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| The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess | 
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| From: Nintendo
Category: Video Games
List Price: $49.99
Buy Used: $36.49
You Save: $13.50 (27%)
New (27) Used (14) from $36.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  252 reviews
Sales Rank: 62
Platform: Nintendo Wii
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Edition: Earth Emperor Theme Deck
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 0 x 0 x 0
MPN: rvl p rzde
UPC: 045496900014
EAN: 0605433010147
ASIN: B000FQBPCQ
Release Date: November 17, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Combines the amazing new interface features of the Wii with the Zelda franchise | | • | Amazing new horseback combat system | | • | Attacks, moves, and even fishing, are controlled with the Wii Remote | | • | Link transforms into different creatures as part of his quest |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess brings you back tot he land of Hyrule, as you uncover the mystery behind its plunge into darkness. Link, a young man raised as a wrangler in a rural village, is ordered by the mayor to attend the Hyrule Summit. He sets off, oblivious to the dark fate that has descended upon the kingdom. When he enters the Twilight Realm that has covered Hyrule, he transforms into a wolf and is captured. A mysterious figure helps him break free, and with the aid of her magic, they set off to free the land from the shadows. Link must explore the vast land of Hyrule and As he does, he'll have to enlist the aid of friendly folk, solve puzzles and battle his way through dangerous dungeons. In the Twilight Realm, he'll have to use his wolf abilities and Midna's magic to bring light to the land. Revisit classic and new characters - Link, Zelda, Midna and many others
Amazon.com
When an evil darkness enshrouds the land of Hyrule, a young farm boy named Link must awaken the hero and the animal within. When Link travels to the Twilight Realm, he transforms into a wolf and must scour the land with the help of a mysterious girl named Midna. Besides his trusty sword and shield, Link will use his bow and arrows by aiming with the Wii Remote controller, fight while on horseback and use a wealth of other items, both new and old. 
The most epic Zelda ever launches with the Wii. | 
Link roams an entirely new land of Hyrule. View larger. | 
Take control of your trusty horse as you travel from quest to quest. View larger. | 
Link must solve a number of challenging puzzles to progress to boss battles. View larger. | 
Fishing with the Wii Remote is a fun and worthwhile diversion. View larger. | Link's journeys, reinvented
Hailed by many as the best Zelda game since 1998's Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess thrusts players into a troubled world ravaged by a dangerous magic. Sporting a new, more realistic visual style than the previous Zelda title, Link looks much more like an adult than in previous installments and fits well into an environment that provides Zelda fans with a much more gritty and grim environment to explore. The entirety of the quest fits this darker mood, as both Link and NPC's alike share the same concern for the changes about in Hyrule. More than just a spiritual successor to previous Zelda installments, Twilight Princess offers players a new way of controlling Link through dungeons, forests, towns, and the bizarre Twilight Realm: precise weapon controls with the Wii remote! Players can use the remote to control Links' weapons including the sword, arrows, and boomerang. This new control scheme allows for much faster and more accurate control than on previous Nintendo hardware. For example, waving the remote in the air will result in Link performing the same move with the sword. To fire off on arrow, players "pull back" on a virtual controller string as the Wii remote's speaker lets players know that the projectile is ready for release. It all works incredibly well and adds to the title's immersion and style- you feel more in the center of the action than in previous Zelda games. As impressive as the new control scheme is, the scope and size of the new land of the Hyrule is equally as impressive- truly the Wii's first epic adventure. Beautifully crafted and four years in the making, the land players travel through is vast and diverse as the dungeons and monsters that lie within. As players collect triforce pieces from the distant sections of the continent, they will get to know many different villages and foes. Thankfully, Link will be able to move over long stretches of land faster thanks to "Epona," your faithful horse. Epona also helps Link become a more effective fighter, as a number of powerful and impressive sword strikes can be launched while galloping through fields of enemies. The Twilight Realm awaits
Like most games in the Zelda franchise, Link begins his adventure with little more than the clothes he has on an an inkling that something has gone awry. After an initial trip to the Twilight Realm, in which Link appears as a wolf, a friendly shadow dweller named Midna will meet up with players and give helpful advice on gameplay. Fortunately for players, this virtual assistant spells out ways to be a more effective adventurer in and out of the shadow world. Early stages of the game have Link spending a lot of time in the Twilight Realm, and outdoor areas of Hyrule, attempting to clear areas of the strange darkness that has seemingly fallen over every village, forest, and field. As the story progresses, players will learn the cause of the shadows, and what they must to do vanquish them for good. Puzzling puzzles
Link once again finds himself in a number of classic Zelda-esque puzzle scenarios in which he must light torches to unlock doors, raise and lower water levels, and fight enemies to collect keys and open chests for valuable rupees. A number of the dungeons present unique puzzle challenges that rely on the player's ability to hone their Wii remote's control, such as an air castle in the sky that can only be accessed by an extremely accurate grappling hook toss. In general, Twilight Princess is more challenging than the average Zelda game, with a number of boss battles having protracted hit sequences with little support potions about, and even less warning. Still, there's never been an adventure experience such as this, wherein players can literally charge at a dungeon boss with their fists and punch the air to defeat an enormous foe. As the finest Zelda experience in almost ten years and the game fans have been waiting for, Twilight Princess will delight young and old gamers alike.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 247 more reviews...
 Great, Involving Gameplay for All Ages November 23, 2006
251 out of 262 found this review helpful
Zelda Twilight Princess has been eagerly awaited by legions of Zelda gaming fans. This version features a more adult Link who rides a horse, swings a sword and saves the day.
The title is available for both the GameCube and the Wii, and there are definitely some advantages with the Wii. First, you can see the game in 480p, which is DVD quality. It's not quite high definition, but it's still quite nice! Second, you get widescreen, which means you get much more game to see on the screen. Finally, you get to use the motion sensing controllers on your Wii to swing your sword, go fishing, aim your slingshot, and much more.
First, the gameplay. Most gamers will be thrilled to hear that Link is less cartooney in this game. That's not to say it's a mature title - it's still a game without blood. You kill evil enemies who vanish in a puff of smoke. You go on a variety of quests, and it's very much good-against-evil. Rather, with this Link you're not a little 6 year old on a toy sailboat. Your Link is in his late teens, has his own house, owns a horse. He is harassed by three little tykes, but there's a certain young lady whose large eyes catch at Link's heart.
In no time at all Link is out in a world which is not all butterflies and daffodils. There are dark things afoot in Hyrle. The land is covered in twilight, and you turn into a wolf to deal with the shadows. Your senses serve you well in this realm. It's not too scary for kids - but it gives the game much more depth for older players.
The graphics are rather impressive for a Link game. Remember, the game is still a cartoon, so you're not seeing detailed tanks or the pores in the characters faces. The world you are in is stylized. There is plenty of detail in 480p - or even in regular TV resolution - to show the orange pumpkins, green vines, and fluffy white chickens which make up Hyrule. The water ripples, the dust billows and the fire flickers in the fireplace.
How about the sound? The Link games were famous (or notorious) for the silly noises characters make. None talk. I suppose this makes it easy for them to convert the game to every language in the world - they just change the text out and are all set. Also, you can change your name and your horse's name without any speaking issues. The voices might not know how to pronounce "Shadowfax".
Gameplay is just amazing in its length and depth. There are numerous worlds to traverse and dungeons to delve into. There are the standard collection of mini-games, quests, things to collect, puzzles to solve. You could easily play this for months and not be done. This isn't a game to race through to say "I solved it" and move on to something else. It's a world to immerse yourself in, to get to know every hill and dale, to track down those secret locations.
I really like how the Wii controllers integrate into the game. It's not like you are using them constantly, getting exhausted with hand movements. Instead, you do a fair portion with the regular joysticks for fine movement. The joysticks are used in a more general way, for sweeping sword attacks or relaxing fishing. You can use small movements if you want - but it's much more fun if you get into the spirit of things and swing away. Just make sure you have that wrist strap properly connected!
Downsides? The little "he he he" voices can get annoying quickly, especially if you are stuck on a puzzle and they are tormenting you. Sometimes the checkpoints send you back further than you might like.
They do a good job of giving you little nudges if you get stuck, helping you figure out your way through the puzzles.
In general, I think they struck a great balance between "tame enough for younger kids" and "in depth enough for older players". There are a lot of teen and adult Zelda fans out there, and they'll be quite pleased with what the game offers. This is definitely one of those must-have for gamers who like adventure games even the slightest!
Absolutely Breathtaking November 20, 2006
137 out of 142 found this review helpful
If you loved Ocarina of Time as much as I did, this will make you happy.
The graphics are gorgeous. The scenery is amazing. Everything looks beautiful, and the best part is it still feels like a Zelda game. They decided to revert back to the N64 Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask style graphics (but much cleaner, of course) rather than the cell shaded Wind Waker. I like the realistic character design much more for Zelda than the cartoonish one from the other recent games.
You can also get Twilight Princess on Gamecube, but the Wii version has some extra benefits. One such benefit is the interactivity. When you go fishing, you use the motion sensitive controller to cast the line into the water and reel the fish back. This makes it a lot more fun than the somewhat tedious sit-there-and-wait-to-press-A fishing game in Ocarina of Time. I'm glad they revamped the fishing and brought it back. Also, it is much more integrated in the gameplay than the last fishing minigame in a Zelda game (which was, of course, in Ocarina of Time). You use fish in sidequests and for other purposes.
As far as the control, it feels very natural. You use one Wii-Mote and one Nunchuck together for it. You control Link's movement and targeting with the left hand and you use the right hand to move your fairy around with the motion sensor, and to supplement the left hand with looking around, that action button, and other functions. It's hard to explain without trying it yourself, but trust me, the controls are great.
You start out the game with your horse, Epona. You also get the option to name both Link and Epona when you start your file, although I'm not sure if this will have any effect other than what NPC's in the game call you. Sometimes games use naming for codes ("If you enter your name as ___, ___ will happen" type things) but somehow I doubt it for this game. Anyway, the controls for Epona are great too. Just like Ocarina of Time, you can press A to speed her up and jump over fences. She is very beautiful and detailed too. When you make turns, you can see Link pull in the reins. You use Epona for many minigames as well as just getting around. In the beginnig of the game, for example, you use her to herd goats into a shed. It's a lot of fun, and horseback riding is another feature I'm glad they brough back.
Also, don't worry if you saw Link with the weird goatherder outfit in all of the previews - he does get his original outfit later on. The dungeons are AWESOME. It's rated Teen, but Zelda games have never included inappropriate content in my opinion. You do kill monsters, but there is no realistic blood or gore, or suggestive themes. The rating says "Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence". Trust me, it's fine for kids. The action is all "hero against evil" type action. This game is a total blast, and both new and old-school Zelda fans will love it. Even if you've never played a Zelda game, try this one - it'll get you hooked.
 Near fatal bug can prevent the user from completing game January 8, 2007
30 out of 37 found this review helpful
This is an amazing game, up until the point where software bugs prevent the player (i.e. me) from continuing the adventure. Therefore, since only about 2/3rds of the game was available for me to play I rated it no greater than 2/3rds of the maximum.
I'll just mention the bug without using any spoilers. You'll eventually encounter a cavern that you must enter and do something, but if you save after entering this cavern and then restart a confirmed glitch in the game will prevent you from ever leaving. I'm incredibly disgusted with this situation and am not yet done dealing with Nintendo because their solution was to start over from scratch or from an earlier save record if one was available.
If I had it to do over again I would wait for a second release of this game, like a "Player's Choice" release because it's likely that will contain an updated build of the game with bug fixes. You may also want to consider the Gamecube build because I've read accounts where people say that the bug was fixed for the Gamecube release.
This situation and others that I recently have had with Nintendo products has seriously dented the reputation for quality that the company used to have.
 Overrated and not a true Zelda game December 24, 2006
24 out of 43 found this review helpful
I don't understand why everyone likes this game. I thought it was hugely disappointing. This was supposed to be the next "true" Zelda, yet Ganon, Zelda, and Triforce are only peripheral to the story and feel thrown in--their roles are so small and arbitrary that they could literaly be omited and the plot wouldn't suffer--Zant would just be the final enemy. The story, first of all, is stale. Shadow and light worlds, with an evil sorcerer ruling the former as Ganon's puppet? That's already been done with dark and light worlds and Agahnim in Link to the Past. Second of all, the story is convoluted and feels thrown together. You spend half the game finding the Fused Shadows, and then Zant just yanks them from you, and you have to spend the rest of the game assembling the mirror that will allow you to reach him and take it back. That's just silly. Then when you get it, all Midna is able to do with her vaunted power is break through the barrier in Hyrule Castle. There are no goddesses, main magic items (like the Ocarina of Time), Triforce, or any real significance to the Master Sword. Sages and Great Fairies are only given cameo appearance roles.
There are very mini-games, side-quests and very little interaction with characters, another departure from the Zelda tradition. Because of this, they had to put most of the heart-pieces in hard-to-get treasure chest, locating and reaching all of which gets tedious. In the dungeons, you can only carry one small key at once, which is silly and makes dungeons way too straight-forward and easy. In Hyrule Castle, I actually didn't see half the Castle because I didn't use up my keys on locked doors before finding new ones! There is little sword combat in the game and defeating enemies without the cheap head splitter move becomes difficult later in the game. Most importantly, there is no magic meter, and therefore, no spin attack or magic arrows. These have been some of the most defining features of console Zelda games since Link to the Past. Also, there are no magic spells, upgrades, and equipment like Gauntlets and especially the Mirror Shield. Because of this, it doesn't feel like you're really becoming more powerful throughout the quest. The quest is just not epic and significantly weaker than previous installments.
As for gameplay, it's amazing the first three dungeons, but just dies after that. After the third dungeon, you don't travel between twilight and normal worlds and you barely ever have any reason to transform into a wolf. Unlike the Goron and Zora forms in Majora's Mask, the wolf here doesn't really do anything cool and once you can transform at will, you will never want to do so. The very elements that define this game's gameplay therefore just stop. Also, after the third dungeon, there is little to no gameplay between dungeons and you feel rushed and unfillfilled.
Of course this game is better than Ocarina in many ways, but on a more powerful console, Nintendo really could have done much more. There aren't any more dungeons, towns, races, or distinct parts of the overworld. However, there are FEWER side-quests, upgrades and LESS character interaction. Nothing here is truly memorable, either, like a collapsing castle and a final battle in the ruins. Music isn't orchestrated, graphics are sometimes shoddy, and characters still can't speak. Furthermore, Nintendo still could only muster three areas with strong gameplay outside of dungeons and it insisted on doing that and then have you hop from dungeon to dungeon instead of spreading the gameplay evenly and having you discover new areas throughout the entire quest. Some areas are actually smaller or/and lamer than in N64 games, like Death Mountain and the Desert!
Overall, the game has a lot to offer and is refined in many ways, but with a convoluted unoriginal story about Midna with little attention to the traditional Zelda legend, no Great Fairies, magic, upgrades, strong character interaction, few side-quests and lame gameplay after the third dungeon, this Zelda just isn't the same (let alone better) and proves disappointing.
See The Light of Zelda January 24, 2007
22 out of 23 found this review helpful
Once again, Nintendo is able to give a stellar addition to the popular Legend of Zelda series. Despite the fact that the games usually contain the same three core characters (Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf), the games continue to be original. More importantly, though, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is engaging, challenging, and fun.
A few centuries after the events of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the descendents of Link and Zelda, who themselves are also named Link and Zelda (the various games in the series take place across various time periods, with the main characters being represented by ancestors and descendents, all of whom strangely share the same names). Link is a farmer in a southern province of Hyrule while Zelda is, as always, the princess of Hyrule. In an interesting move, the people that link lives with may not exactly be Hylians; Hylians, including Link and Zelda, have always been characterized by their pointed elf-like ears, but Link's fellow villagers have rounded ears that we have.
The first few tasks of the game have Link dealing with mundane tasks in order to learn the various controls for the game, which, for the Wii version, is extremely important. However, after being asked to bring a gift to the royal family, mysterious and shadowy beasts show up and enshroud the land in a mysterious twilight. Link is turned into a wolf while trying to fight the monsters, and is subsequently knocked out and jailed. While in jail, he meets Midna, who helps free Wolf-Link in exchange for help with a yet-to-be-revealed task.
From there, Link and Midna work as a team to rid the land of Hyrule of the strange twilight. The quest takes Link and Midna to previously seen locales of Hyrule such as Death Mountain (where Gorons live), Lake Hylia, Zora's River (home of the Zoras), and Gerudo Desert. New places include Snowpeak (home to one of the strangest dungeons I've encountered in a Zelda game) and Link's home of Ordon.
As the game goes on, Link's quest takes new turns and has events that are some of the most epic actions I've ever seen in a Zelda game. While Ocarina of Time was an epic tale overall of how Link, Ganondorf, and Zelda first crossed paths, there are moments in Twilight Princess that seem to be taken directly from The Lord of the Rings. The final battle of the game is also very well constructed and fun to engage in.
The Wii gameplay is amazing. Swinging the Wii Remote to swing Link's sword, pointing the Remote at the screen to aim the bow, and using it as a fishing rod truly bring the player into the game in ways the traditional control system could never attempt. It also allows for a much smoother form of horseback combat than that present in the N64 versions (though it was still difficult). If you have a Wii, I definitely reccomend this version over the Gamecube one (the only downside is a loss of continuity; since Link is usually left-handed, the programmers were afraid that right-handed people, who are the majority, would have trouble using the sword, so they flipped the game around; what this means is that Gerudo Desert is now in the East and Kakariko Village and Death Mountain are now in the West, though in the Hyrule in Ocarina of time, the desert was in the West and Kakariko and Death Mountain were in the East).
I have to say that the only thing that I would change about this game is the inclusion (or lack thereof) of magic. For some reason, even though magic exists, Link does not have a magic meter. Therefore, there are no spells or magic arrows (or green potions), and the Magic Armor, which makes Link invulnerable while wearing it) is powered by rupees, which can be very annoying. Still, aside from the complaint, this is an amazing game. The story is fantastic, the gameplay is top-notch, and the graphics are amazing. This game may not be as good as Ocarina of Time, but it is very, very close.
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