Score 10/10

I wake up thinking about Zelda; I go to bed thinking about Zelda. When I am awake I try to find ways to spend more time playing Zelda. (This review has been pushed off several times to do just that.) It’s been years since I have felt this way about gaming. I thought it was only because it was something you outgrow when you became an adult, the wonderment of the world just disappears and you become harsher about everything. The truth is that there just haven’t been any good games.

Zelda was designed to move systems and make a profit. It has done just that.

I really can’t think of anything negative to say about Zelda, everything is done just seems to fit perfectly. Zelda has crafted an environment of its own where everything is cause and effect. If one thing is changed it could destroy how everything else functions. It all proves Nintendo still knows what it’s doing when it comes to games. If they push something back another six months to be ready for release I am going to back them up from now on. Zelda has shown the way. I have become a fan boy.

Concerns about sword slashing with the Wiimote are ill founded. The controller is so sensitive that it picks up very subtle movement, but never a punishment. When you get into the heat of battle it feels rewarding as you swing the controller making bold slashes at the enemies. During game play I did once encounter an instance that I felt the controller was at fault for a missed jump, the experience itself was so vague and unremarkable that I can’t even recall where that jump was.

Shortcomings in the game are an issue with the system. You can’t go back and say the original Mario games look like crap. (Yes, you could have done better with the graphics and the Sega Master System, which proved its power with every breath of Sonic and Phantasy Star it ever took.) Considering that this is the best looking game on the system I tend to ignore all complaints about the graphics. It doesn’t really matter though; you won’t stop playing long enough to notice those things once you are caught up in the action.

The factor that ties everything in is the plot. Many times during the game I found myself thinking “Is this really a Zelda game? Could that really just have happen?” Which was always followed by a clever scene where the game would make sure that I did understand the fact that, yes, that did just happen.

The game is paced very well. If I found myself thinking “this is getting really old.” It would be made very clear that this was the last time that I would do doing this very task. Old tasks were always given new twists and flavors every time that you’re given one. Fishing becomes more complicated with the additions of bait and better polls, travel becomes flavored differently when you receive your horse (The first time that you travel through the expanses of Hyrule Fields it is a long drudge from your home town to the next. After you receive your horse you can zip back with no effort), as well as countless other touches.

The game takes all of the elements introduces and makes it part of the world. Horseback riding has smooth combat that compliments the on foot combat. Weapons always serve many uses. The boomerang spins wind gages to move platforms, but it also puts out fires. Abilities are pretty well outlined when a new item is procured, but easily forgotten hours later when another puzzle arises with the need for just that tool. Normally when exploring a new area, or traveling an old, the feeling of déjà vu presents itself as you notice small fixtures on a wall and then remember that you can use your hookshot on those.

The game is always challenging without being impossible. You always have the tools to do whatever you need to. You are always pointed clearly in the direction that you need to go, never leaving you questioning if you should back track from some dungeon ten hours ago to open some chest you may have missed. If you need something that you don’t have it is always pointed out to you by the shrill orders of Midna, a sort of pixie thing that doesn’t ever seem very happy with anything at all. Even when hints fail just thinking about what you have been presented with, or even looking closer at the area around you, reveals the answer to a puzzle or a key to the next room.

Saying that this is one of the best games of the year is an insult to everyone who worked on it and had the vision to contribute. This is very easily one of the best games that I have ever played in my life time and deserves nothing but the highest praise that I can muster for it. If you manage to ever get your hands on a Wii this should be your first purchase alongside the unit. There are no questions about it, go out and wait in line at your nearest game retailer and tell them that you are waiting for more Zelda boxes to come in. I am sure that they will understand.