R
Rvby
Guest
This is probably one of the most expansive games in zelda history. Sure it doesn't have people all around and all that but it is very expansive!
Twilight Princess Has the Most Amazing Overworld of Any Zelda Game
- Thread starter Megamannt125
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2008
You know, now that I'm thinking about it... I think my biggest issue with the overworld in TP is that it's so big, and there's nothing to do. In LoZ, ALttP, etc., there was a lot to do. In TP, there's just nothing. 
You ride around, find a couple hearts and beat some enemies. It's also very empty...
You ride around, find a couple hearts and beat some enemies. It's also very empty...
T
Triforce_16
Guest
The Overworld in TP is amazing. I agree, it is a little bit 'empty', lacking in interaction, things to do... But, riding Epona & choosing where you want to go, it's an amazing feeling. You get a sense of 'adventure' when you first ride out onto the Field, & the music kicks in, you feel as if something exciting is going to happen. As for the visuals, it's truly amazing. Seeing those two bridges for the first time really amazed me, & the size of the whole Overworld. It's immense. If it's this good in TP, i can't wait to see the Overworld in the next Zelda Wii game.
Waker of winds
Finally playing PH!
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2009
- Location
- Mexico, si señor.
Yes, the TP overworld was big, but also very empty.
It had this kind of isolation feeling. The place was beautiful, well designed and there were a lot of heart containers to find, but the fact that you need towalk a lot of minutes to get somewhere without Epona makes me think that the size wasn't such a good thing after all...
It had this kind of isolation feeling. The place was beautiful, well designed and there were a lot of heart containers to find, but the fact that you need towalk a lot of minutes to get somewhere without Epona makes me think that the size wasn't such a good thing after all...
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2008
- Gender
- Timecube
Aside from its size and layout, Twilight Princess's over-world was rather dull and boring.
The over-world in Twilight Princess was rather empty and barren - hardly what I would call 'the most amazing over-world', of any of the games. In fact, it was one of my least favourite. I much prefer Ocarina of Time's or even the original Legend of Zelda's over-world compared to Twilight Princess.
One of my complaints besides just how boring it is, is that a lot of it was endless pits right in the middle of where you're headed. Of course the terrain can't be endless, but I would have liked roaming across huge plains, instead of coming to a massive ravine (although I did not mind in places like Death Mountain).
Whilst traversing the over-world, the only thing(s) you encounter, are enemies (as in previous titles), I would have expected with the huge size of Twilight Princess's map for there to be more to do, like, people to talk to, maybe even a house, town, etc. Ocarina of Time had a ranch in the middle of the field, I would have liked something such as that in Twilight Princess.
There were parts I did like. I enjoyed leaving Faron woods, and exiting into a large plain with trees hanging over the exit and such. However, once one got out into the field, there weren't many trees actually on the field, most were on island-like formations.
Another thing that I did care for, that I think made it feel more like a real field, were the low bridges here-and-there.
But, there wasn't much to do in the fields. Most of it felt like wasted space.
Another thing I would have enjoyed, that I partially alluded to earlier, would a really large plain, one that wasn't sectioned off by walls and ravines and the like. I would have liked to be able to look across the field, and have it seem endless.
I suppose this may have interfered with the organisation of the provinces, but it still could have worked.
The over-world in Twilight Princess was rather empty and barren - hardly what I would call 'the most amazing over-world', of any of the games. In fact, it was one of my least favourite. I much prefer Ocarina of Time's or even the original Legend of Zelda's over-world compared to Twilight Princess.
One of my complaints besides just how boring it is, is that a lot of it was endless pits right in the middle of where you're headed. Of course the terrain can't be endless, but I would have liked roaming across huge plains, instead of coming to a massive ravine (although I did not mind in places like Death Mountain).
Whilst traversing the over-world, the only thing(s) you encounter, are enemies (as in previous titles), I would have expected with the huge size of Twilight Princess's map for there to be more to do, like, people to talk to, maybe even a house, town, etc. Ocarina of Time had a ranch in the middle of the field, I would have liked something such as that in Twilight Princess.
There were parts I did like. I enjoyed leaving Faron woods, and exiting into a large plain with trees hanging over the exit and such. However, once one got out into the field, there weren't many trees actually on the field, most were on island-like formations.
Another thing that I did care for, that I think made it feel more like a real field, were the low bridges here-and-there.
But, there wasn't much to do in the fields. Most of it felt like wasted space.
Another thing I would have enjoyed, that I partially alluded to earlier, would a really large plain, one that wasn't sectioned off by walls and ravines and the like. I would have liked to be able to look across the field, and have it seem endless.
I suppose this may have interfered with the organisation of the provinces, but it still could have worked.
Onilink89
Nyanko Sensei
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2007
- Location
- The Netherlands
yeah the overworld of TP is quite large and i really liked the style and graphics.
But that being said, it was quite empty. not much overworld enemies and not much things worth to explore. They could have easly fixed that, that way it would be much more enjoyable.
In terms of exploring the overworld, i will go for TWW.
In terms of overworld enemies, i will go for Alttp.
But that being said, it was quite empty. not much overworld enemies and not much things worth to explore. They could have easly fixed that, that way it would be much more enjoyable.
In terms of exploring the overworld, i will go for TWW.
In terms of overworld enemies, i will go for Alttp.
Link Master
The Hero's Master
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2009
I think the Hyrule field looks magical and the field is colossal, the music is good to but is a little loud. To me this was the best Hyrule field in the Zelda series. The field also had many locations to go to.
T
The.PostMan-
Guest
in some ways i would have to agree with Axle the Beast on how it should be more "fantasticle" but Nintendo tryed somthing new with the real life landscape and i apreciate that but MM was simalar but places like the fairys fountain had the fantastic elemet to it. I do think that in places like the desert and hyrule feild it was to open and bare, add some people i know they were going for "the land is dangerous" feel to it but if the postman can do it a random traveler can.TP by far has the best graphics to it i think as far as techinical ethstics go it is the best.
i overall like the look of TP just if i could change some stuff it would be the -bareness of it -populaton -and for places like the fairys fountian it would have been ok to make it more magical. Also i was quit disapointed with the twilight world look just random peices of twilight that make no sence to dark and blurry the wolf sences were a good idea just poorly exucuted.
View attachment 2107
~yes yes i was link one year for halloween~
i overall like the look of TP just if i could change some stuff it would be the -bareness of it -populaton -and for places like the fairys fountian it would have been ok to make it more magical. Also i was quit disapointed with the twilight world look just random peices of twilight that make no sence to dark and blurry the wolf sences were a good idea just poorly exucuted.
View attachment 2107
~yes yes i was link one year for halloween~
TVTMaster
Guy What's Angry Now
- Joined
- May 15, 2009
- Location
- It's a secret to everybody.
TP's overworld, as the first one I encountered, was the first one I really fell in love with. Bias aside, TP's overworld boasted many more hidden grottos and secrets than any of the previous games, despite its massive size making them seem more infrequent. Remember the cave on the cliffside near the Bridge of Eldin, where you had to jump down off a towering cliff into lava and equip the Iron Boots in midair to navigate an abandoned mine area? Or the cave hidden above the land bridges at Lake Hylia, where you had to bring lantern oil deeper and deeper while crossing wooden planks? By contrast, OoT, MM, and WW typically only had holes in the ground (or submarines) with X enemies and X treasures- barely a secret minidungeon to be found. Not only did TP have more secrets, but they were more detailed and compelling.
The main problem with TP's overworld was that it was really pretty empty aside from things hidden in cliffsides or invisible wolf grottos. While vast stretches of grassland can work in some areas, making them compose all of Hyrule Field is a mistake. Imagine if Faron's Hyrule Field had a network of small streams running into the pond in the center, or if Eldin's Hyrule Field had more than just some stone walls that couldn't be interacted with? Just a few things added, like perhaps a larger list of Golden Bugs, or more streams, or swaths of tall grass that hid randomized minor enemies, or quick-and-easy-to-program interactive events in the more open areas- the main flaw wasn't that it was empty, but that there wasn't anything to do right in the middle of the field. Everything was hidden and off to the sides, leaving us with a stunning but empty-looking overworld.
What really blows my mind is why anyone in the world is saying that OoT's was better. I mean, OoT's overworld was a CIRCLE. Just a big, totally empty field that revolved around Lon Lon Ranch and branched off into linear paths to Gerudo Valley, Lake Hylia, Zora's Domain, Death Mountain, Kokiri Forest, and Hyrule Castle. There was absolutely nothing of interest in OoT's Hyrule Field, and with the exception of, if I remember correctly, a lava-filled cavern on Death Mountain and this one path to a Skulltula in the main field, there was really nothing much else to find. OoT's was easily one of the most empty and boring overworlds of the lot, and Wind Waker exists, so that's saying something. TP had its flaws, but the overworld in OoT is just really bland- at least TP had, like actual enemies and multiple areas.
The main problem with TP's overworld was that it was really pretty empty aside from things hidden in cliffsides or invisible wolf grottos. While vast stretches of grassland can work in some areas, making them compose all of Hyrule Field is a mistake. Imagine if Faron's Hyrule Field had a network of small streams running into the pond in the center, or if Eldin's Hyrule Field had more than just some stone walls that couldn't be interacted with? Just a few things added, like perhaps a larger list of Golden Bugs, or more streams, or swaths of tall grass that hid randomized minor enemies, or quick-and-easy-to-program interactive events in the more open areas- the main flaw wasn't that it was empty, but that there wasn't anything to do right in the middle of the field. Everything was hidden and off to the sides, leaving us with a stunning but empty-looking overworld.
What really blows my mind is why anyone in the world is saying that OoT's was better. I mean, OoT's overworld was a CIRCLE. Just a big, totally empty field that revolved around Lon Lon Ranch and branched off into linear paths to Gerudo Valley, Lake Hylia, Zora's Domain, Death Mountain, Kokiri Forest, and Hyrule Castle. There was absolutely nothing of interest in OoT's Hyrule Field, and with the exception of, if I remember correctly, a lava-filled cavern on Death Mountain and this one path to a Skulltula in the main field, there was really nothing much else to find. OoT's was easily one of the most empty and boring overworlds of the lot, and Wind Waker exists, so that's saying something. TP had its flaws, but the overworld in OoT is just really bland- at least TP had, like actual enemies and multiple areas.
Hanyou
didn't build that
Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I think The Wind Waker's overworld is by far the best. No matter how many times I play that game, I'm still caught off guard every once in awhile by something new. It's really quite a magical experience to sail the vast, open sea and run aground on hidden islands. And the nice thing is, while the game's linear, your exploration doesn't feel that limited.
Second is Ocarina of Time. Much of it is empty, but (since you know TWW's is my favorite, I can say this) emptiness in itself isn't bad. Once again, exploration is rewarded; snag Epona early in the game and you can wander Gerudo Fortress before completing the Forest Temple. It's this level of freedom that gives Ocarina its charm; and in every area you enter, you always feel there's something new to discover.You're not limited or held back. Third, Majora's Mask has an incredible overworld that may be objectively better than Ocarina's: it's more tightly-packed, there's more to do, and it's kind of hard to be bored while exploring it. The problem is that I like some semblance of realism and randomness in my map layouts and MM sacrifices that for utility. It's still a great overworld.
Then we come to Twilight Princess.
The field itself is quite nice. There are a lot of good ideas in its construction; having separate sections gave the developers some freedom to offer new gameplay challenges and whatnot. Unfortunately, much of the field is a lost opportunity. Forget about being empty for a moment; there's very little to do. This is actually a problem shared by The Minish Cap; confined as you are to narrow passages and isolated villages at any one point in the game, you may explore for a half hour, only to find you've done everything there is to do. There may be a statue here or there you can move later on, but in large part, traversing the field looking for that is just going to end up being a nuisance. This stands in stark contrast to, for example, The Wind Waker, where every new island you sailed to might offer at least some reward, and there were 49 islands, treasure chests galore, etc. And that's another thing: with money being so easy to come by and so useless in TP (unless you're willing to do the agonizing quest for a bigger wallet), a few rupees is hardly a reward. Yet that's exactly what we're usually given.
Still, the field's not bad in itself, it's just utilized poorly due in part to the game's structure, the meager rewards, and the uninteresting environments. The rest of the overworld (towns, mountains, forests, etc.) is where the real problems start to set in. TP has a Wild West theme. It's really strange and out of place. What we're left with is villages like Kakariko which do little to stir the imagination. Compare Kakariko in Ocarina of Time, or Clock Town in MM, or Windfall Island in TWW, to Kakariko in TP. Where the former were filled with vibrant, rich characters, tons of nooks and crannies, and visual designs which encouraged exploration, the latter was filled with dust, sarcastic, uninteresting characters, and few quests of much merit after the beginning of the game.
Towns in TP were small, had little to do, and barely served a function after they had their one spot in the story. You could run down the list and TP would pale in comparison to its 3D counterparts. And while there were some genuinely nice areas (Zora's Fountain and the forest in Ordon), other potentially nice areas (The Lost Woods) were ruined with confined approaches that in many ways inhibited genuine exploration. This is a problem partly shared by Majora's Mask, but MM had a fix; beat a dungeon and the area opened up. TP didn't offer anything like that. Unfortunately, its world, lacking a sense of history, proper direction (art or otherwise), interesting towns, or an engaging atmosphere, was dead in the water.
There's another fair comparison to make, by the way. Okami was released around the same time, and its overworld rivals (probably beats) all the 3D overworlds of Zelda games. While it does limit what you can do at any point in time, the limits are hardly worth complaining about, because it still offers so much. It balances openness with utility, looks natural, and offers a decent amount of enemy encounters without limiting freedom. Amazingly, every town is nearly as vibrant, populated, and worth exploring as Windfall Island (my favorite town in any Zelda game). Had TP offered an overworld remotely like this, it may also have rivaled the other 3D Zelda games in scope. If it opted for emptiness instead, it could at least have evoked the atmosphere of Shadow of the Colossus. What we got was a dusty, empty, nearly unpopulated, canyon-ridden overworld. None of these elements would necessarily be bad on their own, but coupled with the gameplay decisions made in Twilight Princess, they sort of destroyed the whole experience.
That is why it's my least favorite overworld of all the Zelda games, even if there are some areas that are promising.
Second is Ocarina of Time. Much of it is empty, but (since you know TWW's is my favorite, I can say this) emptiness in itself isn't bad. Once again, exploration is rewarded; snag Epona early in the game and you can wander Gerudo Fortress before completing the Forest Temple. It's this level of freedom that gives Ocarina its charm; and in every area you enter, you always feel there's something new to discover.You're not limited or held back. Third, Majora's Mask has an incredible overworld that may be objectively better than Ocarina's: it's more tightly-packed, there's more to do, and it's kind of hard to be bored while exploring it. The problem is that I like some semblance of realism and randomness in my map layouts and MM sacrifices that for utility. It's still a great overworld.
Then we come to Twilight Princess.
The field itself is quite nice. There are a lot of good ideas in its construction; having separate sections gave the developers some freedom to offer new gameplay challenges and whatnot. Unfortunately, much of the field is a lost opportunity. Forget about being empty for a moment; there's very little to do. This is actually a problem shared by The Minish Cap; confined as you are to narrow passages and isolated villages at any one point in the game, you may explore for a half hour, only to find you've done everything there is to do. There may be a statue here or there you can move later on, but in large part, traversing the field looking for that is just going to end up being a nuisance. This stands in stark contrast to, for example, The Wind Waker, where every new island you sailed to might offer at least some reward, and there were 49 islands, treasure chests galore, etc. And that's another thing: with money being so easy to come by and so useless in TP (unless you're willing to do the agonizing quest for a bigger wallet), a few rupees is hardly a reward. Yet that's exactly what we're usually given.
Still, the field's not bad in itself, it's just utilized poorly due in part to the game's structure, the meager rewards, and the uninteresting environments. The rest of the overworld (towns, mountains, forests, etc.) is where the real problems start to set in. TP has a Wild West theme. It's really strange and out of place. What we're left with is villages like Kakariko which do little to stir the imagination. Compare Kakariko in Ocarina of Time, or Clock Town in MM, or Windfall Island in TWW, to Kakariko in TP. Where the former were filled with vibrant, rich characters, tons of nooks and crannies, and visual designs which encouraged exploration, the latter was filled with dust, sarcastic, uninteresting characters, and few quests of much merit after the beginning of the game.
Towns in TP were small, had little to do, and barely served a function after they had their one spot in the story. You could run down the list and TP would pale in comparison to its 3D counterparts. And while there were some genuinely nice areas (Zora's Fountain and the forest in Ordon), other potentially nice areas (The Lost Woods) were ruined with confined approaches that in many ways inhibited genuine exploration. This is a problem partly shared by Majora's Mask, but MM had a fix; beat a dungeon and the area opened up. TP didn't offer anything like that. Unfortunately, its world, lacking a sense of history, proper direction (art or otherwise), interesting towns, or an engaging atmosphere, was dead in the water.
There's another fair comparison to make, by the way. Okami was released around the same time, and its overworld rivals (probably beats) all the 3D overworlds of Zelda games. While it does limit what you can do at any point in time, the limits are hardly worth complaining about, because it still offers so much. It balances openness with utility, looks natural, and offers a decent amount of enemy encounters without limiting freedom. Amazingly, every town is nearly as vibrant, populated, and worth exploring as Windfall Island (my favorite town in any Zelda game). Had TP offered an overworld remotely like this, it may also have rivaled the other 3D Zelda games in scope. If it opted for emptiness instead, it could at least have evoked the atmosphere of Shadow of the Colossus. What we got was a dusty, empty, nearly unpopulated, canyon-ridden overworld. None of these elements would necessarily be bad on their own, but coupled with the gameplay decisions made in Twilight Princess, they sort of destroyed the whole experience.
That is why it's my least favorite overworld of all the Zelda games, even if there are some areas that are promising.
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2009
- Location
- Netherlands
Twilight Princess really has the overworld it should have been all along but didn't due to technical impossibilities. It makes the ones in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask look like nothing.
I like the ocean in Wind Waker too. It's just so vast. However, there is too much sailing involved. The amount of pointless water could have been reduced a bit. It's still epic, though, but hard to compare to a land-based overworld.
I like the ocean in Wind Waker too. It's just so vast. However, there is too much sailing involved. The amount of pointless water could have been reduced a bit. It's still epic, though, but hard to compare to a land-based overworld.
I would agree that Twilight Princess's overworld was truly fantastic graphics. I mean, yeah, it was a tad empty, but overall realistic qualities and landscape was awesome. 
G
Gon-Gorooon
Guest
Well, if you compare the Twilight Princess overworld with those of Windwaker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks...
athenian200
Circumspect
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2010
Do you mean graphically? In that case, I would agree. One of my favorite things to do in the game was wander around Hyrule Field on foot to look at the graphics of the overworld... unfortunately, I always felt rather silly doing it, since you start the game with Epona and usually warp around later in the game.
Sometimes I'd just sit and try to imagine what OoT could have been with an overworld that big... what else they could have hidden in there back then. So much was probably cut due to the 64DD not being popular, and part of me will always wonder what OoT would have been if it had been released as a 64DD title with all the expansions available.
The main thing I dislike about the overworld is that there's nothing to fill the space in the center. OoT had Lon Lon Ranch and some strange canyons, and MM had Clock Town along with several areas of grass guarded by ChuChus to hide the space (not to mention that the field had different features depending on which area it was closest to!). But TP's field is very plain, and has few hidden secrets. Perhaps it's just that I was able to just skip over it for most of the game with Epona and warping, unlike in OoT where I had to spend a lot of time on foot there.
That said, one of my favorite overworlds on the Wii would be the one in Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicals: The Crystal Bearers. It beats most recent Zelda overworlds, IMO.
Sometimes I'd just sit and try to imagine what OoT could have been with an overworld that big... what else they could have hidden in there back then. So much was probably cut due to the 64DD not being popular, and part of me will always wonder what OoT would have been if it had been released as a 64DD title with all the expansions available.
The main thing I dislike about the overworld is that there's nothing to fill the space in the center. OoT had Lon Lon Ranch and some strange canyons, and MM had Clock Town along with several areas of grass guarded by ChuChus to hide the space (not to mention that the field had different features depending on which area it was closest to!). But TP's field is very plain, and has few hidden secrets. Perhaps it's just that I was able to just skip over it for most of the game with Epona and warping, unlike in OoT where I had to spend a lot of time on foot there.
That said, one of my favorite overworlds on the Wii would be the one in Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicals: The Crystal Bearers. It beats most recent Zelda overworlds, IMO.
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2010
I think that TP suffers from what all 3D zelda games suffer, and it is, as some people had already mentioned, is the empiness.
We all have to admit that there's almost anything to do in the fields, they are most times just a place that connects one area to another.
I would like (or even need) to see an overworld full of secrets and places to explore, an overworld where we could explore for hours and always find new secrets (but, of course, not leaving the main quest behind, after all, all this exploration should be opitional).
One thing that I would like to see is brand new locations, with different weathers and people, but have not a connection to the main quest (because in the 3D zelda games we have the impression that every place we can go is somewhere that we need to go to complete the main story), a totally optional place. It would be very interesting.
I think that TP's field was nice, but nowadays, it's just not enough. Nintendo has the tecnology and criativity to make an overworld totally new and interesting, somewhere where there's always something happening, full of secrets, and which is not just a place to conect the game's various locations, but a place that's one of the game's charms, I want a wide grand marvelous world, Nintendo! Another thing I would like to see is a wider variety of locations, and not just grass, trees and lakes (I'm just talking about the main field).
Just to finish, I would like to say to people who have never played an old 2D Zelda like AlttP, that they should. If you play it and see how big and full of secrets their worlds is, I bet they would like to see the same as me in future Zeldas.
We all have to admit that there's almost anything to do in the fields, they are most times just a place that connects one area to another.
I would like (or even need) to see an overworld full of secrets and places to explore, an overworld where we could explore for hours and always find new secrets (but, of course, not leaving the main quest behind, after all, all this exploration should be opitional).
One thing that I would like to see is brand new locations, with different weathers and people, but have not a connection to the main quest (because in the 3D zelda games we have the impression that every place we can go is somewhere that we need to go to complete the main story), a totally optional place. It would be very interesting.
I think that TP's field was nice, but nowadays, it's just not enough. Nintendo has the tecnology and criativity to make an overworld totally new and interesting, somewhere where there's always something happening, full of secrets, and which is not just a place to conect the game's various locations, but a place that's one of the game's charms, I want a wide grand marvelous world, Nintendo! Another thing I would like to see is a wider variety of locations, and not just grass, trees and lakes (I'm just talking about the main field).
Just to finish, I would like to say to people who have never played an old 2D Zelda like AlttP, that they should. If you play it and see how big and full of secrets their worlds is, I bet they would like to see the same as me in future Zeldas.