• Publisher: Nintendo
  • Release Date: Nov 19, 2007
Metascore
68 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 34 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 34
  2. Negative: 1 out of 34
  1. You can argue that Link's Crossbow Training could've been fleshed out with additional levels and modes.
  2. If you plan on getting more Zapper games though, it's worth the plunge. [Jan 2008, p.72]
  3. The most exciting aspect of Link's Crossbow Training is the price. For £20 you get the game and the Wii Zapper in a sleek white box. It's excellent value and helps you to overlook any shortcomings that the game might have.
  4. So while Crossbow Training isn't a deep experience (it really needs online leader boards), it's addictive and justifies buying the Zapper.
  5. The Wii Zapper is a decent peripheral, but it feels cheap. While I question some of the design choices, however, they're easy to get over. Link's Crossbow training is a great introduction into shooting games for those just now getting over Wii Sports.
  6. Even if you feel you're more precise by simply holding the Wii-mote, you definitely have to give the Zapper a try and play until you're awesome at it. It's worth it and it brings the game to a whole new level!
  7. A short but challenging and surprisingly addictive score-based bash. It's great for the price, but proper multiplayer and online scoreboards would have made all the difference.
  8. 80
    It's great for family gaming and the competitive edge offered makes it attractive to core gamers. If only Nintendo had bothered to include global ranked high-score leaderboards.
  9. It's the lightgun version of "Wii Play" - if you liked that, you'll find a lot more to like here. [Jan 2007, p.63]
  10. Good clean fun. [Issue#17, p.84]
  11. Overall you can't go wrong with the Wii Zapper. For a cheap price of $19.99, you get a peripheral and a quality game. Even though the Zapper itself is only a piece of white plastic which may cause you some serious hand cramps, it is nonetheless still functional and lets you break in Link's new toy, the crossbow.
  12. Genuinely good fun for all – A pleasant surprise. [Feb 2008, p.132]
  13. It's cheap and it's fun - Link shoots, and he most definitely scores!
  14. 70
    It's a short, but nevertheless fun demo that reunites Zelda fans with one of Nintendo's greatest icons while simultaneously providing a new way to see the lands and enemies that Link explores and fights respectively. The shooting mechanics are well done and the visual presentation looks like something right out of Twilight Princess – which, obviously, it is.
  15. Though it's extremely short, Link's Crossbow Training is a fun shooting game that's good enough to overshadow the faults of the main part of the package, the Wii Zapper.
  16. 70
    You're better off picking up a third-party Wii lightgun casing if that's what you're after, but Crossbow Training provides a surprisingly satisfyingly -- and cheap -- slice of Zelda all by itself.
  17. Not a full game, but nonetheless surprisingly polished and only costs $20 with the Wii Zapper.
  18. Link's Crossbow Training does an excellent job of throwing in an entertaining couple of hours to start you off with your brand new peripheral.
  19. The Zapper is okay in certain games but this one doesn't need it. Sluggish aiming, too. [Feb 2008, p.48]
  20. What you are really buying when you pick up this bundle is a fun minigame that comes with a packed-in controller novelty. [Feb 2008, p.99]
  21. The Zapper might have its problems and Link's Crossbow Training might be one of the shortest games in history, but for only $20, it fairly fun.
  22. If high scores aren't much of a motivator, the game gets old fast. It's a snap to unlock the entire game in one sitting.
  23. It's just too darn short--you'll probably make it through the entire single-player mode in just over an hour (add another hour to get platinum medals on every stage). [Holiday 2007, p.84]
  24. 65
    Link's Crossbow Training isn't going to change your life, but combined with the Wii Zapper, it's extremely good value. For less than $50, you could do much, much worse.
  25. 65
    I'd suggest you pass this one up unless you're a Wii fanatic, a light-gun aficionado, or a Zelda freak who just has to have every single Link game around. [Feb 2008, p.77]
  26. Don't even bother with the Wii Zapper, it's a gimmick. Link's Crossbow Training is an average shooter which provides short bursts of enjoyment, but overall is a fairly basic game with a few highlights.
  27. It's nice to revisit some of those wonderful Twilight Princess environments, but don't expect the disc to live in your Wii for very long.
  28. 60
    The problem with Link's Crossbow Training is unusual. It's not that it's a bad game. Instead, it's that there's just not enough to it.
  29. 60
    The game looks and sounds like Zelda but truthfully is Zelda in name only. Don't expect to be charmed in the slightest.
  30. We expected more from Nintendo, maybe a game able of bringing home the fun that we used to have on the arcades. They choose to stick with a familiar franchise and create something really simple.
  31. The Wii Remote and Nunchuk work perfectly fine on their own - especially considering the Wii Zapper is both less accurate and less comfortable.
  32. As a budget release you can forgive many of its problems, but that doesn't make it a better game.
  33. In the end, the Wii Zapper is just a hunk of plastic and the game is too short and kind of boring. Link's Crossbow Training will make a nice chunky gift to fill in blank spots under the tree, but all wrapped up like that, you can never be sure exactly what you're getting.
  34. A more thorough multiplayer experience with some form of online component could have raised this game's value substantially.
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 31 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 18
  2. Negative: 2 out of 18
  1. 5
    This game is very enjoyable and has a high replay value. Unfortunately it's a very short experience that leaves you wanting more. It feels more like a mini game that should have been included within Twilight Princess. Full Review »
  2. Pretty cool arcade fun, although it's pretty short lived, the Zapper controller works and feels like a crossbow, and as for the presentation, it's pretty much on par with the basic parts of Twilight Princess. Full Review »
  3. THE WII ZAPPER & LINK'S CROSSBOW TRAINING BUNDLE Ah, "Link's Crossbow Training" and the Wii Zapper, Nintendo's first-party gun "shell" accessory. Ok, so this bundle has been available since this time in 2007, which means I've had it just as long. Why review it, you ask? Because I feel it's long overdue. At first glance, this isn't a bad idea at all. $20 gets you the Zapper and the game "Link's Crossbow Training." If you're buying this, you already own a Wii, which means you have a Wii Remote and Nunchuck. You're all set. Just snap the Remote and Nunchuck into the Zapper, load up "Link's Crossbow Training," and get ready to get familiarized with the Wii Zapper. This is about where the fun ends. For starters, anyone who has ever fired a gun would want the trigger at the rear end of the firearm, not the fore. So naturally you'll grab the Nunchuck-end in your firing hand, and if you do this then you're wrong. "Link's Crossbow Training" uses the B button as the trigger, which is up on the front of the Wii Zapper (because it's on the Remote, not Nunchuck), and does not allow you to customize the control scheme. Even still, "Link's Crossbow Training" isn't unplayable using the packed-in accessory, it's just more difficult than it needs to be. I admit, I haven't played EVERY game that supports the peripheral, but I can only imagine the frustration. Many games, some are WiiWare, some are disc-based, have been made that support the Wii Zapper. Games like "Call of Duty," "Sin and Punishment," and so on. Recently, I tried to use the Wii Zapper with a FPS game that was not listed as supporting the Wii Zapper, "The Conduit." You are given the option to customize the controller layout, so I set it up in a fashion that I felt would make best use of the Zapper. Unfortunately, some actions cannot be mapped to motions, but I saved my setup and plunged into the game...and quickly realized that there is a reason that "The Conduit" doesn't support the Zapper--it makes the game too damn hard! So my overall review of "Link's Crossbow Training" is...I dunno, I haven't thought of a scale. 2 out of 5 coins? The game is worth a rental if you're a Zelda fan or a shooting gallery fan, and should be skipped if you're not. Full Review »