Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Also known as:  Zelda no Densetsu: Twilight Princess (Japan)

Developer: Nintendo

The main complaint that I hear regarding Twilight Princess is that it's an Ocarina of Time clone...Considering that Ocarina of Time is generally thought of as the greatest game ever made, I dare argue that cloning that game and making some more modern tweaks and changes to the gameplay is something that Twilight Princess should be complimented on rather than have held against it. That being said, while one could make that clone argument, Twilight Princess is still very much its own game. The dark, yet often goofy atmosphere is entertaining…with some imagery that one might expect to find in a horror game, mixed in with complete goofiness…Ooccoo being a prime example. She may be goofy and loveable, but I can imagine children being frightened at first glance. Anyway, toss in the near flawless use of motion controls in the Wii version, and you had a must-buy title right at the Wii’s launch. Until Breath of the Wild came out, Twilight Princess was my favorite game in the Zelda franchise that I had played. Revisiting the game for this list reminded me why I fell in love with it 15 years ago.

Review added: 12/26/2021