The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

The Wind Waker, despite its maritime motif, upholds the tradition impeccably well. The sea is profoundly sizeable and, despite the cartoon visuals, is quite realistic and detailed in its qualities. The wind and water intensify and sequentially abate as one sails from one island to another, and the essential, correlative elements of the sea in these various aspects--large waves, stronger wind, et cetera, as well as the King of Red Lions' interaction with them--are both present and thoroughly developed, making the aptly dissatisfying sailing experience considerably more exciting. Nintendo's development team also integrated enemies into the mix; and, as favorable as it would be to promote this as an enriching quality of the experience, the fact alone that there is no essential, unique sea combat merits little, as the player will be more inclined to circumvent than confront these foes. In the sailing and sea theme's favor, however, are several intelligent game design decisions that encourage exploration ambiguously well. For instance, the aesthetic ability to see far into the distance provides ample opportunities to appreciate the title's truly pleasing appearance. A system of island charting, as well as a number of jettisoned items to discover in the sediment of the bottom layer of the sea as well as on the various islands provides adequate incentive to the player for exploring areas of the sea not mandatory to visit for the central quest yet still sights worth seeing. The series' traditional sidequests, locating heart pieces to increase Link's maximum health and bottles in which to store useful items, have been integrated in this aspect. Collectively, these features sufficiently supply a reason for circumnavigating the world and exploring each nook and cranny, but for most, unfortunately, the arduous struggle with monotony will frustrate that quest with little effort.

Although The Wind Waker's visual style was initially anathematically despised with an implacable anger, most critics and game junkies at home were forgiving upon seeing it in motion. Critically, the biggest problem has been almost unanimously the sailing aspects of the game-play, even to some individuals that marveled at and cherished the opportunity to see the world of Zelda in cel shading. And, unfortunately, those displeased with the sailing have an argument; by requiring players to travel to a given locale multiple times--and, most notoriously, coercing them to locate clandestine items by using charts--the experience becomes repetitive at times; and the developmental efforts to appease this aspect, such as a musical rhythm that allows one to warp to different places similarly to the "Song of Soaring" from Majora's Mask, come up short of expunging its awful aftertaste.

Perhaps one of the finest aspects of The Wind Waker is the simple fact that it epitomizes the strong sense of community and interactivity with even the least significant non-playable character that has been present to a degree in each successive installment dating all the way back to 1992’s A Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo, an attribute that became much stronger and more illustrious after the series went three-dimensional. In Ocarina of Time, wandering around places such as Kakariko Village and Lon Lon Ranch could be a rather entertaining albeit temporary alternative to dungeon exploration; each one of these distinct communities hosted a plethora of unique, almost farcical characters, and there were plenty of mini-games to play and secret areas to find, all of which contributed to the production of a tempting lure to spend an hour or so wandering around the towns. Majora’s Mask raised the bar even higher; Clock Town, the central hub of the land of Termina where each new three-day epoch began, was bustling with activity. It continued the tradition of having unique inhabitants while going a step further by introducing the Bomber’s Notebook, which set up certain events with non-playable characters that would occur in a certain timeframe and often earn Link a new item of some sort. Everyone and everything operated on a distinct schedule, making cavorting through Clock Town almost as rewarding an experience as the game’s large and entertaining dungeons. All of this background is extremely necessary for one to begin to comprehend how compelling this factor is in this latest installment. Similarly, the personalities inhabiting the different islands here are in the same way droll, benign presences that set the stage for often hilarious scenarios--the individualistic expression found here is quite refreshing, and the overall blissful, affirmative aura of the villages is well complimented by the game's cel-shaded graphics. Understanding why this technique was chosen is unexpectedly less difficult when taking such traits into consideration.

These agrarian, sea-oriented communities are a large part of the game as well; the same types of hidden items are available to collect, but the role played here is far more significant. The islands in The Wind Waker play an important role in the advancement of the narrative; scenes occur on them, and they hold quest-advancing items. In addition, a considerable number of mini-games are available, most of which are played in towns and villages on the islands.

Regardless of the escalating role of towns and landscapes in the Zelda franchise, which should only continue to progress in the future, the series still is and always has been defined by its inscrutable trademark dungeons. The Wind Waker suceeds in showcasing a moderate amount of dungeons and maintaining the pleasing variety in the themes of the locales that has been a sizeable part of the series' chemistry virtually from its inception--the game's dungeons are set in a wide range of places including the volcanic mountain of Dragon Roost Cavern to the ruinlike Tower of the Gods, and the use of cel-shading lends an additional amount of personality to the experience. The Legend of Zelda has always taken a certain approach to its dungeons that has been well woven into its framework and fortunately works remarkably well. The traditional Zelda dungeon is essentially comprised of a series of rooms that are almost always arranged on multiple floors. Several of these chambers will be inaccessable when one first enters the dungeon and must be unlocked with keys scattered about the premises, and the majority of the rooms require Link to defeat all the enemies inside or solve a puzzle of some sort to continue. Nintendo's dungeon designs have always been intelligent; useful items such as a map and compass have helped to insure that the player explores the entire area and acquires all of the treasures to be found. Each dungeon contains a new weapon for our protangonist that has, in the more recent titles, been the secret to defeating the dungeon boss enemy at the end of the experience and obtaining the rewards--a larger health guage and the satisfaction that one has advanced in the storyline. Unfortunately, while the atmosphere and sheer number of the dungeons in The Wind Waker are both satisfactory; the game suffers from a pronounced departure in difficulty that is thoroughly disappointing. In comparison to the formidable dungeons featured in Majora's Mask, the previous installment on the Nintendo 64, The Wind Waker's dungeons are an embarassing return to basics for seasoned series verterans. One has to conceed the fact that the level of entertainment as well as the overall style the series has become known for is still present in this latest release; however, added difficulty would have made the game a more memorable package.

If anything, The Wind Waker should be credited by all Zelda fanatics for the significant game-play enhancements it introduces to the Zelda composition. In addition to a number of never-before-seen weapons for Link's arsenal, several new elements of play apart from the sailing aspects are available. First of all, Link's movement is enriched by the addition of the ability to siddle along a wall and crawling options that together allow the player to fit through tight or virtually impassible spots. Several new combat options expand the existing framework, including the parry, a stylish yet automatically executed strike to the back of an enemy with a simple, timely tap of the "A" button, and the ability to pick up an enemy's dropped weapon and use it against him. As for new weaponry, items like the deku leaf, which allows Link to hover temporarily as with Majora's Mask's deku mask, and the grapple, which is similar to the hookshot except for the rope attached to it from which Link can swing, are welcomed additions that appear well in concept and are remarkable for the game's puzzle-solving respects, where the deku leaf can set things into motion by propelling wind in a given direction; and the grappel and other suspended ropes allow Link to swing across often lava-filled expanses. Enhancements to existing weapons such as the possibility of targeting five objects or enemies simultaneously with the boomerang similarly to the homing lasers found in Sega's Panzer Dragoon are also welcomed and also will be employed in the game's puzzles.