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Stage 1: Impressions

Stage 2: Analysis

Stage 3: Evaluation

On November 19, 2006, Nintendo accompanied the release of Wii with the highly anticipated Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Now, one year later, Nintendo calls back the hero of Hyrule to assist in the launch of the company's Wii Zapper peripheral. The difference is that Twilight Princess was a full adventure; Link's Crossbow Training is a pack-in. Still, this review will evaluate the title as any other, although the price of the bundle and value of the Wii Zapper will be taken into account.

Link's Crossbow Training features three modes: Score, Multiplayer and Practice. Score mode allows a single player to take on nine different challenges, each divided into three separate missions. Three of these challenge sets are available at the beginning, and players will find the difficulty steadily increases as they earn medals to unlock the next stage. Practice mode, as one might expect, allows players to practice missions they unlock in Score mode.

The missions in all of the challenges follow the order of Target Shooting, Defender and Ranger. Target Shooting has Link moving automatically around the area, typically from the first-person perspective. Defender switches the viewpoint to third person and places Link's in a stationary position from which he can turn 360 degrees to shoot approaching enemies. Ranger gives players full control over Link as he tries to clear an area of foes.

These missions will take players through many locations from Twilight Princess: Ordon Village, Death Mountain, Hyrule Field, Zora River, Temple of Time, Gerudo Desert and more are represented. Fans of the series will likely enjoy the revisit to these environments from a new perspective, but they'll also see them all fairly quickly - it will only take two to three hours to clear all of the missions. The challenges are fun and engaging for the time they last, featuring a good amount of variety even between the three game types. Aiming for the highest medal rank of platinum will keep gamers around for a little longer, as one needs fast reflexes and a steady focus to achieve the best scores.

Now for perhaps the most pressing question: to Wii Zapper or not to Wii Zapper? Link's Crossbow Training is specifically designed with the Wii Zapper in mind, to the extent that the game doesn't even include optional button configurations for those who forgo the peripheral. To be fair, I played through half of the missions with the Wii Zapper and then played through the other half with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Let's just say that my scores improved after losing the peripheral.

I found that the Wii Zapper caused a small, but significant slowdown in aiming speed and accuracy. Granted, this could be a result of being highly familiar with the looser and lighter Wii Remote and Nunchuk setup, but the peripheral still doesn't add much to the experience. The nature of the controls already requires players to stretch their disbelief; affixing another piece of plastic doesn't change that, and may even render this faking all the more obvious.

The Wii Zapper itself has a decent design, but the plastic feels rather cheap - especially where the trigger button is concerned. Away from the hectic floors of E for all where The Wiire first demoed Link's Crossbow Training with the Wii Zapper, the peripheral just seems less satisfying to use. Casual gamers who haven't become accustomed to the Wii Remote and Nunchuk might enjoy using the peripheral, however.

Can the multiplayer mode for up to four players add to the longevity of Link's Crossbow Training? Stay tuned to Stage 2 to find out!