Product Description

When an evil darkness enshrouds the land of Hyrule, a young farm boy named Link must awaken the hero - and the animal - within! In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Link&rsquos life takes a sudden and dramatic turn. Raised to be a wrangler, looking after the farm&rsquos animals, Link&rsquos adventure begins when he is ordered by the mayor to attend the Hyrule Summit. As he sets off, he is oblivious to the dark fate which 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 named Midna helps him break free, and with the aid of her magic, they set off to free the land from the shadows.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #161 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Nintendo
• Released on: 2006-12-08
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Platform: Nintendo Wii
• Dimensions: 2.00 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review

In a nutshell:
The Metroid Prime trilogy comes to an end on the Wii, using not just the console’s improved graphical abilities but also the full range of the controller’s features. Half first person shooter, half Zelda style Sci-Fi adventure this is destined to be one of the best games of the next generation.

The lowdown:
The Wii remote and nunchuck have what seems like an infinite range of functions but of all the games shown so far this is the only one that seems to use every single one. Although there is still a lock-on option for attacking enemies you can now play the game more like a first person shoot ‘em-up as you target enemies instantly, just by pointing with the Wii remote. All of the buttons, including the D-pad, are used to access Samus's various abilities, which are added to with new uses for the grappling hook. This now works like a whip, allowing you to nab enemy shields by simply flicking the nunchuck (which also has a motion sensor in it) forward.

Most exciting moment:
The best bit of the lengthy E3 demo is an amazing boss fight with regular series villain Ridley, as you both fall through a giant energy shaft. Not only do you have to dodge his attacks but you have to beat him before you both end up splatted at the bottom of the shaft.

Since you ask:
The game’s graphics are noticeably improved from the GameCube titles, with much more detailed enemies and much larger game areas. There’s also a lot more enemies onscreen at once, as well as apparently friendly fellow bounty hunters.

The bottom line:
The legendary series evolves again, with the best use of the Wii’s controller yet.
HARRISON DENT

Manufacturer's Description
When an evil darkness enshrouds the land of Hyrule, a young farm boy named Link must awaken the hero and the animal within.

Game storyline:
Link, a young man raised as a wrangler in a small, 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 named Midna helps him break free. With the aid of her magic, they set off to free the land from the shadows.

Characters:
Link, Zelda, Midna and many other characters, both new and old. How to progress through the game: Link must explore the vast land of Hyrule and uncover the mystery behind its plunge into darkness. 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.

Special powers/weapons/moves/features:
Besides his trusty sword and shield, Link will use his bow and arrows, fight while on horseback and use a wealth of other items, both new and old. Players can use the Wii Remote as a fishing pole, while a spin of the Nunchuk controller executes a spin attack.

Customer Reviews

Best Zelda game hands down!
I've been a Nintendo fan as long as I can remember, and the game series of Zelda is one of, if not, the best game on Nintendo consoles throughout the years. This game is a truly great game in all categories (game play, controls, puzzles, story line... etc.)

I highly recommend this game. You are going to get your money's worth.

It's back!
I've been a fan of Zelda ever since the magnificent N64 Ocarina, even going so far as to buy a gameboy advanced just so I could have Oracle of Seasons and Time. Then Windwaker came out and I was so disappointed, it just wasn't Zelda.
This harks back to the N64 game. You start out a provincial farm boy with a wooden sword and events spiral out of control until you're fighting ultimate evil and saving the entire kingdom. You always feel sorry for Link in these things because all he wanted to do (this time at least) was go for a ride on Epona.
One of the best points of this game was definitely the charcters. They kept Link blessedly mute (sarcastic backchat is brilliant in some games but not with the Hero of Hyrule) and introduced a new 'helper' called Midna. An imp with her own agenda firmly in place that just happens to presently allign with Hyrules. As annoying as she is, the imp really grows on you and the ending really tugs on your heart strings.
The scenery was classic Zelda and truly a pleasure as was the music although Midnas warping abilities were incedibly helpful, especially with that bug quest.
The Wii remotes are sometimes a bit awkward and if you play for too long you will end up spraining your wrist with the sword flick motion but the interactiveness of it all more than makes up for it.
All in all a pleasure to play although fans of the old games may find a few things more than slightly predictable and occasionally wish for more difficult dungeons. Now that Nintendo's brought Zelda back I really hope they make another of similar quality soon... before I memorise the subquests again...
One tip: Buy the wii crossbow, you'll need it

If you only ever play one game, let it be this one
I have never played a Zelda game before. When I was a child I played Sega Mega Drive games, but never a Nintendo game. I have previously only bothered with PC games, but I bought a Wii because I liked the controls. First of all, this game is excellent and the only faults I could find with it were extremely minor. It has a puzzle-solving element, a bit like Myst (which I love) and lots of running around jumping off ledges and killing baddies, which is fun. The puzzles have just the right level of difficulty, sufficient to annoy you for a little while, but not so hard that you get sick of it and turn the Wii off. There are optional side-quests, often in similar themes to the main ones, that have more challenging puzzles. The game is beautifully designed, with fields and villages all part of a large kingdom, and it's the kind of game that allows you to explore everywhere and makes you want to, so you can play it and just ride the horse, swim, or look for hidden areas. It's also lengthly, which is even better. After playing the game and all the side quests, I racked up 100 hours.

The dialogue is shown as grunts and nonverbal noises, with the words appearing as subtitles. This is presumably because the Japanese designers wanted it to work for all languages, and it could have spoilt the Japanese characters if American voices had been dubbed in, so I prefer it this way. You can skip through animations and dialogue if you want (some games won't let you do this). The game initially starts off a bit slow and with no obvious goal, but once it gets going it is addictive. The character's name is Link, although you can call him what you like at the beginning (but he always looks the same so I don't really see the point). At the start of the game proper, Link acquires a sort of guidebook character -- a sardonic little imp thing called Midna. At first I thought this character was annoying, but she grew on me and I was a bit disappointed at the end (I won't say what happened).

Overall, this is a great game and well worth the money.