Twilight Princess Epona...

[Caeda]

Do any of you think that Epona could've been more useful in the game?

I meen, she becomes obsolete after the third temple because of the warps. Which is sad, because I love running over enemies in Hyrule Field with her.

Do you guys feel this way, too?

 

[Heros Temporis]

Oh sure, warping is nice, but riding through Hyrule field on Epona, regardless of the time of day (certain times of day look amazing with certain locations, for example the Bridge of Eldin at twilight. Not the literal Twilight, I mean the time of day. Dusk.) has so much more charm and is way more fun. Besides, riding through Hyrule Field on Epona, you're way more likely to discover Golden Bugs, secret caves, Heart Pieces, and mysterious stuff. I tend to use Epona more than I warp.

 

[Djinn]

Plus the addition of combat while riding on Epona brought a lot more to the game. I loved the mounted boss fights in TP.

There were a lot of situations where you needed to wander through Hyrule field or across the countryside and Epona sped things up quite a bit. Normally I would warp to a section of Hyrule I needed to go to, and then call Epona. So I do not think warping ever made her obsolete. I'm sure wolf Link could get to these same places within the same time frame but I liked the mounted combat so much more. And there are a lot of bulblins out there to fight along every pathway.

 

[Vanessa28]

I love riding Epona! I only warp when it's necessary but most of the times I ride Epona and check it out myself by horse I also love to fight those crazy bulblins and the King Bulblin fight is epic!

 

[merricontrari]

There are many times when the warp portals are not necessarily convenient to your destination, and Epona is much faster than your own feet (either human or wolf) so I definitely wouldn't call her obsolete.

Would have been nice to get the Horse Call (that Ilia gives you) a little sooner, though.

 

[Petman1325]

Well, one thing that surprises me is that they actually made Epona a plot device that stays with the plot for the whole game, whereas in Ocarina of Time, Epona was only a sub-plot. Now, by the time you get the horse whistle, you more than likely have already memorized where all of the horse grass is, you can teleport anywhere, and you know much quicker modes of getting around Hyrule.

I agree with everybody, though, if they had given the Horse Whistle a good while before the end of the game and not at the very last second, then it would have made Epona a bit more accessible, but I suppose the reason for holding that off is because of how heavily connected to the plot Epona is. If Epona wasn't directly connected to the plot as Ocarina of Time's Epona, then it would've been easier. I confess, it makes getting those little nooks and crannies in Hyrule Field much easier (and faster) to get to.

 

[ancazur]

^ I'm still disappointed that the horse whistle doesn't come sooner. Because by that point, you don't need Epona as much.

But even with the ability to warp, I usually travel Hyrule using my trusty horse. The scenery is too pretty not to. Besides, it's also great fun running over bad guys on a horse

 

[Kybyrian]

If we would have had the horse whistle sooner in the game then Epona would have been a lot more useful than she was, and I would have liked that. Personally I tended to use Epona over the warps near the end of the game, anyway. Warping was cool and all, but I enjoyed running around in Hyrule Field with Epona a lot more than simply warping to where I need to be. I think half of the reason that I may have used Epona more than the warps was because I simply forgot about the ability to warp sometimes, as well. I think that Epona served quite a purpose throughout the game, being a lot more involved than in Ocarina of Time, which is great. I still agree she could have been a bit more useful, though.

 

[butterbiscuit]

I think Epona fulfilled the role of the hero's steed nicely; good transportation, and good for combat. Since this was the first game in which there was actually horseback combat, I found her to be very useful, if not the most useful in any Zelda game. When you first play, some of the baddies are pretty tough, and Epona helps you with that.

And even if there was easy warping after you draw the Master Sword, Epona was still a very good mode of transportation. Most pf the warps can't take you to exactly where you need to go. Plus, Epona was even included in the King Bulblin battles and the final battle.

In short, I think Epona was made very useful. (b'')b

 

[Caeda]

I was actually talking about the main quest...

Seeing as I'm completing the game 100%, I've been riding her alot more then my first playthrough, where I was just playing the game. All you have to do to get most places in the main quest is to warp. That's sad because the Hyrule Field music is one of the best overworld themes in the series.

 

[Aurelia]

Well I think of it like this. Epona was very reliable in Twilight Princess, I'll admit that. Yeah after awhile, I knew that fun things, like Epona, will stop being used. But, so I wouldn't "kill" the horse, I used Epona than using the Warp Portals. A lot more adventure.

 

[Pop 360]

I loved using Epona and I only warped when absolutely necessary, I sometimes go on TP to just muck around and ride on Epona, its really fun and also the scenery at the different times of the day was amazing to look at as you were riding through Hyrule field and on the bridge of Eldin.

 

[Ice6661]

i used warpes only when i wanted to finish something fast,
generally i would use Epona cuz i love the horse riding in zelda
and as other people have said running over the enemies in hyrule field is quite fun

 

[linksbro321]

Its no fun to wrarp. I ride Epona and then walk what I can't ride.

 

[Din Akera]

Do any of you think that Epona could've been more useful in the game?
I meen, she becomes obsolete after the third temple because of the warps. Which is sad, because I love running over enemies in Hyrule Field with her
Do you guys feel this way, too?

It seems, most of what I had to say has already been noted, but.

I overly enjoyed riding Epona in this game. She was less wonderful in OoT, with all the finicky angles, and fences, and water issues she had. But she was programed quite well in TP and therefore a joy to ride. But, as you said, her use became limited after warping became possible. Not to mention the complete isolation of some of the locations such as lake Hylia and Gerudo Mesa.

But your statement that she was obsolete, i do not agree with. The collection of the symbols for the book, for the city in the sky required extensive Hyrule Field searching, as well as poe and bug hunting. She was well implemented for these 'gathering' sidequests/portions of the game. I think the developers really did find other uses for her once warping was available. Not to mention, mounted combat in East Hyrule field! I love it! She also provided a perfect vehicle for myself, who is an explorer. I loved TP's giant and complex overworld. I trotted around on her, looking in every nook and cranny for days!

Just to note, i agree largely with everyone's comments about the whistle being recevieved to late. It was without help by that point. I honestly didn't expect Ilia to give me anything, and when she did I was honestly surprised.