The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is one of my favorite Zelda games in the whole series. I’ve replayed it many times over the years, and each playthrough has been just as enjoyable as the last. Funny enough, there was a time when I almost didn’t even give the game a chance.
Back in the fall of 2006, I was eagerly waiting for two upcoming games: Final Fantasy XII and Twilight Princess. I had Twilight Princess reserved at my local game store and had it almost paid off, but I didn’t have any money down on Final Fantasy XII.
For whatever reason, when Final Fantasy XII came out, I decided to transfer my Twilight Princess down payment to buy that instead. I picked up Final Fantasy, and when Twilight Princess was released, I no longer had a reservation for it, and I didn’t have enough money to buy a copy at launch.
Months passed. In April of 2007, my family bought me a Nintendo Wii as a graduation present. With it, I also received two games: Wii Sports and Twilight Princess. What a perfect opportunity to finally play the new Zelda game, right?
There was one small problem. I was totally hooked on Wii Sports. Twilight Princess would spend weeks sitting on the shelf, still sealed. I kept telling myself I would get around to opening it and starting the game, but every time I turned on the Wii, all I wanted to do was play Wii Sports again.
Eventually, it got to the point where my mom said something along the lines of, “If you aren’t going to play that new Zelda game, let me know and I’ll take it back.”
So, on the night of May 17, 2007, I finally unwrapped the plastic from the Twilight Princess case and popped it open, taking a look at that shiny golden disc for the first time. I slipped it into the Wii, grabbed the remote and nunchuck, and loaded up the game.
The opening began. Watching Link ride across Hyrule Field on Epona, with the sun low in the sky, and hearing that title theme for the first time captivated me. Just soaking in that first minute or so, I had such a strong feeling that I was about to begin something really special. Something that was going to stick with me forever.
Before I could even create my file and name myself, I already regretted two things: why didn’t I just keep my money on my Twilight Princess reservation months earlier, and why wasn’t this the first game I touched when I got my Wii?
Both of those things were in the past. At that point, I was just excited to finally begin a new journey through Hyrule.
It definitely took some getting used to the Wii controls. It felt so different from playing with a GameCube or Nintendo 64 controller, which I had been used to for years. Fortunately, the opening in Ordon Village was peaceful enough that I could take my time and familiarize myself with the controls before the adventure really picked up.
I spent the better part of that summer completely hooked on Twilight Princess. I loved the gameplay, the story, the music, the characters, and the world itself. To me, it was a masterpiece. It also revitalized my love for the Zelda series in a way that I hadn’t quite felt since Ocarina of Time was still relatively new.
After I beat the game, I knew it wouldn’t be the last time I played it. Not by a long shot. Twilight Princess had such a positive impact on me that I knew I would gladly return to it many more times. Looking back, it’s funny to think that I almost passed up such a fantastic game. I’m sure I would have eventually picked it up and experienced it one way or another, and I would have probably still felt the way I do about it. Still, not buying Twilight Princess on its release date remains one of my biggest gaming regrets to this day.
Thankfully, I did get my hands on it, played it, beat it, not just once, but a handful of times, and even now, it still holds a spot in my top favorite Zelda games.
As for when I might give it another replay? Come to think of it, I’d say I’m pretty long overdue.
