Twilight Princess

Twilight Princess was released to coincide with the Nintendo Wii launch.  It was the first Legend of Zelda title to be released with a new console watch in the history of the franchise.  It was released a month later for the Nintendo Gamecube to cater to fans who could not get a Wii during the 2006 holiday season.  Since the Nintendo Wii version was specifically designed for functionality with the motion sensor technology, the Gamecube version features much of the same content but some subtle differences remain but not enough for the common video gamer to notice.   Twilight Princess holds the notoriety of being the only game in franchise history to get a video game rating of Teen.

Twilight Princess takes place hundreds of years after Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.  Link is working on a ranch in Ordon Village when the children there are kidnapped by monsters.  Link tries to save the kids, but he finds himself stopped by a wall created from Twilight.  When he tries to flee, he is pulled into the wall and transformed into a wolf in the process.  Midna, an imp, releases him and brings him to Princess Zelda who explains what is happening to the world.

It turns out that Zant has taken over the realm of Twili and used his power there to spill into and take over Hyrule, too.  Link has to restore order to the Light Spirits who will turn him back to his human self.  While recovering the Light Spirits, Midna and Link team up to find the Fused Shadows, a relic that will help them defeat Zant.  However, Zant attacks them first and this returns Link to his wolf shape.  Midna was hurt badly during the attack, but Link manages to save her by bringing her to Zelda before it was too late.  Once Link recovers the Master Sword, he once again is returned to his normal body and he attempts to travel through the Mirror of Twilight into the Twilight Realm to face Zant once and for all.

When they discover the mirror, they find it broken and have to seek out to recover the pieces to put it back together again. When fixed, they head to the Twilight Realm and discover that Ganondorf is behind the plot to destroy Hyrule.  He used Zant to do so.  It also turns out that Midna is actually the ruler of the Twili, having been turned to an imp when she went against Zant herself.  After a long battle, Link finally defeats Zant and returns to Hyrule where Midna faces off against Ganondorf while Zelda and Link flee.  Link continues the battle, defeating Ganondorf before he can destroy all of Hyrule.

I was more excited about the release of Twilight Princess than any other game in the series.  I pre-ordered it six months in advance at my local Gamestop, picked it up the day of my birthday and played for three days straight to beat it.  The entire scope of game play was much more intensive, realistic and playable than any other Legend of Zelda title.  There was more to do, more to see and more to get involved with as you saved Hyrule and Princess Zelda.  I have played both the Nintendo Wii and Gamecube versions, and I find my time playing the Gamecube version first vastly improved the fun and excitement I had playing through the Wii version over two years later.

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess can be played on the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo Gamecube.  The Gamecube version can also be played on the Wii, although it will not have the same type of motion-based response the Wii version has.  Both versions are fundamentally the same.  However, to get the full value of Twilight Princess, you want the Wii version on the console to take advantage of the motion sensor technology the Wii and its games are designed for.