The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Review
If you gave me a dollar for every time I stared slack-jawed at this game in amazement, well, I’d have four dollars, but no other game ever has had so much of an effect on me, or on many others.
Firstly, let me point out the cons of this game, before I unleash the huge list of pros. For one, the main game is shorter than most Zeldas (as you may’ve heard, or know), but definitely not as short as the main game of Majora’s Mask. Also, some of the enemies in the game are much, much smarter than before (such as the Wall Masters who will through bombs you throw at them back, pick up skulls off the ground and chuck them at you, and even throw arrows back at you). But others, such as the Stalfos, seem to have become retarded, physically impaired, and nearsighted all at once. Freak those guys are easy.
On to the good we go…. The graphics were at first disliked by probably 99.9999% of all gamers everywhere, but once they made Link’s eyes better, and started showing videos, we saw how the game worked; and oh how beautiful it was. We saw how when you strike an enemy in its butt it will run around holding it and yelling and crying. We saw how moths flock at lit torches. We saw how heat wave ripples off the top of most every burning thing in the game. We saw how Link’s eyes look around the room and focus on an object of interest for solving the next puzzle. But, overall, we saw that this game was a graphical masterpiece that will be cherished over the ages.
As for the story of the game, it starts out fresh and new and far away from the regular “Meet Zelda in the beginning of the game and save her and….” theme and uses Link’s own sister as the target to be saved. You’re still saving a chick, but it’s a different one. In the later parts of Wind Waker, it ties directly together with Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask.
The newest Zelda controls like all the rest, wonderfully. All of the sword slashing, backflipping, rolling, dodging, spinning, and defending anyone would need in a game is there. Also included is a new defensive/offensive attack to Zelda games, the “parry attack,” which allows you to roll out of the way of an enemy’s attack, fly into the air, and strike him/her on the back with a timed press of the A button. All of the controlling of Link is very similar to the N64 Zeldas. The A and R buttons perform the actions that are shown. Such as, Grab, Lift, Throw, Attack, and Jump. Now that R is an action button as well as A, you don’t have to come to a complete stop to drop items, all you do is press R, and even at a run the item will be dropped. B unsheathes your sword and attacks, L locks on to an enemy, and the X, Y, and Z buttons are for assigning items for your immediate use (like C-Left, Right, and Down on the N64 versions).
The Wind Waker is such an original and fresh experience with every graphic in the game cel-shaded (I think even the light is), the story changed a little from previous Zeldas, and just how damned funny it is, it is deserving of a 10 score in originality. You’ll laugh your pants off when you finally land a butt-slash on a helpless guard, or when you talk to that man in Windfall about the battleship-esque mini-game and he whips out a painting and starts talking with an accent. And just wait until the cut-scene before after you collect the three Goddess Pearls. You’ll be ready to cry. Next to Conker’s Bad Fur Day, I think The Wind Waker is the funniest game on a Nintendo system ever. Take out the “funniest” and the statement’s still true.
As for sound, Wind Waker hits in on the money. At most conflicts with enemies, whenever you strike them (especially if you hit them with a jump slash/lunge) the music will heighten in tone and become louder, as if you hitting the enemy at that exact moment was programmed in to the songs you are hearing. All of the main tunes are remixed from older Zeldas. You’ll also notice specific music from specific places in previous games. Like how Dragon Roost has about the same music as Dodongo’s Cavern in Ocarina of Time. Also, when sailing throughout the Great Sea the music will go along with the speed of your ship. And if you watch the east skyline right before the sun rises you’ll find that the daytime music comes to its fullest at the exact moment the sun can first be seen. Probably the only downside to the sound is that the regular “DUH NUUH NUUHH NUUUUUUHH” sound after opening a big chest in the N64 Zeldas is replaced with a more kiddie, cartoonish chime which is much less satisfying.
About every regular item in all of the Zelda games shows up in The Wind Waker (minus the Ocarina). Throughout the game you don familiar items like the boomerang, iron boots, bow, bottles, and a bracelet. But Link also comes across completely new items like All-Purpose Bait, a Deku Leaf, of course the wind waker, and various enemy weapons you might pick up (which will range from a small Deku Stick to a massive club).
As I already pointed out, this game is generally short. But, if you plan on doing every side-quest, getting ever piece of heart, every map, every treasure chart, every Joy Pendant, and every everything, playtime will more than double, if not triple. There are over 50 different islands in the game, most of them brimming with secrets, rupees, and strange people to talk to. You thought Vice City was big? Vice City ain’t got nuthin’ on Hyrule.
All in all, when it comes down to it, The Wind Waker is the must-have video game of all time. As we can see by the reports that Zelda has already passed the 1 million mark, The Wind Waker is gaining wide acceptance by most gamers, and many people are buying GameCubes just for it. If you haven’t followed the trend, you might as well now because Zelda isn’t going anywhere.
Visuals: 9.5
Sound: 10
Originality: 10
Replay: 9
Overall: 10