More than any other console or company, Nintendo's reputation is built around their franchises. Though Mario is the poster boy for the company, when it comes to critical acclaim and the adoration of the fans, probably no other name is more heralded than that of Link. So with the launch of the Wii, of course someone from Nintendo's staple would have to show, and luckily fans have The Legend of Zelda to look forward to.

THE STORY SO FAR
As Link (though you can change his name) you start off in a really small village out in the middle of nowhere, sealed away in the forest. You've got your friends, the children of the village, and your trusted horse. Of course, kids will be kids, and soon they are getting into trouble. The next thing you know they are getting into even more trouble and getting themselves kidnapped by a goblin commander. So soon Link embarks on a quest to rescue the kids, but that is only the beginning of your journey, as fate has much, much more expansive plans for you.

Throughout the course of the game, you'll be introduced to the Twilight, a world shaded in darkness, where monstrous shadows fight with our hero. Once in the land of Twilight, Link isn't his old self, as each time he advances into this world he changes into the form of a wolf. As a wolf, you'll still explore the world much like you did as your human self, though you'll have new moves and abilities at your disposal, such as being able to dig and smell the scents of different things.

Much like past offerings in the series (at least dating back to the SNES' "A Link To The Past") the story is sweeping and epic, and though it doesn't feel as strong as some of the past games, it is decidedly dark and is still a nicely told story.

GAMEPLAY
Though many of the elements are the same (okay, practically ALL of the elements are the same in terms of gameplay), the one thing that separates Twilight Princess from the rest of the games in the series is the Wii motion controller. Though it had some sensitivity issues at E3, those have been completely fixed and work really well. On the nunchuk, the analog stick moves Link around, while the C-button goes into a first person view mode, Z-button locks on to enemies, and you can shake the nunchuk to do a special circular swing move. As for the Wii controller, you'll use the directional pad to select optional usable items, the A-button to roll and pick-up objects, the B-button to select and pullout one of your secondary items, and you'll shake the controller to perform sword swipes and the like. Though the controls are almost perfect, I wish there had been another way used to access your sword, because even the slightest jolt will cause you to pull out your weapon, and it seems as if the game would've been better served had a button press at least pulled out and put your sword back in.

As with all the games of the past, Twilight Princess follows a formula that doesn't really deviate from beginning to end all that much. You'll explore a location, talk to people, scour around to see if there are any side-quests or heart pieces hidden about, you'll have to head into the Twilight, find the light tears stolen from some bugs, and then you'll go tackle the dungeon, which will then probably let you access a new location you couldn't have got to otherwise had you not received a vital piece of equipment or done something another to allow that to open up. And ultimately, that is one of the problems with the game…

You see, Twilight Princess is basically every Zelda game before, but it lacks that something special that always made it the perfect game. It lacks the two unique worlds of The Ocarina of Time. It lacks the cool groundhog day story of Majora's Mask. It doesn't have the immersion and unique setting of The Wind Waker (which is my favorite game of all time). Link becoming a wolf is supposed to be that extra oomph that makes it perfect, but wolf Link feels like regular Link too much that the fact you are in a new world doesn't really feel that different or unique.

Also, unlike some of the past Zelda games, Twilight Princess felt very linear. Now while the past ones probably had it all setup so that they were extremely linear too, they didn't make you feel as if you were playing a linear game. With Twilight Princess (especially early on) it feels as if you are being led around by the hand everywhere, because you can't get to here unless you have this weapon, or you can't get to hear because you haven't gone into the Twilight yet, or you can't go here unless you have your horse.

Basically, the game feels like the same gameplay of all the other Zelda games (which wouldn't generally be a bad thing at all), though it does offer a few changes such as manually controlling your boomerang throw and targeting specific places in specific orders or using your boots to get sucked in by magnets or having to manually reel in your fishing line.

GRAPHICS
I miss the world of The Wind Waker and all its cel-shaded beauty. I can't believe people hated that game or didn't want to give it a chance because of its look. Now, since Nintendo has listened to those whiners, they've gone back to the more authentic and real looking Zelda they first started establishing with The Ocarina of Time.

Much like the gameplay, much of Zelda graphically feels too familiar; it doesn't have that spark of life and creativity that The Wind Waker had. Technically, everything is sound and it looks beautiful. The character models are nicely done. Enemies are unique. The larger than life boss battles are always a thrill to see what Nintendo is going to throw at you next.

So why ultimately do the graphics disappoint? Ultimately, it's for the same reason that the gameplay failed to reach the level of perfection – it lacks that extra spark of creativity. If you want the best looking game that I've played on the Wii yet, I'll certainly point you directly to Twilight Princess, but when it comes to Zelda games, I expect more from them. It has some moments of spark such as an ethereal scene above the clouds, where you can see all the major landmarks of Hyrule in one place, but others just feel very lukewarm in their reception.

SOUND
Nintendo has backed themselves into a corner with this one, because with Link never have spoken once, it is pretty hard to make a game with voiceover and not have people pissed about how Link sounds – so you pass over voiceover to focus on the other aspects. And usually I'd rally against a game nowadays making us read so much for the sheer fact that technology allows us to put voices in games now. However, I've always stood by Nintendo's decision and that still remains the case for me today. What the game lacks in voiceover, however, it makes up for in sound effects and music, something the series has always done to perfection. The music in particular always knows what emotion you should be feeling, and it always presents to you the piece of music that would most put you in that frame of mind.

IN CONCLUSION
In the end, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is still the best on the Wii and the first game you should buy after plunking down your hard earned money to buy the system, as it is currently the best one that I've played and will give you a ton of bang for your buck as it is quite long. However, far too often the game falls back onto its laurels to pave the way from the beginning of the game to the end, and though usually that would be enough to roll out the red carpets and blare the trumpet horns, the game ultimately lacks that special something to give it a perfect rating. A little less linear, a little less familiarity, a little bit more fun – anything like that would've made this a perfect game.

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