The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GC, 2006)
Graphics-8.5 Sound-8 Control-7.5 Challenge-6.5 Story-6.5
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-6.5 Fun-7.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
+
Transform into a wolf (Okami/SotN (also similar to Zelda 3 except it's actually useful here); dig (pass some wolf-only paths and find a few optional caves within stone circles), listen to NPCs' thoughts via their spirits, sing poorly (singing/music playing is somewhat more advanced yet again in that you have to control the pitch and note length (no need to switch between time signatures here though unlike in WW), talk to animals and explore the twilight-covered parts of Hyrule (similar to the dark world in Zelda 3), perform more difficult jumps in certain spots, area of effect attack which is similar to a spin attack but covers a larger area, can sense and listen to the spirits of NPCs stuck in the twilight - they can't see you back (can also sense and fight Poes/evil spirits), can learn scents to see trails leading to certain NPCs while in sense mode, can't climb ladders nor talk to people (they're usually scared of you as well))
The horse Epona is back (can name her now as well as use a variety of weapons while riding her - the boomerang and slingshot aren't that effective though since you need to get fairly close to lock onto enemies, can ride her in towns, can run over smaller enemies, she'll stay where you left her even if moving to another area and back, can summon her in certain areas using special grass and the game automatically plays her song when interacting with it - later on you get an item to summon her with in more places, she is also used in a couple of boss fights here and wolf Link can speak to her)
Some good puzzles (moving platforms affected by your weight puzzle in the sky temple, weight room and small statue puzzle (heart piece) in temple of time, reekfish puzzle (the smell cloud around it after fishing one up is just enough of a clue), the second snow temple block puzzle (and the second block puzzle in the northern cave blocked by a magical ice barrier) and the cannon puzzle which spans most of the dungeon, main water levels puzzle and big key in the water dungeon (can also do a couple of rooms in reverse order here), some of the magnetic puzzles in the second dungeon (also a nice blend of fire and water themes), desert dungeon poe hunt, sacred grove statues (surprisingly hard for an obligatory one though), ),
New combat moves (ending blow/finishing blow - kill enemies that are knocked out to prevent them from countering, shield bash - stun enemies in melee and block projectiles manually (the latter isn't really needed though?), back slice - like the counter attack in WW except not a counter here and a bit harder to pull off, helm splitter - somersault attack following a shield bash that lets you attack again from behind (very good), mortal draw - quickly draw your sword and knock out the enemy by waiting until it's close and not targeting it (very strong but not always practical), jump strike - spin attack+jump attack (good), great spin attack - stronger and larger version at full health (never used it)),
Some new items (double clawshot/hookshot - pull yourself towards other clawshot markers while holding onto one, dominion rod - awaken and control certain statues (they mirror your movement and the large one in the temple of time can destroy certain hazards and gates+teleport between bell portals in the temple of time+press switches while the small ones can only press switches), ball and chain/morning star - destroy magical ice barriers and various objects+push certain blocks and pot-shaped statues+destroy cracked floors (can keep swinging it around your head to create a shield that damages enemies), spinner - spinning disc that lets you jump onto and off of wall rails (similar to a handicap lift but faster) as well as activate a couple of mechanisms that change the layout of rooms in the desert dungeon by moving it in place and mashing the button, can warp out of dungeons as well as back to the last room you were in using a bird that you can carry with you (have to find it in each dungeon, can't warp back to finished dungeons from the outside with it though), boomerang variation which sort of combines the multi-target one from WW with the leaf from WW, iron boots variation which allow walking on walls and ceilings using magnetic surfaces - cool but too slow and you can't use ranged weapons for some reason, ),
Very good map system (togglable mini-map, three levels of zoom, show the basic layout+area exits+which door you exited last+dungeon doors(+treasure chests and the boss's location but you need to find the compass to see these as usual), )
More reliable target switching during combat and Link even auto-switches quickly mid-sword combo if one enemy dies
Signs outside of houses
Nice cutscenes (mostly skippable) and lighting effects, nice animation besides the lack of VA and lipsyncing of it
Mostly good bosses (Ganon's third phase (mounted), most of Zant's forms, sky temple flying lizardman (Aeralfos) mini-bosses, snow temple second phase (Yeta), temple of time first phase (giant spider), horseback fight and duels with the Bulblin king, second dungeon's mini-boss (leaning platform goron) and main boss, desert dungeon mini-boss)
Optional rumble feature, Surround sound option
Fishing is back (actually a bit simpler than in LA though but now there's a variety of bait for catching different fish)
Can interact with some animals (pet goats, pick up dogs as well as throw bones for them to catch, pick up some cats)
Three save slots per game (shows current stats, location and time taken; save anywhere though you're taken back to a checkpoint when loading (in dungeons you get sent back to the entrance)
Frequent checkpoints besides this as well except for a few spots in the fields)
Pretty cool aesthetics for the Twilight realm and twilight-covered areas of Hyrule (early 80s arcade/Tron movie inspired)
Decent dialogue
Mini-bosses
Fairly frequent warp spots
Day/night cycle (OoT, each is about 8 mins long? (about twice as long as in OoT)
Some new enemies in some areas at night and houses in towns tend to be locked
Time pauses while in towns; there's only a couple of ways to switch faster: go to the city in the sky and back and it switches to day/go to the twilight palace and back and it switches to night)
Sumo wrestling mini-game (decent mechanics but the fight against the sumo elder is too easy)
Interactive tutorials
Some memorable characters (the youngest kid (the one who opens a shop), Midna - decent development and nuance, thirsty goron, Yeto and Yeta)
Bomb arrows are back and only take up a single slot here
Mixes in a couple of flight segments where you ride an enemy creature for a bit
Pretty good fortune teller hints (heart piece locations)
Pretty good escort mission segment (on horseback so it's fast-paced - only issue is how easy it is for Epona to stop from touching obstacles)
Some interesting new enemies (the blobs/chus can (besides splitting and sometimes joining with each other) be scooped up and drunk after defeating them (don't have to process them here unlike in WW) - most heal you while purple has a random health effect/yellow works like lantern oil/the rare gold one both heals you and temporarily doubles your attack strength(=great fairy's tears effect), mounted archers, zant hands), more believable/immersive world (the world map isn't overly box- or oval-shaped finally, one pretty large town (castle town - plenty of NPCs moving around or doing other things here as well), the different "races" interact more with each other)
Very stable 30fps framerate
Breaks up the division between hostile and friendly areas at times with enemies appearing in towns (Zelda 3) and NPCs living in a dungeon
Nice rainstorm effect (castle tower)
Snowboarding segment w/ manual jumping (can replay it as a racing mini-game later on)
Boar riding segments (hard to control but lets you break wooden structures like a wrecking ball - weird that you can't break them with bombs though (and only some with the ball and chain))
Some additional lore delivered via the mailman on the field over the course of the game (besides quest-related info; his repeated cutscene should've been skippable though)
The dragon boss of sky temple appears and interrupts your progress once during that dungeon (Shinobi ARC) - easy and kind of slow boss fight though
Fight alongside Zelda against Ganon (Wind Waker)
Optional gauntlet dungeon (cave of ordeals in the desert)
Very good enemy variety and the best in the series so far (62 unique enemy types)
+/-
Linear structure (Midna tells you to go back if you try to go to Hyrule field before the forest temple for example, can't go north of hyrule field once it opens up nor return to Link form to meet the golden wolf after reaching death mountain, etc.; some dungeons are also linear besides some optional chests) - opens up more after the third dungeon and gaining the ability to switch forms on the fly but you still have to do the dungeons in a set order
Can't roll nor rotate the camera nor use weapons in-doors (can look around in FP view though) - also can't rotate the camera in castle town
Partial control config (hold or toggle Z-targeting)
The art direction is more realistic this time around and a bit more western as well (vaguely similar to FF12 and Fable, very idyllic hometown which is a bit reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings movies (the Bulblin enemies and boss also look kinda like Orcs from those movies and Ganon's ghost riders are reminiscent as well))
New quick-turn move for Epona but ironically it's a bit clunky to use (if you start holding forward right after doing it it doesn't work)
Can throw rocks at NPCs but they don't tell you off (can also swing the sword and make some NPCs dodge it which is kinda funny)
Can't jump manually besides over fences as Epona/to climb short ledges/during the short snowboarding segment
NPCs still don't have proper voice acting (they'll say an english word at times but mostly just make minor noises now and then - one exception is Midna who makes a lot of noise (both during dialogue and when performing basic moves as the wolf) and can get on your nerves at times - during non-cutscene dialogue you can at least skip most of it by speeding up the text)
Can slide down ladders but upwards climbing is a bit slow
Can call on a hawk in certain areas to fetch items and chickens from far away/high places (works like the boomerang besides one scene where you can attack with it but looks cool)
Re-uses more classic music tracks (mainly from OoT) than WW did
Link can eat larvae in this one (they can be used as fish bait or as weak healing)
Somewhat darker in tone than most earlier Zelda games ()
Area maps show the whole area as you enter them (helps you not miss details but lessens the sense of exploration a bit)
Sonic Adventure-style timed jumps as the wolf (looks cool but is mechanically simple since for the most part you can just mash jump while holding L to lock onto Midna when the game tells you to do it - the game is also sometimes inconsistent about when you can and can't do these jumps such as at the death mountain mine entrance or for various out of reach chests in the overworld)
Borrows both the enemy encounter style and the world restoration theme from Okami (released ~5 months earlier)
Delay between dash moves while swimming or in wolf form (the latter makes sense since it's an attack move but not the former)
Separate ammo for the lantern (oil)
Have to map Midna to Z (could equip 3 items in WW)
Midna is memorable but also kind of annoying at times (you don't quite know if she's evil at first which is interesting, she toys with you a lot for the first half of the game and also repeatedly tells you to go do things which you already know that you should do, ends up more endearing after a certain scene)
Silent protagonist (it is implied that Link talks in a few scenes such as when you tell your hometown about you having saved the kids but he generally says nothing)
The slingshot is made obsolete pretty early on (second dungeon)
Smaller but less empty overworld than in Wind Waker and there are more towns (you still get some large fields to ride around in as well as a couple of large underwater areas)
Some wolf paths get blocked off when back in Link form
Dropped or found hearts/rupees/ammo disappear after a few seconds
More scripted events in-between dungeons
Can't pull yourself towards chests with the clawshot/hookshot
Some supposedly scary cutscenes are unintentionally funny (laughing Ilia)
Rapids/waterfalls canoeing segment (cool but pretty hard to control)
Twili backstory is similar to the dark templars' in SC
The spaghetti western-style segment in the hidden village is a fun idea but a bit too easy and short
Not much to do in-between some dungeons in the mid-late game if you already collected everything you could up until that point
No ice arrows
The game suddenly breaks from the "can't move items between dungeon doors" rule in the final dungeon
The resistance members help Link vs an ambush in the castle towards the end (would've been cooler if they fought alongside you during gameplay instead)
Sudden point of no return before Ganon but can use save & quit to get out
-
Annoying repeated beep sfx when at low health
Some control/interface issues (back slice suddenly doesn't work properly vs ganon's final phase (and sometimes when it does your hit doesn't register!), have to place the camera behind Link to perform the back slice (countering in WW worked a bit better), can't use map markers and the map doesn't show which doors are locked, no song of the sun (to jump to day/night anywhere), can't properly look behind or below Link while climbing, slow vine climbing, kinda slow swimming, turning is kinda slow when aiming manually here, can't empty a red potion- or oil filled-bottle without using it on something, super slow movement while charging a spin attack in regular form, can't skip ahead to the next piece of dialogue or part of a cutscene rather than skipping the whole scene, pretty stiff and sensitive aiming controls (can lock on but you have to be close to the target, after the second dungeon you can buy an item that lets you zoom in while aiming with the bow however one heart piece requires precise aiming without using it to get it (pole in Kakariko - easier in later versions)), the game's a bit picky about positioning when interacting with objects and NPCs or jumping fences as Epona - z-targeting is supposed to help with the latter but it doesn't work well, Epona's movement stops too easily around walls and other obstacles - sometimes you can't move where it looks like you can as well, sometimes sloppy hit detection on the tongue of the frog mini-boss, weirdly unforgiving hit detection on the clawshot marker to the south of the castle, still have to pull out your sword to do a jump attack after z-targeting an enemy, inconsistent hit detection on the hanging chest near the beginning of the forest temple - took me several attempts with the boomerang to get it down (similar issues with blowing some things up using the boomerang and a bomb enemy in dungeon 1 - for some enemies and obstacles it blows up when it touches them and for others it doesn't; good puzzle idea though), if you draw the sword after using a sub weapon you can hold the button to start charging up a spin attack but if you do it without anything in your hands then it doesn't happen, some tutorial messages are repeated, standing too close to the edge of a platform when using certain items makes Link fall down)
Kinda slow beginning (have to do some tutorials and tutorial-like chores in Link's hometown before you get going which takes ~45 mins your first time around (the goat herding is kind of dull), the first fish you catch can't be given to the cat (changed in the HD ver.))
Some padding (the poe sidequest - find and kill 60 for an endless supply of 200 rupees reward (lame since you can only hold 1k in this version and it's easy to make money in the game, also the (4th) bottle you're given for the first 20 isn't really needed), some dead space (lake hylia-zora cave and backtracking into and out of the goron mines for one chest for example), need to find all 24 bugs to be able to carry 1k rupees in this version and they can respawn making the hunt more tedious if you don't do it all in one go and memorize where you've already been, five heart pieces required for each new heart here, key shards in the mines - need three to form a big key (boss room key), takes a while to regain Epona after losing her early on meaning travel is pretty slow during that period, you'll likely run out of wallet space before getting a bigger wallet - since there are various rupee chests it means you'll have to grab them later)
Some trial & error (cave of ordeals entry - Midna just says "what's this?" when examining what is apparently the bridge part and you have to pick warp and then the NE bridge location - if you pick warp and somewhere else it does become obvious that it is the bridge though, fairly easy to miss the digging spot outside the hyrule castle dungeon - Midna does give you a clue but you can get the notification for it while standing at the nearby gate instead (with the triforce symbol covered by leaves) which is confusing, hard to spot the spinner rail to the south of the castle (and you only get orange rupees from the two chests here anyway...), the last golden bug is inside a dungeon and pretty easy to miss, the partial ice wall around the rounded room one of the cannons in the snow temple is in is a bit of a red herring and so is being able to move the small statues in the temple of time with the ball and chain since the rod is a better option, can't do the hot spring water quest before finishing the third temple, the QTE sequence where you regain control over Epona, the horseback duel controls aren't explained until you're very close to the boss, can't grab the cat with the falcon when you can grab chickens with it)
More detailed but mostly uninteractive houses in terms of objects and some other gameplay-related objects can't be examined or asked about (could examine a lot of stuff in Link's Awakening)
Can climb some ledges but not other similar ones
Enemies (and fish) keep dropping items which you already have a full stock of
The tear of light collecting/world restoration isn't that fun here (killathon/collectathon element which is repeated several times and besides the boss and one other bug it's not hard to find nor kill the insects carrying tears of light, the tears also take several seconds to spawn after killing an enemy which breaks flow)
The hometown infiltration near the beginning feels too guided (the game notifies you about Midna wanting to talk to you at every turn and then she just moves to where you're supposed to jump)
Enemies are too easy overall (the tower guards in the desert have crap AI, ) - most enemies don't adjust to you gaining the new combat moves and some that do can be taken out with bomb arrows instead
Meaningless dialogue choices (can't say no to borrowing your wooden sword to the kid who just got kidnapped for example)
Digging at dark spots in sense mode as the wolf is just a slower version of cutting grass with the sword
Some kind of tedious parts (ganon's first two forms - too much waiting between attacks, slow final stretch in the sky temple, parts of the snow temple (you get stunned by a lot of attacks, can fall down and have to redo some slow platforming, not enough bombs), the desert temple boss while creative can get drawn out if you make any mistakes in the second phase (you'll fall down and have to start over the sequence), can't grab tears of light in castle town without first receiving the quest to do so, some shops are only open at night or day, escort segment before the forest temple and the monkeys following you around in the temple itself gets a bit annoying - there's also a forced collectathon element in this dungeon as you need to find ~7 monkeys to get to the boss, the meat-eating flower obstacles in the first dungeon and the barricades in the last one respawn, some cutscenes are kinda slow (including some unskippable ones))
Sometimes generic artwork and some character designs are sort of ugly (the glow behind dialogue text also doesn't look that good)
Some plot/scripting oddities & cheap devices (why does Midna break the mirror when the story shows how the two worlds can work together?, castle town's inhabitants don't seem to care about the giant prism?, the cannon repair dialogue option is shown way before you find the broken cannon, you'll sometimes receive a letter regarding a quest that you've already talked to the relevant NPC about, the mailman treats wolf link as if he's regular link (you auto-transform when he spots you in the field), how did the goron stuck in a rock underwater survive?, one of the kids' mothers still looks sad after telling her about you saving them, can't tell NPCs about the wolf form while in Link form, it doesn't make sense that you suddenly can't side jump when facing the goron guard at death mountain)
Too many weak chest rewards (several yellow and red rupee chests in all dungeons and areas - even green ones in the final dungeon!)
Can't learn any new moves for the wolf form nor use the hidden skills (ending blow etc. - one exception is against poes/evil spirits which you can use a finisher on)
Jaggies/lack of anti-aliasing (in 480p mode as well)
Cheap hit at one point in the water dungeon/dungeon 3 (bombing a wall makes Link pause while the enemies attack him)
For some reason there are a bunch of non-interactive markers in the water temple that look just like clawshot markers
Forced collectathon quest before the sky temple which is kind of dull overall (no new enemies when backtracking to the owl statues, pretty lame rewards for the puzzles near some of them)
Most of the optional caves could've been more interesting (the northern cave blocked by a magical ice barrier is one exception)
The locked house in Link's hometown stays locked throughout (Fado's house, it's not meant to be opened apparently)
The magic armor is barely worth it (drains rupees too quickly, 1k+200 (if you do the hot spring water quest, otherwise 2k)+598 rupees in total though you do gain a heart piece during this side quest and it's optional)
No proper journal/quest log (the letters help a bit though and it's not much of an issue unless you take a longer break from the game)
The bloom is a bit much at times
Can't use the glowing sword to "disperse twilight fog" in Hyrule (forest for example)
Some of the dungeon music is really goofy at times and the voice synths used in various tracks don't always work
Notes:
-GC & Wii Version differences (besides visuals): https://www.ign.com/wikis/the-legend-of-zelda-twilight-princess/GameCube/Wii_Differences, https://www.zeldadungeon.net/why-twilight-princess-on-the-gamecube-is-superior-to-the-wii-version/
-Wii U HD Remake/Remaster changes: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/183128-the-legend-of-zelda-twilight-princess-hd/73416347, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9b7ibFUZZg&t=1m1s
-Sequence breaking with long jump attack+boomerang lock on glitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v2_l2_LifE
-38 pluses, 28 minuses
Bugs:
-It's possible to drop through the floor and end up falling into the area south of it at one point in Zora's domain (lower part) but I wasn't able to replicate it - Dolphin emulator
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-6.5 Fun-7.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
+
Transform into a wolf (Okami/SotN (also similar to Zelda 3 except it's actually useful here); dig (pass some wolf-only paths and find a few optional caves within stone circles), listen to NPCs' thoughts via their spirits, sing poorly (singing/music playing is somewhat more advanced yet again in that you have to control the pitch and note length (no need to switch between time signatures here though unlike in WW), talk to animals and explore the twilight-covered parts of Hyrule (similar to the dark world in Zelda 3), perform more difficult jumps in certain spots, area of effect attack which is similar to a spin attack but covers a larger area, can sense and listen to the spirits of NPCs stuck in the twilight - they can't see you back (can also sense and fight Poes/evil spirits), can learn scents to see trails leading to certain NPCs while in sense mode, can't climb ladders nor talk to people (they're usually scared of you as well))
The horse Epona is back (can name her now as well as use a variety of weapons while riding her - the boomerang and slingshot aren't that effective though since you need to get fairly close to lock onto enemies, can ride her in towns, can run over smaller enemies, she'll stay where you left her even if moving to another area and back, can summon her in certain areas using special grass and the game automatically plays her song when interacting with it - later on you get an item to summon her with in more places, she is also used in a couple of boss fights here and wolf Link can speak to her)
Some good puzzles (moving platforms affected by your weight puzzle in the sky temple, weight room and small statue puzzle (heart piece) in temple of time, reekfish puzzle (the smell cloud around it after fishing one up is just enough of a clue), the second snow temple block puzzle (and the second block puzzle in the northern cave blocked by a magical ice barrier) and the cannon puzzle which spans most of the dungeon, main water levels puzzle and big key in the water dungeon (can also do a couple of rooms in reverse order here), some of the magnetic puzzles in the second dungeon (also a nice blend of fire and water themes), desert dungeon poe hunt, sacred grove statues (surprisingly hard for an obligatory one though), ),
New combat moves (ending blow/finishing blow - kill enemies that are knocked out to prevent them from countering, shield bash - stun enemies in melee and block projectiles manually (the latter isn't really needed though?), back slice - like the counter attack in WW except not a counter here and a bit harder to pull off, helm splitter - somersault attack following a shield bash that lets you attack again from behind (very good), mortal draw - quickly draw your sword and knock out the enemy by waiting until it's close and not targeting it (very strong but not always practical), jump strike - spin attack+jump attack (good), great spin attack - stronger and larger version at full health (never used it)),
Some new items (double clawshot/hookshot - pull yourself towards other clawshot markers while holding onto one, dominion rod - awaken and control certain statues (they mirror your movement and the large one in the temple of time can destroy certain hazards and gates+teleport between bell portals in the temple of time+press switches while the small ones can only press switches), ball and chain/morning star - destroy magical ice barriers and various objects+push certain blocks and pot-shaped statues+destroy cracked floors (can keep swinging it around your head to create a shield that damages enemies), spinner - spinning disc that lets you jump onto and off of wall rails (similar to a handicap lift but faster) as well as activate a couple of mechanisms that change the layout of rooms in the desert dungeon by moving it in place and mashing the button, can warp out of dungeons as well as back to the last room you were in using a bird that you can carry with you (have to find it in each dungeon, can't warp back to finished dungeons from the outside with it though), boomerang variation which sort of combines the multi-target one from WW with the leaf from WW, iron boots variation which allow walking on walls and ceilings using magnetic surfaces - cool but too slow and you can't use ranged weapons for some reason, ),
Very good map system (togglable mini-map, three levels of zoom, show the basic layout+area exits+which door you exited last+dungeon doors(+treasure chests and the boss's location but you need to find the compass to see these as usual), )
More reliable target switching during combat and Link even auto-switches quickly mid-sword combo if one enemy dies
Signs outside of houses
Nice cutscenes (mostly skippable) and lighting effects, nice animation besides the lack of VA and lipsyncing of it
Mostly good bosses (Ganon's third phase (mounted), most of Zant's forms, sky temple flying lizardman (Aeralfos) mini-bosses, snow temple second phase (Yeta), temple of time first phase (giant spider), horseback fight and duels with the Bulblin king, second dungeon's mini-boss (leaning platform goron) and main boss, desert dungeon mini-boss)
Optional rumble feature, Surround sound option
Fishing is back (actually a bit simpler than in LA though but now there's a variety of bait for catching different fish)
Can interact with some animals (pet goats, pick up dogs as well as throw bones for them to catch, pick up some cats)
Three save slots per game (shows current stats, location and time taken; save anywhere though you're taken back to a checkpoint when loading (in dungeons you get sent back to the entrance)
Frequent checkpoints besides this as well except for a few spots in the fields)
Pretty cool aesthetics for the Twilight realm and twilight-covered areas of Hyrule (early 80s arcade/Tron movie inspired)
Decent dialogue
Mini-bosses
Fairly frequent warp spots
Day/night cycle (OoT, each is about 8 mins long? (about twice as long as in OoT)
Some new enemies in some areas at night and houses in towns tend to be locked
Time pauses while in towns; there's only a couple of ways to switch faster: go to the city in the sky and back and it switches to day/go to the twilight palace and back and it switches to night)
Sumo wrestling mini-game (decent mechanics but the fight against the sumo elder is too easy)
Interactive tutorials
Some memorable characters (the youngest kid (the one who opens a shop), Midna - decent development and nuance, thirsty goron, Yeto and Yeta)
Bomb arrows are back and only take up a single slot here
Mixes in a couple of flight segments where you ride an enemy creature for a bit
Pretty good fortune teller hints (heart piece locations)
Pretty good escort mission segment (on horseback so it's fast-paced - only issue is how easy it is for Epona to stop from touching obstacles)
Some interesting new enemies (the blobs/chus can (besides splitting and sometimes joining with each other) be scooped up and drunk after defeating them (don't have to process them here unlike in WW) - most heal you while purple has a random health effect/yellow works like lantern oil/the rare gold one both heals you and temporarily doubles your attack strength(=great fairy's tears effect), mounted archers, zant hands), more believable/immersive world (the world map isn't overly box- or oval-shaped finally, one pretty large town (castle town - plenty of NPCs moving around or doing other things here as well), the different "races" interact more with each other)
Very stable 30fps framerate
Breaks up the division between hostile and friendly areas at times with enemies appearing in towns (Zelda 3) and NPCs living in a dungeon
Nice rainstorm effect (castle tower)
Snowboarding segment w/ manual jumping (can replay it as a racing mini-game later on)
Boar riding segments (hard to control but lets you break wooden structures like a wrecking ball - weird that you can't break them with bombs though (and only some with the ball and chain))
Some additional lore delivered via the mailman on the field over the course of the game (besides quest-related info; his repeated cutscene should've been skippable though)
The dragon boss of sky temple appears and interrupts your progress once during that dungeon (Shinobi ARC) - easy and kind of slow boss fight though
Fight alongside Zelda against Ganon (Wind Waker)
Optional gauntlet dungeon (cave of ordeals in the desert)
Very good enemy variety and the best in the series so far (62 unique enemy types)
+/-
Linear structure (Midna tells you to go back if you try to go to Hyrule field before the forest temple for example, can't go north of hyrule field once it opens up nor return to Link form to meet the golden wolf after reaching death mountain, etc.; some dungeons are also linear besides some optional chests) - opens up more after the third dungeon and gaining the ability to switch forms on the fly but you still have to do the dungeons in a set order
Can't roll nor rotate the camera nor use weapons in-doors (can look around in FP view though) - also can't rotate the camera in castle town
Partial control config (hold or toggle Z-targeting)
The art direction is more realistic this time around and a bit more western as well (vaguely similar to FF12 and Fable, very idyllic hometown which is a bit reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings movies (the Bulblin enemies and boss also look kinda like Orcs from those movies and Ganon's ghost riders are reminiscent as well))
New quick-turn move for Epona but ironically it's a bit clunky to use (if you start holding forward right after doing it it doesn't work)
Can throw rocks at NPCs but they don't tell you off (can also swing the sword and make some NPCs dodge it which is kinda funny)
Can't jump manually besides over fences as Epona/to climb short ledges/during the short snowboarding segment
NPCs still don't have proper voice acting (they'll say an english word at times but mostly just make minor noises now and then - one exception is Midna who makes a lot of noise (both during dialogue and when performing basic moves as the wolf) and can get on your nerves at times - during non-cutscene dialogue you can at least skip most of it by speeding up the text)
Can slide down ladders but upwards climbing is a bit slow
Can call on a hawk in certain areas to fetch items and chickens from far away/high places (works like the boomerang besides one scene where you can attack with it but looks cool)
Re-uses more classic music tracks (mainly from OoT) than WW did
Link can eat larvae in this one (they can be used as fish bait or as weak healing)
Somewhat darker in tone than most earlier Zelda games ()
Area maps show the whole area as you enter them (helps you not miss details but lessens the sense of exploration a bit)
Sonic Adventure-style timed jumps as the wolf (looks cool but is mechanically simple since for the most part you can just mash jump while holding L to lock onto Midna when the game tells you to do it - the game is also sometimes inconsistent about when you can and can't do these jumps such as at the death mountain mine entrance or for various out of reach chests in the overworld)
Borrows both the enemy encounter style and the world restoration theme from Okami (released ~5 months earlier)
Delay between dash moves while swimming or in wolf form (the latter makes sense since it's an attack move but not the former)
Separate ammo for the lantern (oil)
Have to map Midna to Z (could equip 3 items in WW)
Midna is memorable but also kind of annoying at times (you don't quite know if she's evil at first which is interesting, she toys with you a lot for the first half of the game and also repeatedly tells you to go do things which you already know that you should do, ends up more endearing after a certain scene)
Silent protagonist (it is implied that Link talks in a few scenes such as when you tell your hometown about you having saved the kids but he generally says nothing)
The slingshot is made obsolete pretty early on (second dungeon)
Smaller but less empty overworld than in Wind Waker and there are more towns (you still get some large fields to ride around in as well as a couple of large underwater areas)
Some wolf paths get blocked off when back in Link form
Dropped or found hearts/rupees/ammo disappear after a few seconds
More scripted events in-between dungeons
Can't pull yourself towards chests with the clawshot/hookshot
Some supposedly scary cutscenes are unintentionally funny (laughing Ilia)
Rapids/waterfalls canoeing segment (cool but pretty hard to control)
Twili backstory is similar to the dark templars' in SC
The spaghetti western-style segment in the hidden village is a fun idea but a bit too easy and short
Not much to do in-between some dungeons in the mid-late game if you already collected everything you could up until that point
No ice arrows
The game suddenly breaks from the "can't move items between dungeon doors" rule in the final dungeon
The resistance members help Link vs an ambush in the castle towards the end (would've been cooler if they fought alongside you during gameplay instead)
Sudden point of no return before Ganon but can use save & quit to get out
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Annoying repeated beep sfx when at low health
Some control/interface issues (back slice suddenly doesn't work properly vs ganon's final phase (and sometimes when it does your hit doesn't register!), have to place the camera behind Link to perform the back slice (countering in WW worked a bit better), can't use map markers and the map doesn't show which doors are locked, no song of the sun (to jump to day/night anywhere), can't properly look behind or below Link while climbing, slow vine climbing, kinda slow swimming, turning is kinda slow when aiming manually here, can't empty a red potion- or oil filled-bottle without using it on something, super slow movement while charging a spin attack in regular form, can't skip ahead to the next piece of dialogue or part of a cutscene rather than skipping the whole scene, pretty stiff and sensitive aiming controls (can lock on but you have to be close to the target, after the second dungeon you can buy an item that lets you zoom in while aiming with the bow however one heart piece requires precise aiming without using it to get it (pole in Kakariko - easier in later versions)), the game's a bit picky about positioning when interacting with objects and NPCs or jumping fences as Epona - z-targeting is supposed to help with the latter but it doesn't work well, Epona's movement stops too easily around walls and other obstacles - sometimes you can't move where it looks like you can as well, sometimes sloppy hit detection on the tongue of the frog mini-boss, weirdly unforgiving hit detection on the clawshot marker to the south of the castle, still have to pull out your sword to do a jump attack after z-targeting an enemy, inconsistent hit detection on the hanging chest near the beginning of the forest temple - took me several attempts with the boomerang to get it down (similar issues with blowing some things up using the boomerang and a bomb enemy in dungeon 1 - for some enemies and obstacles it blows up when it touches them and for others it doesn't; good puzzle idea though), if you draw the sword after using a sub weapon you can hold the button to start charging up a spin attack but if you do it without anything in your hands then it doesn't happen, some tutorial messages are repeated, standing too close to the edge of a platform when using certain items makes Link fall down)
Kinda slow beginning (have to do some tutorials and tutorial-like chores in Link's hometown before you get going which takes ~45 mins your first time around (the goat herding is kind of dull), the first fish you catch can't be given to the cat (changed in the HD ver.))
Some padding (the poe sidequest - find and kill 60 for an endless supply of 200 rupees reward (lame since you can only hold 1k in this version and it's easy to make money in the game, also the (4th) bottle you're given for the first 20 isn't really needed), some dead space (lake hylia-zora cave and backtracking into and out of the goron mines for one chest for example), need to find all 24 bugs to be able to carry 1k rupees in this version and they can respawn making the hunt more tedious if you don't do it all in one go and memorize where you've already been, five heart pieces required for each new heart here, key shards in the mines - need three to form a big key (boss room key), takes a while to regain Epona after losing her early on meaning travel is pretty slow during that period, you'll likely run out of wallet space before getting a bigger wallet - since there are various rupee chests it means you'll have to grab them later)
Some trial & error (cave of ordeals entry - Midna just says "what's this?" when examining what is apparently the bridge part and you have to pick warp and then the NE bridge location - if you pick warp and somewhere else it does become obvious that it is the bridge though, fairly easy to miss the digging spot outside the hyrule castle dungeon - Midna does give you a clue but you can get the notification for it while standing at the nearby gate instead (with the triforce symbol covered by leaves) which is confusing, hard to spot the spinner rail to the south of the castle (and you only get orange rupees from the two chests here anyway...), the last golden bug is inside a dungeon and pretty easy to miss, the partial ice wall around the rounded room one of the cannons in the snow temple is in is a bit of a red herring and so is being able to move the small statues in the temple of time with the ball and chain since the rod is a better option, can't do the hot spring water quest before finishing the third temple, the QTE sequence where you regain control over Epona, the horseback duel controls aren't explained until you're very close to the boss, can't grab the cat with the falcon when you can grab chickens with it)
More detailed but mostly uninteractive houses in terms of objects and some other gameplay-related objects can't be examined or asked about (could examine a lot of stuff in Link's Awakening)
Can climb some ledges but not other similar ones
Enemies (and fish) keep dropping items which you already have a full stock of
The tear of light collecting/world restoration isn't that fun here (killathon/collectathon element which is repeated several times and besides the boss and one other bug it's not hard to find nor kill the insects carrying tears of light, the tears also take several seconds to spawn after killing an enemy which breaks flow)
The hometown infiltration near the beginning feels too guided (the game notifies you about Midna wanting to talk to you at every turn and then she just moves to where you're supposed to jump)
Enemies are too easy overall (the tower guards in the desert have crap AI, ) - most enemies don't adjust to you gaining the new combat moves and some that do can be taken out with bomb arrows instead
Meaningless dialogue choices (can't say no to borrowing your wooden sword to the kid who just got kidnapped for example)
Digging at dark spots in sense mode as the wolf is just a slower version of cutting grass with the sword
Some kind of tedious parts (ganon's first two forms - too much waiting between attacks, slow final stretch in the sky temple, parts of the snow temple (you get stunned by a lot of attacks, can fall down and have to redo some slow platforming, not enough bombs), the desert temple boss while creative can get drawn out if you make any mistakes in the second phase (you'll fall down and have to start over the sequence), can't grab tears of light in castle town without first receiving the quest to do so, some shops are only open at night or day, escort segment before the forest temple and the monkeys following you around in the temple itself gets a bit annoying - there's also a forced collectathon element in this dungeon as you need to find ~7 monkeys to get to the boss, the meat-eating flower obstacles in the first dungeon and the barricades in the last one respawn, some cutscenes are kinda slow (including some unskippable ones))
Sometimes generic artwork and some character designs are sort of ugly (the glow behind dialogue text also doesn't look that good)
Some plot/scripting oddities & cheap devices (why does Midna break the mirror when the story shows how the two worlds can work together?, castle town's inhabitants don't seem to care about the giant prism?, the cannon repair dialogue option is shown way before you find the broken cannon, you'll sometimes receive a letter regarding a quest that you've already talked to the relevant NPC about, the mailman treats wolf link as if he's regular link (you auto-transform when he spots you in the field), how did the goron stuck in a rock underwater survive?, one of the kids' mothers still looks sad after telling her about you saving them, can't tell NPCs about the wolf form while in Link form, it doesn't make sense that you suddenly can't side jump when facing the goron guard at death mountain)
Too many weak chest rewards (several yellow and red rupee chests in all dungeons and areas - even green ones in the final dungeon!)
Can't learn any new moves for the wolf form nor use the hidden skills (ending blow etc. - one exception is against poes/evil spirits which you can use a finisher on)
Jaggies/lack of anti-aliasing (in 480p mode as well)
Cheap hit at one point in the water dungeon/dungeon 3 (bombing a wall makes Link pause while the enemies attack him)
For some reason there are a bunch of non-interactive markers in the water temple that look just like clawshot markers
Forced collectathon quest before the sky temple which is kind of dull overall (no new enemies when backtracking to the owl statues, pretty lame rewards for the puzzles near some of them)
Most of the optional caves could've been more interesting (the northern cave blocked by a magical ice barrier is one exception)
The locked house in Link's hometown stays locked throughout (Fado's house, it's not meant to be opened apparently)
The magic armor is barely worth it (drains rupees too quickly, 1k+200 (if you do the hot spring water quest, otherwise 2k)+598 rupees in total though you do gain a heart piece during this side quest and it's optional)
No proper journal/quest log (the letters help a bit though and it's not much of an issue unless you take a longer break from the game)
The bloom is a bit much at times
Can't use the glowing sword to "disperse twilight fog" in Hyrule (forest for example)
Some of the dungeon music is really goofy at times and the voice synths used in various tracks don't always work
Notes:
-GC & Wii Version differences (besides visuals): https://www.ign.com/wikis/the-legend-of-zelda-twilight-princess/GameCube/Wii_Differences, https://www.zeldadungeon.net/why-twilight-princess-on-the-gamecube-is-superior-to-the-wii-version/
-Wii U HD Remake/Remaster changes: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/183128-the-legend-of-zelda-twilight-princess-hd/73416347, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9b7ibFUZZg&t=1m1s
-Sequence breaking with long jump attack+boomerang lock on glitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v2_l2_LifE
-38 pluses, 28 minuses
Bugs:
-It's possible to drop through the floor and end up falling into the area south of it at one point in Zora's domain (lower part) but I wasn't able to replicate it - Dolphin emulator