What is The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker?
Wind Waker is an action-adventure game in the Legend of Zelda franchise that came out in 2002 for the Nintendo Gamecube. Wind Waker also got an HD port to the Nintendo Wii U in 2013. The game follows series protagonist Link but in a much different setting than we usually see him. The game takes place on a vast ocean with many inhabited islands comprising the land, and features a unique cel-shaded art style with cartoonish characters. I played the original release of Wind Waker on a Gamecube and the game takes around 25-30 hours to complete the main story.
Game Review:
Wind Waker is the follow-up to Majora’s Mask that I have also reviewed. Many fans at the time that Wind Waker came out were expecting a darker, grittier Zelda game with a more realistic art style. Boy were they wrong about what Wind Waker would be. It takes on a cel-shaded cartoon art style that was hated by many at the time. But as time has gone on, this game has aged beautifully and even the Gamecube version of the game is still one of the best looking 3D Zelda games ever. I personally love the art style that they chose for this game; from the way that characters are modeled to the little things like the explosions that bombs make I absolutely adore this art style. It adds a layer of whimsy and charm that I think a more realistic art style, especially on that hardware, wouldn’t have been able to replicate. I also think this is my personal favorite iteration of Link. This Link is the most facially expressive Link I’ve ever seen. The amount of effort they put into the animations of his face as well as his full body is quite impressive, and they top it off with great cartoonish audio design. I think this is my favorite Zelda game to look at based on its art style.
Wind Waker has some of my favorite worldbuilding in the franchise, and I love the world of basically every Zelda game I’ve played. What I’m going to write next may seem like a spoiler, but it is explained as the first thing in the game, before you even start your story as Link. Wind Waker is set in a world where Ganondorf won in Hyrule. He was conquering and ravaging the land and the only hope of the people was to pray to the gods who then told them to evacuate to the mountaintops because they were going to flood the world. This flooding creates a world of mountaintop islands in the middle of a vast ocean. This super creative backstory wonderfully explains a Hyrule like we have never seen before. And this change to the world requires adaptations from its people, creatures, and monsters. People learn to be sailors, with Pirates being common upon the waters. Zoras have adapted into the Rito, bird-people who use the wind to their advantage on their island. The Kokiri have changed into the Koroks, little woodland creatures who can use leaves as propellers and gliders. I just love how the world changed drastically and it also shows in the lives of those who inhabit this world.
The story in Wind Waker is similar to most Zelda games, it’s basic and simple enough that most kids could follow along too. But without getting into spoilers this game does throw some twists and turns that could be really cool if you don’t already know them. Much like the wind's unpredictability, I think this game manages to keep things fresh and new and not always what you expect. And one of the best parts about this story to me is that it makes Ganondorf a little sympathetic, making this one of my favorite depictions of Ganondorf.
There is one point specifically that I want to touch on but it will require me to use spoilers so if you don’t want to read story specific details: SPOILERS AHEAD - SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH.
The part of the story that irked me the most was when we discovered that Tetra is actually Princess Zelda. That reveal in itself is cool but I hate what happens after that. Tetra is this capable pirate that has traveled all over the sea and fought many monsters and enemies. But when she is revealed as Zelda they put her in the classic princess dress and then basically seclude her into hiding. I understand why they did it, because Ganondorf was after her but I dislike that she was isolated and hidden even though she was capable of defending herself. This switch completely stripped her of all the impressive skills and prowess Zelda had as Tetra at the beginning of the game. I did appreciate how they brought her in to help during the final boss fight though, that had some really cool moments.
Okay, we’re out of the spoiler zone now. The next aspect of Wind Waker I want to talk about is the mechanics. I actually really like the combat mechanics in Wind Waker more than most other Zelda games. I believe this is the first Zelda game to introduce a parry mechanic that gives Link an extra technique to fight enemies who have great guards. This Link also feels faster and more nimble than many other links giving combat a really satisfying feeling. The combat in this game is not very hard though, I don’t think I ever died to an enemy in this game except for the final boss fights, I would often get hit by an enemy and only lose a quarter of a heart which is not much at all. The balancing could’ve been better but I understand that this game is designed for children.
Wind Waker introduces the first instances of the Deku Leaf and the grappling hook. These are interesting items that allow Link to do things that are emphasized greatly in the design of this game like crossing large gaps through the air. Link also utilizes a conductor’s baton as his musical instrument. This is not my favorite instrument that he uses throughout the franchise but I was impressed by a mechanic that I have not seen in other Zeldas: The changing of the musical time. You can play songs in different time signatures: ¾, 4/4, and 6/4 time. I’m not particularly musical but I thought that was interesting and unique.
Dungeons in Wind Waker are generally really good, most of them utilize the unique abilities that Link obtains: all of which lend themselves to this wide open, exploration based world that is emblematic of the freedom by which the wind blows. There was one dungeon in particular that stood out like a sore thumb and was my least favorite in the game and that’s the first dungeon at the Forsaken Fortress. You will enter this dungeon more than once but I disliked the first time because you lose your sword and have to do the whole dungeon as a big stealth mission. I wouldn’t normally mind stealth except that in this dungeon, once you’re seen, it triggers a cut where you end up thrown into a jail cell that you need to escape. And this is likely to happen multiple times as it is hard to avoid all detection. Good stealth sections and games that I’ve played give you options to re-enter stealth or defend yourself when you’re spotted. In Wind Waker, it doesn’t matter. If you’re spotted you go to the cell and start over. Outside of this one dungeon however, I found all of them to be engaging and interesting with how they utilize not only equipment but also companions.
Many people complain about the tedium of Wind Waker, particularly the end game where you need to find the maps to the Triforce shards in addition to finding the shards themselves. I understand how this could be seen as awful and tedious, but personally I found pleasure in filling out my world map. I thought of it as a long, fun treasure hunt all over the ocean, most likely because I didn’t wait until the very end to do it. I gathered the charts and shards as I went through the world to dungeons and mainline activities. It spread out the task and helped me explore the ocean and its islands in a carefree, slow-paced way. I think this game lends itself well to those who are willing to be a little more patient and enjoy the journey as much as the destination.
Family Friendliness:
Wind Waker is one of the most family friendly games in a very family friendly franchise. Its cartoonish art style paired with its humor will lend itself very well to being played in front of or by kids. The world emphasizes color and freedom and is in general much less scary than some Zelda games can get.
Features for Parents:
Wind Waker came out over 20 years ago so there aren’t a lot of specific features implemented for accessibility or ease of play. It has a good pause feature that works when you need it to except during cutscenes. It has a good save feature, and since the world is split up into islands you won’t really run into the issue of saving somewhere and being transported somewhere completely different when you load it back up. And the game is fairly easy so there won’t be much time wasted on repeating battles or obstacles.
Final Verdict:
It honestly surprised me how much I love this game. I love the Zelda franchise but playing Wind Waker for the first time gave me pause about what my favorite Zelda game ever was. It almost overtook Ocarina of Time as my personal favorite which is some of the biggest kudos I can give this game. Its emphasis on discovery and freedom is felt in all aspects of this game: dungeons, combat, story, and worldbuilding. This is a must play for any Zelda fans and still holds up incredibly all this time later.
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