G-pinions

Zelda: Twilight Princess is too good to play. I have been going through the early portions of this game as fast a snail would. Bear in mind, a snail could not properly wield a Wiimote. And yet, a slimy, shell-toting invertebrate could breeze to the first dungeon quicker than a two-limbed man such as myself. All I want to do now is play Zelda. I dream about it. I admire the shiny gold box sitting next to my miniscule white console. It is in my mind all the time. And yet, I force myself not to play it too much.

The game starts out fairly slow. You are a humble farmhand living in a small village. You are not a hero. You've never even left the village. One of your first tasks in the game is to round up a gaggle of stubborn goats. This turns out to be one of the most exciting, action-packed moments from the tutorial portion of this game. The first two hours of Zelda are spent in the village doing mundane tasks for your fellow villagers. Almost nothing of note happens. And yet, it feels perfect. Epic adventures don't start out with a boulder rolling towards a baby. You have to give the audience time to relate to the characters and show a world not yet overrun with horrible problems. And I am already emotionally invested.

I have never played Zelda games for their story before. In fact, I hardly remember what has happened in each of the adventures. Each game provides requisite filler, a silly excuse to plunder dungeons and fight poes in the dead of night, but they are just window dressing. Zelda is about adventuring. It is about exploring huge worlds, finding secrets for the sake of seeing all the game has to offer, and solving puzzles. The fact that your sister was stolen or the master sword needs to be held by the hero is irrelevant to the experience. And I was happy with that. Zelda skimped on the presentation because the gameplay has always been top notch. Video games are built on gameplay and Nintendo has always understood that killing an Octorok is more satisfying that watching a long-winded movie.

But Twilight Princess throws these conventions to the ground. The story is still used sparingly. You will not be overrun with twenty-minute cut scenes and fancy CG. But the story has a point this time. Instead of rushing to each dungeon because I can't wait to see what new item awaits, I have found myself walking slowly, talking to everyone I can, and taking in the entire world ahead of me. This is a mammoth game, every bit as fun as you would expect, but it has a depth to it I have never seen in a Zelda title before. I actually care about Link this time. I would gladly play this game, even if the gameplay was horrid, to find out the story behind Midna.

Because I am so emotionally invested, I find myself going slower than I normally would. This is more than exploring a new version of Hyrule. I'm only a few hours into the game, but Zelda: Twilight Princess already feels like a classic game. As I find out bits of the story and learn new gameplay mechanics, it feels as if I am experiencing the essence of what makes gaming great for the very first time. The whole game thus far has felt like the beginning of Mario 64. Remember just hanging outside the castle - climbing trees and swimming in the moat - for an hour before you officially began the adventure. There was no reason to rush because the simple act of existing in that world was so amazing. For Zelda, I find myself going at a snail's rate because I don't want to rush my first time through this game. I will only be able to experience the Forest Temple completely pure one time. Playing Twilight Princess feels like coming to the end of a fantastic first date. You know the woman is perfect for you. There is no reason to rush anything.