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The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GameCube Review) by Zeypher
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
System: GameCube
Release: Mar 24 2003, US
Story
And then a day came when a fell wind began to blow across the kingdom, and the great evil once again crept forth from the depths of the earth. The people believed that the hero of time would come again to save them, but the hero did not appear...
What became of that kingdom...? None remain who know. The memory of the kingdom vanished, but it's legend survived on the wind's breath.
On a certain island, it became customary to garb young boys in green when they come of age. Clothed in the green of fields, they aspire to find heroic blades and cast evil down. The elders wish only for the youths to know courage like the hero of legend...
The story follows a young boy named Link, during his 12th birthday. What starts off as a normal day, quickly turns around. A band of pirates are chasing a giant bird, known as the Helmasaur King, which is trying to kidnap the captain of their ship, Tetra. They shoot the bird and it drops Tetra into the island's forest. Link ventures up there and saves Tetra from the clutches of Moblins, but his sister Aryll is kidnapped by the Helmasaur King. Link must then team up with the group of pirates to get his sister back, and it quickly turns into much more of an adventure than Link could ever have imagined.
Sound 15/15
There's no doubt that the musical score and sound effects in The Wind Waker are top notch. Themes vary from calm to exciting. The most notable calmer themes would be the Great Sea theme and Dragon Roost Island's theme, both of which are amazing. The more exciting and fast past themes are also really good. A prime example of this is the theme for Mini Boss battles. The Mini Boss theme has to be one of the best themes ever. There are also some remixes for veterans of the series, such as the Hyrule Castle theme and Ganon's theme. As I stated above, sound effects are also really good. Sword swipes, enemy noises, explosions, and stuff like that all sound really good. All in all, the soundtrack both theme-wise and effect-wise are some of the best for a video game ever created.
Graphics 20/20
The graphics for The Wind Waker are simply beautiful. It has a much different artistic style than any previous Zelda game, because it's cel-shaded and puts off a "cartoonish" vibe. Everything you see on screen is rendered in real-time, and runs at a smooth 60fps. The cel-shading in The Wind Waker is done really well, you'll actually feel like you're having more fun just because of it. Things like bomb explosions are handled in a unique way; 2D sprites are used in a 3D setting, and it all looks great.
Appeal 22/25
There's quite a lot to do in The Wind Waker. There's the newly added feature of treasure hunting, which adds a lot to the game. Treasure is found throughout the Great Sea and can be picked up with the Grapple Hook on your ship, and additional treasure can be found as Sea Charts are obtained. There are also a ton of sidequests such as collecing Joy Pendants and other mini items for extras. Of course, there are the hidden heart pieces. The main story is pretty easy to get through, as you should average about 10-12 hours on your first playthrough. The main thing though, is that the game is fun. Depite being pretty easy compared to other Zeldas, that shouldn't stop anyone from playing and enjoying this game multiple times, and as stated above the tons of extra things to do will draw you back in for more.
Gameplay 38/40
The gameplay in The Wind Waker feels a lot like Ocarina of Time, but that isn't a bad thing. A lot of new mechanics are added into the game, and they all work amazingly well. The sub-weapons work just like they did in Ocarina, only they're mapped to X Y and Z instead of the C stick. The thing that makes combat so great though, is the ability to dodge attacks and strike them from behind and above. This is done by pressing the A button as it lights up before an enemy strikes you. Then tilting the Control Stick left and right will make Link roll around the enemy in that dirction, and then presssing B unleashes a sword swipe. You can also jump over an enemy and hit them from above when they use a certain attack. There are two other new elements added into the game: the Wind Waker and Sailing. The Wind Waker is basically like the Ocarina in previous Zelda games, only you can manipulate the wind with it. You can change the direction the wind is blowing, and even use it to warp. Sailing is the main transportation of the game, much like the horse was in Ocarina of Time. The direction you can go is determined by the way the wind is blowing. In the King of Red Lions (Link's boat), you can jump and use most projectile weapons to fend off enemies. The only drawback, though; is that sailing can become quite tedious.
Overall95/100
The Wind Waker is simply an outstanding game. Despite being a tad bit short (average of 10-12 hours), you'll have a ton of fun with this game time and time again. If you don't already have it, go get it now, and if you do have it go play it now!
