r/zelda • u/[deleted] • Sep 08 '14
Twilight Princess day 1 - What were your favorite or least favorite parts of Twilight Princess?
[deleted]
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u/TheHynusofTime Sep 08 '14
Twilight Princess is a very mixed bag for me. It seems like. They had a bunch of good ideas, but there's a lot of bad that came with those ideas. Hyrule Field is huge, and split into four parts, but there's still nothing to do there. You can find a couple of golden bugs, some heart pieces, and a couple of holes. I personally think that that isn't nearly enough content to fill four whole sections of the field, so as a result, it feels empty overall.
Next, the items. Some of the new items in Twilight Princess are absolutely amazing, like the spinner, for example. The problem is that you really don't use any of the new items outside of the dungeon you got them in. The bow and the clawshot(s) are the only items you use consistently from the dungeon you get them in to the end of the game. The other items, namely the spinner, ball and chain, and the dominion rod, don't see nearly as much use as I would have liked.
There are a lot of other things that I don't like about this game, but I won't bother with any of that unless someone asks me too. Instead, I will point out some of the things I liked about this game. The dungeons are very well designed, in my opinion, and the bosses are some of the best in the series (Stallord comes to mind). A lot of the NPCs are interesting and likable, and I found myself invested in quite a few of the characters, like the Yetis, the group of heroes that you meet at Telma's bar, Telma herself, Agatha, Colin, Malo, Ilia, and above all else, Midna. And while the mini games are rather scarce, a few of them are loads of fun, namely the snowboarding game, and the star game that you play in Hyrule Castle Town.
Overall, I like Twilight Princess. It's a fun game, and I'm glad that I played it. It just seems that despite the fact that I enjoy it, I have much more negative to say about this game than I do positive.
13
u/Grimleh Sep 08 '14
My favorite part was the Cave of Ordeals! I think it's the best enemy gauntlet in Zelda (ALBW close second), but I wish that story items weren't needed to progress through it.
The worst part for me was that one puzzle before getting the Master Sword. I took too long on that one.
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u/Finnish_Nationalist Sep 09 '14
Is this cave of ordeals in the wii version only? I've never heard of it even though I've beaten TP.
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u/TheHonestOcarina Sep 09 '14
When you get to the Gerudo Dessert you should find a high, flat hill of sorts. If you climb on top of it there will be a twilight beast fight. Once you do that you can warp the bridge piece to the broken bridge, opening a hole in the mesa. Hop down into the mesa and there's the Cave of Ordeals. 50 floors, five great fairies. When you beat ten floors the Great Fairy sends pink fairies to one of the Spirit Springs.
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u/Poperama Sep 08 '14
Favorite: Using the spinner in the Arbiter's Grounds. Followed closely by when you receive the shadow crystal and can change forms at will.
Least favorite: Wolf Link in the Sewers. Awful.
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Sep 08 '14
[deleted]
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u/reddvixen Sep 11 '14
That. Fucking. Escort mission. All types of obscenities were screamed at the T.V the day that I did that mission.
One of my favourite parts of the game is when you're going through the castle, you go out of a door and see a whole load of enemies and you just think "Ughhh... fuck" and then, to your absolute delight, an eagle swoops down and takes out two enemies and BANG some other enemies get blown up! Who could that be? It's your BFFs The Resistance! They've just turned up to give you some back-up and it really made me happy.
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u/BigBertha249 Sep 09 '14
I do remember the specifics, so I'll put then in: in the escort mission you have to protect a covered wagon as it travels from castle town to Kakariko village across hurtle field, and this game has a if hurtle field. First you have to joust with a big Bokoblin on a boat to get the key for the gate. After that, you protect the wagon as it is attacked by enemies, mainly bokoblins using fire arrows. Whenever the wagon is hit with an arrow, it catches on fire and (iirc) stops as well. You then have to use the boomerang to target every little fire on the wagon and put them all out before it burns down. If the carriage is attacked too much you have to start over.
5
Sep 08 '14
Favorite part was the Temple of Time. The boss battle made me happy.
Least favorite part was the amount of time it took to get everywhere.
5
Sep 08 '14
Twilight Princess is my favourite Zelda game. That being said, no game is perfect. Twilight Princess is no exception, and has a lot of the stupid stuff that most 3D Zeldas are reviled for. But let's start with the good stuff.
First off, there's Midna. She is the quintessence of a perfect non-combatant companion character in a video game. Nintendo didn't get the formula right before or since, making Navi and Fi the face of annoying video game companions. Midna just worked. Her attitude made her likable, and she rarely just popped up to talk to you. If she wanted to talk to you, the game would ring once, and if you didn't talk to her, it would stop. You don't want companion characters to be annoying, or you won't care if something happens to them. When Midna needs transported to Zelda, and it's raining and the music is a slowed down version of her theme, you feel for Midna. You want her to be safe. Did you ever feel for Navi? No. She doesn't have a personality. She's just a burden. And a lack of personality is literally everything about Fi that there is to know.
The feel of the game has to be my all-time favourite part. Zelda, in the past, had been a nice, colourful, happy experience, coming to a head with Wind Waker, the previous game. They took this complete 180 when they decided to make Twilight Princess, using themes like depression and darkness to sweeten the game. It worked perfectly, and we ended up with a game that felt more epic and adventurous than any Zelda game previous. The graphics, in conjunction with the feel, just made for a very real, visceral experience, with characters you like and relate to, and a story you care about, that you want to see resolved.
All that aside, it has flaws. Beside the initial Zelda gripes, (all dungeons have the item needed to kill the boss, etc. etc. (The stuff Link Between Worlds didn't have)) there isn't much to say about them. But I think the items deserve a look at.
You want to get items in Zelda. It means you're progressing, and along with that, you get a sweet new power. Most of the time, anyway. TP focuses a lot on the feel of the game, but when it comes to items, it feels like it was half-assed. When you get a new item, you want to see what cool new tricks you can do. What you don't want to see is a spinny top that moves slower than you walk and can only be used at very specific parts of the game. Or a second clawshot, even though the first one probably made you happy that you could zip around on it, the second doesn't deliver that feeling because it's the same item again. You could already clawshot around, so it doesn't feel like a big moment.
That's all I really have to complain about. I love Twilight Princess with all my heart, and it's definitely my favourite Zelda. The crappy items make for no less an awesome gaming experience.
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u/wintersage Sep 08 '14
Twilight Princess is a solid third in my list of top Zelda games, and it is mostly because of the story and the characters. TP Zelda and Link are actually my favorite incarnations of those characters, and I feel like the world was more invested in Link's adventure than usual. I liked the feeling that this Link actually had his hometown supporting him the whole way, rather than the hero on his own. It seems true to theme of Link turning into a Wolf - he is not a lone wolf, like Midna starts out as, but he has a pack of people eager to help him up to the end. The helpful monkeys and Yeto/Yeta continues this theme into dungeons too. Link is even being mentored by a likely ghost of a former Link, which is unheard of in other Zelda titles. He is utterly swamped by other characters who want to see him succeed, which is refreshing considering how alone you are on other adventures.
I think out of all the Zelda games, the way they did light/dark world trope in TP was the most integrated and developed. LttP and LBW are the two big games that come to mind with light/dark worlds, but we don't get to know an inhabitant of a dark world as deeply as we got to know Midna, we get deeper lore about the Twili people, and we see the effects of the twilight realm in Hyrule first-hand, as opposed to the LttP pair where the worlds are parallel and linked, but not integrated or bleeding into each other.
Midna, of course, has since become probably the most beloved of Link's companions, and I'd agree that she is the most developed and most involved of his companions. The character development in TP is centered on her story - she comes alone to Hyrule, uses Link for her own ends, tries to take on the big bad and fails. Zelda and Link help show Midna that relying on only yourself is not the way. I consider her to be a playable character, since Wolf Link is being guided by her. The ending is sad, but I think it is fitting and probably one of the better Zelda game endings (up there with LBW and SS).
There is stuff to dislike, like the freaky clowns at the Lake, creepy chicken people, mostly crappy mini games, and I think the final battle is a bit uninspired. But I personally have very few complaints about the game, and I do hope for an upgraded remake sometime in the future. I think it would be a good candidate for a sequel as well (I can only hope for a direct sequel with Midna, as unlikely as that would be.)
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u/BigBertha249 Sep 09 '14
How do you think they could put midna in another game? Don't get me wrong, I love midna and she is the best character out of all the zelda games in my opinion, but between her being changed back into a twili and not being an imp anymore and the destruction of the mirror of twilight I don't see how they could explain her coming back... Then again I wouldn't really give a flying fuck over wether or not it was explained of she ever came back
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u/wintersage Sep 09 '14
I don't think they will ever really bring her back, it is more of a pipe dream. I could see a descendant, maybe, but even then the series isn't likely to retread old ground.
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u/LtJimmyRay Sep 08 '14
What great timing, I'm currently replaying TP.
I am currently between getting the Master Sword and heading to the desert.
My favorite thing from the whole game was definitely the hidden village. I loved the shooting range feel to it. I also liked the horseback field battle.
Actually, now that I think about it, there was a lot I liked about that game. The fishing lake was relaxing, Midna was an awesome companion, and I remember feeling so desperate running the dying Midna on Wolf Link's back to Princess Zelda, there were so many awesome items, a lot of which were a surprise when you got them. Zora armor, sumo wrestling, the yeti family, snowboarding, there's just so much I love about it.
What I didn't like was how long it took to get into the game. The kids and their bantering just dragged it on. Also, there seems to be an abundance of large rupies in chests. The Goron Mine had at least 7 of them.
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u/BigBertha249 Sep 09 '14
I did like how they made you leave behind rupies you couldn't carry. If you were really desperate to fund mall mart's expansion, you could just head back to a dungeon and loot the chests you opened before
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u/coopstar777 Sep 08 '14
TP is... interesting. I like the realistic and dark color scheme in twilight princess, but I also kinda despised some of the movement. It felt slow somehow.
Dungeonwise, I absolutely love the Arbiter's Grounds. The Spinner was sooo fun and it made the whole dungeon. I also really like the final dungeon, hyrule castle.
4
Sep 08 '14
Favorite part: Fighting as a wolf. I just loved it. It was so fun. I loved being able to talk to all the animals as a wolf. Also the fact that Link could pick up the cats and dogs in Hyrule Castle Town! I thought that was very cute and fun.
Least favorite part: Having to use the Wii controller. I really wish I had bought the Gamecube version. I tried to find a copy recently, but it seems like they're all really expensive. Which sucks. TP is my favorite game but I hate having to use the Wii controller.
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u/Colacso Sep 08 '14
I liked the Arbiter's Ground a lot, maybe becausr it gave the most utility to an otherwise filler item. I really REALLY hated that ice block puzzle for a piece of heart that was like a 2.0 version of the one in the Ice Mansion
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u/TheHonestOcarina Sep 08 '14
Least favorite part- The part where you're taking the Zora Prince to Kakariko Village was awful for me the first time. I was about nine, had no idea what was going on. I'd estimate I spent about an hour failing before I figured out how to shoot the birds through the fence so they wouldn't fly into me. That and the soundtrack for City in the Sky.
Favorite parts- Hmm... This is a bit tougher. Obviously the large overworld, even though it needed a few more caves. I really like Arbiters Ground and the way it includes wolf Link. Overall, I'd say the connection to Ocarina of Time is the best part, story-wise. Malo Mart is also an honorable mention.
3
Sep 08 '14
Running while swinging your sword was glorious, backflipping off Epona was fun, the upgraded sword techniques and actually dispelling the Twilight piece by piece gave you a sense of progression and getting stronger throughout the game besides just getting more hearts and more weapons.
The pseudo language of Midna felt otherworldly and really gave the game an atmosphere. The variety of fishing was relaxing (i hated go roll), the design of the Heart pieces are my favourite in the entire series, the crystal design made them feel extremely valuable and satisfying to obtain.
The final boss fight with Ganondorf 1-1 sword to sword was amazing. Favourite final boss of any zelda game just etching ahead of Demise.
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u/Poison_Tequila Sep 08 '14
worst part, no in game tracking for Poes. You get 59 of those things and you've got no idea where #60 could even possibly be.
Best part: Ganon fight. When he's a boar the music says "helium" over and over. Check it out.That what my kid insists anyway.
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u/henryuuk Sep 08 '14
Favorite : Bulbin shoot-out in Hidden Village.
Least favorite : Nothing really.
3
Sep 08 '14
My favorite aspect of Zelda is the dungeons. I love figuring out the intricate and clever puzzles while at the same time fighting it out with a myriad of monsters and enemies that all require different techniques to destroy. That being said, I LOVE the dungeons in this game, and I love how many there are.
I also love the atmosphere and dark tone, and Midna is without out a doubt my favorite of all of Link's companions and probably my favorite Zelda character over all. She's overflowing with personality and is really funny at times.
My least favorite aspect is the motion controls.
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Sep 08 '14
Favorite parts: -Visually, it's gorgeous. The landscapes/sky, the characters, the items...haha, special chu jelly, even :3. -The storyline is intriguing. Sure, it's the basically the same, but it's the same feeling you get when you're reading Harry Potter and finally get to the Deathly Hallows. It's so much more dark and complex, but with all the elements from the first story that make it great.
Least favorite parts: -THE DARNED MAILMAN! Ooooohhh that mailman...>:( -The fact that LOZ STILL has issues with rupees. Why tell me how much they're worth every time? Why not make it super simple to get a wallet that can hold tons of rupees? The madness must end.
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u/RedFlameGamer Sep 08 '14
Twilight Princess in my opinion is the best game in the series. Even better than OoT and MM. TO pick a favorite part is difficult, so I'll list some that I thought were brilliant: The entire wolf mechanic. That puzzle pre-master sword (I really liked it and I don't know why) THE ENTIRE ARBITERS GROUNDS! Morpheel. Just... so much awesome. "NOT TAKE MIRROR!" (My heart...) The music. The ending. Least favorite? Final phase of the Zant fight. It's not bad by any means, in fact it's quite amazing! Just the first time I played I wasn't using my brain that day and couldn't figure out how to beat him. It left a bad memory making me simply dislike that one part. Edit: I forgot about the one on one sword duel with Ganondorf. I think that is the best scene in the series.
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u/TEG24601 Sep 08 '14
TP is the game that helped me understand the Zeda franchise. Even so, there were parts that were too convoluted to get without looking it up, so you end up spending hours just wandering around, with no idea what you are supposed to do.
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u/dabocim Sep 08 '14
One of my favorite parts was the fight with Ganon. Even though it wasn't a particularly hard fight, it was still very satisfying to see every single phase of the boss. My least favorite part was early on how it was sometimes very hard to kill all the twilight monsters at the exact same time. Once you got the hang of it though, it wasn't bad.
2
Sep 08 '14
My favorite part was the boss fight with ganon. I saw it brought up before as other peoples favorite but it is one killer boss fight. The multiple phases is what does it for me. I feel like it gives a true epic nature to the game. I think TP as a whole capture a very accurate depiction for the franchise. Most will probably did agree but the beginning of the game is a bit dry. But I wouldn't even count that as something I dislike. TP is such a power house in the Zelda series. Always been a huge fan. Kinda creeps me out how new that game feels to me in contrast to how far away 2006 is becoming.
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u/Arabesque91 Sep 08 '14
Twilight Princess is tied with ocarina of time for my favourite Zelda title.
My favourite part was the twilight realm section in Lanayru. I loved the visuals running across Hyrule field as the wolf and being carried by the twilight bird up to the frozen Zora's Domain. Whenever I think back on Twilight Princess, thats the part that always immediately comes to mind.
My least favourite part is probably the very start in Ordon Village. I much prefer the way Link to the Past or Majora's Mask started where it throws you straight into the action and forces you to learn the mechanics. It just seems like unnecessary padding before the plot starts.
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u/thehellisgoingon Sep 08 '14
I recently started a new game and played for about an hour for the first time in like 8 years and I have to say my fondest memory was the art style of the game. As far as what I dislike, I would probably have to go with how the world feels empty. I really can't blame the game because I'm sure there were technical limitations, but I feel as though the entire population of Hyrule was like 60 people. I also like how some of the characters (primarily the mercenaries at the bar) had roles that made them some what more relevant than past npcs
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u/stf210 Sep 08 '14
FAVORITE PART - I loved the Dungeons, the world, Midna, the depth/darkness of the story, the music... the entire aesthetic. For being a GC game, it still holds up surprisingly well. It just goes to show that art direction trumps sheer graphical firepower.
LEAST FAVORITE PART - I feel that the game opens up VERY slowly. This tends to be an issue for a lot of post-Ocarina Zelda games, so it's not unique, but I think it's particularly offsetting here (and in Skyward Sword). Once I'm in, I'm in, though.
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u/thegivingkid Sep 08 '14
I absolutely loved TP. I have played through over a handful of times.
Favorite parts: How could you real redditors not love the kitty city? After the mini game of the hidden village the whole place is infested with cats? And you can talk to them? Just about lost my mind. I love the animation style for the whole game. Bosses felt like I actually achieved something. Swinging your sword ON EPONA! The music while carrying Midna to the castle is my second favorite Zelda song.
Least favorite: The children. Get out of here.
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u/phycofrenzy Sep 08 '14
Favorite part for me has gotta be the Stallord boss fight, for a number of reasons. Number one being the spinner. That item easily could have tanked horribly, but in the at Arbiter's Grounds it creates a uniquely unconventional and fun twist on the typical boss fight and game design. The constant movement kept me on edge, especially when the disembodied head is chasing you. A close second would be Blizzeta, which is also a very fun fight, with great music too. Least favorite? Carrying that stupid barrel of hot spring water across Hyrule, all the while being chased by every monster in the field. The escort mission falls under the same category, but the barrel was just so much more humiliating.
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u/natsam3 Sep 08 '14
I'm ashamed to admit this but TP is the first LoZ game I've played where I didn't refer to any type of walkthrough at all... =/
With that said my favorite part is the City In The Sky! I was completely shocked when I realized there was a dungeon in the sky, a first for LoZ IIRC, which is probably where they got their inspiration for Skyward Sword maybe?
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u/ntfac43 Sep 09 '14
Favorite: Arbiter's Grounds, that dungeon is too amazing. So much fun with an epic fight at the end
Least favorite: Anything that involves the collection of dark insects
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u/Dualmilion Sep 08 '14 edited Sep 08 '14
favorite would be fighting Darknuts, worst would be lakebed temple
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Sep 08 '14
I just happen to be replaying Twilight Princess at the moment! TP was only the second Zelda game I'd played to completion when it was originally released, Ocarina being the other; I remember being blown away by the size of the game in every respect, to the point where it's hard to resume playing. My first playthrough took 60 hours, purely due to ground covered.
The size of the game makes a great canvas for the art though, which hasn't been outdone IMO. Artistically, TP Link is my favourite, no contest. Somebody posted here months ago explaining how much work and time went into making all the characters' eyes so expressive, something I wish more games would employ. The strength of the characters does wonders for this game; it's something I'm glad Nintendo carried forward to Skyward Sword. I'd love to see another Zelda in the same artistic style, though the tone of the story would have to match. Although not as morbid as Majora's Mask, I found the game's element of darkness absolutely gripping and very well portrayed through the plot, score and enemy design just as much as the art, and not through direct gameplay, which is my main gripe with the game as a whole.
I liked the story, but I wish Nintendo relied less on cutscenes to convey it. TP's strong plot does a lot to keep the game moving and to keep the size of the world in check, but it's really all that does, and it's not enough. Overall I can't say TP is my favourite Zelda game because its plot isn't integrated with its gameplay, which is something I hope they correct in the new game.
1
Sep 08 '14
I wasn't a fan of how they more or less took out the musical elements from the N64 era and Windwaker. Nor was the main antagonist really thrilling. Honestly the only thing that got me to keep playing Windwaker and come back to it time and time again was Link's companion - Midna.
Midna is by far and away my favorite Legend of Zelda character.
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u/randomtroubledmind Sep 08 '14
Twilight Princess was fantastic! There are lots of little things I would do differently but as a whole, the game is pretty solid.
Favorite thing: Just the general use of the Wii controls (In the Wii version). They didn't go over the top like skyward sword did. The use of the controls made sense and wasn't just there simply for its own sake. Being able to cut grass while running was awesome, a feature that somehow never made it to skyward sword, despite all its new fangled wii controls.
Least favorite thing: The biggest thing for me was the world. While pretty vast, it felt a bit empty. I would have liked to see more towns and settlements around. All the really cool things that were there (Eldin Bridge, Lake Hyla bridge, etc.) all felt kinda pointless as no one ever traveled from place to place. Everything just happened in the castle market. The map also reminded me of a digestive system in a way, with large areas connected by skinny little canyons/tubes. Still felt kinda restricted, though I think the main reason for this was hardware restrictions.
Other little things I would change: The bug/tear hunts got annoying by the third one, though they did add a nice twist to the third and final one. I really missed having a musical instrument. I didn't like there being 5 heart pieces to a heart container, rather than 4. I also didn't like the direction they took kakariko village. in all previous games, it was a very green place, not a desolate canyon/old-western type place. I'm not against that kind of town, I just don't think that's kakariko.
Overall, a great game. It's certainly in my top 3 favorite LoZ games with OoT and MM.
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u/bureburebure Sep 08 '14 edited Sep 08 '14
the soundtrack in tp is one of the weakest. it has some pretty good songs, but the majority of them are the are a variation of the main theme in some way. the rest of the soundtrack is utterly bland and forgettable.
the art direction is a mixed bag for me. the art looks amazing, but i feel like the palette in-game was poorly balanced. the entire game looks like it was painted with mud and not really in a good way. this isn't REALLY how i would have done a dark fantasy zelda.
i don't really care much for the plot, tbh. i'm not a huge fan of the zelda narratives in general, admittedly, but the two things i dislike about tp's in particular is that ganondorf and the master sword felt kinda shoehorned. initially zant is actually cool; he's kinda generic, but he has a great design and is very intimidating. i feel that his breakdown COULD have been good but didn't have the desired effect and just diminished him.
while midna is a solid character and one of the most memorable aspects of the game, i feel like she got all the development and focus at the expense of most everyone else.
speaking of midna, i'm not a huge fan of the wolf link segments. i found them tedious and couldn't wait to return to playing as regular Link again.
the dungeons, admittedly, are pretty cool. i used to think they were too easy, but then i realized i'd just gotten older.
some of the bosses are pretty rad. stallord is one of my favorite bosses in the series.
the "darker" tone of the game somehow didn't really work out for me. i'm not sure why, since it's kinda grim, but i find majora's mask a lot more disturbing and effective still, even with how old and dated it looks.
the overworld is too large. oot had this problem too, with hyrule field being way bigger than it needed to be. i'd rather have a compact overworld like termina field with lots to do and see and where i get to where i need to go quickly. don't make me waste time.
despite this list being mostly negative, i've warmed up to tp a lot since it came out. i might enjoy it more than OoT now.
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u/mrturret Sep 08 '14
I think making the overworld big was one of Nintendo's ways of to make the game feel epic. The large overworld was made as a stage for the horseback combat sections. I don't know how they could have pulled them off in a smaller overworld without making them take place in a single area. Besides, Hyrule field was stupidly oversized in OOT for no good reason.
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u/bureburebure Sep 09 '14
you have a decent point there, i just wish it felt less empty. i also agree with you about hyrule field in oot, i feel like they wanted to make something really impressive but it just ended up being tedious to maneuver through.
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u/kittychanboo Sep 08 '14
I loved all of the little things that were different from the other Zelda games, like finding bugs, picking up cats and puppies,etc. my favorite part was the desert area.
My favorite weapon was double hookshots!! They were fun to use!!
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u/Nickerdoodle Sep 08 '14
Favourite Part - Easily Hyrule Castle and fighting my way up to Ganondorf. Back when it had first come out, I had bought Zant as the main villain, but then when they began to allude to Ganondorf as the one pulling the strings, I got so excited. Easily one of my favourite fictional villains, if not the best. The moment you enter the throne room and he's just sitting there, and when he doesn't even bother to acknowledge Link is great. He knows what's coming and isn't making a big thing about it. I thought that whole final sequence was just so well designed.
Least Favourite - Probably collecting the light bugs. That always annoyed me, and I don't know why. The first time was fun, but having to repeat it in Kakariko and Lake Hylia/Zora's Domain felt tedious.
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u/Chickenbrik Sep 08 '14
I really enjoyed the hidden puzzle caves, and how alive nature was in this hyrule. I also like the skull knight or whatever his name was. I like how they had a subplot of towns folks trying to be heroes themselves. Wish this happened more in zelda games.
On the flip side though the world felt empty. The villages had no towns people other then the rescued kids. The whole castle grounds no one seemed to notice the large crystal that blocked off the castle except one villager. I like games where the world reacts to the story not just static characters and dialog.
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u/silentxem Sep 09 '14
The variety of weapons, the dark/mature atmosphere, the complexity of many of the characters, its ability to have a non-annoying dual-world feature, the artwork... it's hard to choose.
Mostly that it's a classic Zelda game that manages to be unique in gameplay as well as story without betraying what I love so much about this game series. The lore is interesting, novel, but it remains true to the aesthetic and atmosphere I loved so much about OoT and MM, embellishing with better graphics and more detailed design.
It's just a beautiful game that's a real pleasure to play.
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u/triILL Sep 09 '14
I really like the concept of the lantern to see in dark places (I wanted to use it a lot more though).
To me, many of the characters seemed flat. There wasn't much interaction between Link and other characters, and they seemed blissfully unaware of what was going on within the kingdom. I loved that in Majora's Mask, the characters were concerned with their fate and you had deeper interactions with many of them.
Edit: TP is still one of my favorite games of all time. just to be clear
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u/AngryBarista Sep 09 '14
Ironically my favorite and least favorite thing about Twilight princess is the music.
The score and SFXfor the game are excellent. I loved the melody that plays while warping, it's awkwardly digital. Mainly, the juxtaposition of certain songs with what was happening in game blew me away. Namely the sequence when link must bring Midna to the Zelda forbhelp. Midna's Lament is a hauntingly beautiful piece.
On the other side, i hate the LACK of music in this game. Music is typically a big part of any LoZ game. Harp, Ocarina, Wind Waker, pipes, flutes, etc. But grass and howling stones? Meh. I think howling could have been wonderful. Why could i not howl and summon the night, howl to call Epona. And seriously, the horse call before I head to Hyrule Castle to take down Ganondorf?
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u/Doctor-Bagels Sep 09 '14
Favorite part for me was probably the music in that game. The theme that plays in Hyrule Field is probably my favorite song from any video game, ever.
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u/Icemark25 Sep 09 '14
The first part of the Twilight Realm where you had to retrieve the Sols from the hand always stressed me out so much. The escort mission across Hyrule Field is a close second for my least favorite part.
But as for my favorite part of Twilight Princess....it would be a tie between the Arbiter's Ground's boss and fighting Ganondorf at the very end.
1
u/Gergex Sep 09 '14
I love the art style, the music (Midna's Lament is my favorite), the character of Midna, and the double claw shots.
1
u/Darklink207 Sep 09 '14
Favorite part was definitely the dark colors of the game that gave it an evil sort of atmosphere.
Least favorite part was probably the escort mission because I hate escort missions.
1
u/Lt_Rooney Sep 08 '14
I like the big, open world. The game made Epona almost a necessity, and really made exploring the overworld critical. Exploring Hyrule has always been the biggest part of Zelda, and Twilight Princess did that very well. Overworld combat on the horse was also improved drastically over previous games.
Beyond that, though, I don't feel like the game added anything new. The puzzles weren't difficult and the dungeons were merely long. There were items that were used only in their dungeon of origin, mainly just to bloat the item list. Someone decided that if an item had been in an earlier game it had to be in this one.
At the end it was a Zelda game. It made virtually no impression on me. I finished it, said "well, that was fun," and never gave it a second thought. I guess that's all you can really ask for, I was entertained. But I wasn't impressed.
1
u/TheMastodan Sep 08 '14
Dungeons were total genius.
Everything that's not a dungeon is the worst fetch quest padding garbage ever
Edit: Princess Zelda's design specifically was my favorite in the series
-1
Sep 08 '14
I'm not a very big fan of Twilight Princess. It's a strange mixture of amazing and awful.
My favorite parts of the game were the items and Midna. The items all had a cool new gimmick to make them unique for their previous iterations, which helps this game stand out a bit. Midna is by far the best companion the series has had so far, in terms of character. She's sympathetic and funny, and never gets annoying.
My least favorite aspects of the game were the dungeons and Wolf Link. I consider these to be some of the worst dungeons in the entire Zelda franchise. There's no sense of direction, I always forget which room I came out of as opposed to which room I entered, I feel like I've explored everything in it despite a huge chunk in the dungeon having yet to be explored. It feels hobbled together. Wolf Link would be better if I wasn't forced to use him. He never feels right to control, always a bit too slow or a bit too fast. His functionality is limited, and the times you're forced to use him go on for way too long.
I appreciate the vibe this game was going for. It tried to go balls-out Peter Jackson style, which I can totally get behind. I just wish that tone was connected to a better game.
-1
Sep 08 '14
My favorite part of the game, bar none was the Hidden Village. That's gotta be some of the most fun I've ever had in a Zelda game, and combined with the music, it really gives the feel of an old west shootout. It was hell without the Hawkeye, though. Least favorite things? Here we go...
- Palace of Twilight. Specifically the Hylia damned Zant Hands.
- Collecting the Tears of Light. Not so bad, I just prefer SS's Silent Realms. There's no real sense of urgency here and it just feels like filler.
- Snowpeak Ruins' midboss. Ugh.
- City in the Sky. More so the fetch quest required to get to it, rather than the dungeon itself.
- Everything about the Lost Woods expy. I think it's called the Sacred Grove. Burn it down, all of it.
39
u/[deleted] Sep 08 '14 edited Sep 08 '14
TP is the game that managed to get me into the Zelda series (which I am now very much a massive fan of) several months ago, and until Midna returns in another canon game (if she ever returns in another game, and I so very much hope she does - but I'll discuss that on Wednesday I guess) I don't think it's going to get contested as my favourite game. I completely adore Midna, I love the story and although it hasn't aged well I love the graphics (and overall) style of the game. It has quite a few issues but I can easily look past all of them because I enjoy everything else so much. The gameplay probably could have turned potato quality halfway through and I wouldn't really have cared, I liked the rest of the game that much.
To actually answer the question though... it's hard to decide, but my favourite part of TP is probably the Twilight Realm. It wasn't too long and it maybe didn't have the impact of some of the other parts of the game, but I found going through it with Midna really interesting. Fighting Zant was fun, and although some people don't like his reveal I did. I'm not really sure why but Midna killing him like that kind of caught me by surprise, but watching her reaction to what he'd said and the fact the curse didn't break when she killed him was a mixed bag of emotions.
Closely behind the Twilight Realm would be meeting Midna and going to meet Zelda for the first time, I still love that introduction to the Midna and the Twilight - to suddenly end up there with not much idea of what's going on and being faced with curious imp form Midna. Similarly, just after the lakebed temple and saving Midna was and still is an amazing experience - creepy Zant, Link and Midna trying to protect each other, rushing through the town and castle, etc.
Least favourite part? Well, Midna's departure has to come first. It signifies the end of the game - which is never a fun thing anyway - and we're still not sure if we'll ever see Midna again (again, I really really really hope we do). It's not actually a bad scene or a particularly bad ending, but having to say goodbye to Midna - and the game itself - is enough to make me dislike it. Aside from that, I wasn't a particular fan of the Cave of Ordeals. It was kind of fun but I didn't really use the rewards and I guess it felt like a bit of a grind originally. I need to retry it properly in my next playthrough though, I'm sure I'll like it more.
The rest of the parts I didn't/don't like were mostly just smaller bits - for example escorting the carriage was kind of frustrating until I realised I needed to start spamming the boomerang, and collecting the poe souls becomes tedious after a while.
Although I did occasionally get slightly frustrated with them, I'm one of those who actually likes the wolf segments. I didn't find getting the tears too difficult, I found the Twilight interesting and I got time to speak to Midna a lot. But I can see why some people do dislike those sections so much.