Warning: There may be spoilers within this article.
It's here, Zelda finally returns to their old type of games, with Twilight Princess! This was the first game I bought with the wii, and it proved a good move, after completing it this morning I decided to spread the word here, with descriptions of graphics, gameplay, tips etc.
*WHY WII?
Zelda Twilight Princess is available on both Wii and Gamecube, however is there really much difference? Well there is some, as you move the nunchuck from side to side to do a ''spin attack,'' you swing the controller around to use your sword normally. Also, the nunchuck enables you to use your shield in attack, though most of your play involves pressing A, B, directions or Z, it makes the experience more active and involves the user more.
*CONTROLS
Well, when I first started playing Zelda, I found it to be a little unusual as I was used to playstation controllers, but after about an hour of playing you will find yourself getting the jist of it and enjoying yourself. They have adapted it from the days of Ocarina of Time, with easier to use controls, especially when changing weapons or suits. Naturally, as the game involves motion sensing, it is pretty simple to use, although the nunchuck analog stick can occasionally be difficult to use.
*SET UP
You start out in a village called ''Ordon Village'' where you work honestly and humbly, occasionally helping to herd some goats and completing chores for the local folk. The graphics here are a real class apart from Ocarina of Time, with no lags as you travel around. After only completing a couple of chores, you are introduced to evil, as some ''Twilight creatures'' smash into Ordon and take Link's friend Ilia and some local children. Surprise, surprise it's your job to eventually save them and much more. The locations you will visit are vast, with some you may remember from ''Ocarina of Time,'' such as a redeveloped ''Temple of Time,'' a stunning ''Hyrule Castle,'' etc. However, while playing older games, I noted boredom with constantly having to run around for long lengths of time, you can warp around locations with your wolf, helped along by the ''Twilight Princess'' Midna, a handy aide, looking to restore order in her Twilight Realm. With sword and shield in hand, you embark on a fierce adventure to conquer evil, in the form of twilight creatures, and bosses, with a final battle against the seemingly recurrent boss, Ganondorf. With a total of 9 temples you won't find yourself completing this quickly, though you won't get bored either as it consistently ups in gear as you progress.
*GAMEPLAY
The gameplay really is the thing that has always stood out for me, when it came to Zelda games, this was no different. The complex puzzles boggle the mind, but when you actually work out what to do, you feel proud, otherwise if you find yourself stuck you can always search on Google, for 'Zelda Twilight Princess Faq' to see hints and tips. This game would take most around 50-60 hours in total to complete and there is always more to do than just fighting the bosses, you also have to collect heart pieces, find poes & gather weapons along with mini-games such as fishing, balloon game etc.
*WEAPONS
Wooden sword: A basic weak sword, useful in the mission progress, but eventually you will be given the master sword.
Catapult: Small 'kiddy' version of arrows, which you give away to the youngsters near the start of the game.
Master sword: A much better sword, which destroys monsters much quicker and easily, which eventually becomes filled with light, to hack away darkness…
Boomerang: This weapon is only really used in the Forest Temple, though sometimes to blow out fires, or catch heart pieces later on.
Ball and chain: One of the newer weapons they have added to Zelda, which you use to swing around you, allowing you to destroy ice, statues etc. VERY POWERFUL.
Dominion Rod: Another new weapon, which takes control of statues around you and other objects, so that they follow your exact movements, very powerful if the statues have weapons in their hands.
Bow and Arrow: You point the wii remote at the screen, and aim your shot to hit creatures up above or to press buttons from afar.
Bomb (3 types): There is the normal bomb, used to destroy boulders and other things on land, useful throughout. There is the water bomb, used to destroy things underwater, useful for the middle part of the game. Then there is the spider bomb, which isn't useful at any part of the game, I never used it once.
Clawshot: This is the most useful tool of all, as you constantly use it once given to you. It can be used to cling onto creatures, or to points on walls so that you can travel over areas which would be otherwise impassable. Eventually you receive two, so that you can cling to something and keep clinging to others whilst dangling from the point.
*SHIELDS
Wooden shield: Shield which is made of wood and vulnerable to fire, so when you go to the Goron mines, remember to buy the Hylian Shield before entering.
Hyrule shield: Bought in "Talo's Mart" consistently useful and reliable throughout the game, to deflect enemies attacks.
*SUITS
Green tunic: The tunic given to you when you realise you are the chosen hero by the Gods, is vulnerable to all forms of attack, but none in a huge extent.
Zora tunic: This tunic is obtained before entering the Lakebed Temple, which allows you to swim underwater and not have to breathe, less stylish than the green tunic but essential when swimming.
Magic Armour: This is a very expensive armour indeed, to obtain it, you have to donate 3000 rupees!! Then you have to buy it for around 500 rupees, and to top it off, it costs you per second you use it, eating away your rupees constantly. Though, it is important and safe, protecting you from virtually all attacks. Yet not vital, I was able to complete the game without it.
*EXTRAS:
Bottles (4)
Steel boots (Used to sink down and increase Link's weight)
Horse call
Bomb bags (3)
Arrow holder (100)
Fishing Rod
*CHARACTERS
Link: This is the character you play as, the Hero chosen by the Gods, to save and protect the land of Hyrule. His name can be changed, and he kind of looks a bit strange, with a blue earring and wavy hair.
Graphics: 8/10
Evilness: 0/10
Power: 7/10
Originality: 5/10 In Ocarina of Time
Midna: She saves you when you are locked away in a cell, and also proves to be a great help for the majority of the game. Firstly, you have to find the 3 Fused shadows, then the 4 pieces of Twilight Mirror.
Graphics: 7/10
Evilness: 1/10
Power: 8/10
Originality: 9/10
Zelda: This is the WOMAN, most hear the title and assume they are playing as Zelda. She is the princess of Hyrule, and friends with Midna. She is captured by Zant and given to Ganondorf, where he turns her evil. It is your job to save her.
Graphics: 8/10
Evilness: 0/10
Power: 4/10
Originality: 5/10 In Ocarina of Time
Zant: This evil man is so desperate to gain the throne of the Twilight, that one day a God hears his pleas for power. This God is Ganondorf, who gives him extreme power and the ability to control many Twilight creatures, to turn them against the people of Light. He looks quite fat in the game, but well designed.
Graphics: 7/10
Evilness: 9/10
Power: 9/10
Originality: 9/10
Ganondorf: The main boss behind it all, the final battle. He is the one that was giving Zant his power and using him as his puppet. He is able to transform into a massive creature called Ganon or use his awesome sword skills as a man. He had been locked away in the Mirror of Twilight, but when the mirror was smashed, he came back to power. Graphics are excellent at portraying his evil mind and he truly looks powerful.
Graphics: 9/10
Evilness: 10/10
Power: 10/10
Originality: 5/10 In Ocarina of Time.
*TEMPLES
Forest temple
Difficulty: 4/10
This is the first temple, and so naturally is pretty easy to warm the player up and get them used to the features of the wii. Graphics are quality and it is quite lengthy.
Goron mines
Difficulty: 6/10
The second temple of the game, in parts difficult, with main focus on the steel boots throughout, used to walk on the top of things in electric parts. Graphics are better and the boss is slightly more difficult.
Lakebed temple:
Difficulty: 7/10
This temple involved the steel boots and Zora tunic for the majority of it, letting you experience the wii in different environments, here it is water. The part that you may slip up on, is when you need to unfreeze the ice, warp to Death Mountain and take the big fire rock with you. This temple will require some more logic and skill, but entertaining all the same.
Arbiter's Grounds
Difficulty: 8/10
This temple is set in the sandy depths of Gerudo Desert, as the creators again chose to adapt the environment to give you a fuller game experience. I particularly enjoyed this temple because it involved both human and wolf play quite regularly, unlike the others which rarely did, the graphics again were good and the range of things you had to do, kept you going.
Snowpeak ruins
Difficulty: 7/10
A temple set in snow, where you meet two Yetis who have a piece of the mirror of twilight within their amazingly big house. Your job is to follow the ill wife's instructions on the location of the key, but she keeps getting it wrong!
So you end up trecking around and around in search until you find it. Graphics are again original and lively, here you get the ball and chain and you see ice monsters never seen before.
Temple of Time
Difficulty: 5/10
This temple is not so difficult, but it is the most enjoyable by far. You actually use all of the weapons you've used before in clever ways, using your brain in moderate use, it is a pause in the complex game so far. The graphics here are by far the best, with the temple looking stylish, modern and realistic.
City in the sky
Difficulty: 7/10
A temple in the sky now, where the third piece of mirror lies, quite a long build-up to the temple, trying to find a cannon to reach the sky, but the actual temple is quite short, with only little faults for me when I got stuck. The graphics were not as good as the temple of time, but still of a good standard. The boss here, was the hardest one for me, partly because I was wearing the Zora tunic when the boss breathed fire…not such a good idea, so every time he hit me, it would virtually destroy me!Palace of twilight
Difficulty: 6/10
This is the final location of a part of the mirror, another simple temple which is pretty short, all you do is locate two orbs and then make your way up to the boss. Here the boss is most entertaining, Zant. He fights you in each and every location you have fought before, in new ways, where you have to remember which weapons will prove to be his downfall. Graphics are excellent, only complaint is the simplicity.
Hyrule Castle:
Difficulty: 7/10
The final stage, you finally are allowed into Hyrule Castle as Midna learns of her new strength and bashes it open. This is slightly complicated and involves numerous weapons, but again shorter than I would have liked for the final temple. The graphics are sensational, with many, many creatures to fight against giving it some sense of difficulty, with the hardest part being when you fight two completely armoured people with an axe each. The boss can be reached with ease, but this was finally the long, difficult battle I had hoped for as you fight Zelda, Ganon and Ganondorf, in a couple of locations; the boss room and in Hyrule field.
*PLAYING AS A WOLF
For those of you pondering the question why do you play as a wolf? I shall explain. When those local folk are kidnapped at the start, you have to enter the Twilight Realm, which transforms you into the beast. Your main job at the start is to locate the Tears, which allows the spirits in different sections to re-activate, though you do not use the wolf in any of the starting temples. However, as you progress you need to use the wolf to 'hone your senses' allowing you to see hidden creatures, places to dig etc. Eventually, Zant curses you as a Twilight creature, so that you can transform between human and wolf at any time, by the help of Midna. This meant that warping was possible, allowing you to appear in different parts of the vast map, wherever you have destroyed some of these Twilight beasts.
*HOWLING STONES
As a wolf you will need to search the landscape for these stones, which you then howl into; copying the notes played to you. Once you have done this, a Golden wolf will appear, and will tell you to "take sword in hand and find him." Whilst human, seek him out and he will teach you a new move, which are essential in battle, especially those that teach you how to defeat those completely covered in armour.
*OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
Overall, I've got to say that this game certainly 'wowed' me. The graphics were superb, the gameplay even better and the storyline unbeatable. Finally, a decent version of Zelda has come out, which can actually be related to the stunner games on the N64. This game I would recommend for anyone above the age of 13, as it does involve some complex riddles, though for those of the younger generation, this could still be enjoyable, maybe by purchasing a guide from GAME or looking up online guides. For those of you that have experienced Zelda before, or not this game should prove to be the best you have ever played.*FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Any questions asked by readers will be posted here, and answered, check back later for more.
-Erm one question though, can you play Gamecube versions of the game with a wii remote?
Ans: Not to sure about this, I mean both games would seem to be sold at the same price in the shops, though I believe it is rumoured that they are making sure that the GMC version will not allow wii remotes, and other rumours that it gives you the choice. So, I don't see the point in taking the risk, there are enough Wii versions at the same price, which are more worthwhile. Thanks for the comment.
It's not the Ocarina of time..it's even better!! 
