Link is back again with another Gamecube adventure titled The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, though the cute child-like character we saw in his previous Wind Waker excursion is gone. We are left with a significantly more adult and life-like version of the character that should assauge the complaints fans had with the outgoing art style of Wind Waker. On an interesting side note, Nintendo has revealed that this incarnation of Link is not the one found in Ocarina of Time or Wind Waker, but how this Link relates to the others has been left rather inscrutable up to this point.

The demo presented a number of scenarios from the game, the first being Link as a young farmhand in a small village, learning the ropes of horse-riding and combat. Here we see the would-be savior of Hyrule coming from very meager beginnings, waiting to ascend to his ineluctable destiny. And that destiny comes rather soon, as a villager is kidnapped by some orc-looking creatures riding boars that Link is forced to attack atop his trusty steed. This portion of the demo showcased the horse combat mechanic, which while simple, worked quite well. While on horseback, it was possible to attack by swinging Link's sword, as well as use bursts of speed to catch up to the orc riders.

Later portions of the demo had Link in a forest temple scenario, where he was forced to perform some puzzle-solving to open doors in the sort of fashion we have come to expect from Zelda games. Naturally, during the course of running about the temple, combat situations presented themselves, and here we saw the triumphant return of "Z-targeting", whereby holding down a button allows Link to "target" an enemy. Subsequent movement of the analog stick allowed Link to circle around the targeted creature, and with the coupling of the dodge button and an analog direction, Link was able to perform a tactical evasion. And of course, Link is able to wield his sword to attack, and employ the use of his shield for blocking incoming assaults.

In addition to these offensive tools, the demo would have us believe Link will be able to augment his arsenal with some very impressive toys. In the forest temple, it was possible to acquire a Gale Boomerang, which in addition to carrying the mighty power of returning after a throw, created a turbulent blast of air in its wake. The thought of what other goodies Nintendo will be outfitting Link with is absolutely intoxicating at this point.

Also presented was one of the mainstays of the franchise, as what dungeon in a Zelda game would be complete without the requisite boss battle? The demo at the Nintendo booth featured one such foe, which was a wicked looking carnivorous plant, found at the end of the forest temple level. Upon seeing the daunting creature, it was obvious Link would have a tough fight on his hands. To make matters worse, above our hero was a malicious monkey swinging around the area trying to drop bombs on Link.

In standard Zelda fashion, it was not enough to simply start slashing away at the plant monster, but rather, Link had to discover the boss's pattern and exploit a weak point to gain victory. It was interesting to note how sinister and menacing the creature appeared, and seems indicative of the more mature themes Nintendo plans for this adventure to evoke.

On top of all this, not shown in the demo is a twilight world that will be featured in the game (something like the Dark World in the SNES game A Link to the Past), where Link is transformed into a wolf, and ridden by a diminutive impish fellow. This game definitely has promise, and should do the franchise justice by sticking with a solid gameplay formula, while delivering an all new Zelda experience with very attractive graphics.

View more screenshots in our The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Gallery.