Hey, hey, hey...it's time to bust out a review on one of my top 5 favorite games of all time and favorite Zelda game in the series! As everyone knows The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD is set to release for the Wii U. And many fans of it are excited, but it wasn't so long ago that opinions differed as to why CEL-DA as many dubbed it, was not so good. So much like my Retrospective of Skyward Sword I will do my best to be as unbiased as possible (Even though I absolutely love this game). So sit back and read my Wind Waker Retrospective Review!
The Story:
*Imagine Zelda music cue here* Okay well I'm not going to do the whole backstory that Wind Waker does, but the basics are as followed: Thanks to the events of Ocarina of time and it's tree split...Link had disappeared and Ganondorf came back. The goddesses flooded Hyrule and seemingly destroyed it. Only a few descendants remained atop the hills and mountains to colonize a new world. This vast ocean and the island inhabitants have carried the legend of the hero of old and it just so happens that on his tenth birthday a new Link has been tasked to wear the hero's garb for the day. Of course things quickly go south as pirates arrive, Link's sister Aryll is kidnapped, and thus a new story and legend emerges to set sail into the great ocean and uncover the mysteries within.
The story for those who haven't played it, is fairly straight forward Zelda fare. You're Link and you save Princess Zelda from the evil Ganondorf. It's really how it's told that really shines. Wind Waker gives Ocarina fans a great nostalgic feeling halfway through the game...and while some Zelda games have their own homages (Twilight Princess's Temple of Time for instance) It all really comes to a head when you...
****Spoilers***
Wind up in Hyrule which has been frozen in time under the sea! Or find out Tetra is Zelda. Or even when you battle ganondorf at the end. This Ganondorf comes across as a tragic villain. He watched on as the wind carried death to the Gerudo in the desert. Oh and your boat...the one that speaks...is the king of Hyrule! And he freaking dies in one of the saddest scenes I have ever witnessed! Sacrificing himself for the futue of Hyrule...deep...
***End Spoilers***
Needless to say I really enjoyed the story. It is quite light hearted in nature, but manages to blend a serious tone within. It's a perfect balance.
Characters:
The characters all have an interesting third dimension...in terms of the main story. For instance take The King of Red Lions...
The King of Red Lions is actually a pretty good guide unlike some of the other helpful guides Zelda fans have complained about (Navi, Fi). He's there to take you where you need to go, tells you what you need to do, will tell you when you are wrong, or even provide you a good laugh. He's up there with Midna I think as an A.I. companion who actually aids you when you need him, but can also stand by the side and not constantly annoy you.
Tetra & Her Pirate Crew
Well aside from the obvious spoilers above. Tetra and her pirate crew are in a sense a plot device to help swing the story into motion. Without them Link wouldn't get to the Forsaken Fortress or have his sister kidnapped. Aside from Tetra you really won't get to know these guys too much aside from deck hand Niko.
The Islanders (Outset & Windfall)
Ah here is the real sort of town feel you get in Zelda games. There are many characters that are in Wind Waker and they all have some sort goofy characteristic to them. In this game we were introduced to Beetle, goofy shop owner and ecstatic complimenter, Tingle returned for a unecessary reason to decipher Triforce charts and have the Tingle Tuner, which let you find Tingle Statues hidden if you had GBA to GCN connectivity (Which let's face it...was a really horribly implemented idea in execution), also we had many other returning characters. The list is pretty wide and varied so you'll have to discover for yourself all of the various crazy cast.
The gameplay:
Ah yes the biggest aspect of Zelda is the gameplay. Imagine a vast ocean full of hidden mysteries and possibilities. Now imagine if you will everyone had a problem with sad ocean.
Ok so obviously I had to constrain it, but for those of you looking or have played the game, you know that there is just...nothing to explore. No big vast deserts, no snowy mountaintops, no volcanic valley, no great lake, no shadow realm, etc. Instead there are a bunch of tiny little side activities. This is one thing I have to be fair about. Although I absolutely loved sailing around the ocean, not a lot of people did. There are things to do, but one needs to really look. Take for instance a leaf gliding mini game, a battleship style cannon game, a sail for rupees game, etc. It's just far too spread out. Or take for instance ghost ships, enemy fortress' and submarines...giant squids...you can find these, but one simply has to go sailing for them...which one may not want to do.
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Another is the photography. You can unleash your inner Peter Parker and take photos of people and collect figurines...There's hundreds of these and it's really mind numbing. You can acquire some secret items if you're persistant from magic armor to the hero's mask which let's you see enemy health. These aren't the only new items though. Two unique items are the grappling hook and deku leaf. These are welcome editions to a realtively regular line up of the boomerang, bow & arrow, bombs, etc. The problem is once again that these unique items are just unique to their perspective game... Kind of like the ball & chain or spinner from Twilight Princess. Items like these are welcome additions that should be carried on further into Zelda adventures.
The combat is incredibly easy to grasp as well. Z targeting was easy to use and completely refined. Wind Waker also introduced the great action command. If you target an enemy, Link will be prompted to do a dodge roll and attack from behind. You can also dodge yourself by strifing, shield bashing for item drops, hurricane spin, etc.
The Dungeons:
Dungeons are a staple of Zelda games and Wind Waker is no exception. While there aren't too many dungeons like in other Zelda games (technically only 7 compared to some Zelda games that have 8-10). The dungeons are standard fare (a forest, fire, earth, etc.) But, of course things never seemed quite streamlined for it. The triforce quest that you do later in the game was supposed to have a dungeon for it. Not too mention it's rushed development caused two other dungeons to be scrapped from development. Thanks in part to some action replay enthusiasts you can see some of these scrapped ideas yourself online. So you can take what is there for what it's worth. The dungeons themselves have great puzzles (including a certain mirror puzzle that I'm sure caused some headaches) and some very interesting mechanics.
The Difference:
So the new HD Wind Waker has changed some things. For one you can purchase a sail at the auction house to sail faster, making sailing less tedious and quicker to do. The tingle tuner quest has been revamped for MiiVerse. Photgraphy has also been given a more appropriate turnaround letting you take self portraits and hold up to 12 photos instead of 3. There is also now an added hard mode...so for those wanting a challenge, you simply can select it from the beginning. And the tedious triforce quest has been shortened to only needing to collect three with a triforce chart. Oh yeah and the most important...an HD graphical upgrade.
So it seems almost everything that could be fixed certainly has been. And that could make all the difference in the world for those who never played it or fans who wanted the original to be better.
Conclusion:
Wind Waker is a pretty good Zelda game. As I mentioned it's my favorite Zelda game in the series. I even found the sailing fun and often relaxing. Maybe it's just me, but I enjoed setting out into the great ocean and just....exploring. Yes it's been fixed because obviously it wasn't everyones cup of tea. Many things in Wind Waker weren't quite the cup of tea for everyone. I'm not saying Wind Waker is perfect, but it's being remade and it's just not everyday you see a Zelda game get remade. Wind Waker even has a fan base and timeline that includes Phantom Hourglass & Spirit Tracks. It's clear that Aonuma and the development team really enjoy this particular branch of the Zelda timeline. The only question remains is that now that Wind Waker HD is finished...what's next? Many were in awe at the tech demo of Zelda shown for Wii U...perhaps we're due for the grandest Zelda game of all.
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