The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess scores 9/10 in the verdict of The Games Market editorial team.
Once Upon a Time
The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess
by Simon Larocca·October 16, 2025
An Hero and his sword.
A Princess and her legend.
The hooves are stomping on a land besieged by Evil, the veil of time reveals magic, ancient occult prophecies, and ringing rupees clink on the counters of fine wood in the shops: the white Christmas of 2006 was already in the air and The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess hit the mark in our hearts with a flick of the wrist on Wii, officially becoming the console’s launch game, and nothing was ever the same again.
The Zelda saga has its roots in the dawn of Nintendo, when the battle—now that was legendary—between the big N and Sega was all the rage in schoolyard conversations and on television: in 1986 Miyamoto launched an RPG with a concept that was simple and at the same time multilayered.
Link, silent hero and functional archetype for any approach to any player's adventure, in search of the Triforce, the magical element that would allow him to save his world, Hyrule, by defeating Ganondorf, the ultimate villain destined to return in many forms and ever larger and more relentless.
Zelda, the beautiful princess to be saved in the first iterations of the series, gradually became more three-dimensional, taking on a much more central role in the multifaceted timeline of the saga: this is how Twilight Princess came about.
Hyrule is subjugated by the King of Twilight: this means that initially Link’s mission will be to free Zelda from a terrible curse, and then redeem Hyrule from the darkness into which it has been cast and thus make the (tri)forces of Good prevail.
Essendo he the Champion par excellence and hero of silences that are worth a thousand words, we will have to explore far and wide, on foot or on horseback (and many of you will already be running with memories across plains conquered many years earlier, your mind caressed by the sweet notes of an unforgettable ocarina), thanks to the aid of the Wiimote we will literally wield Link’s sword to defeat the numerous henchmen who will stand between us and final victory.
Considered the spiritual sequel, not by chance, to Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess indeed takes up some elements from its predecessor, weaving plot connections between the past and the present: the dualism between the world of light and the world of darkness, the central pivot around which Link must navigate to allow the former to triumph and the latter to fade away, seems to deliberately echo the dual nature of a title that, depending on the perspective from which one experiences it, reveals hidden sides of a shining, magic-laden medal, in full Nintendo style.
Una of the distinctive features of the saga is the connection between the various games that, over the long span of time, have alternated on every Nintendo console: from the GameBoy to the Nes, passing through Snes, GameCube and Wii with its sister WiiU, Zelda has created a true universe made up of intertwining stories, characters who return and not always in the same form: the connecting links of this splendid broad-ranging adventure are Zelda and Link, fixed points in space-time, as Doctor Who would say.
Il degree of immersiveness that Wii with its pointing technology allowed, at the time, was a revelation: the combination of context-sensitive buttons makes the gameplay experience initially cumbersome (point at the rock, shoot an arrow, hit the enemy, but first target it, etc), but once you get the hang of it a wonderful story will unfold before us: exploring Hyrule has never been so satisfying.
The enemies react to the behavior we adopt in their presence and will no longer be as passive as in some previous games, but the beauty of all this is that The Twilight Princess retains the essence of Adventure with a capital A: dungeons with secrets to uncover and enemies around every corner, items to collect and rupees with which to upgrade equipment, and finally a boss to bring down.
It is quite true: every game has a story, but only one is legend.
9
Pro
A title that excels in every aspect: graphics, sound, and technical performance. Everything seems to be in service of a memorable gaming experience.
New dynamics for classic adventures: the mechanics ooze history and respect for the saga, but the innovations thanks to the Wiimote raise the bar to new heights
Midna, a character destined to rise from her very first appearance and whom you will not forget
Contro
Since it was developed to be the killer application for the Wii at the dawn of its life, not everyone may like the control scheme using the Wiimote, which, after all, is an integral part of the charm of Twilight Princess
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
Simon Larocca
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
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