History YMMV / TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess

* VindicatedByHistory: There was a time after this game came out where it became socially acceptable not only to like ''The Wind Waker'', but to start comparing it to ''Twilight Princess'' favorably. Once ''Skyward Sword'' came out, suddenly the same happened to this game. Though there are still some controversial aspects about it (such as the HijackedByGanon scenario, the SlowPacedBeginning, and the dated visuals), players have looked back on it as a good game because of the dungeons, the darker story, the new items and sword skills, a very popular sidekick, and (among timeline theorists) the subtle-yet-plentiful background nods to ''Ocarina of Time''. Also, the HD remaster brightens it up, addressing the complaints about the original's RealIsBrown aesthetic. Ganondorf's inclusion in this game also began being looked upon more fondly, as his characterization in the mainline games as a cunning, FauxAffablyEvil ManipulativeBastard has dwindled in favor of portraying him as the near-mindless beast that is Ganon, if he appears at all. When ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom Tears of the Kingdom]]'' came out years later, elements such as tear-collecting, atmospheric dungeons, and Ganondorf himself all made their return and were all well-received, indicating how many fans have warmed up to ''Twilight Princess'''s design elements over time.

* VindicatedByHistory: There was a time after this game came out where it became socially acceptable not only to like ''The Wind Waker'', but to start comparing it to ''Twilight Princess'' favorably. Once ''Skyward Sword'' came out, suddenly the same happened to this game. Though there are still some controversial aspects about it (such as the HijackedByGanon scenario, the SlowPacedBeginning, and the dated visuals), players have looked back on it as a good game because of the dungeons, the darker story, the new items and sword skills, a very popular sidekick, and (among timeline theorists) the subtle-yet-plentiful background nods to ''Ocarina of Time''. Also, the HD remaster brightens it up, addressing the complaints about the original's RealIsBrown aesthetic. Ganondorf's inclusion in this game also began being looked upon more fondly, as his characterization in the mainline games as a cunning, FauxAffablyEvil ManipulativeBastard has dwindled in favor of portraying him as the near-mindless beast that is Ganon, if he appears at all. When ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom Tears of the Kingdom]]'' came out years later, elements such as tear-collecting, atmospheric dungeons, and Ganondorf himself all made their return and were all well-received, indicating how many fans have warmed up to ''Twilight Princess'''s design elements over time.

* RealismInducedHorror: Some of [[BigBad Zant]]'s actions are pretty disturbing by real life standards[[note]]for starters, he usurped the throne and started a war that costed more to his own kind than the ones he attacked[[/note]], but one particular detail is [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil how he treats Midna like a lust object]]. The Lakebed spring scene where he drools into her ear and where she's too afraid to move makes him look like a sexual predator holding his victim under his claws and trying to submit her to his will (calling her "''[[EntitledToHaveYou My]]'' [[EntitledToHaveYou Midna]]" in the process), and during the flashback before the Twilight Realm, he looks like he's about to physically assault her.

* RealismInducedHorror: Some of [[BigBad Zant]]'s actions are pretty disturbing by real life standards[[note]]for starters, he usurped the throne and started a war that costed more to his own kind than the ones he attacked[[/note]], but one particular detail is [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil how he treats Midna like a lust object]]. The Lakebed spring scene where he drools into her ear and where she's too afraid to move makes him look like a sexual predator holding his victim under his claws and trying to submit her to his will, and during the flashback before the Twilight Realm, he looks like he's about to physically assault her.

** Despite being a JerkWithAHeartGold in the game proper, many fans like to exaggerate [[ChildProdigy Malo]]'s CreepyChild aspects to portray him as a [[HumanoidAbomination demonic]], calculating mastermind who is an even bigger threat to Hyrule than ''[[TheAntiChrist Ganondorf]]''.
** Similarly, Agitha is a harmless NiceGirl, yet her [[{{Cloudcuckoolander off-putting behavior]], strange dialogue, and [[BeetleManiac bizarre obsession with bugs]] make it easy to claim that she's harboring some kind of dark secret.

* ContestedSequel: To ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' '''and''' ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]''. Considering that this and the latter are very different, and this and the former are quite similar, disputes over this game predictably end up contested by either party. Most of the debate comes from whether ''Twilight Princess'' is an EvenBetterSequel to ''Ocarina of Time'' that takes its formula and improves on it, or whether its similarities to ''Ocarina'' [[ItsTheSameSoItSucks don't make it unique enough]].

* FandomRivalry:
** With ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', as explained under ContestedSequel. As the two games have radically different art styles and structures, such a rivalry would be inevitable. It doesn't help that ''Wind Waker'' has earned many supporters over time, while ''Twilight Princess'' is criticized by the same fans while the opposite is quite rare, which only heats up negative opinions on both sides. This rivalry was rekindled with the announcement of ''Twilight Princess HD'' for the ''Wii U'', as now both of the Gamecube entries have a high definition remaster on the same console. A common argument among both fanbases is which game received the "better" remaster treatment, particularly in areas relating to the graphics and gameplay streamlining.
** For one year and a half since its release, fans of this game often debated with fans of ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', as the latter was inspired by the ''Zelda'' series and yet there were players who felt the latter game felt more fresh and unique than the former. Creator/HidekiKamiya feeling disappointed over ''Twilight Princess'' didn't help. It was mitigated when ''Okami'' was ported to the Wii in 2008, allowing players to play and enjoy both games on the same system, but it's still common for fans of ''Okami'' to call their game "what ''Twilight Princess'' should have been".

* CompleteMonster: [[PsychopathicManchild Zant]] is a maniacal member of the Twili who [[DealWithTheDevil aligns himself]] with [[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaGanonGanondorf Ganondorf]] in exchange for power, before overthrowing Midna and conquering the Twilight Realm, earning the title of "[[TheUsurper Usurper King]]". After [[ForcedTransformation transforming]] Midna into an imp and turning the rest of their kind into mindless Shadow Beasts, Zant begins extending his tyrannical reign into Hyrule. There, he executes the Zora queen in front of her people and freezes them all, leaving them to die; invades Hyrule Castle and forces Princess Zelda to surrender in exchange for the lives of her people; envelops Castle Town in Twilight, turning all of its citizens into terrified spirits; and attempts to permanently trap Link in a wolf form and kill Midna by forcing her into the light. When confronted in his palace, Zant calls the duo "traitors", ranting about how he alone deserves the throne before viciously attacking Link in a final battle. Despite being a mere [[PuppetKing pawn]] in Ganondorf's scheme, Zant stands out due to his sheer depravity and treacherous nature.

* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: The most common criticism about the game is that ''Twilight Princess'' feels too much like a rehash of ''Ocarina of Time''. The story is very much a SamePlotSequel involving getting the first set of {{Plot Coupon}}s, then the Master Sword, then the second set of Plot Coupons, and much of the dungeons (particularly up to and including the Arbiter's Grounds) use largely the same level tropes as ''Ocarina of Time''. Some fans even feel that hewing close to ''Ocarina of Time''[='=]s tropes wasn't bad in itself, they also feel that the game failed to feel like a "scaled up" version of ''Ocarina of Time'', especially when the [[UsefulNotes/TheSixthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames sixth generation]] as a whole introduced many games such as ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' which featured larger and more densely populated worlds.

* SacredCow: [[{{Deuteragonist}} Midna]] is widely considered to be not only the best [[ExpositionFairy companion character]] in the series, but one of the series' best characters ''period''. Many cite her strong CharacterDevelopment, memorable design, and [[DeadpanSnarker snarky attitude]] as major improvements over Link's previous (and following) partners. Even [[BrokenBase those who dislike]] ''Twilight Princess'' will gladly concede that Midna is one of the series' strongest characters. Her popularity within the fanbase led to her inclusion in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' and her helmet being found as a collectible in both the DLC for ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]''and the base game for ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom Tears of the Kingdom]]''.

** ''Twilight Princess'' is the only ''Zelda'' with a day/night system that does not give you the ability to change the time of day at will. This can be annoying since the Poe Souls sidequest can only be done at night, and the Golden Bug hunt is easier at night because the glowing insects are more visible. Like in ''Ocarina of Time'', the day/night doesn't change in non-overworld areas (the whole Ordon region, Faron Woods, Kakariko and the cemetery), requiring you to backtrack to other areas where it changes and wait it out.

** Escorting the Zora prince to Kakariko Village features constantly-respawning boar riders who shoot burning arrows to set the wagon on fire, and flying enemies who keep dropping bombs that send the wagon off-course, and can easily lead to looping around the same map because you weren't fast enough to kill the birds before the dropped their bombs. Thankfully, the wagon can be put out by extinguishing the fires with the Gale Bboomerang.

** [[SlippySlideyIceWorld Snowpeak Ruins]] is a creepy, yet oddly cozy, abandoned mansion on a snowy mountain, inhabited by an adorable yeti couple that guide Link through and share freshly-cooked with him.

** Despite its frightening appearance, [[GiantSpider Armogohma]] is a very satisfying boss to defeat because you get to [[DropTheHammer bring down the hammer]] on it with the Dominion Rod. For arachnophobes, it's essentially like playing whack-a-mole against NightmareFuel incarnate.

** ''Twilight Princess'' is the only ''Zelda'' with a day/night system that does not give you the ability to change the time of day at will. This can be annoying since the Poe Souls sidequest can only be done at night, and the Golden Bug hunt is easier at night because the glowing insects are more visible. Like in ''Ocarina of Time'', the day/night doesn't change in non-overworld areas (the whole Ordon region, Faron Woods, Kakariko and the cemetery), requiring you to backtrack to other areas where it changes.

** ''Twilight Princess'' is the only ''Zelda'' with a day/night system that does not give you the ability to change the time of day at will. This can be annoying since the Poe Souls sidequest can only be done at night, while the Golden Bug hunt is easier at night because the glowing insects are more visible. Like in ''Ocarina of Time'', the day/night doesn't change in some areas (the whole Ordon region, Faron Woods, Kakariko and the cemetery), requiring you to backtrack to other areas where it changes.

** You cannot [[WarpWhistle Warp]] using the Twilight Realm Portals unless you first ask Midna to transform you into a wolf. Then ask her to warp Link, then ask her ''again'' to transform you back into human form. This unnecessary switching back and forth gets repetitive on a 100% run. To further rub salt in, Midna Warps Link away ''in human-form'' during in the final battle, so there was never any [[GameplayAndStorySegregation story or gameplay]] prerequisite to change into beast form.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny:
** Similar to ''[[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros1 New Super Mario Bros.]]'' released in the same year, ''Twilight Princess'' was highly anticipated and unanimously praised at its time of release for being a return to ''Ocarina of Time''[='s=] beloved formula after the unconventional and controversial (at the time) ''Majora's Mask'' and ''The Wind Waker''. Its RealIsBrown aesthetic was also praised for being a return to the "mature" ''Zelda'' style for which fans had been clamoring, especially since ''The Wind Waker'' and ''Minish Cap'' had raised fears that the series was falling into the AnimationAgeGhetto. Nowadays, ''Twilight Princess'' is more contested for these very reasons: some feel that [[ItsTheSameSoItSucks its formula is too derivative]], and that its "realistic" graphics come across as dull, drab, and [[TechnologyMarchesOn slightly outdated]], especially since ''Zelda'' games have shown a much wider variety of formulas, art styles, and tones ever since. Despite this, the game's very high production values and creative ideas show through, and it still has a lot of fans.
** The gigantic game world - one of the game's biggest selling points, yet one that was contested due to its emptiness and lack of cohesiveness - was overshadowed by that of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', which introduced an even bigger, less linear and more cohesive overworld with more things to do and much higher interactivity.