(Spoilers below, in case it's not obvious. Read at your own risk.)

21 hours in. Just past the 4th Dungeon/Temple/Whatever...

It's kind of surprising how much nostalgia Nintendo's trying to put into this game. It's almost like it's the Legend of Zelda: Greatest Hits version. I don't know whether to laugh or cry about all of it. Actually, I guess I kinda do. When it's done well, it's great. When it's not, it deserves an eye-rolling. And I think the key here is subtlety. Subtlety and not being gameplay related. The Master Sword sequence is a perfect example of both kinds. When I first entered the clearing, my jaw dropped. It was absolutely beautiful, a stunning scene. And I'm guessing I know where the artists got their inspiration: the LttP artwork. The scene was reminiscent of the artwork at the front of the instruction manual, and reminding me of it brought a smile to my face. Subtle. Effective. Good. And then I pulled the Master Sword. And the haze gave way to a bright sunny day. Oh puhleeze. Talk about a blatant copy of LttP. There wasn't anything subtle about it, and so it was bad. Well, not bad, but certainly enough to make me roll my eyes. Fortunately, so far it seems like there's more of the former than the latter. The howling stone songs. The photo of the fisherman with the loach. One of the statues of the goddesses back near the beginning of the game. I like that sort of stuff. And I'm not going to complain about this game being a "greatest hits" if there's more small stuff like that.

Level 4 was ok, but nowhere near as good as the Water Temple. I liked the individual rooms enough, but the overall design was just... ennh. Very, very linear (unlike the Water Temple). However, I loved the atmosphere. The bugs freaked me out immensely the first time I saw them. Great use of both your wolf and human form. And those mini-stalfos are just so cute! The spinner's pretty cool too. It doesn't feel very Zelda-ish but, well, neither did the hookshot back in LttP. So who's complaining? It made for a rather interesting boss fight, that's for sure. The one really large negative here was the blatant OoT Forest Temple ripoff. Remember when I said references are good if they're subtle and not gameplay related? Yeah... I don't think I even need to mention what I'm talking about. I'm sure everyone who's played through this point knows it. C'mon Nintendo, this is about as blatant as some of the ripoffs in Majora's Mask. Couldn't you find something new?

Overworld-wise, the game is really starting to open up. And I'm loving it. Indeed, it's starting to feel like a Zelda game. There are places I've been to that I can't figure out how to continue on. There are objects that I can't interact with. There are random things I notice that cause me to make detours. There are a ton of pieces of heart (I've got 14 so far!), and lotsa poes (I'm at 13, I think). There's actually stuff to spend your money on (considering your wallet is perpetually full, this is a good thing). There are minigames to play. There's more areas where you can simply relax and look around. I think it really hit me after Midna was healed by Zelda. I wasn't being pushed along anywhere. I can actually do what I want! It was such a massive breath of fresh air, a feeling akin to stepping out of Hyrule Castle Town the first time after becoming an adult. It was Zelda.

That, more than anything else, is important to me. And these past 7 hours or so are far, far more interesting than the first 7. It's still not Ocarina of Time. But it's a far, far cry from Wind Waker. Yay!

One other complaint though, even if it's only a minor issue and at only at one point. The puzzle right before the Master Sword was the most mind bogglingly stupid thing they could have done. Let's face it, Zelda relies on a certain amount of immersion, and this is often one of the defining moments in the game. Consider what happens immediately before and after you grab it in Ocarina of Time if you don't know what I'm talking about. Or Wind Waker for that matter, where even haters like me think it's an absolutely stunning part of the game. And here, the buildup is great. You get that wonderful cut scene just after the Water Temple, and another one after meeting Zelda. You reach a previously inaccessible area. You go through a somewhat eerie romp through the woods. You see the ruins of a statue. And then you... have a stupid puzzle? What?!? Talk about taking you out of rhythm. It's as if Nintendo's daring you to consider this as nothing more than a videogame, as opposed to a true immersive experience. It makes no sense plotwise and doesn't fit gameplay wise. It's just out there, absurdly placed, completely breaking the mood. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe Aonuma and Miyamato could make such a stupid, obvious mistake. It's just... absurd. Who thought that stupid idea up anyway?

Like I said, it doesn't affect the rest of the game, but it's still stupid.

And one other thing... remember what I wrote last time? "And when do I get to turn into a wolf at will? ...After I get the Master Sword? Which should be almost immediately after this Zora Temple. And if that's so, these games are getting far too predictable." Yeah...

But still, impressions are slowly getting more and more positive. Awesome.

(Heh, writing my review ought to be easy after this. All I need to do is cut and paste!)