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Twilight Princess is definitively better than Wind Waker

HYDE

Banned
I love them both a ton, and for different reasons...not sure why I wouldn't see them both as amazing games.
 

olimpia84

Member
I agree. WW is charming, has a great soundtrack and offers a unique setting but in the end TP is better in its design, especially the dungeon design which is perhaps the best (or tied with OOT). Overall TP is just a better "Zelda" game.
 

Abdiel

Member
Twilight princess is the Zelda game that has basically made me not care about any new entry in the series, it was so terrible.

When I eventually get a switch I'll give botw a go, but I'm not going out of my way at this point.

Op, I never played wind waker, because the art style wasn't my thing, but tp was so bad I can't agree with you in any aspect, it's trash.

I don't even consider it a good game. I was genuinely disappointed with it when it was finished.
 
Played both and wind water gets a lot right. Ganon is bad ass and you get to encounter him a few times before.

Dungeons are pretty great but tp might win that aspect.

Art style is so much better and the music is better. Only cool thing about tp items is the double hook shot
 
Twilight princess is the Zelda game that has basically made me not care about any new entry in the series, it was so terrible.

When I eventually get a switch I'll give botw a go, but I'm not going out of my way at this point.

Op, I never played wind waker, because the art style wasn't my thing, but tp was so bad I can't agree with you in any aspect, it's trash.

I don't even consider it a good game. I was genuinely disappointed with it when it was finished.

There's no guarantee you'll like Breath of the Wild, but know that it's very, very different than most 3D Zelda games. To such an extent that many 3D Zelda diehards don't like it.
 

heringer

Member
I remember enjoying TP back in 2006. I'm replaying it right now and... I dunno. Not loving it yet. The first thing that strikes me is how bad this looks. This game has not aged well. I'm playing it on Dolphin, so I used a texture pack and some filters. It looks better now, to me at least.

f6pc.png


On the other hand, I'm also playing Wind Waker, but this one for the first time. Only about 5~6 hours into each game, but so far I like Wind Waker more. Man, this game looks beautiful. Especially the HD remaster.

Neither comes close to A Link Between Worlds, though. That game is a joy to play.
 
Both are incremental updates to the 98' OoT formula. They're good games overall but fundamentally more of the same. Majora's Mask was a bolder move on Nintendo's part.
 

Exodust

Banned
You will reach true transcendence when you realise Skyward Sword is better than both Twilight Princess and Windwaker.

Dem dungeons.

Dem bosses.

Dat timeswitch stone.

Dat sound track.

Dat girahim.

Dat ending.

SS was an exercise in a series taking few steps forward and many steps back. It's high points were indeed high but the handholding, padding, repetitive game sequences, motion control fuckery, etc. were such asinine decisions that I'm glad BOTW is the anti-SS.
 

Abdiel

Member
There's no guarantee you'll like Breath of the Wild, but know that it's very, very different than most 3D Zelda games. To such an extent that many 3D Zelda diehards don't like it.

I understand, and I appreciate the warning. But tp made decisions that were baffling, like the stupid wolf form that is useless and has utterly terrible combat that you're stuck in for the light bug hunt. The dungeon items felt so contrived and inane in the overly boring world.

From what I've seen and heard, botw executes its unique ideas more clearly and earnestly than tp ever did.
 
I understand, and I appreciate the warning. But tp made decisions that were baffling, like the stupid wolf form that is useless and has utterly terrible combat that you're stuck in for the light bug hunt. The dungeon items felt so contrived and inane in the overly boring world.

From what I've seen and heard, botw executes its unique ideas more clearly and earnestly than tp ever did.

My point is that BotW is nothing like what you've described. It wasn't a warning. I was trying to convey that BotW is so different from games like TP that a lot of Zelda superfans are put off by it, which gives it a higher chance of appealing to you. Maybe it won't, but it's worth a shot at some point.
 

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
the reverence the wind waker gets is baffling. the game is strong on a presentation level and that's it. the hd remake did a lot to alleviate some of the pacing issues, but does nothing to fix some of the more core problems caused by rushing the game out to the market. the dungeon design, specifically stuff like returning to the forsaken fortress, is just pretty bad at times.

nice story, good characters, memorable art direction... but that doesn't make for a good game. it makes for good window dressing.

tww is strangely a prototype for breath of the wild. the 3d zeldas all were in a way - nintendo's been chasing that open world 3d zelda for a really long time. i think they more or less nailed it with botw, and were lacking in the department that makes tww memorable for people.

twilight princess feels pretty good though. the first dungeon's fairly meh, but the remaining eight or so work really well. i even liked hyrule castle (which pales in comparison to botw's now). the game feels like ocarina of time with worse pacing, but the best dungeon design. and midna is good enough to carry the story on the presentation side.

I agree in principle but not entirely. A good presentation is not window dressing. This is a visual medium and innovation and originality here is meaningful and important. And wind waker certainly gets its due credit.

Memorable characters and story are important but closer to window dressing, agreed. Where I think wind waker falls down is everywhere else. So much of its presentation colors the way people think about the rest of the game-- that it's "innovative" or "original". The game is similar to earlier zeldas in both structure and progression, and the moment to moment gameplay is almost the same as ocarina of time. I don't dock "points" for a lack of originality but I certainly do for poor execution. Wind waker is incomplete and paced poorly. The dungeons are not near substantial enough. The game starts just as slowly as TP and the initial stealth dungeon is a total misfire.

TP has its own issues. The beginning and the interludes as wolf link until midna gets the crap kicked out of her are inexcusable. The items are never really woven into the game in a long term fashion. The art style is certainly not as creative as wind waker (though its detractors have always gone overboard and said the most ridiculous shit about how it's ugly). But the core is basically the ocarina of time formula perfected. The execution from dungeon 4 to dungeon 8 is unrivaled. And there IS a lot of variety and creativity in the individual dungeons themselves.

Does Zant eventually suck? Yes. Is ganondorf a good villain? I don't know. But agreed-- window dressing.

I think wind waker is like the nascent open world movement personified. Core of the game falls down but you can explore in a super frustrating and annoying mechanical way that yields nothing but at least you were free.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
SS was an exercise of a series taking few steps forward and many steps back. It's high points were indeed high but the handholding, padding, repetitive game sequences, motion control fuckery, etc. were such asinine decisions that I'm glad BOTW is the anti-SS.

What about the total linearity, disjointed "levels", and complete lack of an explorable world? Ugh, I really disliked that aspect of SS (although I still enjoyed the game overall), and like you, I couldn't be happier that BotW is basically the opposite of that game.
 

teeny

Member
Although I love both dearly, Twilight Princess was my favourite of the 3D Zelda games. However, I had more fun playing The Wind Waker HD than Twilight Princess HD - it has not aged as well as the former title. The dungeons are still better, though, and I like the story, tone and pacing beyond the introduction. Skyward Sword was the disappointing entry, for me.

I can't wait to finally play Breath of the Wild early next month, when I get my Switch.

I was one of those "lapsed gamers" Nintendo spoke about during the early Wii days and Twilight Princess hooked me back in to playing video games as a hobby, so I suppose I might be biased towards it because of that. Always had a soft spot for Zelda.
 

Axiom

Member
I got a Wii with Twilight Princess but I just couldn't get past the controls and how bored I was. I don't think I made it to the Goron dungeon before just putting it down.
My experience with Twilight on Wii led me to skipping Skyward Sword entirely.

However I picked Twilight back up for Wii U and it turns out that once you get into the meat of the game (which still takes way way too long), it's pretty great. Midna is just excellent and it has a ton of clever ideas - it feels like someone did an AM2R to Ocarina of Time. Not original but takes familiar concepts and uses them in inventive ways.

However I still think Wind Waker is better because it's a fuckton more memorable. Wind Waker is more than the sum of its parts, its weaknesses are obvious but the whole carries through with not just charm but incredible moments and a setting that makes the game stand out to this day.
I only JUST finished Twilight Princess a day before the Switch came out and I still remember the end-game of Wind Waker more vividly.

Dungeons in Twilight are top tier though.
 
I still consider TP's intro and the Twilight Realms to be worse than any example of padding in TWW (which, honestly, outside of the lazy Triforce Hunt is really quite overblown). Former is obnoxious, plodding exposition and the latter goes completely against Zelda's design.

TWW's unfinished quality does undermine it but I'd much rather deal with its lows than the TP/SS slogfests. Ocean FTW!
 

jett

D-Member
I agree in principle but not entirely. A good presentation is not window dressing. This is a visual medium and innovation and originality here is meaningful and important. And wind waker certainly gets its due credit.

Memorable characters and story are important but closer to window dressing, agreed. Where I think wind waker falls down is everywhere else. So much of its presentation colors the way people think about the rest of the game-- that it's "innovative" or "original". The game is similar to earlier zeldas in both structure and progression, and the moment to moment gameplay is almost the same as ocarina of time. I don't dock "points" for a lack of originality but I certainly do for poor execution. Wind waker is incomplete and paced poorly. The dungeons are not near substantial enough. The game starts just as slowly as TP and the initial stealth dungeon is a total misfire.

TP has its own issues. The beginning and the interludes as wolf link until midna gets the crap kicked out of her are inexcusable. The items are never really woven into the game in a long term fashion. The art style is certainly not as creative as wind waker (though its detractors have always gone overboard and said the most ridiculous shit about how it's ugly). But the core is basically the ocarina of time formula perfected. The execution from dungeon 4 to dungeon 8 is unrivaled. And there IS a lot of variety and creativity in the individual dungeons themselves.

Does Zant eventually suck? Yes. Is ganondorf a good villain? I don't know. But agreed-- window dressing.

I think wind waker is like the nascent open world movement personified. Core of the game falls down but you can explore in a super frustrating and annoying mechanical way that yields nothing but at least you were free.

EucIfYY.gif
 

Jawmuncher

Member
The wolf gimmick and 10 hour opening negate being better than wind Waker. It's ace once you can freely change between the two though. But overall I found wind Waker to be the more enjoyable experience
 

kromeo

Member
I enjoyed the opening to TP, the first time through at least. I didn't honestly realise anyone had a problem with it until years later
 

fireflame

Member
I was tempted to give up TP several times, feeling the game did not offermuch freedom and not liking sequences where you were forced into a wolf. TP is the weakest 3d Zelda imo.
 

Nepenthe

Member
TP really only gets going at the halfway point where Link is finally not beholden to Midna or a single form, nor does one have to deal with the poorly contextualized bug quests and annoying babysitting of both actual kids and Midna herself. At that point, the dungeon design finally gets going and it becomes a much better game, but again this is past the halfway point. WW has a fresher and quicker start and generally maintains a breezy pace the entire way through even if it can be arguably said that none of its dungeons reach the awesomeness of something like Snowpeak. It also has a more believable sense of adventure with seafaring versus Link gallavanting casually across Hyrule on foot with no athletic prowess whatsoever.

On top of that, everything about WW's presentation is much better than TP's. TP is a seriously ugly-ass game: dark, dreary, off-putting character designs, and a lack of emoting from most of the cast- basically the opposite of what Nintendo does best (if I wanted to play a game with an infantile and misplaced sense of "maturity" due to audience demand I'd play Shadow the Hedgehog.) The narrative is also trash compared to WW's.

TP is basically the last Zelda game I'd replay at this point.
 

Majukun

Member
it clearly is. I suppose you can't argue with opinions, but I always thought that many people hold him in an high regards because it's their childhood zelda, much like I hold dear lttp and ocarina
 
I'm going to listen to the TP soundtrack at work to spite those saying the soundtrack isn't good because THEY WRONG.

I also love the opening of TP and will always defend it. But my personal ranking before finishing BotW is:

1) MM
2) WW
3) TP
 

Valahart

Member
Wind Waker is the absolute worst 3D Zelda.

Dungeons are trash, navigating is the most boring thing ever, that Triforce quest was straight up disrespectful. The game was clearly rushed.

No charisma can make up for all those flaws.
 
TP all the way. Though I wish the boss battles weren't so easy. If it wasn't for the Swift Sail in WWHD I would've never had the patience for that game.

Also in TP you fight an effing dragon in the sky with double effing clawshots. Still one of my favourite boss battles to date.
 

pringles

Member
Wind Waker's DNA is all over BotW imo. TP is a great game but in the line of Zelda games it's one of the least memorable and most meaningless in terms of what it did for the series. It was just a fanservice OoT2 after the backlash towards WW. I can see people liking it more than WW but for me there's no question, I'll replay WW HD when I'm 70 years old and have long forgotten that TP even exists.
 
This whole WW is better than TP is some weird alternate reality shit that started I don't know when. WW was critizied a ton when I came out, because it is one of the worst 3D zeldas (still amazing game as all zelda games are great). TP when it came out was beloved because it was everything a zelda game should be. It TP came out first before OoT, it would be considered by many as the greatest game ever made.

There is zero argument on the dungeons, TP has the best in the series. The best bosses. A ton of variety in things you do between dungeons. A huge varied world. And while it's still piss easy it isnt as ridiculously easy as WW.

To me zelda is about the constant stream of incredibly well designed levels mixed with actions, puzzles and exploration. Few games do it better than TP.
 
Im throwing my hat in for TPP

Sure Wind Waker is the more competent overall package


but TPP has stellar combat and dungeons. The tools are a joy to use even if you never use them much outside of their intended zones

And hell I loved the world and exploring it. Also the final dungeon and boss fight was very cool


My main issue with TPP was that I couldnt play as Zelda with her badass design and Sword

When do we get a Zelda game where we play as Zelda. I want battle Zelda
 

llehuty

Member
I like Wind Waker's world better.

Better Music, story, Link ,characters, and Final Boss.

But Dungeons and Bosses are much better in TP. I don't really care for anybody in TP, thus making it a inferior game for me

Still Great Games tho

Basically, this. Each have their flaws and strong points.
Skyward Sword is better than both.
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Yeah, Twilight Princess is such an amazing game, and while Wind Waker is also amazing, its still the weakest 3D-Zelda by quite a large margin. Glad you are enjoying it!
 
Wind Waker is Pretty, has fun characters and world

Lacks in content across the board and gameplay is relatively simplified

Wind Waker is Ocarina of Time Light, TP is Ocarina of Time 2

We dont need to discuss Skyward Sword.... that damn massive gimmicky fluff fest

BotW... Just transcends everything so far and I having even seen a tenth of it
 
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