nendil | Twilight Princess reflections.

1. So naturally the first thing on my mind to talk about is the shipping because I'm a loser. Now, I don't have anything against Link hooking up with someone besides Zelda (see: Link's Awakening), as long as it's done well. That said, I'm not too thrilled with the female selection in this game. Here's the breakdown:

Ilia: Cute, and evidently the one on Link's mind. But what does she do through the game? Bitches you out at the beginning (out of affection/crush, sure), needs a buttload of rescuing, and all to cumulate in a horse whistle that would have been useful if it didn't come at the point of the game where I no longer needed a horse to warp all over Hyrule. Barely provides any bonding moments or support, unlike Sheik/Tetra/Marin etc. I can easily see Link settling down with her and becoming chief of his village, but that negates all the epic adventuring I did through the whole game.

Zelda: Acts about as cold as... well, maybe not ice, but her character feels so bland. Sits around moping in a castle, is nice enough to save Midna, putting herself out of commission for the rest of the game. Then gets possessed at the end, and... THAT'S what they gave her a sword for? >:O >:O >:O Why can't the game have supported her character instead? She and Link looked so pretty together in the final battle.

Midna: My favorite, especially after seeing her in "human" form. She seems to be the only character who gets developed throughout the game (well, besides Colin), and genuinely grows fond of Link. Basically, she takes the intelligent, strong leadership role that should have been Zelda's. I think this is the pairing I'm gonna have to support, as relatively un-canonical as it is. Now if only I can get a full-body concept art of her... I might even try cosplaying as her :3

2. If I ignore the storyline, though, this is definitely the best Zelda ever to play. I love the expansiveness of the overworld, and at first it looked kind of barren of secrets (compared to Okami, say) but then I discovered how things were hidden. (All the more excuse to run around as a wolf... again) Also, people weren't kidding when they said that practically every dungeon shows off some effect:

2nd: fire (duh)
3rd: water (duh)
4th: particle effects
5th: ice reflections
6th: ...nostalgia =P
7th: draw distance XD
8th: dynamic lighting (and gorgeous art direction)
9th: atmosphere!

The boss of the Sky Temple would probably have to be my favorite boss fight in any Zelda game so far, and the final battle was definitely the swordfight they've always wanted to make. Remember that old Spaceworld Gamecube demo? Yeah, Ganondorf even did that "come on" gesture. But he must've been pissed when I broke a skull in the middle of the fight and a fairy flew out, that was just too cheap XD

Uhh... that's it for now, because I'm going to go sidequesting and pick up allllllll the stuff I missed during the rush for plot. :D May edit with more content later.

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You and I are sharing a brain on this one (though I'm coming from just watching TSA's vids, not playing the game). As much as I loved Midna and was touched by her story, I can't help but feel a little...ambivalent, I guess that the story was basically her story, with Zelda, Ganon, and even Link sort of shoved to the side. Was the triforce even mentioned? I know it was shown, so was it more of a nod to the long-term fans of the series than a part of the game?

I don't know where I fall, shipping-wise. Ilia seemed pretty cute but useless--though I'll admit to cracking up when I saw her in the closing credits, waiting at the entrance to the village. I didn't think she'd be so literal when she told Link she'd be waiting for him. Zelda was kind of pointless, too. The whole sacrifice scene would have had a lot more emotional resonance if we'd seen her more than once before in the game. So you'd think I'd argue Midna by default, since she was so awesome, but I absolutely loved that she shattered the mirror in the end and is gone forever. I don't know--the bittersweet and final nature of the act really works for me. Having Midna come back to be with Link 4eva kinda ruins it for me. So I'll go with him being haunted by her memory for the rest of his life, with no other woman ever quite measuring up (sorry, Ilia).

I also enjoyed how loony-tunes Zant was.

Maybe that's what it is about the story - the writers fell in love with Midna so much that they forgot about the focus of Legend of Zelda. I wouldn't say outright that that's a bad thing, because a little flexibility and experimentation never hurts. I think it just disappoints me a bit because this was touted as such an EPIC, focal game that we naturally expect the sort of EPIC legend about Hyrule (not the Twilight Realm) like OoT and Wind Waker had.

There's nothing wrong with a bittersweet ending, Zelda games are pretty geared towards that (see Ocarina of Time, Link's Awakening, even Majora's Mask). Any fan-plot that brings Midna back would be hokey, I'd say.

I also enjoyed how loony-tunes Zant was.

That's faboo because I heard somebody call him Daffy Duck. :D

Hey, I don't have a livejournal but a friend of mine showed me your page and I like it. :) Just a few things about Zelda. I agree that Zelda wasn't all that developed but that doesn't really bother me all that much. I like that they wanted to focus on someone other than Zelda this time as she does have the rather boring task of getting kidnapped over and over again. But I have to disagree with you on the whole Epic-ness of the story. What I found most appealing about the game's story was how the general plot (save the princess, save the world, etc.) kept getting sidetracked by things that had nothing to do with those basic plot elements, such as saving Ilia and the kids Link befriended. In short, it amazed me at how personal the story was. But that's just me. :)

Like I said I don't have an LJ account but if you wanna AIM me you can. The name's GeminiHarlequin.

Dan2

I think the story had lots of good elements to it, just mainly I feel that the storytelling was kind of unfocused, and from reading the Iwata Asks interviews, I think it's a case of too many cooks stirring the pot. It was like... first half of the game was about Link and his connection to his home/childhood friends, with a lot of touching moments. Then as soon as you get Ilia's memory back, we don't hear about those folks again and it's all about Midna Midna Midna, who is an awesome character but it'd be nice if they hadn't forgotten about Link to support her! I dunno, I'm eager to replay it and absorb/reflect on the storyline better, but I won't have time for that for a few weeks or so.

My AIM is the same as my LJ name, but I hardly have time to sign on these days. I should more often!

Awesome. I'll add ye then *click*

I've started up the game again myself, although I'll be going through it rather slowly as well for the same reasons you stated. If I see your name on AIM I'll give you a holler!

i just finished this game and Midna made me cry. Especially because she is sassy enough to say "What? Say Something! ... Am I so beautiful you cannot say any words?"

anyhow i really like you. you draw very well.
can i add you?

ella

Thank you! Always flattered to be added.

"What? Say Something! ... Am I so beautiful you cannot say any words?"

Yeah, I really liked that line of hers too. Pretty much summed it up for me :3

Hey cool. I hate to be considered like, a crazy zelda lover stalker person of people who also like zelda... :D

i thought i might be only one nerdy enough to ask "Are the fins wet today?"

mine are :D

Twilight Princess reflections.

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