Pros
- The style of graphics really worked well with this game.
- The graphics themselves are beautiful and smooth, a great example of how cel-shading should be done.
- The controls are nearly flawless.
- The ability to control the camera is a very welcome addition. The camera system in previous 3D Zelda games was amazing, and now it's better than ever!
- The ability to target multiple enemies with the boomerang is another nice touch.
- The lighting effects are very well done.
- The story in this game is among the best ever in a Zelda game. I especially liked the incorporation of Ocarina of Time into this game.
- The day/night system is expanded upon - the moon now changes phases.
- You can now cycle through different types of arrows while using the bow instead of having to pause, switch to another type of arrow, pull out the bow, and start aiming all over again.
- You can switch between a zoomed-in map and a map that shows the entire area you're in.
- On-screen maps are now in color.
- You can actually pick up items enemies drop with the boomerang/hookshot.
- The constellations Orion and The Big Dipper can be found in the night sky.
- All the new mini-games are great, especially the Battleship game.
- The Nintendo Gallery side quest is a brilliant idea.
- The battle system is better than ever! The new parry move and the ability to use weapons enemies drop are very welcome and refreshing additions.
- You can now climb diagonally up walls.
- Enemy AI (artificial intelligence) is impressive.
- Enemies can now hurt each other.
- Enemies are now shown on the map.

Cons
- The music was once again average with a few memorable songs here and there.
- I enjoyed the sailing aspect of the game so this is hardly a con, but I prefer land-based travel.
- You can only warp while you are in the boat.
- The shadows are nice, but they don't always appear on vertical surfaces. While an improvement over the "dot shadows" of the N64 games, they could stand to be improved a lot.
- The distance blur was a bit overused. Yeah, things get blurry as they get farther away, but they're not blurry five feet away. And they're not that blurry when they're farther off.
- The bomb cannon needed a bit of work. There was no aiming system, it was pure guess-and-check.
- The game seemed a bit rushed. Why isn't there a dungeon to collect the third pearl? Why do you get the fire and ice arrows at the same time (and why don't you have to do anything to get them)?
- The random weather system is a step in the right direction, but the rain always falls towards the boat, not in the direction the wind is blowing.
- You can't keep letters you get.
- The delivery bag was underused.
- Instead of having to hold a certain direction on the control stick to change the time when using the Wind Waker, it should have been used to cycle through times when pressing right or lefft.
- You can only store up to three pictures at a time. This made the Nintendo Gallery side quest more tedious than it had to be. (There should have at least been a system of sending Carlov pictographs you took so you don't have to keep moving between islands while taking pictures.)
- You have to wait a day for Carlov to finish a statue - and he can only do one per day.
- The displays in the bottom left corner of the screen don't stay the way you set them.
- Seeing as the game was obviously cartoonish, why did we have to restart a room each time Link fell into a lava pit (even though he flew up away from the lava)? Why couldn't we maneuver Link away from danger á la Mario 64?
- While there are different charts that show you where things like Heart Container Pieces are located, you don't mark the charts once you've collected whatever treasures are being shown to you. So, for example, if a chart tells me that there is one Heart Container Piece on Greatfish Isle, but it doesn't get crossed off once I get it, the chart is basically useless.
- You can't skip through any of the text that appears after you get a treasure chest item.
- There wasn't enough land. Not that there was too much water, but it's a bit unrewarding to sail for about a minute to get to an island that takes ten seconds to run across. The smallest islands should have been the size of Outset Island.