Twilight Princess Benzaie: Why Twilight Princess Sucks

[Michael Heide]

Alright, let me preface this by saying that I really like Benzaie from That Guy With The Glasses and Blistered Thumbs. He's a really likable guy who made Gaming in the 90s sucked (at least as much as today) and other great videos.

His latest video, Why Zelda Twilight Princess sucks, though? Well, let's say that his reasons are debatable.

For every valid point that he has (some items aren't used that much outside of their respective dungeon), there are a ton of rather odd criticisms (no widescreen in the GC version, too many references to Ocarina of Time, and he forgets the dominion rod, thinks that the second Clawshot is supposed to be the powerful artifact of the Oocca and calls that an underwhelming reveal). He concludes by claiming that Nintendo tried to appeal to their fans too much instead of being more innovative.

 

[JuicieJ]

Whaaaaaaaaaaaat? Man, this guy...just wow. He's seriously saying that if it wasn't part of the Zelda series it would have been crap? Yeah, I don't think so. His first reason wasn't even a reason. Bringing StarFox Adventures into it... Saying the level and design choices were terrible? The dungeons were some of the most unique ones ever in the Zelda series. Just try telling me the Goron Mines was poorly designed. Yeah, that's a load of bull crap. Seriously, complaining about a "skateboard"? Seriously? The Spinner was an awesome item. This dude's letting personal opinion get in the way of his judgement. I really don't see why he's complaining about the Double Clawshots. That allowed for so much more diversity with the item. He's treating it like the items are actually important to the story, as well. And is he seriously complaining about where we get the Iron Boots? What the crap?? That is so freaking stupid. Who cares where we get them?!? The point is that they're useful! Using the Gale Boomerang isn't just about using it in the dungeons. It's about making the most use of it in Hyrule Field. Like, collecting the Golden Bugs, maybe? Just sayin'.Yeah, the Magic Armor was pretty annoying, but otherwise we would have never stopped using it, making the game even more easier than it already is. I don't see why he's complaining about using Wolf Link. The game was much more diverse with that. It's not just to howl. You can freaking take out a hoard of enemies in one fell blow! That's completely useful. You could warp when in Wolf form. Pretty sure warping was useful in the game.

Holy crap, he brought Skyward Sword's Wii Motion Plus into this acting like it's the dumbest thing ever. Wow. And saying the story was bull****? Seriously? The game was freaking cinematic. The story flowed together like none of the games had before. The whole game was connected to what happened before. And saying TP's graphics look like OoT's? ......Yeah, sure. That's totally what happened. Forget the texture of the game. It's just as blocky! Not really. I'm really surprised at this dude.

 

[nintendolovebug]

This guy is a moron... That's all I have to say!

 

[Lupine]

So... he decides to pick at a game released in 2006?.... The thing that really bugged me about this was that it seemed like he didn't even try to find something in TP that pleased him. Instead, this entire video was one big rant without any real constructive material. Of course he is entitled to his opinion. It just came off as one sided opinion stating in my eyes. Sure, the controls were a bit gimmicky, but the Wii was just getting started back then, too. TP may not be my favorite, but it certainly does not suck and it is a fantastic and worthy Zelda title. Every game has its flaws, and quite honestly, he nitpicked on things that didn't even matter, such as widescreen and where the Iron Boots came from.

 

[Hanyou]

Twilight Princess is a severe disappointment and a bad game, but Benzaie's criticisms do not touch on the main problems.

The main problems are pacing, linearity, lack of exploration, lack of fun mechanics, uneven quality of gameplay, a terrible story, a lack of energy in the gameplay, and a lackluster aesthetic with forgettable music and a crappy visual style (which, by the way, is nothing like Ocarina of Time).

I agree with a couple of his complaints (principally with the quality of the world and story), but I don't think he's helping the Twilight Princess detractors.

 

[AwesomeLink86]

Twilight Princess is one of my top 3 favorite Zelda games! I don't even want to watch the video because to me it just sounds like a biased rant.

Why is Twilight Princess awesome? Here are my reasons in no particular order:

1) Extensive sidequests and exploration: One of my favorite aspects of Zelda games is the side quests and exploration. The map to TP is HUGE. There is so much to do and to explore and you can do it without getting bored of sailing across the ocean (one of my beefs with WW).

2) Beautiful Graphics: Sure the graphics weren't up to even Wii standards nor were they high def, but they sure were beautiful. The Twilight was creepy enough and the whole game felt like an art masterpiece.

3) Awesome Controls: Though the GC version is considered the "REAL" version, much of the pleasure I have from the game is from the Wii controls. They feel so natural and shooting an arrow or the hookshot has never been so much fun.

4) The learned techniques: I love trying to find all the different sword techniques throughout the game. The Helm Splitter, The Finishing Blow are all fun to execute and what makes it ever more enjoyable is when Link twirls his sword around before putting it up.

5) The dungeons: The dungeon designs are some of my favorite to date. Everytime I replay the game, I always enjoy the dungeons even when I have played through them over and over. For some reason, the Ice Temple is one of my favorites.

I really don't get the hate for this game.

 

[Phantom Zelda]

RAGEQUIT! Wow that was painful to watch. He brought up some good points but most of it was just him ranting about things that didn't really matter. Whatever, I respect that he doesn't like the game and I do.

 

[AwesomeLink86]

The main problems are pacing, linearity, lack of exploration, lack of fun mechanics, uneven quality of gameplay, a terrible story, a lack of energy in the gameplay, and a lackluster aesthetic with forgettable music and a crappy visual style (which, by the way, is nothing like Ocarina of Time).

Ummm.....everything you just mentioned I disagree with 100%. The pacing was a little odd but never a problem, most Zelda games are linear besides the first, it had a lot of fun mechanics including the gameplay, sidequests, minigames, music wasn't the best but wasn't bad and the visual style is one of my favorite parts of the game.

 

[Hanyou]

Ummm.....everything you just mentioned I disagree with 100%. The pacing was a little odd but never a problem

The pacing was a huge problem when the game came to a dead stop multiple times or forced me to play through tedious wolf segments. This, combined with the linearity and lack of openness (so that's three problems) made it a very laborious playthrough. It had no energy, no movement.

Linearity in itself isn't bad. The Wind Waker had it. Okami, which I always point to as the game Twilight Princess should have been, had it. But when you're going to string players along a predefined path, you better make sure they have options. Consider the two examples I presented: The Wind Waker opened up the entire great sea to you fairly early on, and if you got tired of one task, there was always something else you could do. Okami did only allow slow progression through the overworld, but the plot itself moved relentlessly fast, and every new area had dozens of quests and minigames to keep you occupied.

Twilight Princess simply didn't allow for this, and it suffered as a result.

it had a lot of fun mechanics including the gameplay, sidequests, minigames

There were a couple of fun minigames, but the main story was very limiting and gameplay styles were quickly added and dropped without warning. Gameplay was, at best, disorganized in the main quest; at worst, it was jarring and made the game boring.

music wasn't the best but wasn't bad

Apart from the field theme and Midna's theme, there's not a single original piece of music in the game that I remember. The Twilight Realm and the dungeons were surely the worst offenders, with atmospheric nonsense that rarely resembled music at all (one exception is the Temple of Time theme, which I enjoyed while I was playing the game but no longer remember).

and the visual style is one of my favorite parts of the game.

Here we differ drastically. In an attempt to pass off their visual style as "realism," Nintendo employed the blandest color palette they've ever used, liberally applying browns and almost nothing else. Textures were ugly and the whole intent of the designed just seemed off. Basically, it screamed "generic fantasy world" and looked like a low-budget MMO.

This was quite a step back from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. They had what could be called "issues" by a lot of modern gamers, but Nintendo understood the system's limitations when they were developing these games and the visual style reflected that. Everything felt huge, grandiose, and the style blended tentative realism with anime proportions. Each environment felt different, with bold, striking colors and a distinctive aesthetic. It was how fantasy worlds should be done.

It was an even larger step back from The Wind Waker, whose visual style needs no introduction. After such an imaginative Miyazakiesque visual style, it's a shame to see something as uninspired and generic as Twilight Princess.

 

[Unlucky Monkey]

Twilight Princess is a severe disappointment and a bad game, but Benzaie's criticisms do not touch on the main problems.

I've marked "Disappointment" and "Bad Game". I'm okay with the disappointment (and I totally respect your opinion), but it's not a bad game. You simply can't call Twilight Princess a bad game if you like Ocarina of Time on the other hand. In many ways, Twilight Princess is much the same. There are a many things in Twilight Princess I do not like (yes, it's to linear, and the Wii controlls are horrible), but in the end, it was a great Zelda with an absorbing story. Well, I'm not d'accord with you. You got some really good points I agree with, but such a harsh critic? No, the game did not deserved this. Anyway. That's just my opinion, my reaction to your comment

Edit:

Looks like we've posted near the same time

It was an even larger step back from The Wind Waker, whose visual style needs no introduction. After such an imaginative Miyazakiesque visual style, it's a shame to see something as uninspired and generic as Twilight Princess.

In this point, I agree. The graphics of Twilight Princess do have some very nice aspects. But there are ugly textures, and Hyrule Field looks a bit like a giant, uninspired Wasteland. Ocarina of Time 3D is the perfect example how to do it right. The graphics cannot compete with Twilight Princess (like the resolution and farsightedness), but Twilight Princess got a lack of detail, and that's the reason why the graphics are inferior to Ocarina of Time 3D in my Opinion (Grezzo has done a great job with so many lovely details). And yes, Wind Waker looks still great.

 

[Hanyou]

I've marked "Disappointment" and "Bad Game". I'm okay with the disappointment (and I totally respect your opinion), but it's not a bad game. You simply can't call Twilight Princess a bad game if you like Ocarina of Time on the other hand. In many ways, Twilight Princess is much the same. There are a many things in Twilight Princess I do not like (yes, it's to linear, and the Wii controlls are horrible), but in the end, it was a great Zelda with an absorbing story. Well, I'm not d'accord with you. You got some really good points I agree with, but such a harsh critic? No, the game did not deserved this. Anyway. That's just my opinion, my reaction to your comment

Fair enough, but I'm not changing my opinion. I think its design was so disorganized, its story (in light of its emphasis on story) so shallow and uninvolving, its world so generic, and its gameplay so stifling that I would call it a bad game. And it's the only Zelda game I would even think of calling "bad."

 

[AwesomeLink86]

The pacing was a huge problem when the game came to a dead stop multiple times or forced me to play through tedious wolf segments. This, combined with the linearity and lack of openness (so that's three problems) made it a very laborious playthrough. It had no energy, no movement.

There is a certain point where there's not much open to you. But once you get to the Master Sword almost everything becomes open. It's worth the wait IMO. As far as the wolf segements go, some of them are a little tedious, but none of them felt "laborious". I had problems with how the wolf was controlled but it made sense to me and it worked.

Linearity in itself isn't bad. The Wind Waker had it. Okami, which I always point to as the game Twilight Princess should have been, had it. But when you're going to string players along a predefined path, you better make sure they have options. Consider the two examples I presented: The Wind Waker opened up the entire great sea to you fairly early on, and if you got tired of one task, there was always something else you could do. Okami did only allow slow progression through the overworld, but the plot itself moved relentlessly fast, and every new area had dozens of quests and minigames to keep you occupied.

The problem with WW to me is that the side quests were kinda bland. Exploring was boring by the fact that the Great Sea was a little TOO massive and many the islands repeated themselves. Whereas in TP, the sidequests were not always open early on, the were worth the wait like I said earlier. Once you got to explore Hyrule, in every nook and cranny there was something to find. Heck there are things in the game that I'm still finding.

I know nothing about Okami, so I can't make any judgemetns.

Twilight Princess simply didn't allow for this, and it suffered as a result.

I disagree by my argument above.

There were a couple of fun minigames, but the main story was very limiting and gameplay styles were quickly added and dropped without warning. Gameplay was, at best, disorganized in the main quest; at worst, it was jarring and made the game boring.

I don't understand what you are saying here. I do not agree with the game being boring.

Apart from the field theme and Midna's theme, there's not a single original piece of music in the game that I remember. The Twilight Realm and the dungeons were surely the worst offenders, with atmospheric nonsense that rarely resembled music at all (one exception is the Temple of Time theme, which I enjoyed while I was playing the game but no longer remember).

I'm actually not in disagreement here.

Here we differ drastically. In an attempt to pass off their visual style as "realism," Nintendo employed the blandest color palette they've ever used, liberally applying browns and almost nothing else. Textures were ugly and the whole intent of the designed just seemed off. Basically, it screamed "generic fantasy world" and looked like a low-budget MMO.

This was quite a step back from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. They had what could be called "issues" by a lot of modern gamers, but Nintendo understood the system's limitations when they were developing these games and the visual style reflected that. Everything felt huge, grandiose, and the style blended tentative realism with anime proportions. Each environment felt different, with bold, striking colors and a distinctive aesthetic. It was how fantasy worlds should be done.

It was an even larger step back from The Wind Waker, whose visual style needs no introduction. After such an imaginative Miyazakiesque visual style, it's a shame to see something as uninspired and generic as Twilight Princess.

Yup, we differ drastically.

I do want to make about the graphics. I thought the lighting was the best aspect of the game. I remember wandering through the Faron woods at dusk and seeing how the light reflected off the trees. I was blown away how beautiful the scenery was. I get what you are saying about the color palette, but I don't get how it's necessarily "ugly" becuase of it. IMO, it just works.

 

[misskitten]

For me Wind Waker graphics are just too high contrast and hard on the eyes at times, I get that the style looks just as "good" on a higher definition as it did before high def, but they are hard on my eyes, which makes it slightly uncomfortable to play the game. I think Twilight Pricess graphics are beautiful, I can understand the comment about it being bland, but I like the toned down color palette, it works well. OoT3D graphics have a better color palette for sure and a better contrast, but I still think Twilight Pricess is pretty gorgeous.

 

[Link 2 the past]

It seems Nintendo can't win when it come to the graphics in Zelda, everyone seemed to hate the cartoon look of WW and everyone hated the more realistic look of TP. I thought they both looked amazing.

As for this guy, most of the problems he had were either nitpicks (like not using dungeon items much after the dungeon which has always been a problem in Zelda) or just that other game did certain things better or the same (which is never a good reason to say why something sucks).

As for the story, while the Zelda games may have always had a story of some kind, I've never really cared that much about the stories to any of the games. Whenever there was a long cut scene I just wanted it to end so I could continue with the game and I barely read the text (it's a game not a film after-all). That was until TP, I really wanted to know who Minda was, what was happening to Hyrule and why it was happening. The ending is the only time I've enjoyed the ending to a Zelda game, because I got to see the ending to the story not just because I had finished the game. So for me TP' story is to date the only good a Zelda game has ever had.

 

[dadude1200]

it doesnt suck... its my favorite game