The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker Review

Legend of the Hero

The game begins on Link's birthday. The tradition for boys his age is to don a green tunic, just as the legendary hero once wore when he vanquished a dark evil from the land. As soon as his cap is fitted tight his sister cries for help. She's kidnapped by a monstrous bird that flies off to the northeast. Her kidnapping is only the beginning of a long tale spun around the ancient legends of a world on the sea. Before the end of the day, Link realizes he's involved in a plot much larger than he could ever imagine.

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker Gameplay

Gameplay in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker comes in two major flavors: on land and on the ocean. While running on terra firma you have a large number of items and moves at your disposal. With your sword and shield at the ready, Link can easily target and take on baddies that step in his way. Duck in and out of attacks, strafe and dash in for the hit. Combat is very fluid and enjoyable with context-sensitive orchestral sounds accompanying the eerie battle music.

With your weapons stowed, Link is free to use his hands for exploring the world around. Pick up pots, pigs and stones and see what mischief you can get into. It's actually a lot of fun just to run around the various islands interacting with the beautiful landscapes.

A great feature in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker is the ability to pick up almost any weapon in the game. Sometimes a particularly strong hit to a baddie will cause it to drop its weapon. Spears, sticks, gigantic swords and a dozen more items clang to the ground and invite you for a look. Each weapon you grab will act differently and is mostly for fun. However, those sticks you can pick up look awfully flammable...

When on the open sea, Link will be aboard his trusty sailboat. Use some of your items in different ways while aboard the ship. For example, using bombs will raise a cannon that's particularly useful for dispatching pesky seabound enemies or opening cracked walls. Experiment with your items and see what you can come up with!

But it's not all gorgeous cell-shaded scenery and secret items strewn about the land. Wind Waker unfortunately suffers from a bit of repetitiveness later in the game. Hunting a few key items requires you to go searching for maps that are hidden around the sea. Your wild goose chases will sometimes illicit groans, but thankfully it isn't too bad. If the scavenger hunt ever gets too boring, you can always sail around the world and work on any number of the other side-quests at your disposal.

Falling In Love

One minute into playing The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and you're in love. The game reminds veterans of the series of many fond memories from as far back as the NES. The ultra-crisp and animated graphic style is really a sight to behold. Although The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker came under fire for its cartoon-style look, the creativity and artistic style is showcased very well with cell-shaded graphics. The game, as the designers so eloquently put it, begged for this kind of look.

Regardless of your tastes, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker is a breathtaking adventure to behold. Exploring the vast oceans is both exciting and mysterious. There's always a new secret around the corner or a new bit of ancient lore to find.

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