With the release of the Skyward Sword the focus on Twilight Princess is almost entirely gone now. I think right now is the optimal time for people to compare these two console releases, and I think I've seen multiple threads comparing two games but not these two in particular. First off you should know that I'm going to use a unique set of criteria based on why I play the games. I don't care much for story, graphics, or music so those are a non-factor in my decision. When you compare the games feel free to use whatever criteria you want so you don't have to judge the games the same way I do. I'm going to use a report card style to compare the games in the eight things that I look for most in Zelda games: Dungeons, Exploration, Puzzles, Difficulty, Sidequests, Items, Overworld, and Replay Value. Once again don't feel pressured to use my criteria if other things make a difference in your decision. All my individual grades are inside the spoiler tags.
Wind Waker Report Card
Overall Grade- B-
Twilight Princess Report Card
Overall Grade- C+
So overall I think Wind Waker has the edge. Keep in mind that the grades I handed out are curved within the Zelda series so the grades are derived from comparing the aspects in the particular games to the best example in the series. For instance I gave Wind Waker an A in sidequests because I thought the sidequests were excellent but still not up to Majora's Mask's standards (an A+ IMO). I gave TP a C+ in difficulty because compared to Adventure of Link (the A+ in difficulty) it's not even close to as difficult (I think C+ is generous as is the C I gave to Wind Waker). So if I was reviewing the games I'd give each of them at least 9.5 out of 10, but relative to the rest of the series I don't think that WW or TP are one of the best.
Wind Waker Report Card
1. Dungeons- B-
- Wind Waker isn’t one of those games that is dungeon focused, and even the dungeons it has aren’t spectacular. I didn’t fall in love with a single one. They are fairly short as well.
2. Exploration- B+
- This game should have been a tribute to the original game but it fell short. The designers force you to beat the first two dungeons before setting you free and that bothered me quite a bit. Still the game boasts tons of areas to explore as well as secrets.
3. Puzzles- B-
- The game had some nice puzzles, but nothing was super memorable as were some puzzles from other games. Good but not great.
4. Difficulty- C
- Combat would be lucky to get a D, but the puzzles bring the score up. The game isn’t super easy to beat, but is definitely one of the easiest ones in the series.
5. Sidequests- A
- This game had tons of sidequests and could keep you busy for a long time. This is the only console Zelda I failed to 100% because of the gigantic figurine sidequest. There is a truly massive amount of stuff to do in this game. Windfall Island is one of the greatest locales in all of the series.
6. Items- B
- The items in this game weren’t revolutionary by any means, but they were still pretty cool. I though the grappling hook was a nice addition to the series though. I liked how some items had different uses on land and on sea.
7. Overworld- B+
- I love the idea of an ocean, but I had some issues with the execution. Everything is way too far apart, and it takes forever to get anywhere. Some of the islands were a little pointless as well so they were basically a waste of space. The game had a lot of mass but fit it into way too much volume so the areas of the game weren’t very dense.
8. Replay Value- B
- The second quest wasn’t much of a second quest, but at least it was there. The vast number of sidequests in the game ensured that you probably missed some stuff on your first playthrough. The game doesn’t boast the nonlinearity of earlier games, but at least you can get the Triforce pieces all throughout your quest to shake things up.
- Wind Waker isn’t one of those games that is dungeon focused, and even the dungeons it has aren’t spectacular. I didn’t fall in love with a single one. They are fairly short as well.
2. Exploration- B+
- This game should have been a tribute to the original game but it fell short. The designers force you to beat the first two dungeons before setting you free and that bothered me quite a bit. Still the game boasts tons of areas to explore as well as secrets.
3. Puzzles- B-
- The game had some nice puzzles, but nothing was super memorable as were some puzzles from other games. Good but not great.
4. Difficulty- C
- Combat would be lucky to get a D, but the puzzles bring the score up. The game isn’t super easy to beat, but is definitely one of the easiest ones in the series.
5. Sidequests- A
- This game had tons of sidequests and could keep you busy for a long time. This is the only console Zelda I failed to 100% because of the gigantic figurine sidequest. There is a truly massive amount of stuff to do in this game. Windfall Island is one of the greatest locales in all of the series.
6. Items- B
- The items in this game weren’t revolutionary by any means, but they were still pretty cool. I though the grappling hook was a nice addition to the series though. I liked how some items had different uses on land and on sea.
7. Overworld- B+
- I love the idea of an ocean, but I had some issues with the execution. Everything is way too far apart, and it takes forever to get anywhere. Some of the islands were a little pointless as well so they were basically a waste of space. The game had a lot of mass but fit it into way too much volume so the areas of the game weren’t very dense.
8. Replay Value- B
- The second quest wasn’t much of a second quest, but at least it was there. The vast number of sidequests in the game ensured that you probably missed some stuff on your first playthrough. The game doesn’t boast the nonlinearity of earlier games, but at least you can get the Triforce pieces all throughout your quest to shake things up.
Overall Grade- B-
Twilight Princess Report Card
1. Dungeons- A-
- There were a ton of dungeons, and none were really complete duds. Nothing really reached the heights of the dungeons of Ocarina of Time or Majora’s Mask, but the dungeons were consistently good and plentiful. The dungeons were also noticeably long for the series, and this game started the new tradition (the one I actually like) of having nontraditional dungeons with the Snowpeak Ruins (actually Jabu Jabu in OOT was the first, but TP revived the tradition).
2. Exploration- C
- The game goes out of its way to force you on a particular path so you are pretty limited as to where you can go until a little after you complete the third dungeon. After that you can do as you please in the overworld and find secrets, but inexplicably the game is linear in places in which it doesn’t even make sense. The one thing I loved about this game though was the lantern caves.
3. Puzzles- B
- The puzzles were pretty good overall with some particularly confusing parts in the Lakebed Temple and some of the later dungeons. The stone guardian puzzle will always stick out as one of the hardest in the series.
4. Difficulty- C+
- The game was harder than Wind Waker, but that’s about all it had going for it. The hidden skills made combat very easy, and the puzzles can’t make up the difference entirely.
5. Sidequests- B
- For a game focusing on dungeon count, Twilight Princess had some pretty good sidequests. Poe hunting and finding golden bugs could take some serious time, and there was always the Cave of Ordeals to keep you busy.
6. Items- B+
- The game had some real innovations like the clawshots (not a hookshot rip-off in my book) and the spinner. The items probably could have been used more often outside of their respective dungeons to make things less predictable, but the game is what it is.
7. Overworld- C-
- The overworld is aesthetically pleasing and had some good secrets, but it just is way too linear. I also have to talk about the in-between dungeon quests which IMO were the most dreadful the series has ever had. I enjoyed Gerudo Desert and snowboarding on Snowpeak, but other than that the time spent outside dungeons was pure torture for me. The tears of light quests are quite possibly my least favorite part of the entire game, and I didn’t appreciate how long they were or how there were three of them.
8. Replay Value- C
- The game has some good moments that make you want to play through the game again (like Sumo Wrestling- forgot to mention that as one of the parts I liked above), especially the dungeons. However, the game is super linear and much of the game isn’t too great, so I don’t think it’s worth playing all the way through more than once or twice. I spent my most recent winter vacation creating save files at each of the dungeons in the game (across four memory cards) so that I can play through Snowpeak Ruins or the Lakebed Temple without sitting through the torture of the tears of light quests again.
- There were a ton of dungeons, and none were really complete duds. Nothing really reached the heights of the dungeons of Ocarina of Time or Majora’s Mask, but the dungeons were consistently good and plentiful. The dungeons were also noticeably long for the series, and this game started the new tradition (the one I actually like) of having nontraditional dungeons with the Snowpeak Ruins (actually Jabu Jabu in OOT was the first, but TP revived the tradition).
2. Exploration- C
- The game goes out of its way to force you on a particular path so you are pretty limited as to where you can go until a little after you complete the third dungeon. After that you can do as you please in the overworld and find secrets, but inexplicably the game is linear in places in which it doesn’t even make sense. The one thing I loved about this game though was the lantern caves.
3. Puzzles- B
- The puzzles were pretty good overall with some particularly confusing parts in the Lakebed Temple and some of the later dungeons. The stone guardian puzzle will always stick out as one of the hardest in the series.
4. Difficulty- C+
- The game was harder than Wind Waker, but that’s about all it had going for it. The hidden skills made combat very easy, and the puzzles can’t make up the difference entirely.
5. Sidequests- B
- For a game focusing on dungeon count, Twilight Princess had some pretty good sidequests. Poe hunting and finding golden bugs could take some serious time, and there was always the Cave of Ordeals to keep you busy.
6. Items- B+
- The game had some real innovations like the clawshots (not a hookshot rip-off in my book) and the spinner. The items probably could have been used more often outside of their respective dungeons to make things less predictable, but the game is what it is.
7. Overworld- C-
- The overworld is aesthetically pleasing and had some good secrets, but it just is way too linear. I also have to talk about the in-between dungeon quests which IMO were the most dreadful the series has ever had. I enjoyed Gerudo Desert and snowboarding on Snowpeak, but other than that the time spent outside dungeons was pure torture for me. The tears of light quests are quite possibly my least favorite part of the entire game, and I didn’t appreciate how long they were or how there were three of them.
8. Replay Value- C
- The game has some good moments that make you want to play through the game again (like Sumo Wrestling- forgot to mention that as one of the parts I liked above), especially the dungeons. However, the game is super linear and much of the game isn’t too great, so I don’t think it’s worth playing all the way through more than once or twice. I spent my most recent winter vacation creating save files at each of the dungeons in the game (across four memory cards) so that I can play through Snowpeak Ruins or the Lakebed Temple without sitting through the torture of the tears of light quests again.
Overall Grade- C+
So overall I think Wind Waker has the edge. Keep in mind that the grades I handed out are curved within the Zelda series so the grades are derived from comparing the aspects in the particular games to the best example in the series. For instance I gave Wind Waker an A in sidequests because I thought the sidequests were excellent but still not up to Majora's Mask's standards (an A+ IMO). I gave TP a C+ in difficulty because compared to Adventure of Link (the A+ in difficulty) it's not even close to as difficult (I think C+ is generous as is the C I gave to Wind Waker). So if I was reviewing the games I'd give each of them at least 9.5 out of 10, but relative to the rest of the series I don't think that WW or TP are one of the best.
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