The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker – This is Why We Play Video Games
This is the first Zelda game to feature any sort of continuity from a prior Zelda game. The games opening cinema detail the events of The Ocarina of Time through a series of ancient styled storybook pages. It tells of the heroic efforts of the Hero of Time, and the ultimate downfall of the Kingdom of Hyrule. However this legend has been passed down to a group of Island Dwellers who celebrate their male children becoming men by dressing them in green much like the hero of time in hopes that they to will lead great lives. This is where The Wind Waker’s story begins as you take control of Link for the first time. Shortly afterwards you meet a band of Pirates, and your younger sister is kidnapped. Thus you set out to rescue her.
The cut scene cinematics are absolutely incredible. I have found myself tensing up, smiling with delight, and even bursting into laughter. This is thanks to great characters in the game. Everyone from you Grandmother who is hesitant to let you leave to fid your sister, despite her wanting her out of danger, to the majestic and wise boat that you sail around the islands on. Everyone feels authentic and you find yourself rooting for good things to come to him or her.
One of the ways that this great characterization is possible is through the new Cel-Shaded graphics engine. Characters facial expressions add increasing amounts of depth to the characters and even function to guide you to your next objective. For instance while walking around an island Link will sometimes notice something that you may not have seen. He will be looking up towards the sky, and as soon as you look in that direction you see a cluster of bombs on a cliff side right under a giant destroyable rock. It’s this great attention to detail that really pulls you into Link’s world. As well as everything in the world is vibrant with color and life. You will see fish swimming through the seas, seagulls flocking to your boat as you near land, and even small rats scurrying through the shadows.
Adding to the visual side of the game is a great soundtrack. The music is a mix of new songs as well as some that are reminiscent of classic Zelda tunes, only with certain changes made to where they have an appeal of their own. Each Character is accompanied by a series of noises and sound effects that compliment the text dialogue, giving them a voice without ever speaking. Link’s battle noises are top notch, but there are not that many of them, so you will find yourself hearing them over and over again.
As usual the game is broken into overworld quests, and dungeons. The overworld is massive however this time out. I have only explored maybe a fifth of it, and I have spent countless hours just wondering around in the boat. While you are exploring there are tons of mini games, and side quests to complete and will add countless hours to the games completion length.
The overall theme this time around is the wind. It plays a key role in the game requiring you to manipulate the wind direction to solve puzzles and sail from location to location. This is accomplished via the Wind Waker, a mystical conductors baton. It operates like the Ocarina from OoT, in that you learn songs and play them using the Wind Waker. However instead of relying on notes alone, you must play notes in a sort of rhythm using a specific time signature for the desired effect.
We all know that game consoles need system selling games and to date the Gamecube has had may stellar titles, Metroid Prime, Mario Sunshine, Eternal Darkness to name a few, but no real system movers. The Wind Waker is the game the Gamecube has needed in its lineup for months now. The game is as polished as any game could be, and is the most engaging gaming experience to date from the current generation of consoles. I can not remember the last time a game made me smile with delight while playing, and I could care less how stupid I look, because I am having fun, and isn’t that what video games are all about?
