Yes, I use obscenely large cover pictures on purpose. I know what you are thinking. A review for something not on the PS2? Yes, I decided to do it. It wasn't easy, but it has to be done. I fucking love this game. It is in my top three favorite games of all time. I'm not as big of a Zelda fan as Lee, but I know my shit. I've beaten Majora's mask, and OOT. They were great games no doubt, but I feel this is better than those two. I really like this game.
Wind Waker was made in 2002 for the Gamecube by Nintendo. It's a typical Zelda game. Ganondorf is trying to take over the world, or something and you need to stop him. You have the help of pirates, Zelda, and your trusty sidekick The King of Red Lions! A talking boat. Seems pretty far out right? In OOT it was realistic as you had a horse. Now your thrown to a talking boat. It works out in the end though as you eventually find out how, and why the boat is talking. I enjoy it more than the horse as a matter a fact.
At the start of the game, you are just a boy who is having his birthday. It isn't any ordinary birthday though. It's his coming of age. He is the same age as the hero of old who vanquished Ganon, and saved the world. It's a special day for all. It is all going swell, and dandy when you see a giant bird with a girl in his claw. The bird drops her into a forest, and you need to rescue her. You fight some enemies on your way to her, which is your first taste of combat, and everything seems normal. After you rescue her, you walk out of the forest, and there is your sister standing there all happy. You start running over to her, and BOOM. Bird swoops down and takes her away. This starts the first part of your journey which is saving your sister. The pirates allow you to ride on their ship to the island where the bird lives. At this point you are apart of one of the most heart wrenching cut scenes of all time. I'm not going to spoil it though. After you leave your home island everything starts getting complicated. Not going to spoil anything, but you are thrown into a HUGE world to explore with many islands. It would probably take you at least five minutes to sail straight across the map with the right wind. It's that giant.
That is one of the most endearing qualities of this game. Just how large the world is. You are given free roam of the entire ocean at every part of the game. You can continue the story by going to the island that is marked on your map, or just go sailing around the world finding hidden treasures. It is fucking awesome. I am usually not a fan of free roam games, but this is different. The sheer size of the world, and the cartoon type graphics make this game much better. It's just so easy to love, and get into. I never once felt bored sailing across the ocean to different islands.
The combat system is incredibly amusing as well. You have the ability to lock onto an enemy, and perform pretty basic combos. You have dodge, block, and attack. Seems pretty simple, but it's very fun. It gets more complex as you get farther in the game as enemy's have certain weak spots in their armor, or they can block. Along with these simple attacks, and blocks you have parry. When an enemy opens itself up, and you are locked onto it your controller will vibrate, and if you attack at that moment you will perform a rolling, or jumping attack that will deal high damage, and cut armor off the enemy. It's a tiny addition that adds to the fun of the battle system.
The main point of the game is the use of a little piece of metal called the Wind Waker. You learn new spells which control different aspects of the wind. You must use these spells in dungeons, and while sailing. It is really well done, but sometimes can be a tad annoying. You will need to change the wind every time you wish to sail. It is easily overlooked because the game is so damn entertaining that you won't even think about it being annoying. The worst part of the game is easily collecting the Triforce shards. Good fucking luck getting through that.
The graphics, and sound are awesome. The graphics are cartoon based, but they are a real treat to look at. It's hard to explain just what they look like, but they are really impressive. Nothing beats the cannon explosion animation. To this day, that is my favorite graphic out of any game. The music is just fucking fantastic. That's all there is to say about that. There is no voice acting as everybody speaks in some type of gibberish, but there are translations in chat boxes. I wouldn't even consider that a flaw because it really fits in perfectly. It wouldn't be the same with voice acting.
The game has tons of replay value since once you beat the game, there is still so much shit to do. You can get every little hidden treasure, or every upgrade for your rupee pouch. It clocks in at around 40 hours if you need to find EVERYTHING, not to mention you will play this through a second time. It is not debatable. You will enjoy your time.
Obviously I am leaving out so many things such as the dungeons, but I cannot spoil those for you. The combination of fairly simple puzzles, and fun boss fights will keep you entertained all the way through. The games difficulty level is not to high. It's a pretty simple game, but it is so fucking fun I will overlook that. Just know, if there is one reason to pick this game up it is the amazing dungeons.
Final Score: 9.8 I sometimes feel that this game gets overlooked because of the darling of the franchise OOT, and it bothers me. I understand that this game has received high reviews from critics, but it gets overlooked because of the other gems this series has produced. This is a great game, that everybody will be able to enjoy. In my opinion, it is easily the best game on the Gamecube. I hope you guys found as much enjoyment as I have while playing this great game.
