The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a video game that consists of 5 releases

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The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess once again sees Link exploring the vast kingdom of Hyrule, this time in an attempt to dispel an evil twilight that has settled over the land.

Overview

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development team. It was released on November 19, 2006 for the Wii and December 11, 2006 on the GameCube. During its initial development, it was called "Wind Waker 2," but this was changed later in its development. This game sold very well, with the Wii version moving 4.52 million copies and the GameCube version selling 1.32 million.

Link must once again save Hyrule

Story

The game begins with Link living in a small town called Ordon village when mysterious creatures come out of the darkness and kidnap the town's children. As Link tries to save them, he is pulled into a wall of black energy, where he is transformed into a wolf and locked in prison. Luckily, a being called Midna -- an odd creature of the same race that attacked the village -- frees him and tells him that her people are called the Twili, and they are being led by their king, Zant, who wants to merge Hyrule with an alternate dimension called the Twilight Realm into one land that only he would control.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Twilight Princess is very similar to recent 3D Zelda games, as the player navigates a series of complex, puzzle-oriented dungeons to acquire new weapons and abilities, and track down the ultimate source of evil threatening Hyrule. Many of the traditional Zelda items are present, such as bombs and the bow and arrow, but this time around, the Wii's motion controls add a more first-person feel to playing the game. The player swings the Wii remote to make Link slash, shakes the nunchuk to slam Link's shield forward and stun enemies, and aims the bow and arrow with the Wiimote's pointer function. The player can also transform into a wolf who offers his own unique moves, such as digging to uncover items and passages, speaking with animals, picking up the scents of objects and enemies, and moving more swiftly than Link's human form.

Link's Collection

This menu is brought up by hitting the Plus ( ) button on the Wii Remote, allowing the player to look through and change the following items. The player can also look at how big his Rupee pouch and Quiver are, how many bugs, techniques, Letters and Poe Souls he's collected, as well as look at his Fishing Journal and what scent Link has last picked up during his Wolf form. The Game Options and Save feature are also accessed through this menu.

Swords & Shields

Ordon Sword
Master Sword
Ordon Shield
Hylian Shield

Armor

Hero's Clothes
Zora Armor
Magic Armor

Link's Items

This menu could be brought up by hitting the Minus (-) button the Wii Remote, allowing you to change which items you have assigned to the Directional Pad and B button. Some items also became unusable or upgradeable over the course of the game.

Clawshot (later becomes Double Clawshots)
Dominion Rod
Ball and Chain
Spinner
Hero's Bow^
Iron Boots
Gale Boomerang
Lantern
Slingshot
Fishing Rod (later becomes Fishing Rod Earring)
Hawkeye^
3 Bomb Bags*^
4 Bottles
Horse Call

^ - Could be combined to make a Bow & Arrow Combo
* - There are 3 types of Bombs in Twilight Princess: Bomblings, Water Bombs, and regular Bombs

Wolf Link

Near the beginning of the game, the children of Ordon Village are kidnapped by twilight creatures. As Link is searching for them, he encounters a wall of darkness separating him from the land of Hyrule. As he passes through the wall, he is transformed into a wolf, instead of a spirit-being like the other inhabitants of Hyrule.

As the wolf, the user has the ability to use Link's 'senses' and search for hidden areas and items. Doing this can solve some of the game's puzzles and

Link in his wolf form.

is a good source for acquiring some extra rupees. Another of Wolf Link's abilities is 'digging'. This is how hidden items discovered by using the 'senses' are recovered. In combat, by holding down 'b', Midna allows Wolf Link to create a circle that encloses around nearby enemies, making it so that Link will attack all of those enemies at the same time when the 'b' button is released. This is the only way to defeat some of the enemies in the game, because when in groups they can revive one another by screeching. Another ability that only Wolf Link can execute is walking along thin platforms such as ropes. This allows Link to access new areas. Wolf Link can also interact with other animals in the game. Animals often know secrets about their environments and are willing to share all the information they know with fellow animals. The final new ability gained by Wolf Link after his transformation is 'howling'. This is similar to the ocarina concept in The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Link uses howling to interact with certain objects and characters in the game.

Later in the game, Link becomes able to transform into a Wolf at any time. This is very useful because the Wolf also has the ability to use the Twilight warp portals to travel around Hyrule without having to walk or ride for miles.

The Two Versions

In all Zelda games Link has always been left-handed. Since the game was being developed for both the Wii and GameCube system Nintendo decided to make the Link in the Wii version right-handed. The reason why they made him right-handed in the Wii version is because players hold the Wii Remote in their right hand to play and it would feel weird when swinging the sword if Link was left-handed. Making Link right-handed on the Wii version was not as simple as just changing the character model and animation; Nintendo felt that just changing Link to be right-handed would feel different when running around the left-handed world. To resolve this issue in the Wii version they mirrored the whole world to reflect his right hand.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the game was composed by Asuka Ohta,Toru Minegishi and Kōji Kondō. Minegishi designed the overworld and dungeon music under the supervision of Kondo. The official soundtrack was published by Nintendo Power in 2006 and it contains seven tracks:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Orchestra Piece #2
2. Hyrule Field Main Theme
3. Ordon Village
4. Kakariko Village
5. Death Mountain
6. Midna's Theme
7. Ilia's Theme

General Information Edit

Game Name	The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Platform(s)	GameCube Wii
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Genres	Add a new genre Action Adventure
Themes	Add a new theme Fantasy
Original US Release	Nov. 19, 2006 need a fuzzy date?
Original US Release	know the real date?
Aliases	LoZ:TP

Trivia

In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, what is the name of the odd young woman that rewards the player for bringing her the golden bugs that are found throughout Hyrule?