Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Review





Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: March 25, 2003 Also On: None

One day a man of great evil took a golden power which lay hidden in a kingdom that once existed. The “Hero of Time”, once saved a kingdom unknown to many from a great evil. As all hope had died, a young boy dressed in green clothing appeared. Holding a blade that repels evil, he sealed the dark away and gave the great kingdom light again. The story of this hero was passed down from generation to generation until it was nothing more than a legend.

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Then came a day when a gust of wind swept across the kingdom once more. The stench of evil was evident in the air. The people of the kingdom believed that the Hero of Time would come again to save them, but he did not appear. The fate of the kingdom is unknown to this day, for none remain who know. On a certain island it became customary to garb young boys in green when they reached the age of the “Hero of Time”. They seek heroic blades and get rid of all forms of evil. Their elders wish for them to only posses the courage of the hero.

Link is a young boy who lives with his sister Aryll and grandmother. They live on an island in the Great Sea. You start out on this island village on Link’s birthday. His sister is kind enough to give Link a telescope for his birthday. As Link begins to peek through his telescope, he notices that a pirate ship is firing at a bird that is carrying a girl. Link goes to save the girl who was dropped on the top of their island’s summit. While Link does this, his sister gets taken away by the same giant bird. In order to save his sister, Link must find a shield to please the pirates that he will be sailing with.

The pirates catapult Link from their ship, while he is inside of a barrel. You drop your sword and must use sneaky tactics to get through the level. The game reminds me a lot of Sly Cooper, but better. The cel-shading, colorful characters, slick strategies, grapple hook thingy and other things which made Sly Cooper such a fantastic game on the PS2.

You can use your shield to block and deflect objects, along with the target system to easily dodge attacks. Fortunately, you can pick up enemy weapons and sometimes you must use them to break down blocked areas or set them ablaze to put fire to a door. By the time you finally beat the first level (and reach your sister), the same giant bird throws you out from the fortress and a boat saves you. The boat’s name is the King of Red Lions. Remarkably, the boat has the power of speech but not sail!

The game itself is very fluid and the landscapes are lush with subtle detail. Every character has a unique look to them and equally unique personality. The characters in the town travel around as they please. The ocean that you must sail on throughout the game is very large and full of surprises such as rain storms, typhoons and buried treasure on the ocean floor. It is a bit overdone, it can get tedious, but it still is an interesting addition to the Zelda universe.

If you were a fan of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, there is no reason that you should not be a fan of Wind Waker. Essentially, Wind Waker is a graphically enhanced, cel-shaded journey on the open seas that plays a lot like Ocarina of Time, except on GameCube. In my opinion, the controls are a lot more accessible on the GameCube than the Nintendo 64’s Zelda attempts, which should make it more appealing to some. Overall, I would consider this the best 3D Zelda to date.

Graphics: 10
Sound: 10
Gameplay: 10
Creativity: 10
Replay Value/Game Length: 7.5
Final: 9.8
Written by Kyle Review Guide

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