Aronthaer
Back from Hiatus (3/18/22)
Lately I've been seeing a lot of backlash against Twilight Princess. I found it interesting, mainly because I always enjoyed Twilight Princess. It isn't my absolute favorite Zelda (Majora's Mask and Skyward Sword), but it's definitely number 2 or 3. Realizing I hadn't played it in years, I replayed the game to see if the complaints seemed justified. Here's my response to some of the major complaints towards the game:
"Nintendo tried too hard to be dark." I see this more often than any other complaint. however, after playing the game again, I don't understand this complaint. I feel like the darker undertone actually worked pretty well for the game, and I really enjoyed the darker vibes I got from the game. I still think that Majora's Mask was definitely darker at times, but... opinions. this whole thing is just one massive opinion, to be honest.
"The story sucked." Excuse me, what? I must not have heard you right. The story was one of my favorite parts of the game. It wasn't some "chosen hero, you have to save the world" crap we've all heard countless times. Link is an average farmhand, and only his friendship (love?) for Ilia and his desire to return the Ordon children safely fueled him at first. Eventually, he came to accept his role as the Chosen Hero, but he wasn't just like, "you want me to save the world? kewl." That's also what I like about Skyward Sword and Majora's Mask: A unique story that broke a bit of Zelda tradition. I do regret a lack of character development with Zant and shoehorning Ganon in at the end, however.
"The colors are terrible." I liked the colors. Having the world portrayed in either a dull color or a vivid shade of orange is an interesting aesthetic, and I think it worked pretty well with the darker theme.
"The overworld was bland, and had little to do." I do wish the overworld was more fleshed out, but if you're looking for Poes or bugs you'll find that there are quite a few hidden spots around, especially in Hyrule Field.
Verdict: It isn't a flawless game, by any means. but it's an amazing and unique Zelda experience, even after ten years, and I still recommend this game to anyone who hasn't played it yet.
"Nintendo tried too hard to be dark." I see this more often than any other complaint. however, after playing the game again, I don't understand this complaint. I feel like the darker undertone actually worked pretty well for the game, and I really enjoyed the darker vibes I got from the game. I still think that Majora's Mask was definitely darker at times, but... opinions. this whole thing is just one massive opinion, to be honest.
"The story sucked." Excuse me, what? I must not have heard you right. The story was one of my favorite parts of the game. It wasn't some "chosen hero, you have to save the world" crap we've all heard countless times. Link is an average farmhand, and only his friendship (love?) for Ilia and his desire to return the Ordon children safely fueled him at first. Eventually, he came to accept his role as the Chosen Hero, but he wasn't just like, "you want me to save the world? kewl." That's also what I like about Skyward Sword and Majora's Mask: A unique story that broke a bit of Zelda tradition. I do regret a lack of character development with Zant and shoehorning Ganon in at the end, however.
"The colors are terrible." I liked the colors. Having the world portrayed in either a dull color or a vivid shade of orange is an interesting aesthetic, and I think it worked pretty well with the darker theme.
"The overworld was bland, and had little to do." I do wish the overworld was more fleshed out, but if you're looking for Poes or bugs you'll find that there are quite a few hidden spots around, especially in Hyrule Field.
Verdict: It isn't a flawless game, by any means. but it's an amazing and unique Zelda experience, even after ten years, and I still recommend this game to anyone who hasn't played it yet.
