is a 2006 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube and Wii. Originally planned for release exclusively on the GameCube in November 2005, Nintendo delayed the release to refine the game, add more content and port it to the Wii. The Wii version was a launch game in North America in November 2006 and in Japan, Europe and Australia the following month. The GameCube version was released in December 2006 as the final first-party game for the console.
The game takes place over a century after Majora's Mask, in an alternate timeline from The Wind Waker. Players control Link, who tries to prevent Hyrule from being engulfed by a corrupted parallel dimension, the Twilight Realm. He takes the form of both a Hylian and a wolf and is assisted by a mysterious imp named Midna.
Twilight Princess received critical acclaim, with praise for its art direction, combat, level design and story. It received numerous game of the year awards, and has been called one of the greatest video games ever made. By 2015, it had sold 8.85 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling Zelda game until Breath of the Wild (2017). In 2011, the Wii version was rereleased under the Nintendo Selects label. A high-definition remaster based on the GameCube version, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, developed by Tantalus Media and Nintendo EPD, was released for the Wii U in March 2016. An eleven-volume manga series based on Twilight Princess by Akira Himekawa was published between 2016 and 2022.
Gameplay
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is an action-adventure game focused on combat, exploration and puzzle-solving. It uses the basic control scheme introduced in Ocarina of Time, including context-sensitive action buttons and L-targeting (Z-targeting on the Wii), a system that allows the player to keep Link's view focused on an enemy or important object while moving and attacking. Link can walk, run and attack and he will automatically jump when running off of or reaching for a ledge. Link uses a sword and shield in combat, complemented with secondary weapons and items, including a bow and arrows, a boomerang and bombs. While L-targeting, projectile-based weapons can be fired at a target without the need for manual aiming.
The context-sensitive button mechanic allows one button to serve a variety of functions, such as talking, opening doors and pushing, pulling and throwing objects. The on-screen display shows what action, if any, the button will trigger, determined by the situation. For example, if Link is holding a rock, the context-sensitive button will cause Link to throw the rock if he is moving or targeting an object or enemy or place the rock on the ground if he is standing still.
The GameCube and Wii versions feature several minor differences in their controls and gameplay. The Wii version uses the motion sensors and built-in speaker of the Wii Remote. The speaker emits the sounds of a bowstring when shooting an arrow, Midna's laugh when she gives advice to Link, and the series' trademark "chime" when discovering secrets. The player controls Link's sword by swinging the Wii Remote. Other attacks are triggered using similar gestures with the Nunchuk. In the GameCube version, players can control the camera freely, without entering a special "lookaround" mode required on the Wii; however, in the GameCube version, only two of Link's secondary weapons can be equipped at a time, as opposed to four in the Wii version.
The game features nine dungeons—large, contained areas where Link battles enemies, collects items and solves puzzles. Link navigates these dungeons and fights a boss at the end in order to obtain an item or otherwise advance the plot. The dungeons are connected by a large overworld, across which Link can travel on foot; on his horse, Epona; or by teleporting with Midna's assistance.
When Link enters the Twilight Realm, the void that corrupts parts of Hyrule, he transforms into a wolf. He is eventually able to transform between his Hylian and wolf forms at will. As a wolf, Link loses the ability to use his sword, shield, or any secondary items; he instead attacks by biting and defends primarily by dodging attacks. "Wolf Link" gains several key advantages in return—he moves faster than he does on foot as a human, digs holes to create new passages, and uncover buried items, and has improved senses, including the ability to follow scent trails. On his back, he also carries Midna, a small imp-like creature who gives him hints, uses an energy field to attack enemies, helps him jump long distances and eventually allows him to "warp" to any of several preset locations throughout the overworld. Using Link's wolf senses, the player can see and listen to the wandering spirits of those affected by the Twilight, as well as hunt for enemy ghosts named Poes.
The artificial intelligence of enemies in Twilight Princess is more advanced than that of enemies in The Wind Waker. Enemies react to defeated companions and to arrows or slingshot pellets that pass by, and they can detect Link from a greater distance than was possible in previous games.
Plot
A teenage boy named Link works as a ranch hand in Ordon Village. One day, Bulblins take away the village's children. Link pursues and encounters a wall of Twilight. A Twilight monster pulls him beyond the wall into the Twilight-shrouded forest, where he is transformed into a wolf and imprisoned. Link is soon freed by an imp named Midna, who offers to help him if he obeys her unconditionally. She guides him to Princess Zelda, who explains that Zant, the usurper king of the Twili, invaded Hyrule Castle and forced her to surrender. The kingdom became enveloped in Twilight, turning all its inhabitants besides Link and Zelda into invisible spirits. To save Hyrule, Link, aided by Midna, must first revive the Light Spirits by entering the Twilight-covered regions and recovering the Spirits' light from the Twilight beings that have stolen it. Once revitalized, each Spirit returns Link to his Hylian form and informs Link and Midna of the hidden location of a Fused Shadow, one of the fragments of a powerful relic that will have to be used to match Zant's power to defeat him.
During his journey, Link finds Ordon Village's children and assists the monkeys of Faron, the Gorons of Eldin, and the Zoras of Lanayru. After restoring the Light Spirits and obtaining the Fused Shadows, Link and Midna are ambushed by Zant, who takes away the fragments and reveals that his power comes from another source, which he uses to trap Link in his wolf state. Failing to persuade Midna into joining forces with him, Zant attempts to dispose of her by exposing her to the light of Lanayru's light spirit. Bringing a dying Midna to Zelda, Link learns from her that he needs the Master Sword to remove Zant's curse. She proceeds to sacrifice herself to heal Midna, vanishing mysteriously. Moved by Zelda's act of selflessness, Midna starts to care more about Link and the fate of his world.
After gaining the Master Sword, Link is cleansed of the curse that kept him in wolf form. Deep within the Gerudo Desert, Link and Midna search for the Mirror of Twilight, the only known gateway between Hyrule and the Twilight Realm, but discover that it is broken. The Sages there explain that Zant tried to destroy it, but only managed to shatter it into fragments; only the true ruler of the Twili can completely destroy the mirror. They also relate that they once used it to banish Ganondorf, the Gerudo leader who attempted to steal the Triforce, to the Twilight Realm after failing to execute him. Link and Midna set out to retrieve the missing shards of the mirror. Once it has been fully restored, the Sages reveal to Link that Midna is actually the true ruler of the Twili, usurped and cursed into her current form by Zant. Confronting Zant, Link and Midna learn that he forged a pact with Ganondorf, who asked for his assistance in subjugating Hyrule. After Link defeats Zant, Midna recovers the Fused Shadows and kills Zant after learning that only Ganondorf's defeat can release her from her curse.
Returning to Hyrule, Link and Midna find Ganondorf in Hyrule Castle, with a lifeless Zelda suspended above him. Ganondorf fights Link by possessing Zelda and then transforming into a gigantic boar-like beast, but Link defeats him by using his wolf form, and the power Midna received from Zelda is able to resuscitate her. Ganondorf revives, and Midna teleports Link and Zelda outside the castle so she can hold him off with the Fused Shadows. However, as Hyrule Castle collapses, Ganondorf emerges from it victorious, crushing the Fused Shadow piece that Midna wore on her head, and pursues Link on horseback. Assisted by Zelda and the Light Spirits, Link eventually knocks Ganondorf off his horse, before dueling him on foot and eventually running the Master Sword through his chest. With Ganondorf dead, the Light Spirits revive Midna and restore her to her true form. After bidding farewell to Link and Zelda, Midna returns home and destroys the Mirror of Twilight, ultimately severing the link between Hyrule and the Twilight Realm. As Hyrule Castle is rebuilt, Link leaves Ordon Village, heading to parts unknown.
Development Inception as a GameCube game
In 2003, Nintendo announced a new Zelda game for the GameCube by the same team that had created the cel-shaded The Wind Waker. At the following year's Game Developers Conference, director Eiji Aonuma unintentionally revealed that it was in development under the working title The Wind Waker 2, with a similar graphical style. Nintendo of America told Aonuma that North American sales of The Wind Waker were sluggish because its cartoon appearance created the impression that it was designed for a young audience. Aonuma expressed to producer Shigeru Miyamoto that he wanted to create a realistic Zelda game that would appeal to the North American market and meet Miyamoto's original vision of realism for the series. Miyamoto, hesitant about solely changing the presentation, suggested the team should focus on gameplay innovations. He advised that Aonuma should start by doing what could not be done in Ocarina of Time, particularly horseback combat. Early development of what would become Twilight Princess began and special care was taken to improve the realism of the horseriding, with lead character designer Keisuke Nishimori riding a horse for himself to feel what it was like.
Just as the original Legend of Zelda was inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings novels, the aesthetic of Twilight Princess was inspired by the Lord of the Rings films, as they had just come out and were generally well received at the time. It was developed with a large convincing world in mind, one with a large scale to meet the expectation for fantasy worlds that audiences had become accustomed to with The Lord of the Rings.
In four months, Aonuma's team managed to present realistic horseback riding, which Nintendo later revealed to the public with a trailer at E3 2004 that was met with enormous praise. The game was scheduled to be released the next year and was no longer a follow-up to The Wind Waker; a true sequel to it was released for the Nintendo DS in 2007, in the form of Phantom Hourglass. Miyamoto explained in interviews that the graphical style was chosen to satisfy demand and that it better fit the theme of an older incarnation of Link. The game runs on a modified The Wind Waker engine.