The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

"An Enjoyable Game Overall, but it Makes Some Mistakes."

Pros:
-Retains the "Ocarina of Time" game-play format
-Hearkens back to the very first "Legend of Zelda" early and often
-Graphical experiment turns out about as well as could be expected
-Temples and Dungeons
-More character interaction than I recall from previous Zelda games
-Cannons! And a few other nice game-play innovations

Cons:
-Fetch quests
-A few occasions of rupee-gathering
-Sailing (after the novelty wears)
-Game-play and principles could use even more innovation
-Unambitious music and voice work
-Too easy at points, any challenge stemmed from tedium rather than difficulty of puzzles or fights

Intro:
I entered into the next generation of Zelda a couple years late. While always a casual fan of Zelda, and very appreciative of "Ocarina of Time", I was never hooked in enough to try out "Windwaker" until now. Windwaker does many things right while holding firm to classic Zelda conventions, and further developing the successful game-play concepts of Ocarina of Time. However, it also does quite a bit wrong, which ultimately led me to award it a lower overall score.

***Aspect Summary***

Graphics: (9/10)
There was apparently quite a bit of discussion about the new direction of graphics for this installation of Zelda. I'm not sure what the discussion was at that time, but I can confidently say that the graphics are excellent, by and large. Long draw distances allow you to make out details that are very far off. This goes a long way in creating magnificent vistas. Some of the sights one can behold in Windwaker are truly incredible. There is great attention to detail, both close up and at a distance. Dungeons often have a misty fog where appropriate, among other immersive features. Characters are highly expressive. The range of emotive expressions of the main character, both in and out of dialogue sequences, is rather amazing. There is one very memorable scene where the main character (I guess it's safe to call him Link, though that's never explicitly stated) is being fired out of a cannon and on to an island, and the range of emotive expressions he makes during this process is both entertaining and immersive.

Before I continue lauding the merits of the graphics, let me first mention why this is only a 9/10 grade. First, while excellently detailed, there are a few instances where one will notice graphical errors, for instance Link's eyebrow might run through his cap, or some collision mapping thing won't make sense. This was, by far, the exception rather than the norm, however. Also, from an artistic standpoint, particularly in terms of monster designs, Windwaker will simply not appeal to everyone. So while Darknuts(Knight-type enemies) look like impressive and intimidating foes, other enemies just look plain comical, or even ugly but in a benign manner.

Bear in mind though... overall the graphical work of Windwaker is admirable, and will be a treat for anyone that has an open-mind to accept it. Windwaker may have the most detailed and beautiful dungeons and temples of any game I've seen so far, RPGs included.

Sound: (6/10)
This was an area of severe disappointment for me. Five years ago, Metal Gear Solid should have really raised the bar for voice-work in videogames, but to this day, exceptional voice-work is still the exception and not the norm. Windwaker cops out in the voice-work department and puts in what struck me as cheap emotive sounds to accompany a slew of text. This is made all the more confusing by the fact that some of those sounds are actual words. At times, this made for some comedy, but ultimately it became annoying. I understand this was likely a stylistic choice from the game creators, but it still struck a chord with me.

The lack of voice-overs would not cause me to rate this area as a 6/10, though. The music just struck me as low in caliber, both conceptually (in terms of the theme fitting the scenario) and in terms of production value (much of it sounds like N64-era MIDI sound). I think Zelda has advanced to the point where it warrants excellent composition, or at least a solid score on the order of 'Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance'. Even the re-imagined main theme from Zelda fell short of expectations. Sadly, the sound department is one of Windwaker's greatest weaknesses.

Story: (7/10)
Zelda games, in my experience, have not always heavily emphasized the story as the motivator to the action. In my opinion, it has always been somewhere at or above 'placeholder' status. Enough to motivate you with a premise, but not engaging or deep on any level. And honestly, that's usually fine for the style of game this is. Ocarina of Time elevated my expectations a little bit for this installation. While I wasn't disappointed with Windwaker's story, I wasn't overwhelmed either. The take on the classic Zelda tale was novel enough to not feel stagnant, and there were a few twists and turns which made the story more interesting than it might have been otherwise, but the crux of the story is not long enough, or deep enough to really warrant a higher score, especially when you consider the complexity and depth available in a number of other games today.

Game-play: (7/10)
I guess you could say that this is, and always has been, the "bread-and-butter" of Zelda games. As far as a basic playing mechanic is concerned, such as environmental interaction and battle system, Windwaker takes surprisingly few chances. However, this is generally a good thing, as this basic setup worked well on the N64, and it translates well onto the GameCube. Moreover, there are enough new wrinkles, items, and concepts to keep things fresh enough. Link fights roughly the same as in the past, but now has had a new counter maneuver added into the mix, which becomes essential against certain opponents later on. He also uses many classic items, like bows, boomerangs, bombs, and even heavy iron boots (think wind shear instead of water weight now). In addition to classic game-play concepts, Link can also cut out bridges, fire cannons off of his trusty new boat, and pick up enemy objects. I found all of these to be pretty neat game-play additions.

So, on the surface, Windwaker succeeds. However, I don't know if somebody over in Nintendo had been playing MMORPG at the time, but some of the most negative aspects of the game-play stem from MMO-style "time-sinks" that have been added into the game. Let's start with sailing. Sailing is neat and controls well. But it gets very boring very fast, as often times, Link is sailing on a featureless sea taking minutes to arrive at an objective. This is fine for the times that you spend a proportionately longer amount of time at said objective, but occasionally you are hopping from island to island. This becomes easier when you obtain a warping song, but even then, you've got quite a bit of sailing to do.

Which bring me to the next MMO-like feature that I disapproved of. Rupee-gathering and fetch-questing. These aren't entirely foreign concepts to the Zelda series, however these just seemed that much more prevalent and emphasized in this iteration. And these concepts also felt very much 'thrown-in', as opposed to well-rationed and dispersed throughout the game. There is one main stretch, late in the game and prior to the climax, that really exposes this weakness and makes an otherwise enjoyable game that much less enjoyable and more tedious.

Aside from the tedium, the game is just easy. Dungeon bosses are easy, routine combat is easy, puzzles are still fun, but they're easy. Any challenge stems from running errands or figuring out the next action you need to take to advance the game. The game also suffers from maps, directions and charts that aren't nearly as informative as they need to be. Despite the tedium, when this game IS doing things right, like in any of the temples, it's about as good as any other game you can play. And despite their ease, I still found boss battles to be rather interesting. So the game should be commended in those areas.

Before I leave this section, I should reinforce that the temples and dungeons really are pretty amazing in this game. They feature a great deal of variety and also really showcase the talents of this graphical engine, as well as the merits of the classic style of gaming typically found in a Zelda title. To this end, it should be noted that while the game-play of Windwaker merits a great deal of criticism, the strengths of the game balance out the myriad of weaknesses.

Atmosphere: (9/10)
Even with a musical score that wasn't quite powerful enough, Windwaker goes a long way in putting the gamer in the mood for action and adventure. The water-world setting, while slightly sparser than I would have liked, is still rich, colorful and vibrant in the areas of importance. Dungeons foster a diverse and believable climate of danger, intrigue, and wonderment. Classic Zelda conventions are retained and enhanced throughout the game, and this goes a long way toward fostering the gamer's sense of nostalgia. All of these factors combine to create a credible atmosphere of action and fantasy for gamers to immerse themselves into. This credible atmosphere is helped, in no small part, by the artistic direction and graphical execution. To that end, enough can not be said about how the contribution of the visual quality aids in immersing the gamer in to the current environment. Windwaker is an achievement in gaming atmosphere, and ups the ante for future Zelda titles to live up to.

***End Summary***

*Extra Thought*
I believe this version of Zelda felt the most like the original Zelda of any other installation I've played so far.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/24/06