The Green Ghost of the Railways

[Esrever]

One thing I really liked about the Twilight realm was how it had this vaguely digital aesthetic... grid patterns and pixels and weird, digital beeping sounds. I was actually a little disappointed that they didn't go anywhere with that.

[Neo]

I was going to mention that, and Midna's pseudo-reversed speech, the black squares emerging from the ground and the whole "downloading" thing Midna does by transferring a tiny fragment of a structure at a time through a portal, but I noticed I don't know what "going with that" actually means. What do you think they could've expanded upon?

The Twilit Kargarocs totally freaked me out the first they appeared in the game. They really managed to make the Twilight a really weird and distorted place.

[Xyton]

Zelda's famous for it's dirty great boss battles, why not chuck in a dirty great boss battle with a fuck-off huge steam-driven... thing? Some kind of animal. I dunno.

You mean Goht? :P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TXvurHlV7M

Also, apparently Twilight Princess-style Zelda sells with great mediocrity in Japan, but Wind Waker-style games fly off the shelves. :{ Still, Phantom Hourglass was good, so I'm looking forward to this. Also, every now and again I hear murmurs of a new mature-style Zelda brewing for Wii, so here's to hoping on that.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

I don't think Goht really means anything considering Termina was years ahead of Hyrule in terms of technology... then I remember the jukebox in Hyrule Town Square. I love anarchisms to an extent, and it helps when the character acknowledge the absurdity, but that jukebox...

[j-man]

Oh yeah! That's the guy I was thinking of. Cool.

[Wombatwarlord777]

Looking at that Goht video... I haven't really played Ocarina or Time of Majora's Mask (though I want to), but one of the things that strikes me whenever I see either of those two games in motion is how frickin' scary the bosses are. This might be just me, but I think part of that fear comes from the relatively primitive graphics of the N64. The dark textures and jagged models of the monsters make it hard to really "identify" what they are, and that preserves a sort of anxious unknown atmosphere about them... The Dead hand was probably the boss that was the scariest from this effect, at least for me anyways.

Of course, this was lost in Wind Waker, which had the benefit of better technology and a generally more "cutesy" art direction, and Twilight Princess, which simply tried to make its bosses huge and imposing.

[CM August]

I think the 'scariness' of OoT/MM is simply due to superior art direction and character design than inferior graphics. Things like Stalchilds and Dead Hand would look even more horrifying poly'ed up.

And boo on Japan for snubbing Twilight Princess. I fucking hate all the attention Wind Waker's given.

[Crazy Penguin]

Yeah, I put on TP last night and wondered why I've played any other games since or, more realistically, why they haven't got cracking with a new TP-styed sequel instead of farting about with Game Boy gimmickry.

Rumours are that they already have. Didn't they start on Twilight Princess pretty much as soon as Wind Waker was finished? Zelda games take a bloody long time to make.

The inclusion of steampunk themes would cause serious spontaneous nut-busting. Get Link in a full suit of armour, fighting clockwork robots in a gothic castle. Zelda's famous for it's dirty great boss battles, why not chuck in a dirty great boss battle with a fuck-off huge steam-driven... thing? Some kind of animal. I dunno.

That would be really sweet. Well, except for the suit of armour bit. Definitely worthy of a full dungeon. I really hope that the next Zelda is more daring with dungeons. Twilight Princess had three great looking ones (guess which!) but the rest were essentially re-runs. I'd also like to see a dojo thingy full of ninja traps, and some kind of botanic garden would be more interesting than another forest.

[Neo]

"cutesy"

Oh, okay.

(If you want a more verbose answer, they're still big, scary and imposing, just stylized. Jalhalla is the only boss I'd call "cutesy".)

[Shadow Hog]

Twilight Princess had three great looking ones (guess which!)

The snow mansion, the Temple of Time, and the sky one? Maybe swap one of them out for the Twilight Realm, I dunno.

[j-man]

Man, did I love the Twilight Realm. I was a little disappointed that the end fight didn't take place there. Come to think of it, the ending was a disappointment for a few reasons.

[Wombatwarlord777]

I liked the Twilight Realm too, for both its puzzles and asethics. It's a shame the dungeon was on the short side, and that you couldn't travel anywhere beyond the dungeon.

[Majestic Joey]

I swear I hate school. I still have not got or had time to play twilight princess and also metal gear 4. Lately I feel like I can't get involved with those types of games and can only play games like street fighter where it feels like you get instant gratification without having to do any real work. I mean don't get me wrong I love games where you have to invest time in. it's just without time to play zelda for more than 2 hours at a time it feels like I can barely scratch the surface.

anyways I don't have a wii so is the gamecube version of twilight princess just as good? or should I hold out until I can afford a wii?

[Wombatwarlord777]

From what I understand, both versions are the same (besides the entire world being mirrored in the Wii version). The only thing that you might want to consider is that the Gamecube version has more limited control options. But that might not be a big deal. I remember trying to fish with the WiiMote at the beginning of TP, getting sick of it, and completing the rest of the game with the Gamecube controller.

[Wombatwarlord777]

Sorry for double posting, but the Gamecube controller isn't usable in the Wii version of Twilight Princess. I was somehow thinking of Sonic Unleashed.

[CM August]

There are further differences between the two, but only people like speedrunners would notice them - things like bypassing usually unavoidable scripted events that can only be accomplished on the Wii or vice-versa. The big one however would be the spin attack; it's so easy to do on the Wii that they implemented a 2-second 'recharge' between each swing, while those GCN players good with a joystick can pull them off in succession with no delay.

Not that this should matter to you at all. Get whichever version has the controller you prefer.

[Neo]

The Gamecube version is the original version, and features two item buttons, full camera control, and as mentioned quick spin attacks can be performed as fast as you are skilled. The Wii version can be played in 4:3 or anamorphic 16:9, replaces the basic attacks with waggle control, has three item buttons, no camera control (apart from centering it), pointer interface for some items (bow, hookshot), spin attacks require idle time inbetween each, and of course, the biggie: the whole game is flipped over.

The Wii version has no graphical superiority over the Gamecube version, but occasionally it can churn out an extra 2 FPS. Occasionally. Personally I can't stand the Wii controls, and I'm a big enough nerd that the horizontal flip bugs me. I guess if you liked Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask/Wind Waker, get the Gamecube version, as for the most part it's exactly alike. Shoot for the Wii version if over-the-shoulder precision shooting is your thing. (I'll note however that you can turn off pointer functionality in the Wii version, but why the hell would you be playing it, then?

And of course, each version has its set of exclusive glitches. Not that you're going to run into any of them through normal gameplay, they're quite obscure.

[Arcade]

Sonic Unleashed has a Gamecube version? Wow...

[Esrever]

I was going to mention that, and Midna's pseudo-reversed speech, the black squares emerging from the ground and the whole "downloading" thing Midna does by transferring a tiny fragment of a structure at a time through a portal, but I noticed I don't know what "going with that" actually means. What do you think they could've expanded upon?

I guess that, deep down inside, I hoped that the game's narrative was actually going to venture into a science fiction direction.... that the "digital" look of the Twilight Realm was indicative of some sort of technology in play. But ultimately, it was just an interesting aesthetic applied to otherwise standard fantasy worlds and magical powers.

[Neo]

And thank goodness for that, otherwise you'd have been blown away by the shockwave caused by a collective "BAWWW" of the series' fanbase two to three days after the game's launch.

[Yami CJMErl]

Sonic Unleashed has a Gamecube version?

No.

[Majestic Joey]

one thing I never understood was that if any other game made a sequel they get hated on by reviewers for making the same game, but if you think about it the formula in Zelda has never really changed and Zelda games always get perfect scores no matter what.
not saying they should changed zelda because the game plays good but reviewers are just bias towards zelda too much for my taste.

[Shadow Hog]

Three words: eight point eight. GameSpot calls Nintendo out on this and the fanboys go insane.

Actually, given how some of the alternatives are coming out, I almost WANT it to never change... I'd much rather have another Link's Awakening than another Phantom Hourglass.

[j-man]

Let's be honest here; all we really want from the Zelda series is a very, very controlled variation on a theme. Twilight Princess is a prettier Ocarina of Time, but that's what we're after, surely? And Ocarina of Time is Link to the Past in 3D, and Link to the Past is a beefed up version of the original NES title. If the next game in the series is a prettier Twilight Princess, I'm sold already. You'll talk to Gorons and Zoras, probably save their respective kingdoms, trawl through various themed dungeons, collect (mostly) useless items and weaponry, fuck about for a bit in the field looking for hidden stuff, then stab Ganon in the head and save the world. Again. And it'll be brilliant.

And some steampunk please Mr. Nintendo <3

[Zeta]

Let's be honest here; all we really want from the Zelda series is a very, very controlled variation on a theme. Twilight Princess is a prettier Ocarina of Time, but that's what we're after, surely? And Ocarina of Time is Link to the Past in 3D, and Link to the Past is a beefed up version of the original NES title. If the next game in the series is a prettier Twilight Princess, I'm sold already. You'll talk to Gorons and Zoras, probably save their respective kingdoms, trawl through various themed dungeons, collect (mostly) useless items and weaponry, fuck about for a bit in the field looking for hidden stuff, then stab Ganon in the head and save the world. Again. And it'll be brilliant.

Not me. I want Elder Scrolls: Oblivion's interface + Ocarina of Time inventory, items, and dungeons + Bumpy Trot / Okami level of detail in sidequests (and a shitload of them, too), characters (interesting NPCs), and towns and an actual useful shit to do with rupees and thus actually useful items to buy in stores. : (