Wind Waker Review

Cut scene of Link sailing in King of Red Lions

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, rated ages 7+, was released on March 25, 2003 in the US. This was the first new Legend of Zelda game released for the Nintendo GameCube. Wind Waker is set in a time where Hyrule has long been submerged underwater and the current Link must travel the seas to find the missing Triforce before Ganondorf does, the villain of the story.The game takes place on a sea represented by a seven by seven grid, and Link must sail to different islands on the ocean. You receive a magic baton called the Wind Waker from your talking boat (how awesome is that?) called King of Red Lions. You use the wand to manipulate the wind (highly beneficial) and to travel across the sea rapidly. The objective is to rescue the pirate girl, Tetra, and then find King of Red Lions, which will get you the Wind Waker, and subsequently find the three Goddess pearls, take them to the Triangle Islands, and travel to Hyrule Castle before pursuing the eight Triforce pieces. In each of the eight Triforce quests, you must locate a Triforce Chart to find the shard.You have third person shooter, and you have a variety of constructive items that you collect throughout the game. In Dragon's Roost, an island, you receive a grappling hook, which you can use on enemies or to swing to high ledges.



Is he adorable or is he adorable? This is a cut scene from the Forsaken Fortress



The main controls are: U=Up, D=Down, R=Right, L=Left, Y, X, Z controls are used for getting a selected weapon in hand (you store them in your pack as you receive them), B and A for sword fighting, L for targeting object of interest, R for various actions, including taking out your shield, or if you have no weapons out, to go into crawl mode. If you're next to a wall pressing A will get you t sidle, which is helpful when you only have a for inch wide ledge to cross. Playing is rather intuitive, sword fighting techniques pretty simple to remember (L+Joystick+L/R+A=Side jump for dodging enemies) but you need to know how to think critically and be resourceful, otherwise you'll be constantly lost at what need to be done next. I personally like using my brain. In all seriousness though, I love this game since instructions aren't constantly shoved in your face, and the hints are subtle enough to miss if you hurry through, but glaring if you concentrate. A lot of the clues are in characters' speech, so listen to them! Most people have some sort of reason to exist.

Opening a door in Dragon's Roost

The background music is soft and flute-like, which is appropriate since the Wind Waker is a woodwind instrument, and it adds to the fun of the game. The music is at a subtle level, not loud to the point that it disturbs/ seriously irritates you, but not quiet to the point that you strain to hear it. The cartoon like but cool graphics enhance the game play. Some people consider them childish and not as professional as in, say, The Twilight Princess, but it's unique and therefore interesting to immerse yourself in that type of universe. It changes dramatically with the tone of the story; it will be more melodious while sailing on the sea than fighting a boss. Link's different expressions are very distinct and hilarious, which adds another touch of lightness to it. The Wind Waker offers diverse ways to beat the game, so it's always entertaining to replay the game following different paths, seeing if you can beat your previous time for temple completion, and discovering other things you missed. And how could you just leave Link? If you like exploration and side quests, and thinking through what you need to do, then this is the video game for you.

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