intendo of America today let a few journalists into their Redmond, Washington headquarters to get their greedy hands on the final version of Twilight Princess for Wii. This week we’re only allowed to discuss everything up through the first dungeon of the game and nothing more. Being a devout Zelda fan, I will do my best to be as spoiler free as possible hoping not to ruin any of the delectable morsels this title has to offer. Considering we’ve all had to wait so long for this title to hit the GameCube Wii, everything should be experienced first hand. So with this hands on I’ll try not to ruin anything, but offer up a good idea of what Twilight Princess will have in store for gamers at the Wii launch. [And don't forget to check out the latest Zelda videos]
Twilight Princess takes place several hundred years after Link returned to his child form at the end of Ocarina of Time. We’re not exactly sure what relation this new hero is to the previous one, but needless to say, Link looks just like Link should – with pointy ears and all. The game begins as Link and another villager are sitting on the edge of a river during the beginning of the twilight, and Link is told that he has to visit Hyrule for the first time and deliver something important. Before he does that, he must find his trusty steed, Epona. Gamers still have the option to name Link and Epona whatever they want, but for tradition sake, we decided to keep it real.
The opening area is where you learn not only Link’s basic move set, but Epona’s as well. However, just as in Ocarina of Time, Link doesn’t start out with his sword, shield, or other armaments. Once you get your trainer wooden sword, controls are as follows. The analog stick moves Link, and by waving the Wii remote Link will slash his sword. However, if you swing the controller left you won’t always slash left, and visa versa. Link will just continue his normal attacks until you stop swinging.
The Z button will initiate targeting and Link will perform a lunge attack. By Z-targeting and moving forward, Link will stab. If you also press A, Link will do a stronger overhead slash. By quickly shaking the nunchuk left and right, Link will execute a spin attack. The C button allows you to view things from first person and look around. Throughout the game you’ll encounter beings that will teach you further attacks such as an ending blow where you’ll dive onto a stunned enemy and stab right through them, or the dodge roll attack from Wind Waker where you can slice off armored enemies’ protection. In all, Link will have seven special moves to learn throughout his adventures.
Many readers were concerned that with Nintendo switching up the traditional controls to swinging the remote and nunchuk players would get tired wrists and arms. After a five-plus hour play session, we can honestly say that this truly won’t be the case. You don’t have to jump around like a monkey in one of those Wii promotional videos flailing your arms around. At first, I have to admit that I sat with the Wii remote always pointed at the screen, and the nunchuk almost squared up next to it. But after about 20-30 minutes I was barely pointing the remote at the screen, and my left hand was just relaxed on my leg. While you do have to move your wrists, it’s really not that much, and only when you’re targeting with certain weapons like the boomerang or slingshot do you even have to point the remote at the screen. Just like any other Zelda title, you’ll mostly be able to be sprawled across the couch – which is something I’m quite looking forward to doing as soon as possible.
The other concern people have is with targeting, and I can honestly say I didn’t have any trouble whatsoever. I went with the default sensitivity and was hitting everything on the first attempt with the sling shot. Sling shot ammo has weight to it, so the further away your target, the more you’ll have to arc your shot. I was still hitting spiders across a cavern on the first or second try, even when they were moving. Regardless, you’ll be able to turn off the pointer altogether if you want to play by old school targeting. But personally, I like the extra immersion the Wii controls offer and won’t be changing anything.
As you venture into the village you’re introduced to Epona. Much like the first E3 demo, you’ll have to rustle up some goats and get them back into the barn. To ride Epona you walk up to her and press A. Move her around with the analog stick once you’re riding. Pressing A gives her a little spur (or whip). Much like carrots in Ocarina of Time, you’ll have a rechargeable number of spurs that will appear at the bottom of the screen. To call Epona, you’ll find specific reeds of grass that you can use to whistle a tune that will bring her to your side. However, this is area specific, and in certain locations you may call other animals to do your bidding, such as an eagle.
There’s another portion where you’ll have to feed a cat a fish, and once you’ve gained your fishing rod you can draw it out anywhere. By pressing the minus button on the Wii remote, you’ll bring up your inventory. Pressing B will automatically keep whatever you’re equipping (fishing rod, slingshot, etc) readily accessible, but you can also map items to two of the directions on the d-pad. To fish, you press B to activate your rod, and with a flick of the wrist you’ll send out your lure. When your bobber dips, pull up on the remote at the right time and you’ll snag the fish and reel it in.
After you roll through the basics in the village and accomplish a few objectives, you’ll set out to Hyrule only to be stopped by some mysterious new enemies that show up. A dark portal opens in the sky and some baddies show up. Suddenly it’s looking like that delivery to Hyrule is not looking like much of a priority as a dark glowing door appears in the distance. Upon investigation, a giant hand comes out of the door and yanks Link into the Twilight Realm. Link suddenly feels the Triforce on his hand glow, and turns into his new wolf form. To make matters even worse, the wolf gets hauled off by something, and then trapped in a jail cell.