4/5 ★ – TNGLiam's review of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD.

Platform: Wii U Time Played: 39 hours Status: Beaten The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was the game in the 3D series that I was the least excited to finally get to; the art style didn't really appeal to me, I didn't really know much about the game in general, and it just didn't seem all that interesting. But after finally playing through it, I found it to be a fairly fun adventure, but definitely one that tried to bring 3D Zelda back to its routes after fans at the time didn't love Wind Waker as much as people do today. Initially, I did not like the art style of Twilight Princess, it was too edgy for my taste and some of the character designs just looked really unappealing, including the different face they use for Link during cutscenes (like just use his normal face used during gameplay, every time there's a close-up on his face it just looks so ugly because of the uncanny nature of his face), or just Link's opening outfit in general. But after a while, I definitely warmed up to it, although it can definitely be a lot at times. I love Link's overall look in this game once you finally receive the green tunic. Midna's design was also very interesting and visually striking, being an initial stark contrast to a lot of other species seen in Zelda. I also really like the designs for Zelda, Zant, and Ganondorf in this, they all look spectacular, so visually striking, and such memorable and awesome designs. I even love the Mailman in this, not only does he just look so friggin' loveable but he's also just a loveable character in general in Twilight Princess. The gameplay here is pretty good, in my opinion Wind Waker HD plays much better than Twilight Princess HD; with Wind Waker the controls just feel tighter, and the overall game feels a bit more polished in terms of gameplay quality. Especially in terms of gyro controls, because man did they suck in this game to the point where I just had to turn them off; never had that problem in Wind Waker. Now that doesn't mean that Twilight Princess' gameplay isn't good by any means, combat is pretty fun, I loved using items like the Double Clawshot or the Gale Boomerang, or even that large ball and chain items, and don't forget that awesome spinning top item that barely ever got used. I mean, a lot of items here felt underutilized, they were mainly only ever used in the dungeons you got them in, and then they never become all too important after that, although the City in the Sky used the Double Clawshots so much to the point where I feel like that one stands out among the rest. The combat in Twilight Princess takes some inspiration from Wind Waker, especially in terms of Link's moves and how he pulls them off, although here you have to learn new moves as you progress through the game, and while there's nothing wrong with that concept, the combat seen before in Wind Waker just felt a lot more natural, whereas in Twilight Princess I barely found myself utilizing the moves I was learning throughout the game besides one or two against armored or shielded enemies. One thing that I did really like about this game was its bigger emphasis on story. The story to be had here with Midna trying to banish the Twilight and Zant from Hyrule after being casted out of her own realm and people was very interesting to see unfold, with the entire journey proving to be a great story as well. The side stories with Ilia and the kids from Ordon was also something I found myself being invested into, acting as a great motivation to continue the adventure. Zant was an amazing new villain to add to the fold, not only is he insanely intimidating, but also makes his presence very known throughout the events of the story, although I do wish he showed up a little bit more often. I do like the backstory they give both him and Ganondorf, and how the two are tied together after Ganondorf essentially became a cloud of pure malice after being killed and banished to the Twilight Realm. I do wish we could have gotten to see more Ganondorf before the climax of the game, besides that awesome flashback of course. I feel like it would have made that fairly awesome climax that much more better. It also sucks that Zelda was barely in the story until the end as well. Side note, I did not really like the final boss here, but as I said, the climax in general as great. Midna proved to be such a great side character and companion in this game, not only pushing the story along with her tricky and mysterious motivations, until she finally decides to actually be a hero to both the Light and Twilight Realms, which made me immediately like her character much much more after that event in the story happened. The music in this game, in my opinion, is something that is lacking when compared to other entries in the Zelda franchise. I just don't think that Twilight Princess has as many amazing tracks as Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, Minish Cap, A Link to the Past, etc., etc. The only real banger here is Hyrule Field, both of Zant's themes, and the Malo Mart theme (which I don't really count as its a one-off in the soundtrack). Besides that, everything else that's good is just a new version of a previously existing track. But for real though, Zant's themes are so creepy and menacing, and they fit so perfectly for the character the few times they get to play. One thing I noticed about Twilight Princess was just how much inspiration it takes from Ocarina of Time in terms of its structure, world, adventure, feel, and overall design, while also dragging in elements of dark creepiness from Majora's Mask. I know I'm a lone wolf (no pun intended) when it comes to not liking Ocarina of Time as much as a lot of other games in the series, but I feel like being so tied and inspired by that game dragged this game down just a little bit. Sure it has its own identity, but Twilight Princess is clearly trying to be the next Ocarina of Time, not the next 3D Zelda, ya know? Speaking of lone wolves, am I one of a few people who actually likes Wolf Link in this game? In my opinion it brings a fresh new gameplay element to add to the mix, providing a lot of decent moments where the normal pace is broken and you get to continue and progress in this different gameplay style. And while I will say that combat isn't nearly as good as Wolf Link, traversing around the world feels much better and faster. So yeah, I think Wolf Link was a pretty decent inclusion, although not as great as sailing around on the King of Red Lions. I'm not all too familiar on what changes were made between the originals and this HD remaster on Wii U, but from what I understand, this is a pretty decent remaster. This is just straight up the best version of Twilight Princess, the graphics and textures have been slightly updated into a nice HD resolution that keeps the same feel as the original versions, and the quality of life improvements that I've noticed are absolutely great, take for instance the increased Rupee count when upgrading wallets. Overall, I'd say Twilight Princess was a fun time, but there were and are definitely better Zelda experiences to be had. While the amount of story was great, I feel like it could have been even better; and while the creepy and dark attributes are very welcome, I feel like the overall art style could have been improved, especially Link's stupid cutscene face; and lastly, I feel like the gameplay and overall experience could have been more polished to make an even greater Zelda title. That isn't to say that this wasn't great, but it definitely didn't become one of my favorites.