The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess review

The last GameCube adventure. The best Zelda yet

GamesRadar Editor's Choice

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Classic control scheme

  • +

    Hey look

  • +

    a camera

  • +

    Pretty much everything else

Cons

  • -

    Aiming is a bit iffy

  • -

    A bit same-y

  • -

    Tossing your GC in the trash

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We gotta be honest - we're a little surprised to even be writing about a GameCube game at this point. Once Twilight Princess was announced for Wii, everyone just kinda moved on. Why bother playing this version when a widescreen-enabled Wii edition is coming out a month sooner? Well, honestly, there's no reason to play this one over the Wii version, but that doesn't keep the GameCube from delivering one final, glorious experience that no modern adventure can topple.

If you're interested in all the nitty-gritty details, we suggest you check out ourWii review. As we're all aware, Wii is said to be only marginally more powerful than the GameCube, and because of this, both games are nearly identical. Graphics, sound, boss battles, cutscenes... everything's shot-for-shot the same as its next-gen cousin. The only differences come in the form of controls.

Obviously there's no Wii remote, so Princess plays more like Wind Waker when it comes to attacking and using items. The tiny red B button swings Link's sword, the kidney-shaped X and Y buttons are used for inventory and the miniscule d-pad handles the map and item selection. The only way you'll care is if you spent 50 hours trouncing the Wii version, then run over to the 'Cube - expect to start waving the controller around like a fool. If you've waited (and we're sorry about that), you'll have no qualms at all adjusting the layout. Camera control has blessedly returned, however, something the Wii game lacked. It's now much easier to check your surroundings without jumping into a first-person view mode.

We gotta be honest - we're a little surprised to even be writing about a GameCube game at this point. Once Twilight Princess was announced for Wii, everyone just kinda moved on. Why bother playing this version when a widescreen-enabled Wii edition is coming out a month sooner? Well, honestly, there's no reason to play this one over the Wii version, but that doesn't keep the GameCube from delivering one final, glorious experience that no modern adventure can topple.

If you're interested in all the nitty-gritty details, we suggest you check out ourWii review. As we're all aware, Wii is said to be only marginally more powerful than the GameCube, and because of this, both games are nearly identical. Graphics, sound, boss battles, cutscenes... everything's shot-for-shot the same as its next-gen cousin. The only differences come in the form of controls.

Obviously there's no Wii remote, so Princess plays more like Wind Waker when it comes to attacking and using items. The tiny red B button swings Link's sword, the kidney-shaped X and Y buttons are used for inventory and the miniscule d-pad handles the map and item selection. The only way you'll care is if you spent 50 hours trouncing the Wii version, then run over to the 'Cube - expect to start waving the controller around like a fool. If you've waited (and we're sorry about that), you'll have no qualms at all adjusting the layout. Camera control has blessedly returned, however, something the Wii game lacked. It's now much easier to check your surroundings without jumping into a first-person view mode.

More info

GenreAdventure
DescriptionIt's the same Zelda we've been playing since 1998, tweaked and balanced to perfection.
Platform"GameCube","Wii"
US censor rating"Teen","Teen"
UK censor rating"",""
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
Less
Brett Elston

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.