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Wii version
After the Wii was revealed to audiences at E3 2005, Aonuma was interested in developing a video game for the console. Following Shigeru Miyamoto's suggestion and considering that actions such as being able to aim directly at the target on the screen was "what was needed to give Zelda a completely new feel",[4] Aonuma decided to make a Wii version of Twilight Princess. Since completing the two versions would be impossible by 2005, Miyamoto convinced Nintendo executives to postpone the release of both versions to 2006, which also made Twilight Princess a Wii launch title. Difficulties during the conversion included implementing the camera, and making the controls easy to use. First, the developers had to map the functions to the different button layout, then they had to make the controls "easy to understand and intuitive" in response to some negative feedback of people who tried Twilight Princess at E3 2006.[4]


The Wii version of the game uses the controller's functionality. For example, players use the Wii Remote to mimic the motion of using a bow and arrow.In December 2005, British publication NGC Magazine claimed that when the GameCube version of the game is played on the Wii, the player will be given the option of using the Wii's unique controller;[29] and it was not suspected that two versions of the game would be released. Reggie Fils-Aime denied these claims, stating that, across the board, GameCube games played on the Wii would not be compatible with the Wii's controller.[30] Nintendo of France Director of Marketing Mathieu Minel stated in a subsequent interview with Jeux-France that Twilight Princess would include Wii controller-functionality in some form, but Nintendo quickly requested that this be removed from the interview.[31] However, Shigeru Miyamoto ultimately confirmed the Wii controller-functionality in an interview with Nintendo of Europe.[32] Time also reported this soon after.[33][34]

Shigeru Miyamoto had said in an interview that the only differences between the GameCube and Wii versions of Twilight Princess were technical.[35] The Wii version also displays in a 16:9 (anamorphic widescreen mode) format in 480p, where the GameCube version plays only in 4:3.[36] 480p is possible on early DOL-001 models of the GameCube, using the component-cable or if the GameCube version is played on the Wii.

In the Wii version of Twilight Princess, Link is right-handed, despite his normal left-handed preference. Miyamoto noticed that most play-testers preferred wielding their "swords" right-handed, but at that point, all maps, bosses, and models had already been designed with a left-handed stance in mind. The simplest solution was to invert the entire game horizontally. In the GameCube version, Link remains left-handed, and the maps and player guides for the two versions are mirror versions of each other.[37] Anything in the game referring to east/west or left/right is changed accordingly between the two versions, with only two exceptions: the Wii version's sun rises in the west and sets in the east and its characters shake hands left-handed.

In the early NTSC release of the game, a glitch would force players to restart the game when saving in the broken cannon room. In the GameCube and PAL releases, the error was fixed in advance. For players affected by the glitch, Nintendo Customer Support offers an updated disc replacement.[38]


[edit] Audio
As is common for The Legend of Zelda games, music plays an important role in Twilight Princess. The score was composed by Toru Minegishi, Asuka Ohta, and Koji Kondo. Additionally, Mahito Yokota was credited in the ending for teaser music composition.[39] Minegishi headed up music composition and sound design in Twilight Princess, providing all the field and dungeon music under the supervision of Kondo.[40]

With the advent of optical storage media, the implementation of fully orchestrated tracks instead of sequenced music became possible. Optical storage media technology led to the inclusion of one prerecorded track that acts as both the E3 2005 trailer theme and the music for the demo movie played after the title screen.[41] That song was composed by Kondo[42] and arranged for an orchestra by Michiru Oshima, later to be conducted by Yasuzo Takemoto. Three drafts of the trailer music have been composed by different musicians; one of them was released on the Official Soundtrack and is called "The Legend of Zelda: Orchestra Piece #2".[40]

The fact that Nintendo has decided not to use recorded songs for other music in the game, however, has been a point of criticism. Kondo originally stated that he "would really like to push for" an acoustic orchestral soundtrack, as he considers live instruments much more deep and expressive than the ones used in digital music.[43] However, after the game's release, he stated that a full orchestra would have been unnecessary for this specific title.[44]


[edit] Reception
[hide] Reviews
Publication Score
1UP.com Wii: A+[11]
Electronic Gaming Monthly Wii: 10 of 10[10]
Famitsu Wii: 38 of 40[45]
Game Informer Both: 10 of 10[12]
GameSpot Wii: 8.8 of 10[46]
GCN: 8.9 of 10[47]
GameSpy 5 of 5[48]
IGN Wii: 9.5 of 10[9]
GCN: 9.5 of 10[49]
X-Play Wii: 5 of 5[50]
Compilations of multiple reviews
Compiler Score
Metacritic Wii: 95%[51]
GCN: 96%[52]
Game Rankings Wii: 94.6%[53]
GCN: 96%[54]
Electronic Gaming Monthly: Game of the Year 2006,[55] Best Level Design 2006,[55] Best Battle System 2006[55]
Game Informer: Game of the Year,[21] Game of the Month: January 2007[21]
Twilight Princess has received near universal critical acclaim for its art direction and gameplay. At review aggregator Game Rankings, the Wii version of Twilight Princess has achieved an average rating of 95%, while the GameCube version has an average of 96%, making it the highest rated game of 2006. At Metacritic, Twilight Princess has received an average of 96 out of 100. At TopTenReviews, Twilight Princess has received an average score of 3.8678 out of 4, the highest among all games in the Zelda franchise.[56]

Review websites such as IGN, EGM, 1UP.com, Game Informer, and CVG have hailed it as the greatest Zelda game ever made.[9][10][11][12][13] IGN's Matt Casamassina wrote, "Ocarina, your time is up."[9] GamesRadar praised Twilight Princess as "a game that deserves nothing but the absolute highest recommendation".[57]

Twilight's graphics were praised for the art style and animation, although the game was designed for the GameCube, which is technically lacking compared to the next generation consoles. Both IGN and GameSpy pointed out the existence of blurry textures and low-resolution characters.[9][48] Despite these complaints, CVG felt the game's atmosphere was superior to that of any previous Zelda game, and regarded Twilight's Hyrule as the best version ever created.[13] PALGN praised the game's cinematics, noting that "the cutscenes are the best ever in Zelda games".[58]

Regarding the Wii version, GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann said the Wii controls felt "tacked-on",[46] although 1UP said the remote-swinging sword attacks were "the most impressive in the entire series."[11]

Gaming Nexus considered Twilight's soundtrack to be the best of this generation,[59] though IGN criticized its MIDI-formatted songs for lacking "the punch and crispness" of their orchestrated counterparts.[9]

The game received Spike TV's Critic's Choice Video Game Award[60] and also won X-Play's "Best Action Adventure Game" and "Game of the Year" awards.[61] It was the game of the year of 2006 according to Game Trailers. It also won the awards of Best Adventure Game and Game of the Year 2006 from 1UP. Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded Best Level Design, Best Battle System, and Game of the Year 2006. At the 2007 Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia Awards, Twilight Princess won two awards: "IEAA Nintendo Game of the Year" and "Best Selling Role Playing Game".[62] It won the "Best Writing" award at the 2007 Game Developers Choice Awards, and was nominated for "Best Game",[63] and was named Best Game of 2006 at the Spacey Awards.[64] The game was named the Game of the Month by Game Informer in the January 2007 issue.[21]


[edit] Sales
The Wii version of Twilight Princess sold over one million copies in the Americas,[65] 145,068 during its first two days in Japan,[66] and 240,000 during its first weekend in Europe.[67] During its first week, the game was sold with three of every four Wii purchases[68] and passing one million Wii units sold in North America within three months.[65] In its first month of availability, the GameCube version sold 532,900 units, and briefly outsold the Wii version.[69] After three months of availability, the GameCube version sold over one million units worldwide, and after four months of availability, the GameCube version sold over one million units in North America.[70] The game has sold 4.52 million copies on the Wii as of March 1, 2008,[7] and 1.32 million on the GameCube as of March 31, 2007.[8]

In spite of the game's success in North America and Europe, Miyamoto has publicly expressed disappointment with Twilight Princess' modest sales in Japan, and commented:

“ Well, I think a lot of people who bought the Wii are not necessarily the types of people who are interested in playing that kind of game. And a lot of the people who would want to play it [due to chronic shortages of the console] can't find a Wii! But mostly, I think it's that there are fewer and fewer people who are interested in playing a big role-playing game like Zelda.[71] ”


[edit] References
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[edit] External links
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess official North American website
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess official European website
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess official UK & Ireland website
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess at Nintendo.com
[show]v • d • eThe Legend of Zelda series

Main series The Legend of Zelda · Zelda II: The Adventure of Link · A Link to the Past · Link's Awakening · Ocarina of Time (Characters) · Majora's Mask (Characters) · Oracle of Seasons & Oracle of Ages (Characters) · The Wind Waker (Characters) · Four Swords Adventures · The Minish Cap (Characters) · Twilight Princess (Characters) · Phantom Hourglass (Characters)

Spin-offs Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland · Tingle's Balloon Fight · Link's Crossbow Training

Other games LCD games · CD-i games · BS Zelda no Densetsu · BS Zelda no Densetsu Kodai no Sekiban · Collector's Edition

Characters Link · Princess Zelda · Ganon · Tingle

Other Enemies · Bosses · Races · Hyrule · Master Sword · Triforce · Manga · TV series

Nintendo · Portal:Zelda


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