I've had the pleasure of reviewing the last three Zelda titles over the past eight or so years, and even though my personal favorite incarnation remains A Link to the Past on the SNES, I'm thoroughly satisfied with what Twilight Princess has managed to achieve. There's no doubt in my mind that Nintendo has once again crafted a video game that will be remembered for years to come. Link's back, and his new adventure on the venerable GameCube hardware is absolutely the best way this console's life could have come to a close.

There will be no spoilers written here, but if you truly only need to know whether the game rocks hard, just take a look at the score and be safe in the knowledge that it does. Having already beaten the tar out of the Wii version of the game, I was eager to see what changes existed between the two versions. Is the GameCube revision inferior in any way? That basically depends on your personal preference in regards to the Wii's new control system versus a traditional joypad. But no, this is still the same excellent game on the GameCube, so those of you that haven't upgraded machines need not worry. Given the epic size of the game, it's important to note that there's very little redundancy. You'll not find yourself being forced to do a lot of unnecessary running or riding (remember sailing around in Wind Waker?) thanks to the excellent warping system, and on the whole, the game feels very refined.

Life for Link begins in his small rural hometown of Ordon. Spending his days as a ram wrangler, things begin to get a little weird when strange monsters are spotted on the borders of the village. Link is tasked with taking a journey to the main city in Hyrule to consult with the folks there about the recent troubles. As you'd expect, a series of events begin to unfold that lead Link on a fantastical journey as he starts to uncover a sinister plot taking place in an alternate Twilight dimension. Will Princess Zelda know what to dor Who is the evil King of the Twilight and what does he want? And is Link destined to become the savior of the free peoples of Hyrule? It's up to you to take control and find the answers to these questions in your own sweet time.


The biggest difference here -- aside from the fact that the entire game is mirrored from the Wii version -- is the controls. Everything that made Wind Waker and Ocarina of Time excellent 3D Zelda games is here in Twilight Princess on the 'Cube. A few minor differences in controls include the fact that you can only map two, and not three, items to the GameCube's joy pad. You'll also be doing all of your first-person aiming (boomerang, slingshot, bow, etc.) manually using the L-trigger and the left analog stick. The camera is now controlled with the C-stick, and Midna's interactions are now mapped to the Z-trigger on the 'Cube's pad. And that's about it. Sure, I personally found the Wii's free-aiming system to be easier to use than the 'Cube's but at no stage did the old method of aiming or movement hamper the enjoyment of the game.

The lands of Hyrule are split up into a number of different provinces. Each province gradually becomes unlocked after you hit certain milestones in the game. It might be by the completion of one of the nine dungeons, or otherwise, and there's always a ton of stuff to see and do. There are lots and lots of NPCs to interact with -- some will give out much-needed hints, and others might open up new mini-game challenges. The Twilight dynamic of the game is a nice twist on the proceedings, too. When sent into the Twilight zones, Link transforms into wolf form and this in itself opens up new abilities, combat moves and methods of progression. For example, Link can talk to animals while in wolf form, whereas before he could not.