The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Opinions

Before this playthrough, I'd attempted twice to beat this game before, both times retiring out of boredom I think, but that's par for the course for me. My Zelda track record isn't too impressive; before this, the only Zelda game I'd ever completed was Ocarina of Time, even through I had tried out A Link to the Past, Majora's Mask, Breath of the Wild, and Twilight Princess over the years.

I don't hate Zelda games, but I feel they usually fall in a weird place between linear setpiece story and open-world adventure, lacking in both the intensity of the former and the freedom of the latter. As a result, I typically find them neither exciting nor relaxing, just tedious most of the time. The fact that most 3D Zelda games are rather well known for their supremely easy combat doesn't help to hold my attention either. I know there's a ton of Zelda fans who find them to be just the perfect formula, but I can't see myself ever holding that perspective myself.

That said, I had a good time playing Twilight Princess. I wasn't blown away, but I was pleasantly surprised. The story was more thrilling and the dungeons were more streamlined than I expected. Most of the tools were fun to use, and a few (Iron Boots, Bow) turned out to be incredibly useful throughout the game. The final act of the game was incredibly satisfying as well; giving all your gadgets and abilities a chance to each shine one more time. Most importantly of all, however: the swordplay was actually fun in this game.

I could prattle on about motion controls for a long time, but other than the delay/dropped inputs for swinging, I didn't really mind it. They're not bad, but my wrist would have preferred a button instead. I'd say I even have more complaints about the relative-camera analog controls than the combat. I didn't really die very much in Twilight Princess, but I'm happy that basic fighting isn't as one-note as the N64 Zelda games. Some enemies were a little spongy at times, but performing all the special techniques is engaging enough on its own to make even those fights a fine break from running around.

There were a few really good puzzles near the end of the game, and a couple other satisfying ones in various places, which is just enough to make sure you still need to think hard once in a while. Since I was mostly using this game to wind down each evening, I tried to be more easygoing with how I played, and think I had a lot more fun this time as a result.

In the end, Twilight Princess is easily my favorite Zelda game so far, but that doesn't mean it's flawless. It's renewed my interest in more story-focused titles in the series, sure, but I still find it tough to shower it with praise. While it might seem like the Zelda series has it all: humor, action, adventure, and heart, I always feel like this makes them feel thin, dabbling in too many themes at once. In this case, however, I'm happy that the formula proved me wrong.