The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

By: Alex Gordon

So we've seen the trailer, but what does Link really have in store for us gamers? A slew of information was recently released in an interview with the co-director Eiji Aonuma, regarding this question. Coinciding with the interview was 30 minutes of Direct feed, featuring impressive in-game footage displaying some of the mechanics and a brief overview of the storyline.

The feature that is capturing most people's attention, is Link's newfound power to transform into a wolf. This aspect was, among many other things, elaborated on in the Eiji Aonuma interview. Much like LOZ: A Link to the Past had the dark world and the light world, and LOZ: Ocarina of Time had time travel, Twilight Princess will feature parallel worlds as well. According to the Eiji, there will be a "Twilight Realm", which is where Link becomes his wolf self whenever he crosses into.

Aonuma also says that the Twilight Realm will gradually expand capturing “Anyone just outside of it”. He also said that in the Twilight Realm, humans do not exist but animals do. This means we will be able to see characters from the normal realm in there animal forms.

To make the game more challenging side-quests, mini-games, and puzzles will all be included to make the game last longer. A relief to fans who were frustrated at the easiness of The Wind Waker.

Although the difficulty of the game will be much greater than The Wind Waker, the battle system will be similar. However Nintendo has hinted at the idea of even more moves and weapons to add to Link's arsenal. Automatic jumping is back once again, as it has worked quite well with the previous 3 titles. Horseback battles will undoubtedly be an important element in this game also. In addition to use of bow and arrow on horseback, the player will be able to use their sword while on horseback. This leads many to wonder if other, perhaps all, weapons will be useable on horseback.

The game's engine is actually an enhanced version of The Wind Waker's engine, with an additional graphical makeover. But it is said that the engine has been enhanced so much that it cannot actually be classified as the same engine used in the Wind Waker. Great stuff.

In my opinion the game is shaping up to be a good one. The storyline is sounding good and the graphics looking even better. All in all, the incorporation of new features adding to the leaving in of ones, which worked previously, could make Twilight Princess an instant hit.

To view screenshots of the upcoming Zelda: click here