The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GameCube)

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Legend of Zelda series practically defined adventure gaming for an entire generation, appearing on each Nintendo console from the NES and Super NES to the Nintendo 64. And the first thing you'll notice about The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker is that it looks completely different from any previous Zelda title.

Nintendo has opted to use cell-shading technology here; the result is that the game looks like a cartoon. Die-hard Zelda purists initially howled at this change, arguing that it made the game look like a kids' title, but the finished product looks fantastic. The cartoon animation style allows for better expression of the characters and several of the animations--such as Link trying to pick up an object that's too heavy--are so cute that you can't help but laugh a little.

Link travels from island to island on a talking boat and you're not going to make it far without the wind blowing in the direction you want to go. Link gains the ability to change the direction of the wind early in the game and you'll do so frequently, not only to power your boat but also to solve puzzles. Clever use of wind makes Wind Waker stand out from more conventional adventure games.

Puzzles are innovative and refreshing, and despite getting stuck a handful of times, we never felt too frustrated to keep playing. The locales you'll visit are invariably exotic and fun to explore, and the host of bizarre creatures you'll encounter (friendly and otherwise) are always surprising. Moreover, though its look is radically different, Wind Waker feels like a classic Zelda game--it's everything you've come to expect from the series, and it's one of the best adventure games to date. --Jon Grover

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-07-17 rating:
Great Fun
In 2001 Nintendo made a decision to move away from the normal 3 dimensional graphics and try out something new, known as cel shading. And it certainly paid off.

The graphics in Wind Waker are jaw-dropping. By rendering 2 dimensional sprites in a 3 dimensional world the game has an artistic, highly stylised, often cartoony feel about it. This, combined with the vivid colours and beautiful attention to detail means that the game is a pleasure to play from start to finish. Enemies explode into a cloud of smoke, the wind rushes into your sails, grass swishes and the sea swells. Although the graphics have changed dramatically from earlier releases, none of the atmosphere of the game has been lost.

The gameplay is also great, if sometimes a little simplistic. The controls are easy to use and intuitive and a new system has been developed to allow use to use trigger actions against some enemies, which can liven up battles. Bosses are often slightly easier than in previous games but still feel challenging. You can sense that Nintendo have tried to pitch a game that will appeal to both the children playing, and those of us who were children when we became hooked on the Ocarina of Time, a game which Wind Waker borrows heavily from.

The plot is fairly straightforward. Set hundreds of years after Ocarina of Time, Link lives in a world which is dominated by a massive ocean with scattered islands dotting it. A series of events leads to his sister being kidnapped and his search for her leads him into ever more dangerous situations. To aid him on his quest, Link uses the power of the Wind Waker, a magical conductors baton, to call upon the power of the wind (similar to the eponymous instrument in Ocarina of Time).

With fun, adventure and sidequests in spades, The Wind Waker really is a game that will please all the family. The beautiful cel shaded graphics add atmosphere and the soundtrack, written by Koji Kondo is just as beautiful as any other Zelda game. Overall a fantastic game and one well worth your money.

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review by: Dr. Qui date: 2008-04-02 rating:
Don't hate it because it's different. It needs your love too!
I'm gonna set something straight- I'm not a Nintendo 'fanboy', so this is not going to be a biased rant about how Sony suck and Microsoft are rubbish etc., which, unfortunately, seems to be what we get a lot of nowadays. I'm gonna stick to the facts.

This game is good.

And I mean properly good.

Say all you want about the Cube's graphical ability, one look at this game will blow your mind- It certainly did mine. I very rarely audibly mutter 'this is beautiful' when playing a game, but this is one of those times. It's the little things you notice. From the wind blowing around the grass and link's hat, to the way he looks at important stuff with his huge eyes, to the way the water... well... splooshes. There isn't really an adjective to describe it. It's amazing how well modelled portions of the game are. My Gamecube actually makes a happy sounding noise whenever I play this, a sort of contented hum which obviously means it's happy showing what it can REALLY do. (as opposed to the grinding noises I got when it played Robocop that one time. Thank god that game was a rental...)

Anyway, 'Cube noises aside, the game itself is a marvel. Nintendo have got a good history with the Zelda franchise (They have yet to make a bad game under that name), and there's a reason for that. The gameplay itself is simple and easy to pick up. For example, the game reminds you often enough that L-targeting (the 'cube equivalent of Z-targeting on the N64) is the key to victory almost all the time, that it gets through to even an eight year old relation who can't seem to remember anything vaguely complicated when it comes to controls.

From the start, through the challenges you face,to the final, climactic ending, the game repeats itself little and is genuinely a joy to play. As a bit of an old hand at Zelda games, I believe I have what is called 'Zelda Logic', and some of the games 'old skool' puzzles will bring a smile to the faces of gamers with this, when I'm sure other, newer users will be grimacing in frustration. (Quick dip into the waters of 'Zelda Logic'- if there's a torch that's gone out, LIGHT IT!)

Speaking of waters, this game does something that no game I've ever played before has done successfully. Recreating sailing is difficult, and could be intensely boring if Nintendo had not upped the speed a bit and allowed you a bit of in-game weather manipulation in the form of the Wind Waker itself. Basically, wherever you want to go, you can easily redirect the wind so you'll be swishing across the waves in your bright red lion boat without a care in the world.

The items also take on a new role. Got a grappling hook? In your boat it turns into a crane you can use to hunt for treasure! Bombs? That gives your boat a cannon! I dare anyone to play this game and not mutter any pirate cliches...

Another thing Zelda always does well is side missions. You're not disappointed in this game. Whether it's finding pigs and bringing them back to their owner to taking secret pictographs of possible lovers (yes, I am NOT making this up!), you'll enjoy yourself, have a good laugh (especially at the noises the pigs make when you run with them), and most importantly, get money, heart pieces, and new items that, while not necessary for the main quest, do make it a hell of a lot easier in places.

This is, simply, a delight of a game. The map is huge, allowing you to explore at will-there's no being wussy and doing a quest for an islander who'll fill your map in for you in this game, you HAVE to explore if you want to see the whole map. It is everything that Zelda fans could ask for, and, though it has been decryed by many because of the cell-shading, it suits the games style, and makes it even more humourous than it is to start with. And, to be honest, the Cell-shading doesn't matter. You're still getting an adventure as good, if not better than, Majora's Mask (comparing it to Ocarina would be wrong, though it's not far off-9.8 to Ocarina's 10). After the space of half an hour playing, you'll be so immersed in the storyline you'll have completely forgotten that you were complaining about the 'childish' or 'cartoony' graphics.

Trust me, this is something you'll never regret buying.

Oh and if you can, buy the one with the bonus disc- Master Quest should sort out those who go 'Pffft, Zelda's too babyish and easy...'

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review by: Bobbet date: 2007-06-24 rating:
Super great game
I really loved this game. It was so fun and interesting. You know when you have a part in the game you just can't do then you forget the game in frustration well... there are so much side missions and fun things to do. The music is beautiful and one of the best games on gamecube. It was a refreshing play

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review by: date: 2007-05-04 rating:
What can i say its Zelda...
When i bought this game, i thought Cool two games in one! [I am ashamed to say i had never played the Orcarina of Time before, just started it now and it is excellent!] But when i first started playing i was hooked.
Graphics were the best i had ever seen, Story was brilliant [but not as good as ocarina ] and was so addictive!
People complain about the amount of sailing they have to do, but i think its the main feature of the game, and it has great music!

So this is what i would rate it:

Gameplay- 10/10
Graphics- 10/10
Story- 8/10
Music- 10/10

The only critism would be that the game was too short.
go buy it!


review by: date: 2006-04-27 rating:
Buy This Game!
The reason I bought a Gamecube was for Zelda. I was looking forward to a super realistic amazing, and huge Zelda game.

However when Nintendo first anounced the Windwaker, I was horrified to find they were creating something far different from what I had previously imagined. They had given the game's visuals a complete overhall in what I believed was wrong direction. Nintendo had changed the game's realistic visuals from the Spaceworld 2000 video to cartoony and cell shaded visuals.

I completely shunned this game, how could they do this to me? Was it a joke? These questions, and more went through my mind. I ignored all news and reviews of the game. I thought it was terrible, and I wouldn't believe that so many people could enjoy it.

When I was browsing on Amazon one day, long after the game was released, I came across The Windwaker. It was also bundled with Ocarina of Time. I decided to take the risk and buy it. It was after all 'Zelda'. It might be ok. I browsed a couple of reviews, and in all it scored around the 95% mark. I thought to myself, even if this game is terrible, it's bundled with Ocarina of Time. This was my favourite game on the N64. So the purchase would be worth it.

Finally, a few days later it came through the door. I came up to my room and put it on. I wasn't expecting too much from it, and was simply waiting to put Ocarina of Time on.

However, once I had begun the game, I could not stop playing! This game was fantastic. I was ashamed of thinking it would be terrible.

This game has a good 40 hours plus of game time. It has a great storyline, great sounds, and once I got used to the graphics, I thought they were great too.

You owe it to yourself to buy this game, do it!
97%

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