Alright, training camp is here, another offseason has passed, and injuries are popping up; so let's talk about it. As a football fan who lives in Wisconsin, most football news I catch regularly is about the Packers, they are also my favorite team, which means that I'll be talking about them more than any other team at least until the regular season starts.
Packers Family Night was held last Saturday, and there were not any big surprises that occurred during the scrimmage. That does not mean, though, that nothing of interest occurred. The big things I noticed are:
- Mason Crosby's kicking: He made three of eight field goals. 3 of 8! That's 37.5%. Six of those field goals were part of a competition with Giorgio Tavecchio, who is competing for Crosby's job; Crosby made two out of those six, Tavecchio made five of his six, six of seven overall. That does not look good for Crosby. He has performed well in prior practices until Saturday, including a perfect five for five on Thursday. The good news for Crosby is that it's still early in camp, so anything is possible, but if this keeps up, I would be surprised if he is still the kicker come week 1.
- Aaron Rodgers is still Aaron Rodgers so far. But, who his backup will be is far less certain. As it stands now, Graham Harrell is the #2 QB. He does have competition in B.J. Coleman, though. I thought that Harrell looked like a decent backup, he led an 80-yard drive, including 69 yards passing, with five consecutive completions. Other than that drive, nothing else really stood out for him. For Coleman, it was a lot different. He did not play very well, throwing two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. On another drive, he led the offense to the 1-yard line and then threw four straight incompletions, the last one knocked away. Again, it's still early, so we'll see what happens.
- Rookie running back Eddie Lacy was very impressive. He had notable runs of 8, 16, and 19 yards among some others. He is still progressing, but I like his potential. I would like to see how he does against other teams. If he does well, then the Packers would have found their answer at running back, which has been lacking horribly for several years.
- On the defensive side of the ball, they seemed solid, but I did not see anything to convince me that they're better than last year, so we'll have to see how preseason plays out for them before I weigh in. That being said, there were a couple of highlights from a couple of defensive backs, James Nixon and Brandon Smith. Each one had an interception, and Nixon returned his for a touchdown. On the flipside for them, an interception or two does not necessarily mean much at this point, but it is a good start.
As of this writing, a couple of events have occurred. Brian Bulaga, starting left tackle, tore his ACL during Saturday's scrimmage, effectively ending his season. His injury worries me greatly, especially since the line was shifted around to (hopefully) provide Rodgers better protection than last year. Hopefully, someone else steps up and does well, maybe Marshall Newhouse, who was moved to right tackle, but may go back to the left side; or maybe even a certain first round pick from 2011 who has dealt with injury, Derrick Sherrod. This is definitely an area to be concerned about, but we'll see how this progresses.
Lastly, the Packers signed free agent QB Vince Young as a backup. I am not sure what to make of this currently. He might end up as the #2 QB, but it also seems likely that he could be used in practice to (potentially) replicate other NFL quarterbacks, namely Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers, and Robert Griffin III of the Washington Redskins; the two teams the Packers open up the regular season against.
Overall, as I've been saying, it is way too early to say much of anything since it is early August yet. As we get closer to the end of the preseason, I'll be able to say more, then. I am very excited to see what happens this season, not just with the Packers, but the rest of the league as well!
Until next time, God bless!
As you may or may not already know, i am a huge football fan. More specifically, I am a huge fan of the Green Bay Packers. The other day, I found an article on Yahoo! Sports on the Top 10 Packers of All Time, and I wanted to give my own input. Since the Packers have such a long history with a lot of great players, figuring out the top ten would be incredibly difficult. I'll show the names the original author, Dave Radcliffe, placed is his article, then I'll show what changes I would make to this list with my reasons behind them. I will not provide my own list at this time, though. Here are the names Radcliffe lists:
- Donald Driver
- Brett Favre
- Paul Hornung
- Don Hutson
- James Lofton
- Ray Nitschke
- Aaron Rodgers
- Sterling Sharpe
- Bart Starr
- Reggie White
He also mentions Willie Davis and Forrest Gregg, two very crucial players in the Lombardi era, but did not place them on his list. I would place those two on, given how dominant they were at their positions at the time. But who to remove? That is the question. Most of the players on this list I would keep. I would probably first remove Rodgers, mainly because he is still playing and is relatively young yet (age 29), even though he currently is the all-time leader in career passer rating (104.9) and touchdown-interception ratio, but those stats can change since he is an active player. If he keeps up his productivity for the rest of his career and maybe win at least one more Super Bowl, then I'd put him on here, no doubt about it; but right now, he is still relatively green.
I'd also remove Sharpe, while he was a great player, started every game in his career, had several accolades (five Pro-Bowls; three All-Pros), amassed strong stats (led the NFL receptions three times- in '89, '92 and '93; and touchdowns in '92 and '94) and was a key player in the Packers' rise to prominence in the early-mid '90's. There are two problems, though, one is that his career was cut short by injury, so who knows how great a play he could have been otherwise. The other problem is that in the three immediate seasons after his retirement after the '94 season, the Packers were a much better team (going 11-5 in '95 and reaching the NFC Championship Game; 13-3 in 1996 and winning Super Bowl XXXI; and 13-3 in 1997 and losing Super Bowl XXXII). For those reasons, I'm removing Sterling Sharpe.
There are two other players here that are debatable as well, those being James Lofton and Donald Driver. You can make a good case either way for either of them. Lofton was the lone bright spot in the franchise's dark ages of the 1980's; and Driver is the Packers' all-time leader in receiving yards and receptions. What he has done off the field helps his cause as well. If I were to remove one of those two, it would probably be Lofton, mainly because of other, more critical players in another, more successful era. It doesn't help that I was not alive to see him play either.
As for players I would add, I already mentioned Willie Davis and Forrest Gregg. Willie Davis was one of the most dominant defensive linemen the Packers ever had (aside from Reggie White), he was also the face of Lombardi's defensive line, much as Ray Nitschke was the face of the linebacking corps. As for Forrest Gregg, Lombardi said he was the "finest player I ever coached". Gregg was instrumental in the Packers' Sweep in the '60's and also started in 188 consecutive games.
Another name I would add (among others) would be Jimmy Taylor. He was a punishing runner back in his day. He also finished as the team's all-time and single-season yardage leader until they were broken by Ahman Green in 2009 and 2003, respectively.
Yet another possible name I'd have is Jerry Kramer. I know, I have a lot of Lombardi Packers on here, but it makes sense considering how dominant they were, then. As for Kramer, he is a very underrated player. He was a top offensive lineman, also instrumental in the execution of that famous sweep. He also made the most crucial block of the Lombardi era at the end of the Ice Bowl for Bart Starr's quarterback sneak. It could be argued that without that block, and if the Packers lost that game, the Lombardi legacy might not be what it is today.
There are also a lot of other players who could also be on this list, so it all boils down to a matter of opinion. As I said, I'm not going to show my own specific "Top 10" list, again considering the sheer amount of players. I would, however, like to hear what you think about the bast Packer players of all time.
Warning: Numerous Spoilers Ahead!
Summary: We are introduced to a small Shinto shrine in a mountainous area. An old man is walking around looking for someone called "Tenchi", after calling for him the old man has a hunch as to where he might be. Inside the shrine office, we see a young man snooping around for something. He is startled by the door opening, but no-one is there. The old man shows up behind Tenchi and asks what he's up to. He figures that he's looking for a set of keys, and then tells Tenchi that he can have them, but only if he can take them from him. Tenchi tries, but gets his behind handed to him. He was somehow able to obtain the keys.
Tenchi runs up to a nearby cave, which is currently sealed and locked up. During this time, he remembers a legend that his grandfather (the old man from earlier) told him. The legend is of a demon that terrorized the land until a samurai on a dragon-shaped appeared and defeated the demon with a legendary sword. The demon was sealed in this same cave and the blade was placed in a pedestal there as well. Tenchi enters, and see the sword which had rusted away over the centuries. He scoffs and wonders if the blade really could cut through stone; he then swings it into a rock, breaking the rusty blade off in the process. Incidentally, the rock was cut in half, causing a chain reaction. We see an entrance inside the cave open up, a rock drop down, and something appearing to be tree roots moving out of the way of the entrance. Tenchi goes into this new entrance and sees a very steep incline, once he's inside, he slips and slides all the way to the bottom. He explores a little bit, notices a floating light moving about; after he makes his way to the center of the room, he notices a mummy, the demon that was sealed per the legend. The sword hilt slips out of his hand, and as Tenchi reaches for it, the mummy grabs his arm, and he freaks out. He freaks out further as the demon places it's hand on Tenchi's face and then attempts to get to second base with him. His sword's gems glow, shining a light that repels the demon, whose eyes then glow an eerie yellow. Tenchi then hightails it out of there, re-seals the cave, and is relieved the incident is over.
Later, a tree, also apparently on shrine property, puts on a bit of a laser show, sending the rays up into space.
Even later still, at school now that summer vacation has ended, Tenchi is speaking with a classmate discussing summer and his work at a rural shrine, a place where no cute girls would show up, only elderly folk. He then remembers the mummy in the cave. The classmate then wonders if Tenchi was so desperate that he ended up dating a "mummy", he is then puched out by Tenchi. Later, Tenchi, on the school roof, contemplates that nothing has happened since the incident then. He then takes a nap, only to wake up later well after class has ended. He notices his pet cat (also seen at the shrine), who comes up to him, then disappears. He then notices a woman, who introduces herself as Ryoko. She opens her eyes to reveal an eerie yellow glow, effectively revealing that she is that same mummy. Ryoko then proceeds to attack Tenchi and damage the school in the process, he tries to fight back, but is no match for her. He then proceeds to hide in a classroom, Ryoko appears, energy sword ready, but Tenchi tells her that there is a gas leak. Ryoko doesn't care and doesn't know what gas is, either! He comes up with a distraction, but not a very good one, but it works! Tenchi leaves, Ryoko then realizes she's been had, causing sparks to come out her sword, causing an explosion. Tenchi thinks she died, but she survives, chases him a little more, but is distracted by a mirror, Tenchi escapes to his home classroom, and comes up with a plan to remove the gem in her wrist (her power source per the legend) and get her back in that cave. Before he can put that plan into action, Ryoko finds him, blows up the classroom. Tenchi jumps out the window to escape, runs away, but is blocked by Ryoko. She decides to finish him off, but the sword hilt activates from inside his school bag, blocking her attack and subsequent ones, also forming a bladed of energy in the process. The sword seems to have a mind of its own and proceeds to cut off Ryoko's wrist, destroying the gem in the process. Ryoko then regenerates her hand, and leaves. The school then explodes, and Tenchi flees.
Shortly thereafter, Tenchi arrives home, ready for bed after the days events. He lays down on the bed, noticing a lump. He removes the blanket and finds Ryoko. Tenchi begins the process for a prayer and the episode ends here.
Review/Analysis: Before I give my analysis and opinion on this episode, I will say the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki (aka the OVA) is one of my favorite anime out there, but that will not stop me from asking questions and giving my opinion on it. It's been a couple of years since I have seen the OVA, so I will review this on the perspective of one who has seen this for the first time.
First, I'll give a broad opinion on the episode as a whole. Introductory episodes can make or break an anime (or any show for that matter), so a good first impression is very important. Tenchi Muyo does not disappoint in this area, the first episode flows very well, showing how one event directly leads into another, leaving almost no plot holes (Tenchi obtaining the keys from gramps notwithstanding, but more on that later), and appearing to set up future events, which leave viewers wondering what will happen in the next episode. I'll go into more detail later. Overall, we meet our main characters, or at least some of them; the settings for the story to take place (the shrine, Tenchi's school, and his house), and leaving us with a subtle hint of continuity. These are done very well here.
Let's look at the beginning of the episode, Tenchi's looking for the keys to the cave, his grandpa has them, and will only let Tenchi have them only if he can defeat him. It didn't work, but Tenchi got the keys anyway. How the hell did Tenchi get those keys? It is shown on screen that he doesn't even reach them, so did he use some awesome ninja skills to get them? Or did his grandpa do something? This does seem to be a bit of a plot hole, but that was explained after the end of the first OVA series from creator Kajishima Masaki in 101 Secrets of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki. In it, he explains that Tenchi's grandfather gave him the keys at some point during their battle. It does seem like a retcon, but it works for now.
Tenchi receiving those keys sets up the event in the cave. A legend which sets up something of a backstory is told here in flashback form. We see the sword, rusted out, breaks upon cutting a rock. This is a subtle hint of the blade being an energy one. As mentioned this sets up a chain reaction where another entrance opens up, tree roots move on their own, setting up more questions for future episodes.
The first meeting with Ryoko also lays a foundation. The sword reacts to her, providing further hints that the sword is indeed special. Their meeting at the school effectively removes the possibility of this becoming a high school-type anime, which automatically makes this interesting since, let's face it, high school based anime are a dime a dozen and cover virtually all genres. But, I digress. let's go on to my last few points of interest on the episode.
At the midpoint of the episode, we see a tree (apparently on shrine property) shoot of lasers, all of them going in one direction. What's the point of those lasers? What's going to happen with them? I would like to see the result of this in the next episode. My other point is at the end, where Tenchi finds Ryoko in his bed of all places. One (i.e. me) would wonder what would happen with these two. It has "To Be Continued" written all over it here for this to be the end of any particular storyline. I also would like to see Tenchi gain at least some modicum of control of the sword eventually as opposed to it having a mind of its own. I still wonder what is up with those tree roots. Perhaps we'll learn more as the story goes on. One last point, the gem in Ryoko's wrist is similar to the ones in the sword, I'd also like to see some explanation on this in perhaps a future episode, 101 Secrets maybe.
As for the characters, we have Tenchi, his grandfather, Ryoko, and Tenchi's classmate. Tenchi's a mischievous teenager who has wanted to enter the cave since he was a child. Ryoko is the demon mentioned in the legend, appearing as a mummy, and later at the school proving that she was the mummy to Tenchi, she does so in various ways (the eerie eyes, destroying the school, the gems). We don't know much about grandfather, but he seems to be more than a wise old man. Tenchi's classmate seems to be a one shot character and I do not expect further appearances; I'd feel differently if the school wasn't destroyed and the show ending up as one of those high school based shows. I'll go over each of the characters in far greater detail in individual posts in the future.
This was a very good opening episode. It sets the table for future events, gives us some depth to the characters here, but not much, but that's to be expected. I did not go over the opening and ending themes here, but I'll review those at a later time. I am interested in seeing what's next, so we'll see.
Until then, God bless.
Alright, I'm back! Sorry I've been gone for so long, had many other events, projects, and other happenings going on throughout the summer. I don't have a lot (or any) content to comment on currently. So, consider this a bit of reorganization.
First and foremost, football season is approaching us here in the U.S. I will (eventually) complete my Top 10 Super Bowls list. My current plan is to comment on various training camp events throughout the NFL, including preseason. Once that's over, I'll also have my season predictions out, either a basic league-wide format or a more in-depth team-by-team format, maybe even both formats, we'll see how everything plays out there time wise.
Next is my anime, manga and light novel review structure. I will continue to review what I have been reviewing, but not necessarily in the same format. For instance, my reviews of School Rumble have been chapter-by-chapter, I may end up reviewing whole volumes instead and go more in-depth on certain events there. For others, like my Haruhi Suzumiya review, I will keep the chapter-by-chapter format with in-depth analysis. I will be reviewing other anime, manga, etc. in the future, and I'll determine what format I want to use at that time.
A long while back I started a three part review of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I only posted part one, since then, I have not had much chance to play Twilight Princess in order to further review and analyze it. This one's on the back burner for now, but it will be done soon.
Lastly, I haven't mentioned this before, but I have an interest in politics, or at least political commentary. I will occasionally comment on certain political events that occur throughout the nation. The majority of my commentary in this area will be done during election seasons, mainly the mid-term and presidential election cycles. My main goal here would be to provide analysis on certain campaigns and candidates, most likely in a scouting report format. We'll see how this goes when I test this out during the 2014 midterms with some major races. That's all I'll say there for now!
As long as everything goes well, I'll have at least one thing to say everyday!
Until next time, God bless!
Also, some HaruhixKyon love:)
I am a huge football fan. I just love the sport and have followed it since I was eight years old. Some games are exciting, some are not. Same goes for the biggest game of the season, the Super Bowl. These days, the NFL's championship game is the most exciting, but it wasn't always like that. I have been told by other fans who've been around longer than I that the biggest game was often a big blowout, with scores of 55-10 (Super Bowl XXIV), 52-17 (Super Bowl XXVII), and other very lopsided contests. The list that I have is going to of the most exciting Super Bowls, mostly games that I have seen, and some that I have not.
This list is based off of three factors:
- The game must have been close at least toward the end of the game.
- Featured at least one comeback.
- Must have some historic value to the overall course of the league, a team in particular, or even a single player, be it a great pregame storyline, a great upset, or something else.
But first, some honorable mentions:
- Super Bowl XLVI: Giants vs. Patriots (2011 season) This game featured a rematch of a previous Super contest between these two teams, the main difference here is that neither team was undefeated going into the game. This game had everything: The storyline, the miracle play (a 38-yard pass from Eli Manning to Mario Manningham who was double covered on the sideline), the upset (Patriots were favored, Giants won 21-17). The only reason this game does not make the list is that it felt like a redux of another game that made the list.
- Super Bowl I: Packers vs. Chiefs (1966 season) The game itself was not particularly exciting unless you're a Packer fan. The game did have quite the storyline: It was the fist game between two rival leagues, the NFL and AFL, who merged before the season started. The owners of the various NFL franchises put a great deal of pressure on Packers' coach Vince Lombardi for them to win the game, and not just win, but to win big, to show the AFL that the older league was still vastly superior. The Packers did just that, winning 35-10. The game did feature a few interesting plays, most notably two touchdown catches by Packers wide receiver Max McGee, who himself had been out the entire night prior.
- Super Bowl XLI: Colts vs. Bears (2006) This one is notable for several reasons, It was Peyton Manning's first Super Bowl trip, the Bears first trip since 1985, the first Super Bowl to experience rain, also the first to have an opening kickoff in the history of the game (returned by Devin Hester of the Bears) and the first Super Bowl to feature two African-American head coaches. Problem, the game outside of that was nothing special, no other memorable plays, the game was sloppy due to the weather, and it also featured one of the worst quarterbacks to play in the game (Rex Grossman, Bears). The Colts won 29-17. It does not make the list because of the game was lopsided after the first quarter.
- Super Bowl XXXI: Packers vs. Patriots (1996) The Packers return to the Super Bowl after 29 years, having a run of futility during the 1970's and 80's, but becoming competitive again in the 90's under General Manager Ron Wolf and Head Coach Mike Holmgren. The Patriots were transformed from laughingstock to competitor under coach Bill Parcells and owner Robert Kraft. The game itself was exciting, the Packers scored first on a long touchdown pass from QB Brett Favre to WR Andre Rison, the Patriots came back to lead at the end of the first quarter 14-10. The Packers came back to lead 27-14 at halftime. The third quarter showed a momentum shift to New England and cut the lead to 27-21. The kickoff however, decided the game, it was returned by Desmond Howard (Packers) 99 yards for a touchdown, putting the score at 35-21 after a two point conversion and no further scoring happened afterward. This one doesn't make the list as there were better Super Bowls involving the Packers or Patriots that are on my list.
- Super Bowl X: Steelers vs. Cowboys (1975) The first of two Super Bowls to feature the two best teams of the decade. The Pittsburgh Steelers were the defending champs, and the Dallas Cowboys appeared in their third of five championship games in the decade, have won Super Bowl VI at this point. The game featured several Pro Football Hall of Famers on both teams, Head Coach Tom Landry, CB Mel Renfro, QB Roger Staubach, LB Randy White, and OT Rayfield Wright for Dallas; and Head Coach Chuck Noll, QB Terry Bradshaw, CB Mel Blount, DT "Mean" Joe Greene, LB's Jack Lambert and Jack Ham, C Mike Webster, and WR's John Stallworth and Lynn Swann. The Cowboys were the first NFC wild card team to make the Super Bowl, while the Steelers were the first official #1 seed to reach the game (the NFL instituted the seeding system for the playoffs that same year). The game also featured a failed comeback by Dallas at the end of the game and ended in a Pittsburgh victory 21-17. This game also does not make the cut for the same reason as Super Bowl XLVI, there was a far better game between these two teams a few years later that did make the list.
That's all for the honorables, next up, #10.
Until then, God Bless.
Spoilers Ahead...
Chapter 5 Summary: Harima is facing off against a whole gang of punks, and takes them down with ease. He narrates that he refuses to lose because he is a man in love! Later, in class, the other students are shocked and afraid when they see Harima in class, except for Tenma, who tells him to not use his desk to crush briefcases.
Afterward, the class takes a test. Harima struggles with the test, but notices Tenma taking hers, not stressing at all. He also notices that she forgot to put her name on the test. He then tries various ways to get Tenma to notice this fact; mouthing it out to her, yelling that he forgot to put his name on his test in hopes that she would get the hint, but they don't work. He then writes a not stating she forgot to put her name on it, she notices it, but she still doesn't get the hint. Tenma copies what Harima wrote as an answer on the test. Harima's last idea is to place her name on his test, having a fantasy about it and how she would fall for him in finding out that he did this. He goes through with it, but it backfires on him; and Tenma for that matter as the test she receives back has a zero score. She's shocked, and Harima prays for forgiveness.
Chapter 6 Summary: Harima comments on his past and how his life was changed when he fell in love with Tenma. When he arrives at his shoe locker in school, he receives a challenge letter from another student, Tennoji Noboru, and he rips it up. Later, he puts a love letter in Tenma's locker, asking her to meet him behind the gym at 4 o'clock.
At that time, Harima arrives behind the gym, finding Tenma waiting for him. He also finds someone else there, Tennoji, waiting for him as well. While waiting, he notices Tenma, makes some small talk, notices her letter, takes it from her and reads it. Harima is ticked that that he read his letter. Tenma likes it, however; upon hearing that, Harima notes that it is the happiest he's felt ever since falling in lover with her. Tennoji lies to her and says he wrote the letter, but Tenma rejects him, saying that she likes someone else. He's heartbroken. Harima arrives, offers some sympathy, and then beats him up and knocks him out; then mocks him for the way that Tennoji read his letter.
Review/Analysis: Chapter 5 is the funniest I've read in this series so far. The not-quite-direct contact between Harima and Tenma was amazing, he's trying to do a service for her so that she writes her name down, but she never figures it out. The punchline at the end with Tenma receiving a zero grade shows off two things: She's dense, and Harima's a moron, intellectually speaking
I liked chapter six as well. What it served was to introduce a rival character for Harima. Tennoji does fill that role somewhat, but he seems to be a standard-fare, one dimensional delinquent. He mocks Harima's poem, but he does not know that Harima himself wrote it since he didn't sign it. I only wonder what would have happened if he actually did sign it. I think it would have killed the story since 1) Tennoji gets punched out earlier, and 2) Tenma rejects Harima, since she already is in love with Karasuma. Not signing that letter, in fact, continues the story since Harima does not realize (yet) that Tenma is not in love with him.
These chapters primarily featured Harima, with Tenma in the background more or less. He tries to reach out to her in both chapters, but those attempts backfired badly; the zero score on the test that he took, but wrote her name on there, and the misunderstanding with Tennoji and the love letter. Harima's attempts at getting her attention, while they fail like Wile E. Coyote, serves as a source of comedy. Tenma's attempts with Karasuma has a similar effect of failure, but it keeps us laughing. But there is a possibility of these attempts getting old to us after a while, so hopefully a slightly different tract is taken sometime in the future, but then again, the same method's are not being done over and over, which I like in a gag manga. For now though, establishing characters and settings is paramount, as it builds a foundation for things to come (I know what happens later on, so I would think that this is a good assessment.)
I find that these chapters here establish a common theme- misunderstanding; along with the sub-theme of putting your name on something, as seen with the test and with the letter, which leads to Harima placing Tenma's name on his test, and Tennoji lying about the letter. I see the theme of misunderstanding as a primary building block for most of the events in the series.
I like where the series is going, but the only thing I find wrong is the lack of a continuous story. It's all self contained in each single chapter; not a bad thing in a gag manga, but not so much in a romantic comedy. I see this story taking on more of a romantic comedy genre at some point. I think Kobayashi-sensei understands this as well, but we'll see what happens.
Let's see what happens in the next two chapters. Until then, God bless.
Twilight Princess, the first 3D Zelda that I have ever played, is also one of my favorites, and one of the best that I have played.
Allow me to go further, Twilight Princess was released as both a Wii launch title and as one of the last Gamecube games in 2006 (November 19 for the Wii, December 12 for the Gamecube). I have played the Gamecube version a little, but that was after playing the Wii version, so that is the version this review will be based on. So where to begin? Where else, let's talk story, but not Rohn Storey. Be warned, though, there may be spoilers. Part one here will summarize the story somewhat in depth, along with some thoughts on it. Part two will review certain aspects of the story in further depth along with character analysis, and part three will review gameplay and everything else.
I found the story to be well done. It starts of with Link, who starts off as a ranch hand in Ordon Village, leading a normal life, and is then thrown onto action once his village is invaded by monsters, taken into twilight and transformed into a wolf. He meets Midna, who travels with him throughout. Shortly after, he meets Princess Zelda, who explains their situation. They clear out the Twilight in Hyrule, revive the Light Spirits, and recover something called the Fused Shadow. Immediately after finding the last Fused Shadow, they encounter the (false) King of Twilight, Zant, who brings back the twilight, turns Link permanently into a wolf, then restores the light in order to punish Midna.
They then go back to back to Hyrule Castle and meet Zelda again, who reveals more information about how to return to his original form, he would need to find the Master Sword, hidden in the Sacred Grove. She also revives Midna from near death by sacrificing herself and disappears. Link and Midna leave, she feels guilty about Zelda healing her, but they go to the Sacred Realm. After going though a maze and "playing" with a skull kid along the way, they find the remains of a temple, and take on a puzzle challenge from statues guarding the way. The pass and reach the spot where the Master Sword rests. Link is reverted back to his human form, then pulls the sword from it's pedestal.
Midna comes up with a new plan: to find the Mirror of Twilight, the last link to Zant. They head to the Gerudo Desert after finding a lead about a mirror in a prison there, the Arbiters Grounds. They traverse the desert and the dungeon, only to find the mirror broken, the other pieces missing. They go and find the pieces, in the mountains, through time, and in the sky. After gathering the pieces and restoring the mirror, Midna's true identity is revealed. She is the true ruler of Twilight, the Twilight Princess. They then head into the Twilight Realm. After traversing the Palace of Twilight (that word is used a lot), they meet Zant, and he is defeated after revealing himself as a psycho. After his defeat, he reveals information about his "god", Ganondorf, who apparently is in Hyrule Castle. Midna vanquishes Zant and then she and Link head back to the castle. After clearing the castle of monsters, they find Ganondorf in the throne room, who is waiting for them, he also has Zelda, unconsious and hanging midair.
Link and Ganondorf commence battle. First phase: Zelda possessed; after, Ganon transforms into a boar, is defeated, Zelda is restored; Ganon comes back as a giant floating head, Midna fights him using the Fused Shadow, but is defeated, apparently killed. Link and Zelda were teleported outside by Midna beforehand; Ganon reappears, on horseback, and charges in; Zelda obtains the Light Arrows after calling on the Light Spirits. The fight begins with Link and Zelda on his horse, Epona. I will say this, I loved the fight on horseback, I will review this further later on in part three. Link is able to fight Ganondorf with Zelda's help with the Light Arrow, and knocks him off his horse.The final phase is a swordfight between the two, with Link winning out (naturally) by stabbing Ganondorf in the chest. He dies, and shortly thereafter, Midna returns, in her true form! The three of them return to the Mirror of Twilight, Midna leaves and has the mirror destroyed.
Whew! That was a long story summary, I didn't want to lose any context and this is how it came out. I will say I liked the story. While I say that, though, it did have a similar feel to past games; for instance, something happens, Link is thrown into action, gathers a few items, gets the Master Sword, finds more items, and fights the main villain. Twilight Princess is somewhat different in that first, it shows Link actually leading some sort of a productive life as a rancher, whereas in most other games he is an easygoing, but lazy child, as seen in The Wind Waker. That's not to say that the Link of Twilight Princess isn't easygoing, but he does have some additional depth, and I will be writing more on him later. The story is not just about saving Hyrule and rescuing Zelda, it's more about Midna, she had her throne as the ruler of Twilight usurped by Zant, is transformed, then exiled, which explains her motives. The story itself followed the same formula as in past games, first a forest temple, a fire dungeon, and a water temple, then the Master Sword is received. The twist here is that Zant appears, attempts to kill Midna and transforms Link back into a wolf with different magic. My favorite part in the game, though, is when Link receives the Master Sword. The glow of light emanating, overpowering the cloak of evil of Link's wolf self, then the fog claering out as he raises the sword. Epic. That is all.
The story took a lull after finding the first mirror fragment, though I did like the individual dungeons. The Snowpeak Ruins was very well done, being told by Yeta where the key is (not), and instead finding soup ingredients for Yeto (Yeta's husband if you didn't already know). The Temple of Time, however, it was not that impressive, although I do like the nostalgia with the entrance, but the main temple itself, just felt lacking. Sure some of the puzzles were interesting, fight the darknut was awesome, and controlling that big statue afterwards was amazing, but the dungeon felt to linear. You went up a tower and back down and then you fought the most poorly executed boss in the game, Armogohma. I'll talk more of that fight in part 2. The last dungeon before the Palace of Twilight, is The City in the Sky, I found interesting, if a little empty. The puzzles were great, the flying dragon miniboss, which you fight twice, was fun, guessing where he comes out and using your clawshot to bring him in was a great part of it. But, you know what's better than a clawshot, two of them! The puzzles involving them, awesome; the key to beating the boss, very well done. Again, though, I will go into further depth in part 2.
That's it for this part of the review, sorry it's so long, but I do like to go into detail. Part 2 will be up soon. Until then, God bless.
