Another long gap between posts. Grumble. At least my first (and for the foreseeable future, last) semester as a graduate student is over, so I should have less stuff to freak out about, for now.
So I finally got Zelda like 5 days ago. I also got Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance along with it but I haven't even opened the box yet. I will, eventually, but not before I've finished Zelda. I was thinking of making a thread about Zelda earlier, and update it as I progressed in the game, but I figured I'd rather just play the damn game first.
But anyway, since I'm here, I might as well post some of my early opinions about the game, being 8 hours in the game, so roughly 1/6 through. I've only First of all, the graphics are astounding for a Gamecube game. The animation is slightly disappointing initially, especially when compared to Wind Waker, but it's generally very good, especially during cut-scenes. Link's walking animation still looks weird, however. :/
The music themes are incredible. MIDI, shmidi, who cares, as long as the music is good. A lot of familiar themes make a welcome comeback, and the music in the Twilight areas is just amazing. Moody, eerie, almost scary at times.
Which is what has made the biggest impression on me so far. The Twilight Princess is incredibly gloomy for a Zelda game. There have always been dark elements in the storylines of previous Zelda games, such as the future version of Hyrule in Ocarina of Time, but they had never been so well-presented before. Not just because the graphics are better, the whole game is directed in a very professional, for lack of a better word, way, and it really makes a difference.
The storyline so far is interesting as far as Zelda games go, but nothing spectacular. Which is hardly surprising, Zelda storylines are nice, but never their strongest point. And the dialogs are sometimes cringe-worthy, but hey, it's a videogame about a young man saving the world, what can you do?
Gameplay is classic Zelda fare, with a few twinks here and there such werewolf-Link A.K.A. Gabriel Knight wannabe providing with some really nice touches, like talking to animals and digging holes in the ground for cash and alternative routes around. I've encountered some quite clever puzzles too, which are always welcome.
My only real problem with this game so far is the fact that, like Majora's Mask and the Wind Waker before it, it's lacking the majestic feeling that the Hyrule Field of Ocarina of Time provided. You know, that feeling of amazement you got the first time you left Kakariko (what a name!) village and found a field so vast it just took your breath away. Exaggerating a bit here, but whatever. In TP, Hyrule field (at least the one I've come across so far) is big, but nothing awe-inspiring... Perhaps even smaller than the one in OoT, I should plug my N64 back and check it out. And the starting village is slightly larger than Kakariko village in OoT, which is again disappointing. I'm being a bit anal here, and hopefully the next areas will be more open, but this feeling of having a huge world to explore was my favorite thing about my favorite Zelda game ever (Ocarina of Time, as if you didn't guess), and that was 8 years ago. It's about time I stopped reminiscing about it, and started talking about a new Zelda game that did it better instead. Make it happen Nintendo!
Oh, I'm also playing Sam & Max Situation: Comedy these days, but I can't speak about that yet. Lawlz.
I'm almost glad The Blackwell Legacy got delayed for a week, otherwise I wouldn't know what to play first.
P.S.
For those wondering why I've disappeared from WoW (that still being World of Warcraft), my account expired and I have no interest in renewing it for the time being. Everybody's gotten the "gotta get new gear" fever, only to later realize it's not that easy to get the whole PvP set after all so they just do what the average WoW-player does best: whine about it. Even worse, with the latest patch we got buggy (and old) talents, PvP balance being thrown out the window, and battlegrounds with ridiculous lag (5 seconds on average), it just feels like I'm paying to play a beta. Thanks, but I'll pass.
I'm expecting the early days of the Burning Crusade (the upcoming expansion to WoW) to be exactly the same, if not worse. So unless I get the need to play again because real life friends are playing, for something else besides gear, it will probably be a while before I buy it.
P.P.S.
Was that a... dildo advertisement I just heard on the radio? O.o
3 comments:
I get the feeling that the field in Ocarina of Time seemed so large because it was new rather then because it was, actually, large. My memories of Daggerfall are full of a larger, richer world then Oblivion even though, intellectually, I know that it's not the case.
-Tom
Shameless self plug: Nowhere-Fast.net!
You know, that's actually quite right...
And, for the record, I did come across a much larger field than the one I initially saw, and that was huge. Kind of a shame that they had to break Hyrule field down into "parts" such as these, but eh, what can you do.
Wanna hear something funny? I just figured out how to add links to my blog. :P
It's possible they did that because they needed to ensure it would work on the GC. I would imagine that the Wii could handle larger environments.
-Tom
Nowhere-Fast.net
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