PixlBit

Games of the Decade: Expansion Pass #1/Extra Blog a Day #30

Hello everyone how are you?

We all have our favorite games that we are really fond of. But sometimes we do wonder how could the game be any better. We wonder about improvements, what would be better, and so forth. This is where remakes come in, they attempt to redo the game from the ground up while streamlining the game and eliminating any bugs that the original release had. These remakes serve as a way for the original audience to re-experience their favorite game under a fresh new coat of paint while at the same time being a way for newcomers to experience a classic for the first time. One of my most favorite games of all time got a remake back in 2013 and for our #1 game we are going to set sail and embark on a grand adventure once more with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD.  

    There's nothing better than a song that sounds like you are on a grand adventure

Wind Waker has always been one of my favorite games on all time. It's also one of the very first Zelda games that I ever played. One thing I remember fondly about the original Wind Waker is that back during its 2003 release, we learned that we were going to have a baby brother. It's the same younger brother I have referenced in many of these posts. So that's what makes Wind Waker special to me. 10 years later, I remember my other brother woke me up saying that if I was ready to set sail once more. I checked the internet and Nintendo had announced a remake of Wind Waker called Wind Waker HD and you can bet I was going to get that at any cost. So how is the remake?

In the game you play as Link, a kid who lives on Outset Island. It's his birthday and he's now the same age as the hero spoken of in legend and for that one day he gets to dress in green just like the same hero. Except on that same day a giant bird being chased by a pirate ship is seen flying over the island and drops a girl into Outset Island's forest. Link rescues the girl, who is actually named Tetra and she is the leader of a band of pirates. The giant bird mistakes Link's sister Aryll for Tetra and the giant bird carries her away instead. It's up to Link to rescue her sister while searching for her in the vast Great Sea.

The first thing you notice is the way the game looks, it looks far different from past Zelda games as it uses cel-shading to give the game a vibrant cartoon look. Thanks to its cel-shaded look it really made the game stand out and look distinctive from other games in the series, but that also in turn gives the game a certain charm not seen in the previous games as well. It makes the characters more expressive and it just makes everything pop. The game looks gorgeous, especially in HD.

                                                          That'll do pig. That'll do.

Gameplay in Wind Waker plays just like the N64 Zelda games, but it has been tweaked and refined to be much more fluid. It doesn't feel stiff at all and one of the biggest improvements to the combat is being able to look around with the camera while you are focused on an enemy. It allows you to assess the situation to potentially avoid getting attacked by mutiple enemies. Another is being able to counterattack with a parry move, which you can use when you see a prompt on the screen. Honestly, even the addition of being able to move the camera around freely is a huge improvement over the N64 Zelda games.

Sailing and the wind itself play a huge role in the game. It's an open-world game, except your main method of transportation is sailing via boat. There are many islands all around the Great Sea and each of them have their own secrets. I love how many of the islands themselves felt like a puzzle or dungeon of their own in a way. It kinda gives it a Metroidvania feel to them. You can also conduct music with the Wind Waker which in turn you can change the direction of the wind when you are sailing as well as having other effects depending on the song you are conducting.

"But Captain N, where can I play this game?" Well on the Wii U, that's pretty much the only way to play it. The game should still be affordable. However since Miiverse has been shit down, the game has a feature that no longer works. If you want to play the Gamecube original the good luck since GCN games are pretty expensive both new and used. I hope one day Nintendo does port both WW HD and TP HD.

 

                                                        You and your hobbies

Final Thoughts: Wind Waker HD is by far one of the best remakes ever made. When Nintendo maes remakes they go the extra mile. Everything you loved about the original release is here, with some tweaks. They addressed any complaints everyone had with the original game. For starters, the game has been built from the ground up and the models have been reworked and they look more clean. They are also has improved lighting as well. One of the quests during the last portions of the game have been shortened and you now have a sail that allows you to sail faster. There's also a Hero Mode for those who thought the original game was too easy. But the overall gameplay is still the same as before and to be honest they didn't need to change anything, as the combat has always been so fluid and well-done and it just might have the best combat in the series.

I also love that Link in this game wasn't a destined hero like in the other games. He was just some lazy kid living on an island who had to save his sister and went on a grand adventure. But went through a lot of hardships and was recognized as a hero in the end. Definitely the best version of Link as a kid in my opinion. The story itself is fantastic with great twists and turns, and the ending. I obviously can't say more on that.

The game just looks fantastic. The cel-shaded look really gives the game an identity of its own. This style does wonders for the characters as you can really see how expressive they are. Thing is with realistic styled graphics is that they will definitely look dated years later since technology is always advancing. Whereas WW HD will still continue to age well for many years to come. Unfortunately the same can't be said about Twilight Princess HD. When I first played through Wind Waker HD I had always imagined what a theoretical Twilight Princess remake would look like, and I thought like the Zelda Wii U tech demo. That thought had me excited. Unfortunately that wasn't the case since it looks largely the same as its original 2006 release. They did some changes though.

Granted the cel-shaded graphics is also what made the original game controversial during its reveal. It's quite ironic, as years went by everyone has agreed that the cel-shaded graphics is one of the best parts of the game. In a way, Wind Waker was ahead of its time but people have come to appreciate the game as time went by and I feel that this remake helped too. More people have discovered it for the very first time while people like me have replayed an old favorite. Out of every Zelda game out there I believe Wind Waker is the best game to start with since its really beginner friendly. It doesn't look nor feel dated at all. It's also the best game about pirates as well without a doubt. And without a doubt, Wind Waker HD is my #1 game for the Expansion Pass. It's such a fantastic game. Controversial at the start, but highly regarded many years later.

 

                                            Ladies and gentlemen, your hero

Not all of us are born heroes, or destined to become heroes like in our favorite stories. However you can still be someone's hero. Anyone can be a hero by helping someone in need or being there for someone when they really need it.

Well that is it for the Expansion Pass. I hope you all enjoyed it and hope it had something you liked. If you all liked this, I might do an Expansion Pass 2 for next year's BaD since there are even more games that I haven't tried out, as well as some that could have been on this list. I don't know but we'll see but let me now if you want, I'm always open to new ideas. Again, thank you very much for reading, and to those who commented. Be careful and stay safe out there.

 

*All images were taken by my Wii U and my copy of the game*