The Winds of Change

Author's Rating:

Pros: Beautiful environment, fluid graphics, brilliant soundtrack, tight controls, heavy amount of exploring

Cons: Graphics are too bright for darker dungeons

The Bottom Line: 
Past its cartoony shell lies the heart of a brilliant, breathtaking game that is one of the most memorable Zelda games of all time.

Author's Review
Look beyond the cel-shaded, cartoon-like graphics and you will find a brilliant and vibrant game that makes the Zelda series proud. With a vibrant atmosphere and intuitive gameplay, Wind Waker is a memorable game that is more than worth an inspection.

Hundreds of years from the Nintendo 64 Zelda games, the world is now a giant ocean with several islands scattered around the blue world. On a tiny island aptly named Outset is a young boy named Link and it is his 11th birthday. Going along with island customs, Link dons the familiar green tunic and hat and begins his adult life just in time to see a young girl be dropped by a large bird into a forest on Outset. After finding the conveniently placed sword and shield Link sets out on his first of many adventures that will take him across the vast ocean, battling evil throughout, all while hearing the legends of past heroes from past Zelda games.

Like its predecessors, Wind Waker’s fighting is done primarily with a sword and a shield. Unlike its predecessors, Wind Waker’s fighting is more than just simple hack and slash, due in large part to the new counter feature. Whenever an enemy is ready to strike, the A button on the screen will flash, prompting Link to do a rather effective counter maneuver. Certain enemies also require clever use of the counter maneuver, resulting in a more creative, yet still simple, game.

While the brunt of the fighting is done with the sword and shield there is constant assistance by numerous items, such as the boomerang, the hookshot and the bow and arrows that are picked up in dungeons and temples scattered throughout the game. More often than not the items acquired in the dungeons are used to solve puzzles and defeat enemies within the same dungeon, making quick and effective use out of numerous items that would otherwise be pointless.

The wide-open ocean of Hyrule is gigantic. Measuring seven squares by seven squares, the 49 islands that make up landfall are diverse, ranging from a volcanic mountain to an island oasis to an ancient tower. Although much of early traveling will be done on fixed paths, Link eventually gains the ability to control the direction of the wind and ultimately quick transportation cyclones, making transportation quick and simple.

Wind Waker, like all Zelda games, encourages exploration and with 49 islands, there is a lot to be found. Increasing the need for exploration is the introduction of treasure maps, which have to be found and then traced to their island of origin in order to find treasure ranging from heart pieces to rupees to pieces of the triforce. Using the maps as in game guides, Link can find giant squids, submarines and fairies with ease.

Wind Waker is a fairly large game with several dungeons, although the majority of early play will be spent traversing the gigantic, though beautiful ocean. The game takes around forty hours to beat the first time around. Special collections such as the Nintendo gallery, statues created by pictures that Link can take throughout the game, make the second run enjoyable and fresh, adding to the overall replay value.

Graphically, Wind Waker a step forward in a new direction. Unlike previous Zelda games, which opted for a more realistic style of game, Wind Waker uses cel-shading, a technique that creates a blend between realism and cartoons. Although this was a turn-off for many gamers, I believe that it creates a vibrant world that is bright and fluid, that is better seen in motion than in still pictures. Perhaps this is most true on the vast ocean with the clouds and waves constantly soaring and flowing by Link and his boat. One downside of the brighter graphics is that the environment in some of the darker, more evil dungeons suffers.

Like the rest of the game, Wind Waker takes most of its inspiration from the series’ past, resulting in a familiar, and somewhat nostalgic, soundtrack. While the majority of the musical score is taken from past Zelda games, there are some minor tweaks here and there to go along with some new songs. The overall theme of a more tropical soundtrack is played well into classical Zelda songs, creating an environment that plays well into Wind Waker.

Wind Waker is a brilliant game full of adventure, exploration and beautiful environments. With tight controls and a huge environment make Wind Waker a beautiful and fun game to play. The winds are blowing, its time to pay attention.