Table of Contents - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
directed by Shigeru Miyamoto, produced by Eiji Aonuma, published by Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is the thirteenth main game in the much-beloved Legend of Zelda series. It follows series mainstays Link and Zelda along with debut character Midna in their efforts to stop the spread of the Twilight, a shadowy alternate dimension where fearsome beasts lurk, and to put a stop to Zant, the corrupt leader at the helm of the assault. It was released in 2006 to critical acclaim and astounding reviews, particularly uplifting for Nintendo after the less-than-liked Majora’s Mask and Wind Waker entries.

This game also happens to be an example of personal vindication for me; much like Persona 3, this game was released in 2006, around the turn of generations for video gaming when gaming was becoming more accessible and less of a specific market, and creating them was becoming more of a professional endeavor. Games were becoming more cinematic and drawing on elements from other media more, sometimes to their strength and sometimes to their detriment. This would go on to become an example of a game where popular perception actually matches mine down to a tee, with the critical acclaim steadily petering out and inverting as the gaming world continued to look past their nostalgia and realize more of its flaws.

I will be drawing on three previous titles to make my points: Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, and Wind Waker. Not only do those happen to be the Zelda games I own and regularly play, but they along with Twilight Princess make up what I refer to as the “Big Four” of Zelda—the most commercialized, advertised, and spoken-of Zelda games in modern memory; a “Big Five” and “Big Six” wouldn’t happen until the introductions of Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild, respectively. And as one of the Zelda titles to have a strong marketing and go down in the series’ history as one of its turning points, I’ll be taking it to task whenever it leans on its predecessors too much—and you’re welcome to join me where you might find it leaning on Zelda games I haven’t played, too.

I want to say it now, and I want it firmly remembered, that this recap is not meant to shit on this game, nor is it meant to shame anyone who enjoys or calls it their favorite Zelda game. I know more than a few sporkers hold this game dear to their heart, and believe it or not, I actually like it. And to be honest, after Persona 3 and with RWBY still ongoing, I just need a palette-cleanser that I can openly enjoy even while criticizing it. I view this spork more as the click of a gun’s safety before the firing of the bullet, in that I’d like to spork a Zelda game that bugs me before I go on ahead to sporking a Zelda game that breaks me.

Don’t get confused—Skyward Sword is not the spiritual sequel to Twilight Princess’s problems. It did not inherit the counts we’re going to use (most of them, anyway…). Twilight Princess is indicative of problems Nintendo as a whole sank into from around this point onward, and has not crawled out of since. Skyward Sword is…just crap. Indescribably so, at least right now. But as it is, things aren’t exactly peachy right here in 2006, either. So let’s go and look at the problems that plagued The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

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