The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Review

Judge it on dungeons and it wins outright. The Snowpeak mansion, the Arbiter's Grounds and the City in the Sky are the most confidently constructed spaces in the series, with multi floor puzzles that use their item as a genuine tool rather than a key, and the spinner and the double clawshot both justify themselves completely. Midna is the best companion Nintendo has written, sardonic at first and gradually invested, and her arc carries the story past a plot that is otherwise a familiar march to Ganondorf.

The wolf sections are the compromise. They look striking and the sensing mechanic is atmospheric, but the tear collecting that gates them is busywork that stalls the opening for hours. The overworld is large and mostly empty between destinations, a problem the game solves late by giving you a faster horse. Visually it aimed for realism on hardware that could not deliver it, so the murky palette has aged worse than its stylised neighbours. Conservative, and superbly built within those limits.