Overview
Link’s Crossbow Training is a spin-off game set in the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess universe. The game uses the Wii Zapper peripheral, which is bundled in with the game. The game is a straightforward lightgun-styled game where the main objective is to shoot as many targets as you can in the time limit to get the best score. The user is rewarded with medals ranging from bronze to platinum based on their score. The game has nine different levels, each containing three stages.
Gameplay
Link’s Crossbow Training uses the Wii Zapper peripheral, which is a plastic container for the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk in the style of a gun. B is used to shoot and Z on the Nunchuk is used to zoom. A is also used to pause the game in the middle of a level.
Scoring is based on how many targets the player can shoot, how close to the center of the target the shot is, and how many targets the player can shoot in order. There are also destructible items spread out throughout each level that give you points, but these items don’t count towards the overall combo. In some levels, one of the destructible items is a bonus item, either an orange rupee or a fairy. The orange rupee gives you points based on how long it takes you to shoot it, and the fairy gives you 1000 points. Other destructible items include skulls, boxes, jugs and pumpkin scarecrows. Pumpkin scarecrows can be shot in the head for 100 points or shot in the chest. If the player shoots it in the chest the head gets bigger and is worth more points. On the eight shot to the chest the head is at it’s largest and is worth 1,000 points. Each stage also has a Triforce piece you can get; each piece is usually worth 50,000 points.
There are four different game styles: Target Shooting, Defender, Ranger, and Boss Battles.
Target Shooting
In Target Shooting levels, the player has to shoot as different targets in the levels. There are three different kinds of targets: red targets, golden targets and blue cross targets. Red targets give you 10 points if shot at the edge or 30 points if shot in the center. Golden targets give you 50 points if shot at the edge or 150 points if shot in the center. And blue cross targets take away 100 points per shot and reset your combo number to 1.
To get the Triforce piece the player usually has to shoot every target in the stage.
Defender
In Defender levels, Link can turn around 360 degrees by aiming at the edge of the screen. The main objective is to shoot all the enemies on the screen before they can attack Link. The enemies are from Twilight Princess, including Staflos and Bokoblins. If the players don’t shoot all of the enemies, the enemies can attack Link, making the player lose 100 points and getting their combo number reset to 1. Some enemies glow green; if Link shoots and kills these enemies, Link gets an automatic crossbow for a limited amount of time. The automatic crossbow shoots at a very fast speed and the player only has to hold the shooting button down to rapid fire.
To get the Triforce piece the player has to shoot a number of enemies before the time runs out.
Ranger
In Ranger levels, The player can full control of Link’s movement by using the analog stick on the Nunchuk. In this mode the objective is to shoot all of the enemies in a certain area within the time limit. Link can be attacked by the enemies at any point in the stage, for example, archer Bulbins shooting Link with flaming arrows. If Link gets hit the player loses 100 points and the combo number resets to 1. The Ranger levels are based on story elements in Twilight Princess, like killing all the Bulbins in the Hidden Village, or shooting Chilfos in the Snowpeak Ruins.
To get the Triforce the player has to shoot every enemy in the level, the amount of points you get for the triforce in this mode depends on the time left for the stage.
Boss Battles
There are two boss battles in the game, stage 3 of Level 8 and stage 3 of Level Finale. The first boss is a Darknut and the second boss is the Stallord boss, the Stallord boss is from the Artiber’s Grounds dungeon from Twilight Princess. The boss battles are a one on one battle between the boss and Link. The Darknut boss uses the Ranger style of gameplay whereas the Stallord boss uses the Defender style of gameplay.
To get the Triforce the player has to defeat the boss before the time limit runs out, and the amount of points you get for the triforce in this mode depends on the time left for the stage.
Multiplayer
The game features a multiplayer mode for up to 4 players. In this mode you can choose a specific stage (not a full level) to compete in, and each player takes turns to try and get the best score, the player with the best score at the end of the stage gets a star next to their name denoting a win, there is no set win option so this mode will keep repeating until the players decide to stop.
Practice
In practice mode the player can play any stage they choose individually to try and can the best score they can. Players choose what stage to play, meaning they don’t have to play an entire level to get to the stage they want.
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