The WhatsNext verdict
If you want intricate, item-driven dungeon puzzles wrapped in a darker fantasy adventure with a memorable companion, Twilight Princess delivers. Play it if you can tolerate a slow opening and repetitive Wolf Link sections to reach its strongest ideas.
What it does best
Dungeons turn every new item into an earned aha moment
Midna gives the adventure a rare emotional heartbeat
A brooding fairy tale filled with unease and wonder
Swordplay that feels unusually physical and expressive
What might put you off
The opening and recurring Twilight bug hunts can feel painfully slow
Wolf Link sections divide players
The setup
What you are walking into
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is the last Zelda game for GameCube, it was highly anticipated by many members of the gaming community and was regarded as finally fulfilling the dreams of those who wanted a much more realistic and mature game than the ones before. The art is similar to the naturalistic style of Ocarina of Time, rather than the cel-shaded look of The Wind Waker. The main adventure takes place in several provinces with dungeons and temples. New to this game is the ability for Link to transform into a Wolf when entering the Twilight. As a wolf, Link can use his senses to solve puzzles and get past obstacles, he can also dig holes to find hearts and rupees. Twilight Princess has received universal acclaim from reviewers and journalists, who cited it as the greatest Zelda game of all time.
Where it lives
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