Judging from its E3 press conference, Nintendo seems by and large geared toward a younger audience, not just a casual one. But one game for the next-generation Wii looks to be taking-on a much more decidedly hardcore crowd: The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess.
Twilight Princess, first shown at last year’s E3 as a GameCube game, was said just two months ago to have special functionality when played on the Nintendo Wii. That revelation has now evolved into knowledge that an entirely new version of the game will be coming to the next-gen system, as Nintendo will bring one SKU designed specifically for the Wii and its motion-sensitive controller, and one (the original) designed for the GameCube.
When it ships this November, the Wii version of Twilight Princess will be the first Zelda game to launch day and date with a Nintendo console. As a result, Twilight Princess will follow in the footsteps of most Nintendo launch games by making use of all of the controller’s buttons. And, in this case, all its motion-sensitive functions.
Moving Link is accomplished with the analog stick on the nunchaku attachment, while targeting enemies and objects is done with the attachment’s Z button. Navigating the in-game menus, on the other hand, is done by aiming the wireless controller at the item you’d like to select, and selecting items is as simple as pressing a button on the wireless controller.
Pulling back on the wireless controller also allows you to aim Link’s bow. Aiming the bow enters a sort of zoom mode, and although the default zoom is generally in your target’s area, you can still aim with great precision within the targeting reticule itself. It’s only when you move your specific targeting “dot” out of the reticule (eg. move the controller fast or move it a lot) that the camera moves the entire screen. This seems totally natural, and it will probably be a natural evolution for gamers more used to using a mouse.
Aiming the bow has one additional element, and it’s tied into the Wii controller’s “secret” functionality, the built-in speaker. In Zelda, the wireless controller’s speaker is used to great effect when you pull back, almost as if you’re pulling the bow taut. When you shoot your arrow, the strained sound from the controller fades and the sound transfers to the TV speakers, giving a slight sense of distance/surround/momentum.
Outside of the arrow shooting, the controller is also used to swing Link’s sword and, if you pick up a crate with the A button, to throw crates in any given direction.
Graphically, Twilight Princess looks fantastic, even though the E3 demo only represents a small portion of a single dungeon. Although the Wii hardware is essentially a GameCube, which isn’t always revered for its graphical horsepower, Twilight Princess would certainly hold its own among some of the best adventure games of the current generation. The lighting, draw distances and level of detail surprised even the most stalwart Nintendo fanboys. And amazingly, their surprise was justified.
As the keystone game of the Nintendo Wii launch, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is not only the one title hardcore Zelda fans will drool over, but the one title that hardcore gamers in general will probably want to experience for themselves. We can’t wait to see where the game takes us once we leave the confines of the E3 2006 dungeon.
— Jonas Allen