A quick wave of the Wii-mote draws your sword initially, while waving it slightly (or exaggerated if you desire) once it’s unsheathed produces sword attacks. Lunge and jump attacks are also available via use of the A button and a spin slash is executed simply by wiggling the nun-chuck back and forth. Lock-on is achieved by pressing the Z button located on the nun-chuck which allows Link to keep an enemy in his sights while strafing or using evasive manuevers. Weapons and items are accessed via the minus button and can be assigned to d-pad on the Wii-mote. Press a direction and the weapon will then be assigned to the B button for instant use. While moving Link with the analog nun-chuck is nothing new, using long distance weapons such as the bow, clawshot and boomerang is completely different as you’ll actually point the Wii-mote at the screen to aim. Each new weapon requires a slight learning curve but once you’ve got the hang of one, the others won’t require too much practice. You’ll even be able to become a pro at sword-fighting and using the weapons while on Epona. Fishing returns as an available past time (last seen in OoT) and it actually feels authentic thanks to the Wii-mote control. Later in the game you’ll discover a tranquil fishing area which is one of my favorite places to hang out and relax.

Visually Twilight Princess can’t quite shake its GameCube roots and while it’s doubtful you’d find any Zelda fans complaining, this game doesn’t quite fully realize the graphical prowess that the Wii is capable of. That’s not to suggest TP is an ugly game or even cosmetically flawed in anyway; it’s not. Let’s just say that some areas of the game reveal its current gen heritage more than others. The character models are beautifully crafted and the animation is very good – although Link does look a little stiff when he runs. Overall the world of Hyrule has never looked so good or so menacing for that matter.

The musical score is pure Zelda although some have found it necessary to criticize the MIDI soundtrack. Sure the score would been out of this world if it was performed by an orchestra, but to me it’s got that right amount of Koji Kondo music-magic. If it ain’t MIDI, it ain’t Kondo and therefore, it ain’t Zelda or Mario. But that’s just me. It’s brilliant in any case, providing sweeping returns to previous themes one moment and then knocking you out with something new the next. There are no voice-overs, although Midna speaks in her native tongue which you won’t understand anyway, unless you’re crazy. Link doesn’t need to speak and if he did, he would constantly chime “Well, excuse me, Princess!” as he did in the animated series like the Hylian version of Steve Martin. Let’s just forget I brought that up, shall we? The speaker on the Wii-mote adds a few nice audible flourishes here and there. It’s a little tinny sounding but it’s still pretty darn cool and used effectively if not sparingly.

No game is flawless and even TP could have benefitted from some improvements. The enemy AI is almost non-existent and some of the evil characters you’ll encounter make Wind Waker’s foes seem like fighting strategists by comparison. The bosses are extremely easy for the most part, requiring the item located in that dungeon to be used for their extinction which is a tad predictable already, but not unexpected at this point in the series. There are a few camera issues and Link will still require precise lining up to climb ladders or open chests. My last little niggling complaint concerns the sheer amount of visual distraction on the gameplay screen caused by the numerous items of your HUD. Eventually you won’t notice that the right side of screen is eaten up by icons, but it will take quite awhile before it fades out of sight for you. Nothing mentioned here is a dealbreaker by any stretch and most of it may not even appear on other gamer’s “annoyance radar”.

Twilight Princess is shouldering a lot of responsibility for a mere video game. As a launch title, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in a decade since Super Mario 64 launched with the Nintendo 64 in 1996, TP not only has to surpass the expectations of fans worldwide, but it also has to entice them to purchase a brand new Wii system instead of waiting a month for the GameCube release. GameCube? What’s that? I’m happy to report that Nintendo has managed to outdo themselves once again, which is getting increasingly more difficult I would imagine. Twilight Princess may not look as pretty as Gears of War or Resistance: Fall of Man, but it delivers upon every other promise. From the moment Nintendo revealed that video snippet of a mature Link battling a wickedly evil Ganandorf five or so years ago, fans have wanted to the chance to visit a darker, more menacing version of Hyrule. Twilight Princess captures the heart and soul of what a Zelda adventure is known for and manages to surpass the current benchmark, Loz: Ocarina of Time, widely considered to be one of the best games of all time.

My heartfelt advice is to play Twilight Princess on the Wii, as the level of interaction with the Wii-mote just adds that extra sense of immersion. With this game in its corner, the Wii is off to an amazing start.

By Vaughn Smith
CCC Site Director

Rating out of 5 Rating Description 4.3 Graphics A cross between current gen and not quite next gen. TP is the best looking Zelda game to date, but it's easy to recognize its GameCube roots. 4.9 Control Playing is believing. The Wii-mote is magic in your hands and it feels just right. Don't believe the naysayers, the Wii is very cool. 5.0 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting Koji Kondo and company is at their best. It may be MIDI but it's classic stuff. 5.0 Play Value The longest and darkest adventure yet for Zelda fans. This could take you 50+ hours if you take your time and explore. 5.0 Overall Rating - The Best Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Updated: We have learned from E3 that the rumors are true! Link will be able to transform into a bizarre werewolf like creature and be ridden around by a yet undisclosed character. These scenes take place in a dark world - see screens below - which looks to be something of an alternate reality compared to the colorful style of the rest of Hyrule. What this has to do with the Twilight Princess is also unknown.

We have also been told that this game features a different Link character (ala Wind Waker) and takes place hundreds of years into the future beyond the timeline of Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask and seemingly Wind Waker. Be sure to check out actual guerilla footage of the game below!

Preview: First the bad news - the next Legend of Zelda won't see the light of Wal-Mart store shelves until later this Fall. That's a big kick in the Hylian Shield for those of us, present company included, who were hoping and praying that Nintendo's earlier release date of May 2005 was within the realm of reality. Okay so we knew in our heart of hearts that a Zelda game wouldn't be a Zelda game without numerous delays.

The good news for those eternal optimists is that Nintendo isn't planning on holding this game back and releasing it on their next gen system code named "Revolution", even though it would be one of the biggest killer apps in the history of videogames. Which makes me wonder just what is Nintendo planning on releasing with the Revolution....stay tuned. The answer just might surprise you. (I don't really know the answer, but I sound smarter if I hint that I do. See how that works? It's a completely useless journalistic trick that makes you think that I know more than you.)

Anyway, this WILL be a GameCube title even though by all appearances it looks like it could be running on next gen hardware. When you see LoZ in action, you'll think someone crammed an Xbox into that tiny little square box.

Showing off the latest trailer at GDC this week, Nintendo floored showgoers with vivid examples of how dark and mature the next installment of Zelda will be. If you balked at the cartoony-ness of Wind Waker, there is simply no chance in Hell that you will be disappointed. For those of you who read EGM, my first question is "Why?" Like those 3 sentence reviews do you? Very insightful. My next suggestion is don't believe everything you read. Their latest April Fools Joke (Yawn) involved pre-ordering the new Zelda game and receiving a bonus disc with a graphically updated Wind Waker. Ain't gonna happen. Thanks to "Amux12" for letting me know this.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so check out the new screens and trailer (again kudos to Amux12 for that). More info will start pouring in during E3. Stay tuned.

How do you improve upon a game as perfect as Ocarina of Time? The truthful answer is: Maybe you don't. That would be asking to achieve the impossible, wouldn't it? We say, as long as they try, that's good enough for us. Majora's Mask was more of an encore, while Wind Waker was a sidestep (both games were equally brilliant), but can Nintendo manage to top itself in 2005?

Much to the delight of Zelda fans (maybe we should say Link fans) everywhere, Hyrule's prodigal elf, Link, is getting that darker, mature makeover you won't see on the Oprah show and incidentally was promised to Cube owners before the system was released. Needless to say many were shocked at the cartoony style of Wind Waker and were a tad miffed that the darker tone of the series which started with OoT wasn't being continued. That's all water the bridge now, especially after you see the game in action (we have).

Although we know absolutely nothing in regards to the plot of the game or what delicious new items Link will be able to play with, we can tell you that horse riding makes a triumphant return and swordfighting on horseback debuts! Hey, we loved sailing in Wind Waker, but riding a horse just seems to fit the whole Zelda deal, ya know?

In terms of playability, it appears that Nintendo is opting to continue the basic movelist from OoT. Link can roll, backflip, sword jump and do a charged sword attack which looks identical to the movesets from OoT although graphically enhanced on the Cube to absolute videogame perfection. Remember this when you see the trailers: what you are seeing is gameplay, not CG cinemas.

With Nintendo keeping details very close to their chests on this one - like every other game - we'll be sure to keep you updated on any tasty morsels we can find. Hey, look on the bright side; it's only 9 months away. We can pretty much guarantee that this one will SELL GC systems, so we suggest getting your pre-order in nice and early.