Homage to the old, or tired overuse of dated mechanics... hard to say either way
So, let's start off with the Gameplay. This is classic Zelda. You got your puzzles, your dungeons, your various tools, and all the trappings you expect of a Zelda game. Beyond some of the old stuff, like bow and boomerang, you got the disc and double claw shot which are nice new stuff in the mix. Link is also doing his impersonation of a werewolf this time out, able to, and forced to, take wolf form through many sequences of the game. All and all it's everything you've come to expect from Zelda... which is where it goes a little wrong. I found playing this felt a bit uncomfortably like I was playing an expansion pack for OOT. Now, OOT is a great game, no doubt about it, but this is a 2006 GC/Wii game, not a N64 game, so why has so little changed? I keep looking at games like Okami, and Shadow of the Colossus, even *shutter* Starfox adventures and keep thinking they could have done so much more. Even Wind Waker seems to have been more of a progression than TP in the series and it hurts this title just that little bit.
More over, certain pieces of the mechanics are really in need of fix. This auto-jump stuff has to go, or at least be smartened up. As nice as the wolf form is, it's so underpowered compared to your human form, you'll end up avoiding it most the time. Horseback combat was nice but badly underutilized, and Epona really needs more of an overhaul. It still feels like I'm riding a mechanical toy rather than an animal with the way Epona's controls really haven't evolved any. Finally, although you do get some new tools to toy with, they come so late in the game they don't have much impact.
Still, all in all, it very solid game play, but this is really the last time I can give this to Nintendo.
Now, how about those graphics? A lot of people will say they're awesome, and they are definitely and the high end of GC, but there is a few nagging issue I just can't let them off on. For instance, you can walk upside down using the iron boots, but half the time your hat acts as if you're right side up. I could overlook that if it was all the time, or none, but not half and half. This is frankly a bug that should have been caught in testing. Other little bits aren't there either, like when aiming you're as stiff as a board (Metroid Prime got this right), and some environment overly abuse the same textures too much. Overall, it's still a very good looking game by GC standards, but you can tell they could have done a bit more.
Now, if you've read some of my other review, you'll know I'm very forgiving on sound. Unfortunately, I can't be this time. What is with this synth BS?! Come on Nintendo, higher some real musicians for pity sakes. Nearly every piece of music in the game sounds like it was taken out of the Nintendo archives. I can let you off on the voices, but this music just can't be allowed. Above all else, this is what made me feel like this game was dated, and that's sad because it's such a simple part of games nowadays to get some real music in there.
So, are you getting your money's worth, I think so. I don't really have any major complaints value wise. The only reason I knock it that 1 mark is because it does feel like an expansion pack rather than a new game, and if you're like me, you've played OOT, MM, and WW to death and never want to see them again. Instead of entering TP like it's a new game, ready to be add to that list of games to play to death, it feels like I've already played through it a few times.
Tilt is where I'm sort of 50/50 on. I kinda want to give it a 9.5, but I can't so 9 it is. It's still a very good game, and I hammer on it's weaknesses only because I like it enough to really notice those points. But, having played games that seem to have taken key points of the action adventure game play and gone somewhere with them, it just feels like Nintendo could have and should have done more here.