When the Nintendo GameCube was revealed it came with a bunch of tech demos. One of these was a duel between Ganondorf and Link showing how the models have improved. Then after over a year of anticipation following the release of the GameCube we got our first images of the first Zelda game for the then current gen, and it was a shock.

Right away the art style of Wind Waker leaps out. While the demo and to a degree the N64 games had gone for a more shall we say, standard look not fully realistic but wouldn’t look too out there. Wind Waker looks vastly more stylized with cell shaded colours. After that original demo and then this very sudden art style change. You can guess people’s reactions. So Wind Waker had a tough job winning people over, and much like my beloved FF9, it ultimately did, though it took awhile

In the opening we can piece together that this game is set following the adult Link timeline in Ocarina of Time. Only eventually the seal to the sacred realm holding Ganondorf began to weaken. The people of Hyrule prayed for a saviour but the hero was gone. We then open up in our main setting the Great Sea. A large open ocean with several islands on it. You play as Link, a youth of Outset Island, an island that celebrates the hero of Legend, And when the males reach a certain age, they are given the green tunic to wear. Since it’s Link’s birthday he gets the outfit. Then when using his new telescope he sees a large bird carrying a girl. Grabbing a sword from his mentor (who teaches you all your basic sword techniques) he runs into the woods and rescues her, only for his sister to be captured by said large bird. And so onto adventure on the high seas, eventually leading up to a memorable battle with the most nuanced portrayal of Ganondorf in the franchise!

Mechanically this game continues the controls set by the N64 games so those who have played those games will be able to get into this one very quickly. The major differences come in the form of material relating to the world map the great sea. Since you have to travel by boat (which is in itself a main character) you have to sail by the wind. You can’t swim across the sea obviously. As you reach the first island with a dungeon on it you will be given the titular Wind Waker, a conductor’s baton that will give you abilities to manipulate the wind, it’s the stand in for the musical instrument of the game. First track you learn allows you to change the wind’s direction, vital for exploring the sea. It’s worth noting that the HD version released on the Wii U lets you buy a better sail removing the need to constantly change direction of the wind.

The Great Sea dominates the game as you are attacked by enemy pirates, find sunken treasure all while navigating the vast ocean.

Your dungeons and other landward parts of the game however are the standard 3d Zelda affair, switch up a few abilities and items. You do get some special sword commands that become important for some fights though. There are also a decent number of side quests such as a gallery that will make statues of monsters and objects you take pictures of with a camera you get in the game.

The game will win you over if you were cautious about the change in art style, but that doesn’t mean it’s not without its flaws, the big one being at the end of the game. To get to the final area you must reassemble the triforce of courage which is scattered round the great sea. So first you have to find the treasure maps for each piece, then you have to get them translated by tingle who charges you nearly 400 rupees for each one. Now some of these charts are in their own mini dungeon style area, such as a ghost ship you need its own special map to get to. And finally once Tingle has translated the map, you need to go out into the Great Ocean and pull it up from the sea bed… repeat 8 times. The HD version amended this to a good degree by having those maps that were in mini dungeons just be replaced by the shard instead. But you can see why that annoying section seems to just be to stretch the game out in the most tedious of ways. Which is so annoying as the ending of the game is highly memorable.

Wind Waker is a very good game and its cell shaded visuals lets it stand timeless while other games began to look dated. Spinning the camera round as you sail through the ocean, seagulls flying overhead, the occasional Kraken… It will leave a memorable impression, though the last update was on the Wii U which has now turned off its online store, leaving people waiting for possibly a Switch rerelease. Can be a bit harder to find if you don’t have a GameCube to play the original more grindy version.

Rating: 🎮🎮🎮🎮