The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Just wrapped up the first dungeon, and it was great fun. Gale boomerang, wind puzzles, monkeys everywhere. It wasn't particularly involved, but hey, first dungeon.

By this point I'm really hooked on Twilight Princess's mechanics. Wolf Link is different enough that it's a distinct experience from playing regular Link, but similar enough that it's pretty easy to take care of business. Plus running around and growling at enemies is surprisingly fun.

So far, the plot hasn't surprised me. There was a moment analogous to that in Wind Waker where Link descends into underwater Hyrule, but it was hinted at and introduced gradually, so the shock value wasn't nearly that of WW's. Nevertheless I'm hoping/expecting something big comes up later.

There are a lot of stylistic enhancements to classic Zelda, for instance when you press A to put away your sword at the end of a battle sequence, Link spins the blade with a flourish before sheathing it. Controller sound effects are neat too, though their frequency is a bit startling (sometimes it seems like almost every action has a controller sound effect).

The reviews floating around the web so far seem to indicate that Twilight Princess is nothing new, some easy romp through Hyrule to break in the Wii. I've got plenty of game left to explore, but personally I disagree. Maybe I haven't spent as much time collecting heart pieces as I should, but TP has actually struck me as quite difficult for how early in the game I am; and it's definitely a fresh experience, if using an established engine.

If it follows the Zelda story formula established in Ocarina, Twilight Princess should become super-compelling within another dungeon or two.

Progress: Finished Forest Temple