The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

There are lots of good things about this game. The music (at least towards the beginning of the game) is catchy, the controls are easy to learn, and gameplay is usually interesting. The graphics are great, and the expressions on faces are well done. The camera control is great. All in all, it's much better than Ocarina of Time.

This game does, however, have some problems. Getting around is really tedious. The world is big, but there isn't much there. So you find yourself changing the direction of the wind (do I have to play that stupid tune again?) and then putting the controller down while you wait out your long ride to the next island.

Some of the most annoying features of Ocarina of Time have been brought back to this one. There are some puzzles that really make you want to stop playing ("How in the world was I supposed to figure that out?"), and using the windwaker to perform tasks is a somewhat tedious process. Why don't they just have a simple command menu instead? There are a lot of things you need to do in the game that don't add to the enjoyment or the interest or the storyline, but just seem to be there in order to lengthen the gameplay.

There are some puzzles that need to be played over and over until you get them right. It's this way in just about every trademark game by Nintendo that I can think of (and, in my opinion, this is bad design). However, there aren't as many of these as there are in Ocarina of Time, and it's much less of an issue than it is in games like Super Mario Sunshine (ack!).

The fun, the challenge, and great graphics make this game a good one. Still, I had to stop every once in a while and play Metroid Prime instead, just to remind myself why I bought the GameCube in the first place.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is the latest entry in the classic saga.

First off, I just want to say...Wow. This game is an experience. Taking place on the ocean instead of the familiar realm of Hyrule, you sail around to several different islands in the course of play.

The sea is huge, a 7 by 7 square grid dotted all over with islands. The story is new, and plays as a loose sequel to Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Now I know that would sound kind of stupid, considering that they are all part of a series, and would of course be connected. But its different here. Just watch the opening cinematic.

The game play is wonderful, from sailing and retrieving treasure chests to the familiar Zelda formula, it works on every level.

The graphics are amazing. Never before has Cel-Shaded graphics been done to such an extent. It's really quite wonderful. When you roll, dust flies. Your ship cuts through the water as it sails, and lets not forget the waves and the wind blowing in certain directions.

To go deeper into the story, let me just say that it is a bit of a departure from the earlier editions. This time it is about Link (of course) who sets out with pirates to retake his kidnapped sister, and he is thrown into dark and sinister implications, and has to rise to his destiny. All while trying to get her back. There still isn't voice acting, just words on the screen. Which is good, because no voice acting can't seriously be a con, but terrible voice acting can.

Several new characters and a whole new world to explore recreate the Zelda scene with riveting force. Some may complain that there's too much sailing. They can stick with Serious Sam if they can't sit down that long.

Some may gripe about the cel-shaded graphics. But their best argument tends to be "its stupid." My only problem isn't really a problem. I just with they would have kept something in the game in alignment with the Ocarina of Time. No real bother.

Anyway, I give it a 9.8 out of 10. My second favorite GameCube game. (Just behind Metroid Prime.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is the first Zelda title for the Nintendo GameCube. It was developed over two years from 2000 to 2002. The game remains a fan favorite and has been called one of the best games of all time.

Graphics-10/10 This game does cel-shading right. At first glance, this game seems to be just another cel-shaded game. Looking deeper, one notices the lack of a black outline, setting this game apart from other cel-shaded games. Looking still further will yield effects such as specular and bump mapping, depth of field blur, and even an advanced physics engine governing soft-body dynamics and certain gravity-affected objects such as rolling objects and rope bridges. The cel-shading style is supplemented by different shaders for different objects, such as a softer, more realistic shading system for structures. This all culminates in a game that does not look like a cartoon, but rather looks like it takes place in a cartoon world.

Sound-9/10 The game's music is top-notch, especially the theme for one of the islands. While the game does not have as much memorable tunes as Ocarina of Time had, it still has a decent amount of good music. However, the music is entirely MIDI-based, with the exception of cutscene audio, which is recorded MIDI tracker audio, a first for the series. While the quality of the MIDI samples is pretty nice, especially the solo voice samples (which sound like live singers), for the most part, the samples sound dated. However, the quality of the samples may lend a certain charm to some tracks in the game.

Gameplay-9/10 This game utilizes elements first introduced in Ocarina of Time. The Z-targeting feature returns as L-targeting. Combat is tight, fluid, and very well done. The free camera is so good, I will go so far as to say it is the best free camera of all time. It is extremely fluid, and when left to its own devices, the camera will automatically adjust according to where Link is facing. However, the game itself is rather on the short side. While combat is top-notch, the difficulty is too easy. Only later in the game does the difficulty pick up somewhat with combat, but not much with puzzles. The massive ocean overworld lends the game an amazing "lonely" atmosphere matched only by games such as Minecraft. You feel as if you were Link sailing the oceans and landing on the islands. Despite the atmosphere, the sailing can get extremely tedious, and the addition of warping only helps a little. Overall, however, gameplay is what is expected out of a Zelda game-that is to say, nothing short of excellent.

Overall-9/10 The main problem with this game is its length. The previous Zelda game, Majora's Mask, was produced by Eiji Aonuma, who was previously just another developing team member for Zelda games. Majora's Mask's development was heavily aided by the usage of the Ocarina of Time game engine, leaving ample time to develop gameplay elements, sidequests, and story. Development took just 2 years. The Wind Waker was also developed in two years by Aonuma. However, The Wind Waker falls short of Majora's Mask in many areas. Eiji tried to pull a Majora's Mask and failed due to the necessity of creating a completely new engine along with gameplay elements and story. The result was a too-soon deadline and an unfinished game that the developers barely managed to finish with one of the greatest video game endings of all time. Indeed, with all its flaws, The Wind Waker still manages to be one of the greatest video games of all time, though it certainly isn't as good as Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask.

I'm writing this from the perspective that the reader already knows Link and Zelda and has possibly heard a lot of negative comments, mostly about the cel shaded graphics, which give Wind Waker a more cartoony appearance. Major features of the game include: cel shaded 3D graphics, over 50 locations with tasks to complete, only slightly structured, fairly free storyline and game play, fun for all ages (I'm 38, my son is 6), and linking to a Gameboy Advance without needing a separate cartridge.

Considering the first Zelda I played (A Link to the Past) was stylized 2-D animation, this transformation to 3-D seemed pretty natural to me. Despite what some people have complained about, Link's appearance wasn't distracting at all, nor were the cartoony graphics. As a matter of fact, as a computer animated anime story, it was done quite well. I'm looking forward to future "realistic" Zelda games, but have no problems whatsoever with the cel shading used in Wind Waker.

The story revolves around you (an apparent heir of Link's) trying, once again, to defeat Ganondorf, Link's archenemy from the past. It starts innocently enough on your home island from which your little sister is abducted by a giant bird. The world is made up of 49 island locations on a 7 by 7 grid. You link up with some pirates who take you to where your sister is being held. Instead of rescuing her, you ultimately discover Ganondorf's plot to take over the world.

You are given the Wind Waker, a wand that can conduct wind (among other things), that initially helps you sail a LOT faster to various locations on the map, but ultimately has many more uses. Learning one pattern helps you conduct a gale that can carry you to one of eight locations on the map quickly, without having to go through the often tedious sailing.

A series of adventures ensues where you find stronger and stronger weapons, interact with dozens of the denizens of the world, and slowly but surely uncover the plot and collect all the items necessary to defeat the big bad enemy in a final showdown at the end.

I specifically wrote the previous paragraph that way so that you can cut and paste in your review of just about every adventure game in existence. We all know what it's about long before picking up the box, it's just a question of "did they do the adventure right?" All in all, I had a great (if sometimes frustrating) time playing the game. The story is downright addicting. I have a small family of four, and whenever someone (either me or my son) was playing, anybody who happened by would usually sit and watch. It's one of those games where, after hours of playing, you would keep saying "I'll just finish -something- and then I'll stop for today." You'd tell yourself that maybe a dozen times before you finally were ready to quit for the day.

The drawbacks are numerous, often taking a little something away from the game play. Despite these shortcomings, the game comes way out ahead, having great, fun game play. But just so you won't think I didn't warn you, here are some of my pet peeves:

Sailing is fun . . . for a little while. There's way too much of it here.

The music is not bad, but the game takes so long to finish you can't help but start to get annoyed at it.

The game often pauses to display dialog or other information. When it's dialog, you can skip past it fairly quickly by tapping the button. When it's instructions, it does not let you skip. This is annoying, because by the fortieth time I've found a "Joy Pendant", I already know what it's for. This happens on far too many objects.

When conducting with the Wind Waker, the animations are tedious after a while, with no way to skip past them.

The default 3D camera position is almost always WRONG, and the controllable camera is not versatile enough. Too many places require you to go to a first person mode in order to look around. This is especially bad in a number of fights, especially bosses.

And one final comment, without any spoilers, is during the final battle Zelda often talks to you. Now, note the last "peeve" I wrote above... after someone talks to you, the camera goes back to the default position... so if you're pushing one way to run, then the camera changes, the way you are pushing is usually not the way you want to go. Very frustrating.

Some of these "peeves" are things where it was just painfully obvious the creators of the game were trying to stretch out game play. Pretty annoying. As I said though, it's all about game play and this game was FUN, it was very hard to put down. I'd give it an easy 8 out of 10, maybe even a 9.

IMDb side note: IMDb keeps saying "cel" is not spelled correctly. It is, in fact, the way you spell the word when you are talking about animation.

This is a cool follow up to Zelda considering it took place after ocarina of time. Gamecube is one of the best nintendo systems, especially since they now have the Ocarina of Time on it. This game has better enemy AI however cause they can fall then get back up again and attack you, what they don't do in ocarina of time. I hope gamecube is something that can live on forever. Not all games may be worth it but only one game alone can make you never want to get rid of the system. I already know I won't. I haven't made it that far into this game but I already know it will go beyond expectations, especially since I read that the final fight requires teamwork to complete.