The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)

That's a lot to live up to, and surprisingly -- amazingly -- Twilight Princess succeeds admirably, and in every respect. On top of that, it's an exceptional game in its own right: gracefully improving on the best elements of its predecessors, carefully trimming their shortcomings, and throwing in plenty of new ideas to keep things interesting.

It's a beautiful game, too. There's more to beauty than raw polygons, and Zelda succeeds where it counts: The land of Hyrule is gorgeously crafted from Zora's Domain to the Ordona Woods. The world has a rustic, classical feel that stands as a counterpoint to the menacing artificiality of the Twilight Realm, the world of darkness that threatens to consume the kingdom. It's amazing to think this is technically just a GameCube title; the open areas of the game boast impressive horizons and no pop-in to speak of -- if a monster is standing at the other end of Hyrule Field, you can see its eyes glittering evilly in the darkness a quarter of a mile away.

And thanks to precision and ease of use of the control interface, you can plant an arrow right between those eyes from that distance, too. The game's move to the Wii was a worrying change for many who feared it threatened to compromise a solidly crafted adventure for the sake of proving that the Wii can too play host to this kind of game. But those worries were ultimately needless: Twilight Princess is great on Wii. The remote-swinging sword attacks create a streamlined interface that allows for the most impressive swordplay the series has yet seen. While the Wii's button layout is a bit unwieldy, the core mechanics are as solid as ever.

And though you don't have to move the controller vigorously to cause Link to attack, it's impossible not to get caught up in the heat of a particularly intense boss fight. At some point, you will find yourself leaning forward in your seat, flailing away with the Wii Remote before twisting your right hand to finish off your foe with a quick spin attack.

The interface's natural feel is especially impressive considering the vast array of abilities at Link's command -- in addition to his usual repertoire of skills, he wields an arsenal of about two dozen tools, can learn seven advanced sword skills, and sometimes even transforms into a wolf. Every item you earn and ability you learn comes into play constantly throughout the adventure, from the bucolic prelude all the way through the gripping final boss gauntlet.

In addition to special abilities like scent-tracking and superior jumping, Link's wolf form brings with it much of what makes Twilight Princess unique, not least of which is an impish companion named Midna. Her home, the Twilight Realm, is strongly reminiscent of the Dark World in A Link to the Past -- in fact, Twilight Princess recollects the series' Super NES chapter every bit as much as it does Ocarina. And nowhere is that connection stronger than in Twilight Princess's meticulously crafted Hyrule: It's enormous, yet it never feels as empty as Wind Waker's oceans. Every square foot of this world matters.

As in A Link to the Past, the game's first few dungeons are simply a prelude to the real adventure. Once they're complete, the whole game world opens up, and the urgency of the main quest becomes almost secondary to the sheer joy of exploration. Twilight Princess rewards thorough investigation with money, with rare collectibles, with health bonuses or better weapons. And even then, the game's secrets aren't laid bare all at once -- as you complete each dungeon, you walk away with a new skill that further expands your treasure-hunting capabilities. Mysterious grooves in cliff faces that seem so puzzling early in the game are pathways to success once you have the right tool. That insurmountable ravine that even Midna can't guide you across is a cinch once you know the trick for filling gaps.

Discoveries can range from mundane -- a Heart Piece in the trees -- to truly sublime, like entire minidungeons that can only be found by bombing the proper bit of scenery. Despite the immensity of Hyrule, secrets are everywhere, and you're practically guaranteed to stumble across something different every time you take a new route through Hyrule Field -- or even approach the same route from a different perspective. Things you sped by on horseback might catch your eye while on foot, and Link's keen wolf-form eyes can spot glimmering goodies from great distances.

The important thing, though, is that traveling about Hyrule in all its hugeness is never tedious; clearly, Wind Waker's detractors were listened to. Link's trusty steed Epona is available throughout almost the entire game, and Midna can warp you instantly to any region where you've defeated a batch of twilight beasts. Despite being the longest Zelda game to date -- there's roughly as much content here as in Ocarina and Wind Waker combined -- it never feels padded. A couple of the longer dungeons can drag slightly, especially when you're thwarted by a particularly obtuse puzzle, but any frustration is quickly forgotten when you come face-to-face with the dungeon's epic boss and advance to the next plot twist.

Twilight Princess is uncharacteristically story-driven, and by a very good story at that. While Link remains a mostly blank slate, the supporting cast more than makes up for his laconic nature -- Midna in particular. Alternately acerbic and thoughtful, she's an intricate character who propels the quest for her own enigmatic reasons. Yet even the lesser cast members are fleshed out; the citizens of Link's hometown have their own stories as well, and it's impossible not to take an interest as their fates become interwoven with the main plot thread.

If Twilight Princess has a single shortcoming, it's that it feels a bit predictable at times. It is a Zelda game, after all, and it's very much the successor to Ocarina of Time, so you'll frequently experience a sense of déjà vu. Forest dungeon? Check. Underwater areas with slow-ass stomping around on the seabed? Yeah, done that before. Boomerang? Arrows? Master Sword? Gotcha, seen 'em. Bosses that must be defeated using the tool found in their respective dungeons? No surprise there.

But even as it borders on formulaic, the game never feels lazy, or as though it's simply resting on its laurels. The familiar moments are there to reinforce the series' motifs and to play off its legacy in new and interesting ways. In fact, the further you venture into the quest, the fresher it feels. It's in the latter half of the game that you encounter the bulk of Twilight Princess's new skills, innovative weapons, unexpected scenarios and creative environments. And even the first half is kept lively by the constant need to readjust to Link's changing circumstances as he ping-pongs between the regular and twilight worlds.

Twilight Princess is something you rarely see: a 60-hour adventure in which every moment is memorable. But then, maybe that's no surprise -- it represents the full resources and effort of the world's most powerful first-party developer, and thanks to all those delays, it's even enjoyed an extra year of polish and refinement. The question to ask therefore isn't "Is it any good?" but rather "Just how good is it?"

The answer? Truly fantastic. It's not a reinvention of the genre like Ocarina was -- but it's much better, because it takes all its predecessors' raw ideas, perfects them, and creates an experience that's at once new and familiar. It's rare to find a launch game that truly justifies the purchase of a new console, but this is precisely that. If Wii Sports is a game for everyone, Twilight Princess is for everyone who loves games.