Ah Link, the titular hero from oh so many Nintendo hits. He’s carried a torch for the Princess Zelda almost as long as Mario has for Peach. But what’s this? We find our hero living a peasants existance at the begining of the game. He lives in a tree house, and helps tend the towns cattle. He is friend to all the residents of this sleepy little nook and nary a ill thought is sent his way.
In fact, you could think of him as sort of a Mr. Fixit in the begining of the game. Helping the residents rescue missing cats, knock a bee’s nest out of a tree and recover a child’s basinet that has floated down stream. Yup, life is good to our friend Link, in fact he is such a trusted member of the community that the Mayor has asked that he take an item to the king on behalf of the town.
But then a situation arises, several of the town’s children thinking they were braver then they actually were took off chasing some of the monkeys that have been causing all sorts of mischief. All but one of them has returned. Who shall rescue this child? Who indeed, because when it comes to righting the wrongs of the world, our man Link stands towards the top of heroic deeds mountain. And let’s just say kidnapping a child would fall into the realm of all bad deeds must be punished. So off he rides in true hero fashion and so begins what is arguably the greatest Zelda game ever made.
Don’t believe me? Well, first off this game is so great that it is literally worth the price of the Wii itself ($249.99) and second, this game is officially one of the highest ranking games of all time on all systems with an average reviewer score of 96 out of 100.
Hmmmppff you say? Balderdash you utter? Shenanigans you guffaw? It’s a Zelda game for pete’s sake, there is no way that this title or this machine can hang with the big boys.
Then you, my friend are in for a really big surprise.
With the introduction of the Wii, game players are going to experience games an entirely new way. And with Zelda, players can expect a aerobic workout as you swing the wiimote (yeah, I know, kinda corny) around, as if really sword fighting, fishing or aiming ranged weapons. Honestly, it was a risky move by Nintendo to take one of it’s most revered series and toss it on it’s ear. But it works out ultimately because of it’s strong storyline, innovative gameplay and high adventure.
OK, I’ll be honest with you, the first hour or so of the game, I was really scratching my head. After all, finding missing basinets and knocking bee’s nests out of trees isn’t my idea of a good time adventure, regardless of the game being on a brand new system. But still I kept playing and I’m glad I did, because the training on the horse, the fishing, the fighting with the wooden sword and the target practice with the slingshot all were merely getting you used to the motions and actions that you must implement only on a more serious scale.
Aiming the wiimote at the screen helps target items you want to shoot, yanking it upward when a fish clamps on to your bait, wiggling the nunchuck attachment halps execute a spin move as does holding down various buttons and swinging the wiimote different ways. Yep, the folks at Nintendo wanted to ensure that either you or your children would be getting a good workout while playing this one. In fact, I found myself either sitting on the very edge of the couch or standing up, especially during those times when the proverbial poop hit the fan. Monstrously large boss battles, wave after wave of creature trying to snuff me out. I kid you not, this game had me sweating after some of the crazier sequences.
I was worried that the technology would not be there, you know, that every so often the game would miss me doing a special move, thereby resulting in Link getting pummeled. But honestly there are no absolutes in life and nothing is 100%, but this was pretty darn close. The Wii’s sensor bar can be tuned and adjusted so that it filters out your rooms lights and gets a goood bead on your wiimote. Doing this will result in a more intuitive gaming experience and really does allow for the most minimal of mishaps. I’d say after close to 25 hours of gaming, I could count on one hand the amount of times the wiimote didn’t do a special move, and even some of those could be attributed to player error (fatigue can be a factor).
Now I have a 360 and a PS3, and I will be honest with you, the Wii cannot compete with the level of graphics these two are pushing out. That being said, if you compare the last generation of gaming systems (XBOX, PS2 and Gamecube) to the Wii, yes it is more powerful, only just. Last generation’s winner in terms of processing and power was the XBOX. The Wii, is like an XBOX ver 1.3, it is more powerful and capable of producing good graphics but Nintendo promised us new innovative ways to play in lew of a powerful processor and all the graphical advances the other two have.
Well that’s nice, but how does this effect me?
Since we’re talking about Zelda, then consider this. The game is better played when you have the 480p progressive output component cables hooked up. In doing so the game’s darker levers (both physically and metaphorically) have an ashen look to them and do not look as good as they were initially developed. Since the game features enviroments that run the entire visual spectrum, you can count on everything looking well above par, but again, when the graphics demand more from your TV and you have the standard AV cables hooked up levels involving bright shiny outdoorsy type graphics look far better then when you find yourself trapped in a dank, dark dungeon.
So, to make things simple, the game does a real good job of keeping pace with the other systems, but when it comes to the premiere titles on those other systems, the Wii cannot compete. This fact is painfully obvious after playing Gears of War on the 360 (the finest looking next gen title made so far).
Now to talk about the actual graphics, Zelda does have some nice looking visuals. The game has a good line of sight, meaning you see things way off in the distance, and only some items come into view as you get close (like monsters), it’s not a bad way to present the in-game action, but some may argue this point. Next, the game has good looking water and fire effects.
Many developers have a hard time with these two effects becuase they are difficult to render. In Zelda’s case, the water effects look very smooth and fluid looking, not rough or unnatural. The same could be said about the fire effects, some fire lasts only a split second, while other burn bright for a long time, regardless of length, the effect is mezmorizing and very clean looking. Bright and wild the way fire should look.
Monsters run the gamut of being silly looking to the truly terrifying, everything you would expect from a Zelda title. There is no breakdown as far as FPS are concerned, even when riding horseback headlong into battle.
The audio side of the game is even better then you would think. I have yet to find any sort of cable that utilizes a fiber optic option (the Wii does not have one) so it’s standard stereo cables for all. It sounds good for the effects and audio work the game uses, but still, if there was ever a game that would really knock some sound around, this would be it. The cccccccccc-shiiiing of a sword being drawn and used, the weird alien language used by Midna, the strange being who assists and is assisted by Link when he transforms into a wolf.
Yup, I said it, and it’s no big secret (cause I’m not about to reveal any of those) if you look at the cover of the game you’ll see Link and his alter ego. Both of whom bear a striking resemblence and share those icy-blue eyes.
You see when the strange nightfall envelops the land, Link is transformed into a massive black wolf. This wolf has the intelligence of Link, but does not have opposable thumbs so he cannot wield any weapons or items. Instead this Link/wolf uses it’s natural aggressiveness and really big teeth to dole out punishment to any hell hound or shadow creature that crosses his path.
It’s a new and needed addition in the Zelda franchise that benefits from the challenges doing battle as a wolf presents. A few years ago I predicted (semi-accurately) that the werewolf was going to make a comeback in the fantasy medium. Sure enough we saw several big and small budget movies that featured werewolves as both protagonist and antagonist. Now you aren’t really quite a werewolf in this title but the game does kind of flow in that vein with you kicking ass in all your animalistic glory.
This also provides some interesting control schemes as fighting as a wolf would bring while swinging around the Wii remote. It pretty much requires you doing the the same movements but the end action being different. Still, an interesting dynamic nonetheless.
You should also know that the game has you working with not only your faithful horse, but a hawk that I believe I mentioned earlier. Finding the right kind of plant, will enable you to turn it into a whistle which calls these animals to you. There are limitations on what these creatures can do for you, but trust me, they will save your bacon plenty of times. Plus riding into combat on top of a massive horse is just plain cool.
We are presented with as fine a launch title any console has had. This is truly one of the greatest games you could play this year. I have yet to complete this monster but reports are that the game could top 75 hours to complete, if that is so, then the Wii is throwing down the gauntlet to other console RPGs by saying eight to ten hours to beat! Nyah!
The game is incredible, the visuals are top notch, the storyline is an engaging one. If the kids are asking for a Wii this holiday season, then you may just have to get Zelda for yourself for being such a swell person. For working parents it could take you a long but glorious time to beat.
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