I touched on Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Nintendo Wii about a month and a half ago. I wanted to expand on that now that I'm approximately 60 hours into the game.
Gameplay: I'm incredibly impressed with the controls. It requires the use of the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk. The Nunchuk is used for movement, Z-targeting, and looking around in first-person mode. The Wii Remote is how you use items, select menus, point at objects with items (like shooting enemies with the bow when you aren't Z-targeting), and for swinging the sword. The sword play involves swinging the Wii Remote or Nunchuk (for the spin move). Its pretty basic, but it gets the job done without having to over exert yourself.
The puzzles range from being easy to kinda hard. Everything can be pretty easily figured out, though there have been a few times where I've gotten stuck and needed to "dumb myself down" in order to realize what I needed to do to progress. If you've played Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask, a handful of puzzles will be solved in similar fashion. For example, shooting your bow at the diamond thing opens a door. However, there is enough new content to keep things fresh.
The overall timeline/plot of the game is pretty linear. The recent Zelda series have done a great job at giving players enough to do on the side that they don't realize they're progressing through the game plot exactly as planned. All in all, the puzzles, side games, and side searches for poes, golden bugs, and heart pieces give this linear plot a different adventure for each player. The plot is a bit confusing and hard to grasp. I'm not sure I've fully gripped what is going on. I have a better understanding now then I did when I started, so I'm hoping that everything clears up before I finish the game. The story is dark, though not as dark as Majora's Mask. I still find it entertaining.
Graphics: The unfortunate thing about the Nintendo Wii is that the graphics do not get any better than 480p. There are some Xbox games that do better than that. I know that's not the draw, but it definitely lowers a game's potential. For what the Nintendo Wii can offer, the graphics are done pretty well. Compared to other titles coming out for the Xbox 360 or PS3, it is going to always come up short.
Sound: The sounds are pleasant. Some music throughout the game can be recognized from Ocarina of Time. The quick song that plays when the sun rises or sets is exactly the same as Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. There is enough new music that it doesn't sound like they just stole an old score. I wish the voices were audible instead of read. I think it'd add more personality to each character. Characters will blurt out random onomatopoeias, like Link's, "Waaaaa," when he's surprised, but I want more.
Replay-ability: There is very little replay-ability. There is nothing different that you could do that would prevent you from hitting the forest temple first, then the Goron Mines, and so on and so forth. You could probably do it faster, get items sooner, or finish searches faster. The earlier you have those items doesn't necessarily make the game any easier. However, now that I'm on the verge of completed Twilight Princess, I'd be tempted to get a Virtual Controller, download Ocarina of Time, and replay that one. So let's put it this way: immediate replay won't be very exciting, but if you let some time pass, the game play and puzzles will bring you back.
Wrap-Up: For as poor the graphics and sound compares to other next gen systems, the overall game play is second to none. As far as Wii games go, I rate this as one of best, especially since most Wii games are party games.
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You say "download Ocarina of Time." Is that something you can do through the Wii, or something you'd want to do, ahem, "without sanction?"
The Nintendo Wii has what they call a "Virtual Console." You pay for Wii Points ($1 = 100 Wii Points). These Wii Points are used to purchase certain games from the original 8-bit Nintendo, Super Nintendo, N64, Sega Genesis, and TurboGrafx game consoles.
Games from the 8-bit and I think Genesis can be played with the Wii Remote. The rest, I believe, require the "Virtual Controller." This is a controller with a directional pad, two joysticks, 4 buttons, and trigger buttons. Its similar layout to the PS2 controller. It plugs into the Wii Remote like the Nunchuk does. I also think most games on the Virtual Console can be played using GameCube controllers. GameCube controllers, games, and memory cards can all be used. There are jacks for 4 controllers and a slot for a memory card.
With all that said, I was suggesting downloading Ocarina of Time through the Wii.
I know that was kinda long-winded. If I didn't explain it well enough, let me know and I'll go into it a little more.
So how much do these games actually run? Are N64 games more expensive than NES games? Can you get these points through any method besides a simple payment? And if not, why on Earth should Nintendo bother with the point system at all?
NES games are approximately 500 Wii points or $5. I think the N64 games are 1000 Wii points or $10.
Typically, these Wii points are obtained through the Wii. However, I've heard that they can be bought like gift cards. I imagine this is similar to iTunes gift cards you see around. I've also heard that those prices can vary (so you could do better than $1 = 100 Wii Points).
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