Wii Used Games

The Zelda games have long been pillars of the Nintendo gaming world and many of its previous incarnations are now considered epic masterpieces. Both the original Zelda and its sequel the Adventures of Link defined the way action/ adventure/ puzzle/RPG games were made and played. The Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64 was a remarkable shift to 3D and it remains one of the greatest games ever to be created for any console. The franchise as a whole has sold over 52 millions copies worldwide and every new Zelda game that is released is received with enthusiastic anticipation.

Zelda: The Princess of Twilight for the Nintendo Wii system follows along the same “save the princess” storyline as the other adventures before it with a few added twists. Link, humble Hyrulian goat farmer is on his way to see the princess when all heck breaks loose over the country. Darkness has descended upon Hyrule and it is up to Link to save the day and keep the twilight at bay. The twist is that Link is transformed into a blue-eyed wolf when he enters the twilight portions of land.

As the wolf Link can do many of the same things as he could as a biped, except of course handle a sword or any other items that require the use of opposable thumbs. The advantages to following the call of the wild are high tuned senses that can lead to useful objects as well as an ability to jump higher as well as dig. In the beginning, the transformation is involuntary, happening as Link travels into the shadow realm. Further on, however, you gain the ability the shape shift at will. This ability to change is essential in the later stages of the game when certain dungeon level require both wolf and human strengths. . Throughout most of the game a little impish fellow named Midna helps you along. When Link is a wolf, Midna rides along on his back and offers hints and advice much in the same way as Navi did in Ocarina.

Of course, there are temples and dungeons to enter and puzzles to solve within in order to get your useful object and defeat the token boss. The puzzles are difficult, but not too difficult that you want to numchuck your television. Solving them gives you a good sense of satisfaction, yet sometimes you end up feeling a bit cheesy after you spend an hour poking around one section looking for a way to advance only to find the key to the puzzle was right in front of you the whole time. The quests have a very nostalgic feel to them and bring back some good memories of other Zelda games.

The game play and overall puzzle-solving scheme of the Twilight borrows heavily on the classic Ocarina of Time. In some ways this is a good thing that makes it a great game, in other ways it makes the game feel a little old and dated. While Link has always been a hero with not much to say, the other denizens of Hyrule are usually blabbermouths, dispensing with odd tidbits of information when you go up to them. Despite the Wii’s new sound capabilities, Princess of Twilight still relies upon the scrolling text method of communication. While this might help improve this nation’s reading skills, giving voices to the people might have been cooler. The lack of a decent soundtrack is also a bit disheartening.

Despite the games retread feel, steps have been taken to ensure the integration of the Wii’s new motion sensing peripherals. You attack by shaking you Wii-mote, and Zelda’s makers have made it easy to vanquish your foes without having needing too much finesse. You can also learn a few other moves, such as the shield pound, but the sensitivity of the remote makes them hard to master. Many of the games sound effects come out through the remote’s tinny little speaker muting their overall effect.

To sum it all up, Zelda: Princess of Twilight is a game that many hardcore Zelda fans will thoroughly enjoy. It has lots of challenging puzzles and the graphics are great, lending an artistic quality to the game. However, some might feel cheated from the lack of any real innovation besides the remote.