E3 2005: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

In general, the most important thing to note about enemies is that, when in groups, they've finally learned how to attack Link together and seem to co-ordinate with each other. For instance, we were about to deliver the finishing blow to a Lizalfos when his cohort sent us flying back, allowing his fallen comrade to get back to his feet so both Lizalfos could attack together. Also, when defeated, whether by finishing blow or not (Note: It takes more hits to kill an enemy without using the finishing blow.) they explode in a cloud of smoke, much like in The Wind Waker, though the smoke is a crimson, almost bloody red -- much darker than Wind Waker's purple energy. But enough about that, let's talk about the enemies themselves.

Spider: The spider has a definite kinship with the Skulltula. In fact, they basically are Skulltulas without the skulls. The small spiders cling to vine walls and swarm you when you try to climb, if you don't eliminate them first. Large spiders, like large Skulltula, drop down on web strings and will block any gaps that may be in your way. A new addition, however, is that they can now get off that string, crawl along the floor, and fight you face to face. You will even come across some large spiders that are on the ground to begin with. The large spiders can also block, like most of the larger enemies in the demo.

Lizalfos: Lizalfos are back and more menacing than you remember. They're still armed with a sword, but they now have axe-blades as tails. More heavily armed, they block quite effectively, and they're just as tough and fast as ever. They're a force to be reckoned with, especially in groups.

Deku Baba: Basically what you remember. They're the same plants they always were, only they can now latch onto Link's legs when attacking, rendering him motionless. We found the spin attack to be a very effective way to free ourselves and fell the plant simultaneously. When felled, they still leave behind a Deku Nut, which you can toss at things as a weapon. (We didn't put the Deku Nut under items because it doesn't go into your inventory. Link picks it up like he would a pot, and has no free hands until he's thrown it.) There are also baby Deku Baba, which, when sliced, will fall to the ground and slither towards you. These leave nothing behind. There was also a mini-boss plant variant, and the main boss we fought in the demo was a massive plant as well. The fights with both will be covered in detail in the demo breakdown, but it is worth noting that both are likely of Deku relation.

Keese: Only one of these was spotted in the demo. It acted precisely the way Keese have in all past incarnations, but it was still neat to see one of them around.

Bomb Insect: These are cool. Much like the Bomb Flower in Ocarina of Time, they allow Link to blow crap up without actually having any bombs. They pop out of small insect hill holes in the ground and have massive stilt-like legs. When Link approaches them, he is given the option of lifting them -- which triggers the countdown to their explosion -- or throwing them. If you don't pick them up right away, they skitter off -- which also triggers their countdown -- and you must chase them and pick them up, lest they blow up quite literally in your face.

Baboon: A mini-boss in the forest temple, the Baboon was actually quite a foe. Looking pretty much like you'd expect an evil Baboon to look; he also had a strange black and red glowing object attached to his head. He carried a boomerang of his own -- a Dark Boomerang. It seemed to be capable of charging, but did not house the wind properties that the Gale Boomerang did. We've been wondering if this is a boomerang Link will later be able to obtain, or simply the Baboon's weapon. His main attack strategy was to throw his boomerang at you and his anatomically correct infamous baboon red ass was actually his weak point. Link had to stun him and slash at his rear end relentlessly until he was defeated. The baboon, and the battle with him, will be covered in much more detail in the dungeon portion of the demo breakdown.

Bokoblins: This race of horned creatures returns from TWW, now taking up a role as invading monsters coming from the Twilight. More intelligent than Moblins; Bokoblins strike fast, relying less on brute force. They attack Link in very large numbers throughout the Horse Battle demo and are led by an enemy known as the Bokoblin King; a heavily armored foe who carries a battle horn. Their favored mount is the boar, something they feel carries with it a sufficient amount of strength and fear.

Other: Other enemies spotted in the trailer or confirmed elsewhere were Moblins, Stalfos and their Skeletal Boar mounts, the strange forest enemies -- creepy, lanky foes with incredibly long legs and arms, Hyrule Castle ghost guards (seen on the walls of the booth), and Armos.

The combat style of TWW has been replaced with a system akin to that in OoT and MM. No longer does combat seem like nothing more than pressing B continuously and then pressing A to parry when the game tells you to. Fighting is far more strategic, calling for striking at the right moment for certain enemies. Parrying has been completely re-imagined. Any time you raise your shield, you can perform a parry maneuver by pressing B, putting the strategy in the hands of the player. You can then decide the best time to perform such a move. Unfortunately, parrying seems too easy at this stage. Performing a parry causes Link to bash an enemy with his shield (we don't know how that's a parry, but it is cool). The problem here is that every parry is a success and since it also stuns the enemy it makes combat very easy. Of course, the game is still not yet finished and this feature will hopefully be fine tuned before release.

Beyond this fact, combat is traditional Zelda. While locked on to an enemy, B strikes with the sword while pressing A, and holding the control stick in a certain direction will allow Link to either sidestep, back-flip, or perform a jumping strike that deals additional damage. Pressing the control stick in a certain direction while pressing B will allow Link to perform a specific strike. The spin attack has also returned and is pulled off by either holding down B for a short period of time or rotating the control stick quickly and then pressing B. Additionally, Link can now swing his sword without pulling off from a full run, which has become a great way to throw in a final strike while retreating.

However, one aspect from TWW's combat does return for this outing. Scoring successive hits against an enemy by pressing B repeatedly in short order causes Link to automatically combo. It seems that TP has found the perfect balance between TWW's almost hack and slash combat and OoT's slower paced combat. Now if the parry could just be fine tuned it would be perfect.

One new aspect to swordplay is a move performed first in The Adventure of Link and later made famous in Super Smash Bros. Link's downward thrust is now exclusively a finishing move that is performed when locked onto an enemy who has fallen, but not yet been defeated. At this point the A button will say "Finish" and pressing said button will cause Link to perform the move, jumping up to use his weight to drive the sword through the downed enemy. Three things should be noted about this. One, enemies do not have to be "finished," at least not the ones in the demo (of course if you don't finish an enemy they'll get back up to continue the fight until they're killed the old fashioned way). Two, Link can miss and this causes him to get his sword stuck in the ground, leaving him vulnerable for a time as he attempts to pull it out. And three, it's unbelievably cool.

Finally, something must be said about all the details regarding Link and his sword. Nintendo has spared no expense in creating an immersive gameplay experience. If Link has his sword out, and the player is not swinging it around like a mad man, he will occasionally spin it around at his side. Furthermore, if the player makes Link sheathe his sword immediately after defeating an enemy (before he returns to his normal stance) then he'll spin his sword around stylistically before sheathing it as seen at the end of the first gameplay teaser. And lastly, the sword feels more real seeing as how it can now deflect almost anything. Boomerang flying at you? If you get lucky you just might knock it out of the way with your sword. Same thing applies to arrows, something that became quite apparently during the Horse Battle demo where Link is hounded by a horde of bow wielding enemies at once. Speaking of which...

Those familiar with riding a horse in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask will feel right at home here. Riding your trusty steed works just as before, with only a few minor changes. For one, the method of controlling the horse's speed has been altered slightly, but only in terms of theme. The six carrot system has been replaced with six spurs to compliment the fact that Link starts the game off as a cowboy. Pressing A while riding will remove one spur from the screen and perform a dash. Continue pressing A and the horse will continue to speed up, but if you lose all the spurs the poor animal will become tired and slow down tremendously. As a result it is best to speed the horse up at a controlled pace while you wait for spurs to slowly come back. Keeping a high speed is essential for keeping up with enemies and hopping fences.

The camera perspective has also been modified. While riding, the camera pans out to allow a wider view of the action. This is particularly useful during the new horse combat sequences that will reportedly occur quite often in the final game.

Of course, the new horse combat also happens to be the most important addition to Link's riding. Combat is virtually the same while on a horse as it is on foot. Pressing B while on your mount will swing your sword, and holding the control stick to the right or left will cause Link to swing in that direction. Link can even lock on to enemies and use his shield while on horseback. His patented spin attack can also be performed and is quite useful in groups. The bow and arrow item was not in the demo, but presumably the player will now be able to lock onto enemies to launch arrows in lieu of going into a first person view. There is no hint if the boomerang or any other items can be used while on horseback.

You may have noticed that we never referred to Link's horse as Epona. This is for a very important reason. His horse isn't Epona. At the start of the game the player will be able to name the horse whatever they desire. A fun bit of customization we dare say. There may be multiple Zeldas, but we don't need player's confused by multiple Eponas. The horse was, however, called Epona in the E3 demo, but only because naming it wasn't a part of the demo, and Epona is the most obvious default choice.

Those not happy with TWW may be a bit apprehensive towards boating in TP. Do not fear, though. It is unknown exactly how much boating will be going on in the final release, but it is generally considered to be a minor form of travel for rivers and lakes when need be. The horse is still the main mode of transportation for long distance.

The E3 demo contained only one boat type (a canoe), but previous media has indicated there is at least one other. However, we do think that it's safe to say that sailing is gone. Link now has to row his way everywhere and this is done by simply using the control stick as if walking or riding the horse. Holding R will allow Link to row faster and, if boating in a river, any current present will only help the boat's speed unless you're rowing against it.

More importantly though, Link will be able to fish once more -- after not being able to do so in the last two games. Fishing was not possible in the demo, but is confirmed to be similar in style to OoT's fishing system, and Link will even be able to fish from a boat. There is currently no indication on whether or not he will have to be in a boat to fish, but it's likely he'll be able to cast a line from the shore.

We'll talk a lot more about the Twilight Realm in the story section, but for gameplay, what's important to know is that Link enters through a series of portals and that when he does, he is transformed into a wolf. Eventually, he teams up with the imp-like creature you've all seen riding him in the trailers, known as Midna. The portals are actually a really interesting mechanic themselves: the creatures from the Twilight Realm will have the ability to summon portals, and after defeating them, Link will be able to use their portals, which will apparently be a part of the game's transportation system. As the wolf, you'll lose a number of your standard abilities, and be granted a number of new ones. You obviously can't use your sword and shield or your items as a wolf. (It would be rather amusing to see a wolf wield a boomerang, actually.) Instead, to attack as Wolf-Link, you hold down a button and a circle will expand from where you stand, locking on to more and more foes as it grows. When you release the button, Link will dash from foe to foe, biting and clawing wildly -- a queued auto-lock system much like we've seen with the Gale Boomerang. (No word yet on whether there will be a maximum numbers of foes in the queue or what that maximum will be.)

Nonetheless, you'll find yourself at a disadvantage against some foes. There will be times when a sword and shield would come in handy, but being a wild animal does have it's advantages. For instance, you'll be granted advanced sight and hearing, and the advanced speed a wolf naturally has will mean you'll certainly be better at crossing some distances, and perhaps leaping some gaps, than Link would be. Midna comes in largely to help with the sorts of foes that would otherwise leave you cursing the lack of Link's equipment. She and Wolf-Link join forces and combine abilities, allowing Wolf-Link to be able to battle foes a wolf would be unable to handle alone.

Also important to note is that, while humans do not, animals still exist in this realm. Link will be able to communicate with them as a wolf and gain information from them as he would from humans in the normal world. In an interview with IGNCube, Eiji Aonuma also stated that later on, as the Twilight Realm is pushed back, Link will begin to return to his human form, and, now unmountable, will form a different sort of partnership with Midna (who should theoretically have a more human form as well). All in all, Aonuma shows that his work on Majora's Mask was not simply some strange aside but a sign of things to come. He seems to have a lot of ideas to re-imagine the Zelda series, and we certainly can't wait to see how this one works out.