Overall: 5/5
When I first heard that Nintendo was making a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I vaguely remember being so happy that I think I fainted. To think that there was going to be ANOTHER legendary game like Ocarina! Fast forward about a month and a half to when I saw the first screen shots of the new game. What the?!? It looked like a...a...cartoon! Where was the Link that I remembered? What had those bastards at Nintendo done to Zelda...MY Zelda!
I’ll tell you what they did. They took a gamble...and it paid off in a big way. More and more screenshots came out, followed by early gameplay movies and you know what? The more I saw the more I became intrigued by this game. Once I got used to Link’s (as I named him anyway) new look it began to grow on me and soon I was damn near panting in anticipation of Wind Waker’s release.
Release day. I was at the store with the rest of you, hands trembling in anticipation. I really hoped Nintendo wouldn’t disappoint me. And they didn’t. I found a game that was new yet familiar at the same time. Let me share with you my impressions of a game that is a worthy addition to the Zelda line.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is a sequel to the smash hit Ocarina of Time, originally released for the Nintendo 64. It is set far after the events of Ocarina, when a vast ocean has covered the world and the exploits of the Hero of Time have passed into legend. The game picks up quickly, with the arrival of a pirate ship and kidnapping of your sister. Vowing to rescue your sister, you hitch a ride with the pirates and begin an adventure that will ultimately take you all over the world and bring you face to face with a familiar evil.
Wind Waker is very reminiscent of Ocarina control-wise, with some new additions. You can assign a variety of items to your X, Y, and Z buttons, ranging from familiar items (hookshot, bow, bombs, etc.) to brand new items (grappling hook, telescope, sail, etc.). The new additions come mainly in the form of bags you acquire. There are 3 kinds of bags: A Spoils bag, a Delivery bag and a Bait bag. Each bag can only hold specific things though. For example, the Spoils bag holds only items dropped from monsters whereas the Bait bag only holds bait (rather obviously) Smile Each bag can hold up to 8 different items and the items can be assigned to buttons just like any other item. You will use these bags for mapping the ocean, establishing a trade route, delivering mail and number of other things. Another couple of nice innovations are found in the combat system. One is the ability to target up to five things with one throw of your boomerang and another is the ability to do a parry attack on a monster. Basically, if you draw your sword and target a monster, when they attack you can roll or jump out of the way and deliver an unblockable attack to them.
Much of the game takes place on the ocean, which you will traverse by using the Wind Waker, a magical conductor’s baton that allows you to control the direction of the wind, among other things. Early on in your adventures you run into The King of Red Lions, or King for short. King is a talking boat and your means of transportation across the vast oceans of the world. Items can be used when you are on King, although some might function a bit differently. For example, using bombs while on King will create a cannon that you use to fire bombs at your enemies, while using the Grapping Hook on King will give you a handy dandy winch (very useful for pulling up sunken treasure!) Speaking of treasure, you will spend a lot of time acquiring treasure maps which pinpoint the locations of more mundane treasures i.e. rupees, as well as more exotic treasures i.e. pieces of the Triforce! There are a few maps you will find that need to be deciphered. You get them deciphered by Tingle, an overweight little elf that you rescue early on in your adventures. Tingle is annoying, but he does provide a useful service. If you have a Game Boy Advance, you can hook it up to your Gamecube and use Tingle for a number of useful features, such as planting bombs for you to refilling your magic meter.
Wind Waker does place a lot more emphasis on exploration than Ocarina did. There are only 5 (yes, FIVE) dungeons in the whole game. You get the rest of your hearts (up to 12) from finding heart pieces, meaning you will be doing a lot of sailing around. Fortunately, the game makes finding heart pieces more of a game and less of a chore. You’ll sail an obstacle course, play Battleship and a few holes of mini-golf, Zelda-style, among other things.
Nintendo really did a good job with the graphics and sound on Wind Waker. Yes, it is cell-shaded but not to an extreme degree. The game looks cartoonish but not ridiculously so. The sound is extremely well done, with a lot of the sounds seemingly lifted straight from Ocarina but a lot of new sounds as well. Overall, I really couldn’t find anything wrong with this game. I highly recommend that anyone who has ever played a Zelda game and liked it (and even anyone who hasn’t) pick this game up and give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.
