ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 พ.ค. 2024
- A Zelda game that deserves way more attention and love. These are my thoughts on Twilight Princess!
Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
2:47 - Development/Personal History
7:29 - Twilight Princess HD
9:50 - The Three Versions
15:21 - The Story
25:34 - A Dull First Impression & A Defense of Linearity
32:02 - The Combat
34:53 - The Twilight & Wolf Link
38:08 - The World of Twilight Princess
41:48 - The Dungeons & Bosses
49:52 - Closing Thoughts
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Footage sources:
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#TwilightPrincess #Zelda #Review - เกม
![ตั๋วเมีย (ຕົວະເມຍ) - SOMBATH.97 Ft. YOUD SALAVAN [ Official music video ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/GV6qHagpp50/mqdefault.jpg)
Midna has her own musical leitmotif, story arc, villain she slays, and realm to save. Midna and Link were dual protagonists years before the "current saga". That story, the swordplay, music, dungeons, and the grittier aesthetics are what still bring me back to Twilight Princess.
Yes. Yes. Yes and yes.
That’s also what makes Link and Midna’s relationship so great. They help each other conquer their demons and save each other’s realms. They never would have succeeded without each other.
I still don’t get why midna never re-appeared :/
@@XxMiNeCaRtPhOeNixX because twilight princess has an ending
I'm on a Zelda video binge and I keep seeing your comments, so I just wanted to say that your icon is from one of my favorite games of all time.
I was so scared first time defeating the Yeti-Boss, because usually Bosses drop a heart container indicating they died, but instead, I was relieved to see the heart container is produced by their love and they remain both alive. The thought of murdering one of the friendly Yetis at their home was one of the most horrofying elements throughout the game, despite a lot of other dark games. The eerie atmopshere of the dungeon just added to that something horrible might happen at the end. But it turns out all right.
Personally, I love how long the intro is! It starts off peaceful and calm and really allows you to get to know the world and people you are saving and gives you reason to care when that peace is destroyed. And the wolf link section is very fun and gives you a totally different perspective of world you’ve become familiar with! I never even realized there were people who didn’t like the wolf link mechanic when it’s easily one of the best parts of the game, in my opinion.
As someone who is a big fan of Link to the Past, it was like being transported to the Dark World as bunny Link, but actually having stuff to do and later getting an option to enter this mode on command.
I can see why everyone wouldn’t be a fan, but it’s perfect for a player like me that loves to explore everything and talk to everyone and loves to just spend time just existing in the game world rather than constant battles and challenges.
The true charm of Twilight Princess, for me, is in the goat herding and your fellow villagers and collecting bugs for Agatha. As epic as certain sections can be (Midna nearly dying, the Skeleton dragon), I wouldn’t have enjoyed the game even half as much if it had lacked in the quieter sections that others may have found boring.
I love that in every Twilight Princess retrospective I listen too, every single creator concludes their introduction by turning up the volume at the end of the TP theme and gives us a few seconds to just sit there and listen. The nostalgia and goosebumps I get everytime I listen to a retrospective are unlike anything else
Twilight Princess is unashamedly my favourite Zelda. I get all the flaws, I get all the frustrations, and I can't blame anyone for those things being deal-breakers for them, but I adore this game. Midna in particular remains one of my favourite characters across the series. Still hoping for a Switch port.
There is a small feature that I love where if you put your sword away at the right time after a battle, Link will do a little flourish when he sheaths it to go along with the victory fanfare. I still try to time my "Put Away" action when I'm playing TotK, and still get disappointed
Always love doing that, so stylish.
I don’t think I’ll ever understand the whole “graphics didn’t age well” argument. It’s a game that came out on the Wii, of course it doesn’t look amazing by todays standards. It’s not like it was trying to be photorealistic
I mean, it was originally developed for the GameCube and was only hastily ported to the Wii.
It's odd to me people even think it was meant to be photorealistic in the first place. It always seemed to be intended to be anime high fantasy. It's definitely not and never was photorealism. It's painterly, but gritty "semi-realism", just like the concept art.
My favorite game
Edit thanks for all the likes
Same!
Ditto
😎👍
My first Zelda game. I played almost all of them now and Twilight princess is my favorite
Totk beats it but tp and botw will always be battling in my mind for 2nd place
My first Zelda game. I was enthralled from the beginning. One of the few Zelda games that I got 100% of all the collectibles. I was that hooked.
My boy, Wolf Link in BOTW, amazing little helper. How is he in TOTK?
TOTK: (Packs of meat)
Me:....Look how they massacred my boy.
Wolf Link didn't survive the Upheaval.
Just yesterday I was making a list of my favorite games ever and shared it with a friend, he asked me why I picked Twilight Princess over Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom. I said that although both games are addictive and fun to get lost, I love the whole atmosphere in TP, the OST, Link's role in this Hyrule and the overall experience after all, it's the game that made me finally fall in love with the series.
I personally liked the slow intro, it helped me emotionally connect to Link and the other residents of Ordon Village, I'm pretty sure that's what it was called anyway. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was my first Zelda game, as well as my favorite Zelda game, by far, even after dumping over 200 hours into BoTW, and 100+ hours into ToTK. I recently got the opportunity to revisit Twilight Princess after being gifted a Wii, and I enjoy it even more now, mainly because of the beautiful atmosphere and OST, and I personally think that the graphics are still great, especially for a game that was released shortly before *I* was released 😂. Honestly, there is little to nothing more that I would love than for Nintendo to port Twilight Princess HD to the Switch, or even for them to remake it.
My favorite of the ‘linear’ Zeldas. Fantastic dungeons, an epic narrative, and an aesthetic unique against the rest of the series. Happy to see you did the game justice here. I enjoyed hearing your takes
36:27 I dunno if it was the mood I was in at the time, but I actually cried over how sad that whole situation was.
At the same time the start of the sequence is SO beautifully executed. The way you turn around after Telma goes inside, and unexpectedly see this spirit who wordlessly leads you to the cemetery as Serenade Of Water plays in the background (which also brings up heavy nostalgia from Ocarina Of Time).
Like you said though, I couldn’t imagine being in Link’s position in terms of having to pass her message on to that poor young boy, who wakes up to not only the news that he’d lost his mother, but also having the responsibility of being the new Zora King thrust upon him as well. ‘Heavy is the head that wears the crown’ definitely applies in this case. 😢
I can still say this is my favorite Zelda game. Even after no-lifing Tears of the Kingdom.
Same here
Tears was legitimately a glorified DLC...😢
@jesusalonso2179 u need to play the game more if u think it was a dlc lol well worth the cost of a new game
Yeah even while playing tears I was still salty this isn’t on the switch
@tolkienblack completely agree. I emulated it and went straight into hero mode. Such an awesome experience.
Good review!
I honestly cant understand how people nowadays love Wind Waker so much and many tend to hate on Twilight.
I think Twilight is miles ahead of Wind Waker in almost every metric.
hard disagree. It think the downwards trajectory with 3D Zelda games started with WindWaker, but was way more noticeable in Twilight Princess.
Both games wasted your time with pointless moving from one end of the map to the next, but while in WW it was complemented by the theming, in TP it was just superficial roadblocks.
TP also had you sit through a lot needlessly overblown cutscenes. There were some really good moments in TP but too often it distracted from gameplay and exploration with pointless dialogue or establishing shots.
It underutilized its main gimmick
The new items had next to no use outside of their dedicated dungeon rooms
The new villain was discarded way too quickly just give Ganon the spotlight
It had a ton of shallow mechanics instead of actually fleshing out a good handful
It is by no means a bad game, but when compared to the other 3D Zelda games, it's in the lower half
@@UnicornStorm
While i do agree with some of your points, i still think the best parts of TP triumphs the bad parts.
TP has some of the best story/characters and overall dialogue of any zelda game with Midna and the capitalist Child being highpoints.
The dungeons are the best in the series, the music has its own feel and identity.
Wind waker on the other hand has the worst dungeons of any zelda game other than Tears of the kingdom and maybe Botw. Its overworld is boring with all the water, you feel limited exploring on a frigging boat all the time. I do like the Islands though and the music and story are wonderful.
I find both of the gamecube ones a bit rocky but TP is honestly the only Zelda game I don't like
This, the art style of wind waker is so off-putting as well 😅 that could just be me but it just looks... Bad, it's the "toon" eyes, they look so off.
TP is not nearly as good as WW. Never liked the “adult” theme which to me was bad taste immature teenage stuff. Same people that thought call of duty was “mature and cool”. So when the reviewer says “what the fans wanted” that isn’t true. At least not to us older Zelda fans that were old enough to not feel insecure about the lovely WW style.
u gotta understand zant's story needs ganondorf to be the actual big bad guy. He is just a raging kid who just wants power and puts up, at first, a facade that he is actually tough. It gets much more complex than what I'm willing to write down here but you gotta look at this again. Ganondorf is crucial to this story.
I agree
The opening for TP helps you better understand Link and on the first play through it makes you devop feelings for the character and understand what its like to be Link. It builds the characters and does more for the story. 1st play its amazing.
Words can never describe how much this game means to me and what it does for me even now. I think this is the only game that actually brings me to tears whenever I listen to a track for mere seconds. I won’t claim it’s a flawless game by all means, but TP is gorgeous and the dungeons are just phenomenal. The story still stands out to me and Midna is just the best companion we’ve ever had. The final battle is my favorite in the series and pretty much set the standard. I also think Ganondorf added in TP was actually pretty cool. It makes sense to me because this Link is a descendant of Oot Link, so having this Ganon be filled with vengeance and spite for Link, is pretty cool ngl. It was my first Zelda, so when I got to play Oot, I didn’t really see TP as an Oot copy. The art style is also just one of my absolute favorites, that illustration of Link fighting the darknut’s is so badass. Anyway to wrap it up on my end, TP will always be my favorite Zelda, It gave me so many good memories at a time in my life when I really needed it. I wish I could share more of my experiences with this game, but this would be too long if I did. Thank you Twilight Princess, for connecting with me in a way I’ve never experienced ever again. It’s an adventure I’ll never forget, and it’s why I’m proud to call it my favorite video game of all time.
It took me a couple of days to watch this all the way through whilst working, but this is a fantastic retrospective! I can’t wait to watch the rest you’ve done - a great intro to your channel!
Twilight Princess has always been my favorite Zelda game. I got it, with a new Wii, for my 13th birthday. Before then, I had played OOT, MM, and WW, so I was familiar with the franchise and had pretty high hopes for TP. I immediately fell in love with it, even with the terribly long intro/demo section. I'm a sucker for linear, story-based games that give you a set list of tasks to complete, and TP gave me just that. Not only that, but Midna is the only companion character that doesn't drive me crazy, making for a much more pleasant experience.
Twilight Princess is a super interesting game. Sometimes I think of it as one of the weaker Zelda's, but whenever I actually play it I'm always impressed by how well it all comes together. The combat, boss fights, and dungeons especially are exceptional. There's just so much to love about this game, even though there are a few missteps. You did a great job covering this one, crazy that you've covered so many 3D Zelda's already. I'm going to be sad when this huge series of retrospectives finally ends!
Twilight Princess is Dark Souls before Dark Souls. The AI and difficulty needs tuning, besides that, the game aged like fine wine.
Having played most of these games as they came out, what people forget is how mediocre it seemed at the time. After Sony drops Shadow of the Colossus, suddenly TP has a boss where they play epic music as you hold on and jab at the monster. They "attack the eyeball" problem was getting really bad by this point, and while combat improved over Wind Waker, people were debating the differences of the Cube or Wii version controls. It was a messy time.
@@saricubra2867 I am one that does believe Dark Souls took the older Zelda formula of exploring multiple paths and being a game about exploration. In older Zelda games you could stumble across advanced dungeons or enemies early and turn around and flee until you could figure the place out. TP locked every region and area behind specific quest triggers, being such a dark game they couldn't risk also letting the players challenge themselves.
I got this for wii in 2006 when it first came out. It was, and i dont throw this word around casually like most others do, epic. It was huge. It introduced a bunch of new awesome weapons, especially the chain ball, and the spinner. Plus double hookshot. The moves you learn from the guy were amazing and the animation of link spinning the sword and sheathing it with that sound never got old. The Ganondorf fight had a bunch of stages and I felt i was defeating him with the sword skills as opposed to just slashing the shiny tail.
I enjoy the wii because it's easy to aim. I recall the town where you have to shoot all the bandits and I felt my aim was on point. To move the sword required minimal wiimote movement. It wasn't intrusive.
The graphics, hd or not, hold up more than ocarina of time. However, most console graphics hold up better than n64 in general.
One thing is for sure, this is the last traditional 3d zelda game. And they went all out with it
Skyward sword requires wii motion plus. The remake is not much better. There's something wrong with it and it's stiff and repetitive. Then BOTW goes a whole new direction
There are 4 3d traditional zelda games imo. Each are great in their own way. Twilight princess took a little from the previous 3 and packed it in. It's something for everyone
I have always said Twilight Princess is underrated.
Same. And BOTW is overrated.
@@traviscunningham7062 I wouldn’t say overrated it’s not the best thing ever made but it has a lot of strong things going for it that make it a great Zelda game. I personally think it’s OK. It’s fun and enjoyable, but gets pretty old after a while of playing. It’s the same way I feel about tears of the kingdom, it’s fine for what it is but this is a game that’s extremely underrated hands-down, the best Zelda game I’ve played since ocarina of time
Man, I remember that first trailer. It was something special.
TP is in my personal top 3, next to Majora's Mask and ALttP. I love the Zelda games with a darker tone, and TP did that perfectly.
Always love to see TP appreciation this game is incredible
My personal favorite Zelda game
41:30 it should be mentioned that whatever level of health you finish the dungeon with will carry over as the max health of your Wolf Link summon in Breath of the Wild, that seems to probably be the main appeal and purpose of the added dungeon, it's part of BotW moreso than it is an extension of TP.
Correct! I was gonna talk about this more when I get to BotW but thanks for pointing it out!
Twilight princess is really underrated and I don't get why, it's got nine big dungeons in it, two heart pieces and every dungeon, a bigger Hyrule Field, the one thing they could have done better in the field is put some side quests out there like a mini games to win heart pieces and stuff like that, but overall, not to mention the flight with ganondorf is the best ganondorf fight out of all the Zelda games, and overall, Twilight princess is my favorite Zelda game hand's down
It’s because fans will never be truly happy with anything. These are the fans that claim ocarina of time is the best legend of zelda game. So many fans have too high of an expectation when it comes to newer zelda titles that they get bitter and hateful when the game isn’t what they wanted.
So many people hate of BOTW and TOTK. These two games do have their own problems, yes, but they aren’t horrible games like so many like to claim them to be.
You can make some fans happy, but others will continue to be angry and hateful towards newer games because their expectations are set way too high.
I played Link to the Past as a child in the early 90's but eventually I drifted away from video games. As a result Twilight Princess was my first 3D Zelda game when I decided to buy a Wii Late in the systems life, It's a very special game to me and doesn't suffer from being a clone of anything. Really enjoyed your Retrospective.
That was an incredible analysis. I loved you scripted it especially. At first you showed distain because of your first impressions, but as you analysed it more you became more nuansed and realized it had decent parts.
It was satisfying to see a full character arch within a single video.
This is my fave Zelda game and it now has the best manga art and adaptation of any Zelda game. I will die on that hill the manga version of this story is beautiful
I still have 0 idea why TP get's labelled as a OoT clone/remake/whatever when it simply follows the same basic formula of: Start in hometown > collect a set of 3 things > paradigm shift > collect 6 more things> Endgame with Hyrule Castle. A formula mind you OoT just lifts from ALttP and is also used in WW. Also poo pooing on TP for narratively being a direct sequel to OoT is bizarre when WW is to.
The only Zelda game that's a massive shift in design between OoT and TP is MM. Otherwise most of the games in the series share a lot of similar elements, the 3D games especially. It really feels like a poor attempt to be dismissive towards TP at this point.
As a Zelda fan for my entire life I remember being a kid eagerly awaiting this game's release, getting frustrated by the delays to its release and playing it to death on my Gamecube, taking turns with my brother and dad.
To this day it's one of my favorite Zelda games, up there with the other 3D titles (which I overall prefer to the 2D ones). My dad was one of the people panning Wind Waker for the art style and stuff, and was very eager for Twilight Princess and its more mature style. Though a few years down the line I eventually got and played and loved it, as an adult now it's honestly difficult to say which of the Gamecube titles I'm overall more fond of since they both have a lot I love and hate about them.
Watching liking and commenting for the algorithm because this guy deserves it.
"Midna is the best companion in any Zelda game."
100% agree to that.
I LOVE Midna.
TP itself has its flaws and you can clearly see that much originally planned content got cancelled but Midna is just perfect.
I love these retrospective videos. Metroid and Donkey Kong were great but the Zelda series hit different. Maybe because of how much there are to do in each game, but you edit these vids to complete perfection. I know how much time goes into making these so thank you. I always find myself coming back and rewatching these videos. Well done my man.
Currently re-playing it rn after WW, OOT and TotK. I think it really is the best game in the franchise and most cinematic
I adore some of the dungeons in this game. House in the mountain is in my top 5 dungeons in the series
"House in the mountains" LMAO you mean the Snowpeak Ruins??
Zelda was never killed. Without the triforce of wisdom protecting her, she faded into the twilight like everyone else. When it's cleared, she returned with everyone else.
Think about it, courage let the hero remain as a wolf in twilight. Power let Ganondorf remain as an entity of pure power/energy. And wisdom let's the holder continue with their normal form. Hence midna being able to exist physically in our realm once it was handed to her.
Zelda was alive. She was just trapped in twilight.
I couldn’t say enough good about this game; from story to gameplay, pacing, and world.
I love it all and I’ll buy it a fourth time all over. GameCube, Wii, WiiU HD, now switch.
I feel like Twilight Princess’ biggest criticism is that it was made dark to appease the fans of Ocarina. Well, what’s wrong with that? I was an 80’s kid and grew up playing Zelda on the NES/SNES/N64 era, so by the time the GameCube came out, I was a teenager, and Twilight Princess quickly became one of my favourite game of all time!
I love Wind Waker, but the more realistic and darker tone gave the game a better sense of adventure with danger and serious stakes. I didn’t feel like I was playing through a cartoon. When I complete Twilight Princess, I feel like I’ve just finished an epic story.
Wind Waker has aged well, and I do love that art style. But I’ve always preferred the more realistic Zelda.
Just played twilight princess for the first time on wii, don't really know how it compares to the gamecube experience, nonetheless, had a blast with this beauty and watching this video after playing it fully myself, just makes me appreciate the game even more ❤
Wonderful retrospect. Absolutely love this game - on par with OOT and BOTW for me - and I even learned new things about it from your video. Thanks so much for sharing.
See the thing with Zelda disappearing and coming back at the end would have made perfect sense if the castle were already covered in twilight during her sacrifice to Midna. The game had already well established that living light beings were not visible in the twilight outside of their souls remaining as spiritual flames (that Link could see as people with his wolf senses). So if Zelda had simply sacrificed her spirit and powers to amid a in the curtain of Twilight then neither Link nor Midna would have been able to see her body fall to the ground as her spirit and magical powers would be gone and nothing would remain for her to be perceived in the cloud of twilight. She would still 'disappear' after sacrificing her life, but her comatose body would still physically exist in the castle walls if there were twilight shadowing it.
The reason I think it's so confusing and feels weird for her to come out of nowhere is because the game didn't follow a set of logic where it would make complete sense with the established rules of the world.
Beautifully reviewd, loved every second of this video! It makes me want to go back and replay TP to experience the story again and appreciate some of the finer details!
Twilight Princess is not only excellent, it has aged well. It's the only old Zelda I still want to play on occasion besides Link to the Past and Links Awakening. No other Zelda can match its dungeons or sense of scale. Even BOTW/TOTK don't quite feel as rich because so much of their space isn't just empty, but doesn't even vibe with atmosphere the way TP's world does. It's also the best Zelda game STORY.
I think what most of us don't realize is the difference between Miyamoto Zelda versus Aonuma Zelda.
Wind Waker is 100% Aonuma Zelda. I suspected that from the beginning, but after recently learning how Miyamoto had no idea about toon Link to begin with makes much more sense today.
When it comes to Twilight Princess, we're seeing Aonuma cave to the "realistic" idea of Link he doesn't really want in his vision. Miyamoto, on the other hand, wanted this from the beginning. As time goes on, it's evident that OoT as a whole and TP Link's design is a product of what Miyamoto's Zelda compares to Aonuma.
Fast forward to today, we see Aonuma's Zelda take reign with how he thinks it should be. If we were to experience a Miyamoto game one more time, we might see another 3D Alttp.
Because I consider OoT a 3D Alttp honestly, we could see something to that vein.
twilight princess is my favourite zelda game. i might not have played that many to have an educated opinion, but i've almost finished skyward sword, started and half finished ocarina of time twice and am currently playing breath of the wild.the fact that twilight princess gripped me the way it did and made me WANT to finish it in like 3 days means a lot and i just don't get how few people actually care for the game. to me it's an absolute masterpiece
Am loving this video and just found out you made multiple videos on Zelda? Looking forward to watching them all! Great stuff man!
What an incredible look at my favorite game ever made. Excellent video!
Good review, I'm sure we've all watched many similar videos if we find ourselves here. Your channel should grow and will with content like this. Good job dude!
Im actually replaying Twilight Princess for the umpteenth time. It will always be my favorite game. 20:49 this is actually my ringtone
The opening for this game gives me goosebumps every phucking time, I love it so much
Damn what an amazing and impressive review/retrospective, I also love Twilight Princess! Instant sub bro, keep it up :D Already waiting for your Link's Awakening review, my favorite (and first) game of all time.
Twilight princess is my favorite video and Zelda game. I was obsessed with it as a kid, to the point I don’t even know how many times I’ve played it.
Everything about it was so awesome. The dungeons, the characters, the items, all of it is amazing.
And that’s not even mentioning the atmosphere of the game, the mystery of the twilight, the combat, the music, I also liked the slow start and the wolf parts.
I’ve also never had a problem with the motion controls, they always worked fine for me and they let you string a couple moves together.
There is also Midna and her whole character arc. Where else do you get a dethroned princess from another dimension working with someone who could very well be her enemy to save her people. And who grows to care about the people of the light realm
To address your complaint about Gannondorf and Zant: That was the whole point. Zant was nothing, he wanted to be king but was rejected because the Twili saw his lust for power. And I forgot when it happens but Midna hints early in the game that he suddenly got a power boost and took over. During the attack in the spring Zant mocks the power of the fused shadow and says the power of his god is greater, foreshadowing that there is another player out there. It’s not until the end of the arbiters grounds that we learn that not only is Gannondorf in the game but he has the Triforce of power and that he shared it with Zant.
And when we beat Zant we learn that Ganondorf is back and that was the reason the barrier went up around the castle. So he was properly foreshadowed to be the endgame because without him Zant would never have been able to do what hi did
The fall after this game was released on the wii, my grandfather gifted my brother and I a wii with this game and some others. I ended up playing this game so much and it was one of the very first games I actually played and put a lot of hours into. This game was my childhood.
Loved your vid as always!
At the beginning when talking about the perception of how Twilight was received, im sure you aren’t just making something up lol (obviously) but it’s wild to hear you say the reactions were so mixed cause I’ve always heard from friends and acquaintances that it’s one of the best Zelda’s, I thought so as well.
That said with Wind Waker, you hit the nail on the head. Most people (including myself) didn’t appreciate it for the masterpiece it was when it first released and I’m just happy it’s come to be regarded as the great game it is.
Surprised to only see 6k subs, nice video looking forward for more
I just beat the game for the second time since 2013. To me it's exactly what a Zelda game needs to be in terms of characters and atmosphere. Majora's Mask is still my favorite, but that's more of a personal choice, which I don't expect everyone to understand. But Twilight Princess is to me the quintessential Zelda experience.
45:13 EVEN FLOOOW, THOUGHTS AROUND LIKE BUTTERFLIES
In my opinion Twilight Princess is way better than Wind Waker I've finished both 100% and I still think TP is better better art style better dungeons don't get me wrong WW is great but also I'm not a fan of Tetra I think a return of Sheik would have been better
Yeah, I have a huge soft spot for Wind Waker but I do think Twilight Princess is better, if only for its dungeons. I don't usually hear people saying they don't like Tetra.
49:45
Those hitboxes though. 3 stabs to the back, no damage.
One of my favourite games ever!
Fantastic atmosphere, an otherworldy OST (Twilight Realm is god tier).
Great work as usual dude!
Twilight Princess is..probably my favorite (though I will admit to also loving the 3DS Majora’s Mask so feel free to take my opinion with some salt 😅). Skyward Sword is the only 3D one I haven’t played (I tried the HD one, but I primarily play handheld and it drove me crazy that you lose easy access to the camera control that way), and I think they have all been interesting, and do what they set out to do pretty well. But Twilight Princess hit a lot of right notes for me, a lot of which you highlighted here in the combat, dungeons, aesthetics, story+music. The graphics honestly never bothered me that much.
And wow at the difference in prices between the Gamecube and Wii versions. I’m really glad I had the Gamecube version from way back when, though I do prefer the HD.
Great retrospective.
You can actually use the camera in Skyward Sword HD by holding the L button when playing with the button-only controls. Doesn't feel very good though, in my opinion.
Yeah, I definitely struggled with it when I first tried it. Might be worth trying again now that I have the split pad pro and can maybe find some comfort in the bottom buttons for something.
I think that, while it’s a tad lazy, Twilight Princess being a retread of Ocarina of Time in terms of story structure makes sense. Wind Waker also had a similar structure to Ocarina of Time, it was just less obvious because of the vastly different art style and world. Both Wind Waker and Twilight Princess are the first we see of the two different Hyrules left behind in Ocarina of Time’s wake, so it sort of makes sense that the new hero’s journey would look so similar to the Hero of Time’s. The new Hero is facing similar trials that the old faced so we can see that these new heroes are truly worthy of being called heroes. Literally in Wind Walker’s case.
I remember watching the E3 trailer and getting teary eyed because I was so excited for Twilight Princess to finally hit the market. Then, when the fated day arrived, I swear I ended up being in a state of pure cathartic bliss each and every moment of the introduction.
I don't care if people hate the Ordon section...playing this game even with the long introduction is still a joy to this day. God I love this game.
I loved this vid and thought it was so interesting bc twilight (gamecube) has been my favorite game since it released and still is now that I'm old enough to analyze it and think you're refreshingly spot on about so many things. I especially loved your throwaway comment and the comments around how not even children are safe in this Hyrule, and then the sequence where ... well, link almost loses Midna, and then kills off the twilight princess. The game really feels like it's supposed to / can represent the trauma of transitioning (transforming) from an adult to a child, and I think you allude to that when you mention he has a personal stake. He has to grow up and protect the village kids etc and learns to care for Midna, just like she learns to care for him and his world. I also think Ilia's story solidifies the game being abt trauma but ! so many of your criticisms and compliments are spot on and i'm really happy to see twilight princess given the love and clap back it deserves. The linearity is its strength here in that regard because you feel the relationships develop slowly and subtly so you also learn with the character.
Forgot this existed until recently. Definitely needs a replay! So interesting looking back on these games after all these years !
Twilight Princess til this day is my favorite Zelda Game❤
The parallel with Xant being a coward submissive to a greater power and taking the appearance of a cold strong cliché dangerous villain was part of the story between a true leader in constrast with the learning empathic Twilight Princess Midna.
The fact that xant doesn't exist without power meanwhile Midna exists as more of a shadow through the sacrifice of Zelda is pretty good storytelling. Xant is a perfect villain.
As a kid I was not impressed with the more "realistic" design aesthetic of Twilight Princess. I'll always gravitate towards games with a more colorful palate, Like Mario Galaxy and Windwaker, and the dark/muddy look of this game caused me to ignore it for years despite the positive feedback I've heard. That said, my fairly recent discovery of my love for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy made me want to give this game a chance and I've really enjoyed what I've played so far (I'm up to the Arbiter's Grounds). Just goes to show how time and exposure to new ideas can change your mind on something.
It's my favorite Zelda title. Growing up, I never heard anyone say an unkind word about it. In fact, I had no idea it was so (supposedly) ill-received till literally the past couple of years. Did I miss something, or is this what it feels like to have too much fun to notice what the haters say? Lol
Love your content as always man! It’s interesting watching your take on these games, especially since you came into the franchise just a few years later than I did (my first Zelda was Oracle of Ages).
I think another thing that really hurt Twilight Princess, and maybe Skyward Sword even more so, was that they were released in 480p with low-res textures in 2006 and 2011. By this point, I suspect many critics and fans already had HDTVs and large screens to game on, where the games would look their ugliest.
To your point, the HD remasters really made a huge improvement to these games’ presentation, in addition to the quality of life improvements. I personally have always loved Twilight Princess, but it helped that when I first played it on Wii, it was on an old box TV.
Duuuude! You need more subs. That was PHENOMENAL!
Me and my sister watched my mom play through this game with a guide, that was my first Zelda experience so this game will always be special
Great video. Great game. I love how every sequence is made to feel unique and relevant to the story's world. For example, after learning of the Interlopers' banishment due to irresponsible use of magic, you start to notice that all of Link's items and abilities are mechanical and skill based. Also the dungeons seem like they really exist as functional places, rather than an improbable series of puzzles that are there just because 'video game'. Midna and Zant are amazing. And of course when Ganondorf dies but doesn't fall over. Epic.
Love this series!
Marathoning your Zelda retrospectives has kept me company as I tracked down the remaining Korok seeds in BotW this week. (I started BotW a little over a year ago & want to 100% my current file before graduating to TotK.)
I’ve been equipping the various amiibo tunics/weapons that match the games as you’re talking about them & riding Epona to each zone for peak vibes. 👌
It’s taken a while but I’m glad to say all 900 have been found (plus Hestu’s, lol).
Time to finally face Calamity Ganon (sorry Zelda) and tie up any loose ends. Looking forward to more marathoning to come during the loose ends. 👍
I love twilight princess.I love midna She's probably my favorite guide character even though we hated her for so long... It has one of my favorite tools the spinner.... I found that so underutilized.... But I look forward to being able to play that again.
Hi! I was in entering my college years when Windwaker first came out and while I did find the change in graphics jarring, I definitely wanted to give the game a chance, especially since I really didn't like Majora's Mask (could never get far due to the time mechanic and that's my biggest pet peeve in gaming). Needless to say I really enjoyed WW, even though I would still rank OoT over it. Now I WAS hype though for Twilight Princess though, but I didn't want to play it on the Wii because I didn't want to think about the motion controls. So imagine my relief when I heard it was getting a Gamecube port too. I am going to say this right now, TP is my fav Zelda game and one of my fav games of all time.
Here's why I love the game-
1. It's Linear style of gameplay. I am one of those people who is just used to this kind of format in a game because it's mostly what I grew up with from DK on Atari to JRPGs on the PS consoles. In fact, one of my biggest complaints about Breath of the Wild was it's open world nature, there's TOO much to do and nowadays I don't want to waste time exploring and having to find what I need. I prefer simple in this case.
2. Best collection of dungeons- I enjoyed every dungeon of this game, except for one and it's my least favorite Zelda dungeon (Twilight Palace, I HATE the parts when that stupid hand chases you). What TP did was take iconic items like the boomerang, clawshot, and even ironboots and reinvented them. It also introduced fun new items like the spinner and ball o' chain that were fun to use in the dungeons.
3. Best companion- Midna is amazing and I honestly was surprised to learn she was the Twilight Princess. I loved her and Link's relationship develops too.
4. I felt like I was actually saving Hyrule- In this game, I actually felt like I was saving the land. Like one complaint I had about OoT was it didn't feel like I had saved the Zoras after beating the Water Temple. Here, I actually get to save Zora's Domain. I do think it helped that the tone of the game was dark too and it had chars that made me want to help them.
5. Best Final Boss- Still my fav fight against Ganondorf.
6. Plenty of great Story moments- Getting Ilya's memory back, Zelda getting the light arrows, Link on top of Epona on that bridge after a battle, etc.
A minor lore bit I loved about TP, they give a really good reason for Link to wear the green outfit, it was the same outfit from ocarina of time Link, so it makes it a bit more special than every link just coming with a green outfit straight from the get go
As someone who enjoyed TP but preferes WW or even some parts of SS, I liked the video a lot! It's a bit bitter after beating totk and being utterly dissapointed by it's progression/story/narrative. I hope the series remember what was good about these and try again, or other companies try to do something alike.
TP is to me what OoT is to a lot of older Zelda fans. It was my first Zelda game and it remains my favorite, in an extremely sentimental and highly beloved game to me. I will be the first to admit the opening is 'slow' but as a child I really did not care, and I still don't. I spent a lot of childhood summers playing this game over. And over. And over. And over again. As in, I can confidently say I replayed it at least 50 times, if not more. I had 800 hours on one file at one point on my first Wii, and then I bought another Wii after my first one died just to keep playing it. And I'd do it again. All that to say, I have a lot of passion for this game, but I think you hit the nail on the head and addressed a lot of the sore points people had regarding the OG and the remake. So I appreciate the work that went into this vid.
Easily the best game for any sort of TV adaptation as it allows for fans to want more for some prequels (OOT and MM). The best story, presentation, and world building in the franchise. Can’t get over this game. Makes no sense to me why it didn’t get GOTY.
Still mind-blowing to me, that for the WW and TP HD remakes for Wii U didn't run at 60 fps. Such beautiful remasters yet a straight slideshow to play. A true shame and it really takes from the gameplay.
this was my first Zelda game when I was a kid and made me fall in love wthe series! Maybe because ima gen Z baby and grew up w/a Wii instead of n64 but my first time playing this @ 9 10 yrs old I’ll never forget. I remember crying @ the end when Midna broke the mirror. I fell in love w/Midna and her story and how she changes over the game. I’ve never cried 4 a movie or a game but I fell in love w/everything about the game. I’m a grown man who listens to r&b and rap and the sound tracc of this game still is in my playlist and brings me bacc to my childhood for a min or 2 while listening to certain sound tracks. My favorite Zelda game and tbh I believe it’s the best but I can understand the OoT and MM and BotW being better for innovation to the series but nothing imo will compare to this game
14:47 in my experience the biggest timesaver in twilight sections is not because the is less bugs, but that you can collect them instantly after killing the bugs. In GameCube version, you had to wait a couple of seconds for the tear to form after killing it until you can collect it. This makes the hd version flow much better which I think a lot of people felt but didn't realize it was because of this mechanic.
This is by far my favorite Zelda game at this point in time. It definitely has its flaws, but makes up for it brilliantly.
The thing that makes this my favorite Zelda game is its atmosphere. Compared to some other Zelda games, it almost feels like it is a horror or thriller game. You almost always see the game in a dark setting, even when it is daytime. My parents played this game and I loved watching it, but as a child I was terrified of playing it, that's how spooky it feels to play.
I liked Ganondorf coming in. It was good to see the contrast between the Gannondorf humbled by a child in WW vs the one in TP who'd lost before he even began and still ahd all that bitterness built up.
Twilight Princess will forever be my favourite Zelda game. And I'll die on that hill.
To be more precise...
I've been playing 3D Zelda games since the 90s. I grew up with OoT, MM and then WW. When TP came out, I was hyped. I immediately fell in love with the design, the more mature tone, the music, everything.
I enjoyed WW as a game, it was fun to play, but I wasn't such a huge fan of the childish design and I also was never a huge fan of playing Child-Link. In OoT, I always preferred the parts where I could play with Adult-Link. So with TP, I finally had my Zelda game completely with Adult-Link.
The way he was designed with the more natural colored hair, his darker green tunic, also the design of Zelda... to this day, TP is my favourite portrayal of Link and Zelda. Same for Ganondorf. He has never looked this badass as he looked in TP.
I played TP on the Gamecub, so I always had Link with his Sword on the left hand.
Imagine my disappointment after Skyword Sword was released and they changed the design. The design was simplified and the colours were so... I don't know... pretty, but yet what drew me to TP was the darker, earthy, more natural tones.
I have played BotW, when it comes to the design of the game, I feel the same about it as I felt about SS. To me it looked like the unholy child of SS and WW (only talking about the design). Not a huge fan. All in all I'm not a huge fan of BotW, and I didn't play (not planning to) TotK. To me, BotW is a weak Zelda game.
I have to disagree on your comments about the intro of TP. This intro helps you to understand the world you're playing in, to understand Link, to form a bond with the villagers and the kids and to understand why Link has to do what is to be done. The slow pace is, in my opinion, also a very welcome variety of so many fast paced games and stories. We live in a fast paced world and to rake some time to get into a story, into a fantasy world, to understand what's going on, is something I really appreciate.
Link isn't just saving the kids and Hyrule because he's the chosen one, he has an actual motive, an actual reason to fight.
All in all, I am happy that TP is getting more love recently. I'm still disappointed that Nintendo is not releasing it for the Switch.
I got TP after falling in love with OoT and MM. I love how it is deeply connected to those beloved games. I love this game. Thank you for this video
Love your retrospective-videos. Earned my subscribtion! Looking forward to the botw one :)
I lean positively with Ganon being the antagonist. It does played in how much of a false king he is with him relying on Ganon’s help, his boss battles he mostly mimic past bosses rather battle under his own power, and when he start fighting with his own swordsmanship, it shows his naivety. It emphasize how much more of a ruler Midna truly is
To me, this is the absolute best game in the franchise, for one reason in particular ... Midna ! In my opinion, she is the best written character in the whole series. It break my heart every time i finish it, knowing that i'll never see her again. Also, the story is nice, the music is perfect, the dungeons are top tier and the combat feels amazing. Exept maybe on horseback sometimes. That aside, amazing video! I'm going to watch more! :D
Quite an interesting introduction:
"Zelda fans were uncultured and didn't appreciate the masterpiece that WW was, so Nintendo had to make an edgier Zelda game."
Thank you for this clearly unbiased take...
In actuality, people did not like the sudden shift to the cartoonish art-style of WW and wanted something that was closer to MM.
TP answered this request.
Also, while TP is darker and more gritty than WW; it is hardly "edgy".
zant not being the final boss is precisely what makes him such an interesting character. The subversion of who you initially expected him to be is what makes him a compelling villain. He has no identity of his own and is in a constant state of identity crisis because of it, and it makes his character that much more deep. Ganondorf's inclusion in the game only makes Zant's character development better.
I'm a big man and i never get emotional when playing video games. This game had me tear up when Midna got nuked by Zant. Felt like i was losing a friend while you carry her on your back to try and save her. I was legit mad at the clown guy with the funny sleeves and it made the fight against him that much more satisfying to win.
This game has a shared nr1 spot with OoT just for the experience and storytelling alone.
Breath of the who? Tears of the what?
Finally watched through. Terrific job. A few thoughts:
1) You make a great point about Zelda--having her sacrifice be complete and permanent may well have been the right call. Giving her a more active role at the end wasn't awful, though, and she didn't have much face time before the sacrifice with just two scenes...
2) I agree that Ganondorf and Zelda at the end feels shoe-horned and slightly nostalgia-hungry. But instead of keeping out the big bad, I argue that Ganondorf and Zelda's presence at the end should have been explained better, probably with a "Meanwhile" style extra cut-scene after Dungeon 5 or 6. Ganondorf is actually very important to Zant's character. Finding out that the imposing invader is a desperate crybaby with borrowed power is really key to the story and super entertaining as he melts down right through his final battle with you. I don't see how that could have played out without a greater source of evil around the corner.
3) At first, I bristled against your lukewarm reaction to the story, but we're definitely on the same page that where the drama really excels is in the interactive cinematic action that the linear gameplay allows. It's quite possible I'm biased into thinking that the story is fantastic because this is maybe the best game ever in terms of immersing you in its plot.
4) You nailed the uncontrovertible: the dungeons are awesome especially Arbiter's Grounds and Snowpeak, the beginning is problematic gameplay-wise especially for replays, and Midna is hands-down the best helper character in the franchise, quite possibly the best character period.
5) I'm a hard core Wii version guy--Am I the only one that's so into the interactive elements of the game that I'll get off my butt and swing that Wii-mote like my life depends on it when facing nasty enemies? I mean, come on, who cares if precision doesn't matter, all the better! It's fun!
Well, Zelda never dies, actually. When Midna and Link first visit her, she is visibly in the room. When they visit her after Lanayru, the room is visibly empty. The place she appears from in the cutscene is empty, too.
There's a concept in Japanese folklore that is roughly equivalent to what we can think of as "astral projection" or "out-of-body experiences". The "bunshin" is a sort of spirit phantom that a mystical person can send out to speak with people. I think the second visit, Midna's desperate hour, has Zelda's bunshin meet with them while her body is being hung up (and in all probability tortured) in the throne room. The bunshin then fuses with Midna, thus lending Midna Zelda's strength to recover from Zant using her as a shield against Lanayru.
Thus, once Midna cleanses Zelda's body from Ganondorf's spirit, Zelda's spirit returns from within Midna.
This game blew my mind. I remember liking it when I was a teenager on wii but I always played blind and got stuck. My friend sometimes came over and helped me. I recently just got my wii out of storage and got this game again. MAN THIS GAME IS SO GOOD!!! Breathe of the wild got me into zelda again. Tears of the kingdom wasn't my cup of tea so far. I just hate the building mechanic surprisingly. This game tho blew me away. I never knew it was so dang good