So, after a long hiatus, I've gone back to playing Twilight Princess. The reason why I stopped playing the first time was simple: the controls sucked donkey balls. At least that's how I felt at the time. I was gushing with fan-boy joy for the Wii, and was somewhat surprised that I wasn't instantly transported to gaming nirvanna when I first jumped into its motion sensing bosom. Waving the Wiimote around to slash was fun for about five seconds, then it just seemed silly. Once I started running and jumping and, you know, PLAYING THE GAME, I realized that I couldn't really see where the hell I was going, and that was bad.
Then I got to the part where you have to guide a wagon past a raiding party and keep it from starting on fire, and I just gave up. It was impossible. The controls were just so clumsy and that horse was just so damn useless that I couldn't be bothered. I gave up and didn't turn the Wii on again for what seems like months now.
A couple days ago I finally took a deep breath and fired up the little white bastard again. It was just as bad as I remembered, but I was determined to fight through it and at least get past that damn wagon fiasco. After much swearing and gnashing of teeth and going around and around in circles (literally!), I did it. FINALLY! It was horrible, but I did it.
Now I know, most of you are probably rolling your oh-so-hardcore eyes in jaded disgust, but I dont care. I've been playing video games just as long as any of you. My point here (if I have one) is this: play control should be like good design, clear and effortless. It should be transparent. I think this is why the old school games are looked upon with such love. We never really had to think about HOW to play them, we could just sit down and start them up and PLAY.
This is why I'm not at all interested in games like Metal Gear Solid 4.
Well OK, I'm VERY interested in it, but I can't help thinking that learning the controls alone will be like battling a final boss (YES! I finally learned how to crawl on my back!) or preparing for a Japanese language exam ("XR1LOOSQUAREL2R2UUD" means "crouch"). That is not fun, at least for me. The same goes for Twilight Princess. I'm constantly having to think about HOW I'm playing it and not just having fun cutting down the bad guys and unlocking the secrets.
This is the main reason why people like my wife avoid adventure games. She loves the action and the stories, but too often they are more about elaborate controls than an interesting plot. I though that the Wii was going to get rid of these issues, not make them worse!
Nevertheless, I've been getting back into Twilight Princess and I'm actually enjoying it again. I still grumble about it constantly, and I still go flying off the unseen edge of every third bottomless pit I come across, but I'm starting to remember what I love about these games. Twilight Princess does have its share of impressive moments. The dungeons are often breathtaking in their simple complexity (yes, that is possible.) It IS inventive and fresh at times. But I can't help wishing it was as easy as pressing A and B so I could just get back to enjoying the game again.
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Because he looked like a total bad ass.
Course... hindsight... you know...
I'm not sure about you, but back when OoT was new, it was certainly a task for me to get my head around the complex controls! Memory serves to tell me that manually aiming the bow and other items from the first-person perspective in past games was a challenge in and of itself.
BUT... that's just me. I'm not exactly sure why you found things so unorthodox yourself, but if you did, you did. What can you do? :]
And I guess I would fall under the category of "hardcore" as well, but lemme offer this:
A kid I know, a friend though a bit younger than I (15 last I knew :P) was telling me about his experience with Twilight Princess back when it was fairly fresh on the market. This kid is about as casual a gamer as casual can get when you're a teenage male in the USA. He said he just loved it- even played it for "two hours straight" before (lol)!
What he said I wasn't expecting, and struck me as surprisingly meaningful: "I know I'm not, of course, but I just feel like I'm the best player in the world at the game while I'm playing."
I just wanted to add that, interestingly, this game (Twilight Princess) gets increasingly better from the opening all the way to the very end.
The first thing I noticed was the lack of free look ability which, since the first 3D Zelda game, seems like one of the most important features.
The second thing that irked me was the fact that the sword-swinging actions of Link were randomized... so I instantly thought- why not just button mash?
The third and final strike for me had more to do with the little fairy pointer that follows your Wiimote cursor all around the screen. It makes this horrible twinkling sound that cannot be disabled, and is reminiscent of early 90's flash websites with uber-mouse-following capabilities! I mean most of us have seen a mouse pointer before... we don't need it decorated with sound FX.
Anyway, I traded in the Wii version of TP and have very much enjoyed the more gamepad centric experience of the GC version.
A word of warning however. If you have explored much of the world map in the Wii version and you decide to switch to the Cube version- they have REVERSED the entire world in a bizarre mirror image sort of way. I think they did this so that Link could become right-handed instead of the traditional lefty... but it makes things very confusing to switch.
*Remember those tough cookies could take a beating, and keep on ticking? Look what happened with the Wii control when someone went apeshit. Hopefully Metroid Prime 3 doesnt have any difficult tasks with the controls. When I watched those demo feed vids, it felt too loose, and you felt somewhat light-headed while watching. And for one, I've played plenty of FP related titles, and never had that happen to me. Maybe it depends on whose playing the game itself. Another lesson to learn.
Zac, I hope you, and your wife find a common ground with the Wii. It is a promising console, just its perspective is scued for the time being, things will get better. (leaving a positive note)