The Legend of Zelda has never been in a situation like it is now. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was praised up and down and is known as the best game ever made in a lot of circles. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask was praised as being a strange and mysterious adventure. Now, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker has come to the GameCube and with it, a brand new art style, cel-shading. This is a major shift in style for the slightly dark Zelda franchise. Is the art style enough to ruin this Legend? Or will it rise up and become a new hero?
The story in this Zelda is slightly more in-depth. You still play as Link on an adventure to stop Ganon, but here you're trying to save your sister, Aryll with help from the pirate Terta. The world this time around is a the Great Sea, a large barren ocean without any fish. These leaves a large world to explore and items to find. Ganon this time around has more motivation and is a better villain overall. It's the best story in the series so far, but is still a little simple and there is nothing at all wrong with that. You'll still enjoy your time on the Great Sea from a story point of view.
The gameplay is still the same great 3D Zelda. You run around the world and target enemies to lock-on making it easier to fight them. You still get plenty of gadgets to explore more of the environment, similar to the Metroid series, and it's still a joy to explore the world and the dungeons. The combat is more enjoyable here and Link's animations are a lot better. You also have a counter ability that lets you dodge an attack and give your enemy a smack back. The Great Sea is a large, large world and, while it's mostly barren, it's exciting stopping by the islands to see what you'll discover next.
Your musical instrument this time is the Wind Waker, a conductor's baton that allows you to control the wind. It's used in puzzles but mostly in travel. Your means of travel this time is a boat by the name of the King of the Red Lions. You travel the Great Sea by sailing, which is where wind control comes into play. It can be a little slow, but it's calming and makes it seem like a real adventure. There are plenty of collectibles, such as items that enemies drop that are used to unlock new things or for getting money. There are also side-quests that unlock new things and give you an excuse to explore more of the large, vibrant world. There is a new game plus, thanks to some side-quests not being able to be completed on your first playthrough.
You get a magic meter again and it's used for some cool things, such as a leaf that allows you to float through the air. The new items are entertaining and are just a joy to use to explore the world. Exploration is the name of the game in this Legend and it's wonderful, as are the ever enjoyable boss fights.
The music is some of the best in the franchise. Flutes make an appearance in the music and it fits the overall feel. There is still no voice work aside from the grunts and other groans which is still fine, but it doesn't take anything off thanks to the music alone. There is nothing like exploring the wide open sea with the sailing music playing in the background. This game shows how important music can be and the effect it has.
The visuals are, as mentioned before, the main difference between this and the other Zelda games. It's bright, vibrant and colorful game and it looks like a cartoon. It's a timeless visual style and it makes exploring everywhere amazing. It's a visual style that won't be forgotten, love it or hate it. Link looks great and has a lot of expression and the other characters look good as well. The monsters have great expression and the game has amazing animation. It helps craft an unforgettable adventure.
PROs
- Interesting story
- Ganon is a cooler villain here
- Beautiful visuals
- Fantastic music
- Zelda gameplay, perfected
- Lots of neat gadgets to play with
- Dungeon crawling is still entertaining
- Lots of great animation
- Sailing is enjoyable and calming at one point and exciting at others
- Lots of neat visual touches, such as rough weather on the seas
- Interesting world to explore
CONs
- A little too easy
- End game fetch quest can drag
Overall, the visuals, the gameplay, the music and the story all work with each other to create an amazing game that rivals Ocarina of Time. It's an unforgettable adventure and, while the final fetch quest can drag on, exploring the wide open Great Sea is a unique experience. Nintendo does it again and creates the next must-have adventure.
Story: 10/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Audio: 10/10
Presentation: 10/10
TOTAL: 10/10