Keepers is a weekly segment in which I discuss games I’ve played that I’ve seen fit to keep after playing. I generally sell a game that I’ve finished, so the only reason I keep one is because I plan to replay the game some day. Classifying a game as a “keeper” is generally a badge of merit.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is one of those games that everyone who owns a Wii seems to own. I’d never before been a huge Zelda fan – I’d never even tried the much-hyped Ocarina of Time. But I had a shiny new Wii, and I’d liked previous Zeldas, so I gave it a shot.

Twilight Princess has more variety in its gameplay than just about any other game I’ve ever played, and it does it all so well. It does horseback riding better than Oblivion, wall-walking better than Prey, and puzzles better than most games. There was even a boss battle worthy of Shadow of the Colossus.

There are minigames absolutely everywhere. If you’re looking for diversions from the main quest, there’s certainly no shortage. Everything from goat herding, archery, and snowboarding to boating and hang gliding minigames. You even end up sumo wrestling at one point. And the mechanics of the fishing minigame have been heavily advertised. I didn’t do much of it, but with multiple fishing rods, multiple lures, and many different kinds of fish, it gets pretty intricate. There’s also a rhythm minigame when you’re in wolf form that starts easy, and gets quite difficult by the end of the game.

Twilight Princess has been out long enough that if you’ve never tried it, you can likely get a used copy for a song. Personally, I’ll be keeping mine. If you’re interested in reading the original review that I wrote a couple years ago, you can check it out here.