Zeruda no densetsu: Kaze no takuto

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.

...Very good. Not as good as Ocarina of Time or Twilight Princess, but it is unique in its own way. The cel-shade graphics are beautiful, and the characters are very expressive. The boss fights are challenging, and the story very interesting. The only bad thing is that you have to sail for way too long at times. But apart from that and trying to find good islands that you went to before and do not show up on your map afterwards, it is pretty close to flawless. The area is large, and there is a lot of things to do and you will want to go back to the islands again and again. Even though it is not as good as TP and OoT, it is better than I had expected.

I think "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker" deserves a place right alongside "Ocarina of Time". A vast amount of people who call themselves 'fans' downed this game for a couple of reasons that I have read from previous reviews: they hated the graphics and they hated the fact that it actually takes TIME to sail around the ocean. I, personally, thought the game was beautiful to look at. Besides, who wants the same old thing every time? Cel-shading was a very wise and unique move, and I love the characters' facial expressions in this game, something you didn't see much of in the previous Zelda games. And as far as sailing on the ocean goes, I enjoyed the scenery. It DID get a little dull at times, especially sailing from one end of the screen to the other with no warp song accessible. But nevertheless, it didn't take any enjoyment of the game away from me. Exploring the towns was nice, and fighting the bosses was very entertaining. The game isn't too long, though it took me about a week and a half to beat it because I was in college at the time I had purchased it. Overall, "The Wind Waker" is an outstanding game and offers the player many extensive, entertaining hours of gameplay. 10/10

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.

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.