25 Days of Christmas - #10: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Let me begin by stating that I initially thought this title would be the worst Zelda game of all time. The cel-shaded style and younger looking Link looked silly, and the footage revealed early on seemed simplistic and uninspired. Shortly after The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was released, I kept hearing about how awesome of a game it was. Reluctantly, I rented the game to give it a try. I was engrossed in the world almost instantly and never looked back.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is the odd duck of one of Nintendo’s most renowned series. It broke away from Majora’s Mask and Ocarina of Time – both of which tried to be more dark and violent titles in the Zelda series. A Link to the Past, though it is a great game in its own right, was more about pushing the graphical capabilities than revamping the control scheme. The Wind Waker, however, doesn’t ever feel like it’s trying to sell itself. In this regard, I feel like The Wind Waker soars above its predecessors. The story is wonderfully written and focuses heavily on the theme of growing up.

There is some truth to the skeptics’ claims of The Wind Waker being a kid’s game – it really is aimed at the kid-at-heart. Though there is plenty of swordplay to be had and gargantuan bosses to fight, the game’s strongest point comes from the sense of adventure you feel every time Link jumps into his boat. The ocean is absolutely massive, and many islands only become fully accessible upon acquiring specific items or weapons. Every single character in this game is unique and memorable in their own right, from Tetra and her band of pirates to Link’s talking ship the King of Red Lions. Even the minor characters have such unique personality traits that they will stick with you, such as apathetic Salvatore who runs a Battleship-style minigame, the quarrelling elderly brothers Orca and Sturgeon, and the class-cutting band of kids known as the Killer Bees.

The dungeons are huge in The Wind Waker, easily double the size of most dungeons in Ocarina of Time. The puzzles are incredibly clever, and players will receive aid from Medli and Makar later on in the earth and wind temples. There are plenty of familiar weapons and tools that return from previous installments, including the boomerang, bow, and golden gauntlets. But new inclusions, such as the Deku leaf and cannon still flow just as smoothly with the gameplay.

There are a ridiculous number of sidequests that players can complete at their own leisure. Mini-dungeons can be found underneath the island resort and across various islands as players try to solve the mystery of the fabled ghost ship. Minigames include (but are not limited to) boat racing, distance flight with the Deku leaf, Salvatore’s aforementioned battleship game, and mail sorting for the Rito post office. The inclusion of the picto-box allows players to save three images at a time. These can then be taken to the Forest Haven and sculpted into over 130 different clay figurines. Any time a pool of light is seen on the surface of the ocean, players can use their grappling hook to search for treasure.

The wind waker itself is never used for any combat purposes. Instead it is used to change the direction of the wind, allowing players to reach new islands. Later in the game, this process is made easier with the ability to warp to specific islands via cyclones. The wind waker will be used to activate key points in the story, as well as unlock a few dungeons. In three of the temples, Link must use the wind waker to solve some rather complex puzzles. In these situations, the player shifts control to a different character temporarily.

Nintendo made good use of the GBA-Gamecube connectivity with the ability for a second player to give Link aerial support as Tingle. Tingle can scour for treasure and drop bombs on unsuspecting enemies. Upon completing the game, a second playthrough is unlocked which starts Link off with a deluxe picto-box. Link now sports his blue and white lobster shirt for the entire second playthrough, and the sequences previously in Hylian are now deciphered. These inclusions don’t exactly merit a second round, but the gameplay and story certainly do.

There are a few select points in the game where things slow down for too long that it become annoying. The most notable time is when Link is sent on a quest to find the triforce shards. Each shard is spaced a large distance away from the next, and travelling to reach these will take some time. But the game requires you to first track down the triforce chart that will reveal the location of said shard. To retrieve these, Link has to make his way through one mini-dungeon per chart (with a few exceptions). Upon finding said charts, you find that each is written in ancient Hylian and must therefore be deciphered by Tingle, who charges Link 398 rupees per chart. Between these three components, players will spend at least a couple of hours to complete the triforce of courage – that is assuming that they have saved up all their funds to pay for Tingle’s ridiculous asking prices.

The few shortcomings aside, The Wind Waker is one of the best Zelda games and Gamecube titles available. The sheer amount of things to do in the game is incredible and players will find themselves busy with this title for quite some time. Ganondorf is just as cunning and devious as ever, but has matured as a villain. I honestly prefer the final boss fight in Wind Waker to that of Ocarina of Time of Time, as Ganondorf is much more challenging with his dual swords and acrobatics. There are a number of ingenious plot twists in the story and it all leads up to a climactic ending that both closes the story of The Wind Waker and sets up nicely for Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks.