What am I ignoring?
I did the Cave of Ordeals. I couldn't believe how utterly pointless it was. What was the point of it? Regardless, the challenge itself was fun... I always like those kind of things in Zelda games... and it was a chance for some REAL combat and protective skills... even though I beat it in my first attempt.
I was fortunate to be fully equipped before I entered though.
Anyway, 68 hours later, and I can put this one to rest. I did a LOT of side missions, and I think played and won every game. I explored quite a bit, and got all but two complete hearts (or 10 heart pieces). I managed to find all the bugs sans a guide, and I found 41/60 poes... so the game has a solid 65+ hours of gameplay for anyone who is playing as an explorer.
The final boss battle was really nice. The final part of it is something I always wanted to see in a Zelda game... and finally it came to fruition (kinda). All the Boss battles were really well done... if I had a problem with any I think it was the Water temple one... coulda done without it... yet, it still provided variety.
The game is just stunning. It did what it set out to do: surpass Ocarina of Time in every aspect. Unfortunately, it did EXACTLY that and left itself still vunerable to attack. Why? Because Ocarina followed no other pattern, maybe with the exception of LttP (which is why there's sometimes a battle as to which was better).
Twilight Princess was indeed better in every specific aspect. The side missions were bigger, better and bolder. The story was bigger, better and bolder. The music was bigger, better and bolder. The non-playable characters were bigger, better and bolder. The field; the towns; the visuals; the gameplay... everything
by itself was bigger, better and bolder... yet magic isn't something you can either replicate or outdo... it just happens. So for those who will and always proclaim LttP as being the game that had the "magic", that will not change here. Same with OoT... it will not change here. And to those playing Zelda for the first time, they will not be able to look back 8 years or 15 years to see either of those games as being the best, but Twilight Princess will be the one that had the magic.
Don't get me wrong, this is just a fantastic game... but it'd be better if it didn't try to compete with past titles and stuck with its' own mission. But I have to say, I was really anticipating a great title and I was STILL impressed. This is without a doubt Aunoma's best entry... and I adored WW, and thought MM was pretty good.
A few things I think work in his favor as a director: he's extremely innovative... he's always looking for new ways to recreate something. He loves darker stories... and he tells them well. He LOVES non-playable characters, which to me has been one of the biggest staples in any Zelda game... and he understands the series well enough to take it in new directions without betraying the feel of Zelda... despite this being the first game that's stuck so closely to 'old Hyrule'.
If he has a flaw though (that I've noticed all three times now), it's that he seems to love giving you things that really go nowhere. (Did anybody else use the psychic?) Or underusing dungeon treasure items/weapons. We got so many, and underused most of them... some of them only had a one time purpose, and absolutely no use outside of the dungeon. Regardless, the whole thing was impressive, and I love the scale of this Hyrule. I hope it only increases... but with purpose.
Great, great game! On a scale of 1 - 10, I'd say 9.8
Like I said, a few minor flaws that keep it being perfection, but in the end, it's Zelda. The end credits actually had me smiling... especially the build up towards the last moments when they start to focus back on Ordon villiage, and the music strums up right on cue. Link felt so iconic at that point. You really bought him as a hero like no other.
But for now I'm gonna put this one to rest. I'll probably pick it back up in a few months so I'll be desperate to play it again by that point.
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