Twilight Princess was originally planned for release sometime in November 2005 but was delayed by Nintendo so the programmers could add more content and refine the game further. The Wii version of the game was released on the Wii launch dates ( North America - 19 November. Japan - 2 Dcember. Australasia - 7 December. Europe - 8 December 2006) and this makes it the first ever Zelda game to launch with a console. The Gamecube version was released in December 2006, during the production process the game was dubbed Wind Waker 2, a sequel to the Gamecube classic Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, it was then named Twilight Princess later on in production.

The game recieved many awards at both E3 2005 and E3 2006 including Best Console Game of 2006 and Best Playable Game at 2005 E3.

The game play is very similar to that of any other Zelda game. It is a action adventure game where you as Link battle enemies, travel and explore the game world while doing so. Also on the game most non playable characters can be interacted with so at hear is shares familiar RPG foundations.

At certain points in the game Link can transform into a Wolf, which offers the player more scope as human Link and wolf Link have different abilities. Link transforms into a wolf when he enters the Twilight Realm, this is a dark mysterious place which instead of being a seperate world, is it infact Hyrule. I will just mention some of the abilities that both forms of Link can use druing the game then i will come onto how the controls work.

Wolf Link has a accute sense ability which allows him to track traces, one example of the use of this is when tracking kidnapped children. Also Wolf Link can dig holes which in some areas grant access to new parts of the level or say on the Hyrule Field will uncover items such as the games currency or Heart Segments. As Wolf Link the player can hunt ghosts known as Poes, the more Poe Souls you collect the greater the prizes are for doing so. The last major ability is the way you can communicate with animals in the game, sore impart very useful information. Also as Wolf Link you meet your sidekick the for game, the imp like Midna who comes from the Twilight Realm. Midna offers impartial advice to Link and you often find yourself calling upon her for help. As Wolf Link Midna rides on your back in the Twilight Realm, when you are human she does not maintain a constant presence on the screen and will only emerge when called upon. Midna replaces the traditonal Fairy which helped Link through the previous games.

Epona makes a welcome return as the trusty steed in the game, even horse riding is made very easy and Epona will be your main form of transport during the game. Also Epona can be used for when horseback battle is needed and she makes a great companion when you have to joust with certain types of enemy.

The Wii version also displays in a 16:9 format in 480p, where the GameCube version plays only in 4:3. So the visulas on the Wii verison are superior.

Like all other Zelda games, there is no complete voice acting, characters scream, shout, laugh, cry instead and this is very effective indeed, it adds to that unique atmosphere that a Zelda game creates. The music also is very well composed, from sweeping scores which acompany you as you gallop across the land to the more intimate songs which truly show the friendship between Link and Llia. Sound effects are also very good, from arrows fizzing past Links ear to the clang that sword on shields clashing together make, all adds to a strong audio expierience. The only drawback is the sound effects which come from the Wii Remote, i find these a little off putting because in my opinion they are slightly cheesy, but they can be turned off, and thats what i did when i was playing the game.

The game recieved alot of critical response when it was released, game website IGN claimed it is ' the best Zelda game ever' and also stated it is the second best launch game ever, behind Super Mario 64 stating ' one of the finest games i have ever played'. The game also won 5 Game of hte Year awards from varying game magazines and websites and was nominated for 10 Game of the Year awards in total.

Alot of critics responded to the poor sales in Japan compared to that of Europe and the Americas. Seeing as Nintendo and Zelda originated from Japan sales were predicted to be much much higher. Shigeru Miyamoto the creator of many Nintendo game series publicly expressed that he was disappointed with the sales in Japan. He said ' Well, I think a lot of people who bought the Wii are not necessarily the types of people who are interested in playing that kind of game. And a lot of the people who would want to play it (due to the lack of the console) can't find a Wii! But mostly, I think it's that there are fewer and fewer people who are interested in playing a big role-playing game like Zelda'.