The first thing that stood out in the presentation was the upgrade in graphics. By now we've all seen the screenshots, but it's one thing to see a few still images on paper, and another thing entirely to actually see everything in motion. Gone is the cel-shaded cartoon look of Wind Waker. Instead, Twilight Princess goes for a somewhat more realistic and cinematic look. The characters still have a bit of an anime look, but the overall style is a lot more "grown up" than any of the previous Zelda games. With rare exceptions, all of the visuals in Twilight Princess seem crisp and refined, and all of the animations flow beautifully. The environments are richly detailed and full of vibrant colors. As a whole, the game simply looks more alive.
As good as graphics are in the new Zelda, they pale in comparison to the game's phenomenal soundtrack. Twilight Princess utilizes a full orchestra for its score, giving each musical piece the ability to tap into players' emotions and drawing them into a genuinely epic experience. Simply put, Twilight Princess has one of, if not the best scores to date in gaming. The other incidental sounds are also well done. Ambient sounds are clear and recognizable, and add that little something extra to help make players feel like a part of the game. Nintendo still hasn't added any sort of voiceover work to the Zelda franchise, but it's not something that is really noticeable during gameplay. In fact, it wasn't until the cab ride back after playing through the E3 demo that I realized I had read the dialog, but never actually heard any of it.
So, now that we've established the game looks and sounds great, the real question on everyone's lips, and the one Nintendo hoped to answer with the hands-on presentation, is "How does the game actually play?" After putting it through its paces, I can say that Twilight Princess is a lot of fun, but there are still a few rough edges that could stand a little work before the game's ultimate release.
Fans of Wind Waker will find the controls in Twilight Princess instantly recognizable. Most of the earlier game's control scheme seems to have been carried over to the new title. The A button once again takes center stage as the context sensitive Action button. Depending on the situation, the A button handles everything from initiating conversations to drawing your sword to picking grass. Combat, for the most part, is handled with the B button. By combining the use of the B button with the targeting function and the thumbstick, Link can use a variety of different sword attacks. Besides a basic slash attack, Link can do vertical swipes, thrusts, and even a powerful spin attack to knock back surrounding enemies. The left shoulder button can be used to target enemies for extra precision in attacks, and the right shoulder button is responsible for Link's defense. Items and secondary weapons from Link's inventory are easily accessed with the D-Pad and can be mapped to either the X or Y buttons for quick use.
The first playable level in the E3 hands-on took place in the opening village of the game and the beginning of Link's adventures. I was quickly introduced to Epona, Link's trusty steed and traveling partner. After hopping onto Epona, I was given a basic horse riding tutorial which consisted of herding stray goats into a nearby barn, then jumping the nearby fence and heading off to meet the mayor and his daughter Ilia. Afterwards, I was free to roam the village and take on a slew of different short side missions, all designed to teach the basics of the game control. Even Zelda veterans would do well not to skip through these missions, as there are a few minor nuances in the game that are new to Twilight Princess. At one point, I pulled up a blade of nearby grass and blew on it to call a falcon to my side. After aiming with an onscreen reticule, I was able to send the falcon off to interact with areas of the environment just out of my reach. After completing a number of these side quests, I was ready to move on to my next hands-on experience.
