form, there are seven Howling Stones (including one with a Triforce symbol at the entrance to the Sacred Grove) located around the world where, after Link howls a certain melody shown on screen a few times, a golden wolf appears and jumps somewhere else in the world. Link must then change back to his human form and find the wolf to learn a hidden sword technique. The songs howled by Wolf Link are taken from Majora's Mask, Ocarina of Time, and The Wind Waker, with the exception of the final howling stone, which is the "bass" of the game's Hyrule Field Main Theme.

Like previous Zelda titles, Twilight Princess has a synthetic soundtrack. This allows the background music to be more dynamic, but the sound quality suffers. The fact that Nintendo had decided not to use an orchestrated soundtrack has been a point of criticism for the game. Koji Kondo, the lead composer for the game's soundtrack, originally stated that he "would really like to push for" the music to be orchestrated. Part of the full soundtrack (featuring the songs "The Legend of Zelda: Orchestra Piece #2", "Hyrule Field Main Theme", "Ordon Village", "Kakariko Village", "Death Mountain", "Midna's Theme", and "Ilia's Theme") is received when a Nintendo Power subscription is purchased (the subscription also comes with a game guide for Twilight Princess). A soundtrack also is packaged with the Twilight Princess Collector Box, an exclusive item sold at Target stores. The soundtrack also features two bonus tracks. The first bonus track, known as "D.S. Trailer Pack", was the theme that was to be used instead of the present Hyrule Field Main Theme.

A version of the game's Hyrule Field theme was recorded with a live orchestra before release. It was probably intended to be used in the final game; however it ended up being used only in pre-release demos and promotional material.

Along with the standard features of sound in a Zelda game, the Wii console offers something more to the customers buying the Wii version of Twilight Princess. Using the Wii Remote, various sound effects (sword swing, Midna's calls, etc.) come from both the television and the Wii Remote's internal speaker, improving the overall game experience.

Setting
Eight years after appearing in Ocarina of Time, Hyrule is once again fully explorable in a 3D console title. In order to provide appropiate continuity, this incarnation of the sacred kingdom features most of the regions and zones portrayed in the 1998 title; a major difference, however, is that Hyrule is much bigger than before (similar to how it was shown in The Adventure of Link), thus it's now divided into provinces, six in total, similar to the four worlds of Termina from Majora's Mask. The GameCube and Wii versions of the game feature mirrored (west/east) variations of Hyrule because of the control scheme. It must be noted that all indications shown below are based on the GameCube version, which is largely considered the canonical map due to that version being reflected in official artwork.

The southernmost province is Ordona, a rural zone where milk, pumpkins and cheese are exported to the other parts of Hyrule (as hinted during the exploration of Snowpeak Ruins), and where Link lives until fate calls him to fight evil; north from Ordona is Faron Province, a forest area inhabited by monkeys and very rarely by humans (or any other race), and where there used to be an ancient temple guarding the Master Sword; found northeast from Faron is Eldin Province, which houses Kakariko Village (now a wasteland due to invasion of monsters, and where a graveyard keeps the rests of deceased Zora monarchs) and Death Mountain (where the Goron tribe inhabits and has developed a mining complex over the flow of time).

North from both Faron and Eldin is the Lanayru Province, which houses the sources of water in Hyrule (namely Lake Hylia, Zora's River and Zora's Domain, the latter one inhabited by the proud Zora tribe), as well as Hyrule Castle Town (where most of the Hylians live, and where Hyrule Castle can be found); southwest from Lanayru (west from Faron) is the Desert Province, entirely uninhabited except by monsters that overran Gerudo Desert and Gerudo's Fortress, and where the long-fabled Mirror of Twilight lies a the top of an ancient dungeon; Northwest from Lanayru (north from the desert) is the Peak Province, also entirely uninhabited except by monsters and the gentle Yeti race, and seen as the coldest region in Hyrule.

Twilight Princess is also one of the few games, along with Majora's Mask and Oracle of Seasons, in which new lands other than Hyrule can be explored, albeit very briefly. The City in the Sky is, as the name suggests, a place in the heavens, and is inhabited by the Oocca, said to contribute significantly to the creation of Hyrule. Also, through the aforementioned Mirror of Twilight, it's possible to visit the Twilight Realm, inhabited by the Twili tribe, and where the antagonist Zant spends most of his time.

Timeline Placement
Twilight Princess occurs some centuries after Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, due to a number of events which occurred in the days of the Hero of Time (Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask Link), during what is known as the "Child Timeline". After defeating Ganon in Ocarina of Time ' s "adult ending", Link was sent back through time by Princess Zelda to relive his sacrificed childhood and divert the past Hyrule away from its terrible future. In the past, Link's knowledge of Ganon's plans led to his capture, following an unsuccessful invasion of Hyrule. Ganon was taken then by the Sages to the Arbiter's Grounds to be executed. This event took place several years after Ocarina of Time ' s "child ending" and the events of Majora's Mask.

Twilight Princess's placement in the series was confirmed in December 2006 by Eiji Aonuma. With the release of Hyrule Historia, it is officially established that the events of this game took place before Four Swords Adventures.

Sales
The game was commercially successful and became a best-seller, with 5.82 million copies (Wii) as of 2011, plus 1.32 million (GCN), sold worldwide. Considering only sales of the Wii version, it is the third best-selling Zelda game to date, after Ocarina of Time and the original The Legend of Zelda. Considering combined sales of the Wii and GameCube versions of the game, the game is the second best selling Zelda game.

Reviews
Twilight Princess has received universal acclaim from reviewers and journalists, who cited it as the greatest Zelda game of all time. Clocking with a 94-95% approval on Metacritic and a similar compilation score on GameRankings, the game was praised in nearly every aspect. IGN editor Matt Cassamassina stated that Ocarina of Time was dethroned by this game, citing the length of the adventure, the storyline and the gameplay, and concluding that it "...is must-see, must-play and must-own entry into the series that proves over and over again why Nintendo is the best developer in the world". However, Matt also lamented that the game used MIDI-based soundtrack, instead of orchestrated score, and that the characters lacked yet again fully-voiced speech.

Kristan Reed from Eurogamer initially warned that games created to be overly long usually may end up being tiring and in need of replay value, in contrast to shorter games that sometimes offer richer experiences; however, he also said that Twilight Princess succeeds in being consistent and keeping the player interested in it despite its pronounced length. Kristan also considers the game a true successor to Ocarina of Time thanks to the elements borrowed from the 1998 game, and that the Wii controls work well despite the game being originally developed for the GameCube only; as for complaints, he said that most bosses are easier to defeat than expected, and that the overworld's huge size makes the game's pacing more difficult when it comes to completing the main objectives.

1UP.com journalist Jeremy Parish commended the game for living up to the series' legacy and "appealing" for gamers that expressed complaints on some aspects of The Wind Waker, mainly the graphical style; he also praised the implementation of Wii controls, as well as the size of the adventure. He said that the only shortcoming of the game (and therefore in disagreement with Kristan from Eurogamer) was the fact that the game was too similar to Ocarina of Time, and that it felt "predictable" in some aspects, mainly in gameplay and storyline.

GameSpot critic Jeff Gerstmann was more critical, and stated that the Wii controls feel "tacked-on" because of the fact that the game started as a project exclusive for the GameCube; for the same reason, he considered that the graphics felt outdated, therefore lacking the visual impact of other Wii games, and thus concluded that Twilight Princess "...could have been so much more with a few presentational updates and more effective and interesting uses of the Wii's unique control scheme". However, he ultimately recommended the game, citing the legacy it took from the other games in the series.

Despite the positive reviews, there are mixed opinions in regards of whether the game has surpassed Ocarina of Time or not, as well as whether the game itself is a current-generation game or an old-generation title delayed multiple times since its 2004 announcement. Likewise, some journalists have criticized the fact that the game undid the ambition factor seen in games like Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, The Wind Waker, as well as the fact that the long wait for the game's release wasn't completely paid off in the end.

In late 2009, Nintendo Power ranked it "fourth" in their list of best The Legend of Zelda games, citing its presentation and its return to Ocarina of Time's roots.

Legacy

 * Many properties of Twilight Princess appeared in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, including the models of Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf, the Bridge of Eldin stage, music, trophies, and stickers.
 * Link's Crossbow Training takes the setting, models and graphical style all from Twilight Princess.
 * The true Wii Zelda game, Skyward Sword, noticeably borrows several elements from Twilight Princess, including Link's general design, many of his animations, and the sounds and movements of certain enemies, such as Deku Babas.
 * Several elements of this game were also borrowed by Spirit Tracks, including the collection of Tears of Light, the letters from the Postman being retained, Princess Zelda being susceptible to villain possession, and the presence of Bulblins and Bullbos within the overworld.

Trivia

 * In the English translation of the game, Princess Zelda mentions that light and darkness co-exist in a world of balance, giving the impression that darkness is a fundamental element of the Zelda universe. In the original Japanese text, the princess speaks only about the ability of light to drive away darkness, literally and metaphorically.
 * Twilight Princess is one of the only Zelda games to date where Japan uses the same literal subtitle as the rest of the world, the other being Skyward Sword. The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link, Four Swords, Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask all use the same title in English and Japanese, only not directly romanized.
 * This is the very first Zelda game where the Octorok enemies are absent.
 * This is the first game in which Link appears in human form shirtless. This happens only when Link learns how to Sumo wrestle. He appears shirtless in Majora's Mask, but in Deku Scrub, Goron, and Zora forms.
 * This is the only Zelda game that, when released, was available on two Nintendo consoles.
 * Like in The Wind Waker, but not Ocarina of Time, the Iron Boots are treated as an item rather than an upgrade, and thus can be applied quickly rather than by pausing the game. However, the remake of Ocarina of Time arranged this, also turning the boots into an item.
 * Also, unlike in Ocarina of Time, Epona is acquired very early in the game.
 * In his wolf form, Link can talk to animals. Some of them even manage to recognize Link from his human form.
 * This is the first The Legend of Zelda game in which Link obtains a musical instrument that is not necessary to complete the game.
 * The title theme incorporates elements from the classic Zelda series theme.
 * If one has a save from the Wii version of Twilight Princess, an emblem of Hyule is unlocked as a bumper sticker for Samus' ship in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
 * The Wii version of the game has more glitches than the GameCube version, likely due to its earlier release. One infamous glitch is the Cannon Room glitch that results in an incompletable save file. Another is a debug function left in the game: skipping through the Cave of Ordeals by putting out the torches on each floor. Other unused elements, like Green Chus, were left in the Wii version.
 * One major feature left out of the final game was the Magic Meter, which was present in the 3D games before Twilight Princess. Unused text left in the game hints that Link would have needed magic power in order to transform into his wolf form. A magic meter can still be seen on a screenshot on the back of the game's box.