Link may be the hero of legend, but even that divine protection can't completely protect him from the Twilight Kingdom 's bizarre effects. While heading west, we ran into another chunk of the map that's been usurped by this villainous darkness. Anytime Link enters it (with the aid of Twilight-dweller Midna, of course), he's transformed back into his wolf persona. This may seem like a raw deal, but after we stumbled across Kakariko Village and its soul-shattered inhabitants, running around on all fours seemed like a pretty solid deal.
The enveloped villagers not only look like radioactive ghosts, but also fail to even notice that Link is right in front of them. Our first experience in the town takes place inside a barricaded home that also happens to house the three kids who went missing after the first attack on Link's village. They, along with the two adults, wax on and on about how miserable they are and dangerous it is to even open the doors now. Midna then laughingly comments on how lonely you must be, having no people to talk to and your efforts go unnoticed. Zelda's never really been known for its exposition on the lives of its townsfolk, so this particular cinema goes a long to way prove Twilight 's storytelling steps forward.
To restore the area, you're once again recruited by a spirit that's lost its light. Guess what that means? Finding those damn light-bearing crickets again and returning to the magic pond where this lazy spirit resides. We haven't played through to the third dungeon just yet, but here's hoping every one of them isn't preceded by a "gotta catch 'em all" moment with runaway bugs.
It looks like Nintendo knew repeated searches like this would get old quick, so our guess is that each one will introduce something new along the way. Here, we not only learned a new wolf sense (sniffing out scents to track down all kinds of things), but we also made our first trip up Zelda mainstay Death Mountain. As you tune into Link's lupine senses to sniff out the bugs, inky black creatures dive at you from above and flaming piles of rubble constantly tumble down the mountainside - the perilous peaks of Death Mountain have never been this uninviting.
