Some more ranting, in order of me reading other people's posts from oldest to newest:
I agree with Steven about the lack of being able to play after you've beaten the game, but they've done that in all the Zelda games. Reseting the system after beating the game always bothered me, and I like having new little things to do once you've "completed" the game. Ah well.
I can see where Steven's coming from with the depth thing. It flowed a lot like an anime series, where they have situational characters. It didn't bother me that much though -- it really wasn't that much different from the other Zelda games in that regard, except for maybe Majora's Mask, because you see development of so many little people through the cycling of the 3 days.
I've already commented on my thoughts of the story.
The wolf form definately came off as plot-device-ish and railroading until
you get the option to change form freely
, but again, it didn't bother me, at least not like I was expecting it to before I played the game. I have to disagree with the sidequests -- while they may not be Majora's Mask, they were pretty fun. If you want to feel like your sidequests are a chore, play Minish Cap. UGH.
The dungeons were definately fun and sweet. There were a couple times when I didn't realize it was a dungeon until about 5 minutes or so into it, because it wasn't all "THIS IS A DUNGEON" like Zelda usually does, which was nice. Sadly, I got stuck on parts that I'm a bit ashamed about, like
moving the statue across the scale because I didn't realize you could use the Dominion Rod on the little heads on the shelf
. I was going to disagree on the weapons, but I think you're right Steven about them being more used throughout the game. They had some good stuff too, like the
lantern, ball and chain, and double clawshots -- if they could combine the swinging of the grapple hook from Wind Waker into those, they'd be the sweetest weapons EVER
.
I've been playing on the Gamecube, so controls seem normal, though even now I STILL want to press the start button for my inventory -- the items selection throws me off too much, though it isn't bad by far. I like how
your hidden sword skills are like the parry in Wind Waker, but broken up, optional, and gives you more control rather than "press A to parry" -- however, the jump strike doesn't really seem to work for me
. It makes for good action. The horseback is definately nice, but I still feel a little too invincible while on the horse with most bad guys. The normal moblins hardly put up a fight, though the
beefier ones later are good
. I wonder if some of the action was dumbed down because it's the same as the Wii version.
The game does come off as more formulaic, but I'm quite certain they made it that way because of the backlash from Wind Waker.
The final fight with Ganon proves that if nothing else.
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Snowboarding is awesome, even if it's another thing that makes Link "cool" in this game.
Ganon should really referred to as just Ganon (I think he is referred to as Gannondorf in the backstory manual to LttP though, Brian, but I agree -- it's a stupid name). I understand the Gannondorf = human/Ganon = beast logic, but I'd rather it be Gannondorf = pre-Triforce of Power/Ganon = with Triforce of Power.
Isuwen: I think you're just getting better, because the dungeons are definately full-length dungeon size, unlike Ganon's Tower in OoT/Wind Waker, or using the Forsaken Fortress (which isn't really that big) TWICE in the game. Wind Waker might be bigger, but it FEELS emptier.
I'm actually a little sad that these games have been so linear. Yes, the player needs to know what they can do next, but there were several times in TP that I felt like I was being railroaded for no good reason. I should be able to try and at least enter any/some dungeons -- the older 2-D games allowed for it.
The magic armor is definately too limiting. It uses rupees slowly just when you're wearing it, AND your rupees go flying down the drain when you get attacked. If it does that, then after you lose your money it should just start draining hearts like normal. Or they could have it where you only lose rupees when you take damage or only a fixed amount over a period of time. I really didn't like the design of either of the other outfits, which I guess is a nice change of pace, with Link staying green throughout the game.
As for dungeons, I think it has approx. the same amount as OoT
OoT: Deku Tree, Death Mountain, Jabu-Jabu, Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit, Ganon's Tower (1/2 a dungeon really). Total = 8 1/2 - 9.
TP:
Forest, Death Mountain, Water, Arbiter grounds, Snowpeak, Temple of Time, Sky temple, twilight palace, hyrule castle.
Total = 9.
And, because I'm bitter about WW, let's compare that one.
Wind Waker = Forsaken Fortress (1/2), Dragon Roost, Forbidden Woods, (oh look, they denied me a 3rd), Temple of the Gods, Forsaken Fortress (again!), Earth Temple, Wind Temple, Ganon's Tower (1/2). Total = 6 - 8 if you want to be generous. It's technically more than Majora's Mask, but again, Majora's Mask was jam-packed with detail and sidequests and such, whereas Wind Waker was big and empty. I mean, I know they were going for the whole ocean thing, but the ocean should have been more proportional to the landmasses like Hyrule Field and other open sections in TP is to their main parts (and they're still pretty big!)
The final fights with Ganon seemed lacking, but I think my standards just got too high or something, because it's certainly the largest boss battles in Zelda, and the different stages are nice. Zelda as Ganon's puppet was pretty cool, though the controls to tackle his beast form seemed too hard, whereas the controls for the horse fighting seemed too simple. I think the final stage would have worked better if their enclosed area had been seperated more naturally, like shattered earth making an impass, or a cliffside or something. The final battle with Ganon is both better and worse than the final fight with him in Wind Waker, because they give you more control in TP and not "use parry" like in WW, but... no, actually, nevermind. Most of the "con" comes from trying to use the hidden skills on him.
I am also very bummed out that, with this game being all about the dark and emo and whatnot and especially
after they had that REALLY disturbing scene before the water temple where you see figures that look like Dark Link
that
Dark Link was not in the game. I know that scene wasn't meant to be literal, but I was really hoping they'd put it in, ideally as a sidequest like the Cave of Ordeals so they could require the use of the hidden skills. Link's got all these awesome moves, which get SOME use with some of the bad guys and with Ganon, but they really could have capitalized on it with a Dark Link battle. If they had included him though, it probably wouldn't have been that great like in OoT. Ah well
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Despite my "this game is dark and emo" and my initial reservations about how Nintendo was appeasing to the backlash, it ended up not really bothering me, and I'm not sure why.
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It was so fakking boring.