The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Even if you don’t play video games, you’ve almost certainly heard of The Legend of Zelda. Zelda is easily Nintendo’s second biggest franchise, and every installment of the series has been outstanding. Shigeru Miyamoto’s masterpieces have always been defining games for Nintendo’s systems. It is no surprise then that The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker continues this tradition of excellence. Although the new, distinctive artistic style the game features alienated many gamers at first, it has become apparent that Nintendo couldn’t have made a better choice when they created the game.
Like the other Zelda games, the plot revolves around a young hero named Link. This time he must journey to rescue his little sister who is snatched away by a giant bird. He aligns himself with a group of pirates who help him in his rescue attempt, and comes across a mystical talking boat named the King of Red Lions upon which he sails upon the Great Sea himself. Of course, as the young hero sails across the world, his quest becomes much more important than a simple rescue attempt; he is again charged with defending the world from the evil prince, Gannondorf. The plot for this game is interesting not only because it takes place many years after the events in Ocarina of Time, but that it is the first in the series that firmly establishes that Link is not the same hero featured in all the Zelda games. This idea ends up giving more freedom to the Wind Waker and allows the existence of new people and places. The Great Sea upon which Link sails in the Wind Waker is vast and exciting, featuring 49 different islands which can be explored.
As far as graphics are concerned, the cel-shading technique employed by Nintendo is superb. In this case, simplicity leads to outstanding results. The new look fits the game beautifully, and is visually astounding. When I first sailed on the Great Sea with Link, I could not help but be utterly intimidated by the almost solid-blue sea that surrounded me. The islands of the Great Sea are much more vivid, colourful, and pleasing than they could have been otherwise. Link’s own emotions are conveyed clearly and his movements are smooth and deft. It’s very difficult to explain the animation without experiencing it first-hand, so I will just say that the cel-shading style fits the Wind Waker infinitely better than a more realistic approach could ever have. If the reason you are not playing the Wind Waker is because of some kind of ill-conceived protest against the new style of the game, you are missing out on a truly great game.
The gameplay is very much like that of Ocarina of time as there is an action button, an attack button, and three item buttons to which you can assign different inventory items. All the classic items are there, such as the boomerang, the bow and arrow, and the hookshot, but there are a slew of new items that give Link even greater mobility than before. For instance, Link can now float a good distance across uninviting terrain with the Deku Leaf, or he can latch onto different surfaces and climb around rooms with the Grappling Hook. Link also has some new moves, much as his counter attack. A well placed push of the A button will allow Link to pull off some spiffy acrobatics and cause a good deal of damage to the enemy. A major theme in the game is the wind, which can be manipulated and used to Link’s advantage by means of a magic conductor’s baton named – you guessed it – the Wind Waker. It is especially crucial to use the wind to your advantage for getting around the huge map, since Link’s only mode of transportation is the King of Red Lions, a sailboat.
Although the main quest is on the easy side and journeying from island to island can become a little long and repetitive, these are minor issues that really do not detract from the overall experience. You can easily increase the challenge of the game by embarking on one of numerous side quests or mini-games, while sea battles, sunken treasures, and enjoying the scenery occupy your time spent traveling on the sea. I personally never tired of the ocean theme that plays while you sail the sea, which certainly made sailing more of a pleasure as well, although I could see how the music might become a bit repetitive for some.
I could write endlessly about the numerous yet very well-designed dungeons, the many side quests, the plethora of hidden treasure, heart pieces, and secret items to discover, as well as the killer boss battles, but I’ll keep it short and say that this game was executed flawlessly by Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto. The Wind Waker is an entirely worthy installment in a great line of games – perhaps even the best Zelda game of them all. Of course, this point is debatable, and I won’t make any claims in this review; however, there is no doubt whatsoever that you should buy this game.
BY THE NUMBERS:
SOUND: 10 -- The music ranges from bold and intrepid while Link is sailing on the high seas to frantic and frightening as you explore the depths of dungeons and battle bosses. Well-orchestrated music that is a pleasure to listen to and nicely done sound effects pull together to make a fitting and wonderful aural experience.
GRAPHICS: 10 -- The new visual style is a breath of fresh air and absolutely perfect for this game. It’s tough to say that cel-shading is just a fad after this.
GAMEPLAY: 10 -- The Wind Waker incorporates the tried and true item system from the N64 games, smartly thought-up dungeons, an absorbing story, classic Zelda and RPG elements, interesting characters, and everything else that could make a game fun to play.
REPLAY VALUE: 9 -- There is an option to play through the game a second time that unlocks a bunch of hidden extras as well as the ability to collect figurines of every character in the game. Add that to the numerous side-quests and items to find there are already, and it’s no problem whatsoever to play through this game a second time.
BEATING THE FINAL BOSS: 10 -- Hands down the coolest way you beat the final boss in any Zelda game. It’s worth it to play the game just to see this. Trust me.
OVERALL: 10 -- Do I even need to say it? Of course it’s a 10. Although I hate to keep comparing it to Ocarina of Time, I’d say it’s quite possibly my favorite game to come out since then.
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