Legend of Zelda : The Wind Waker Reviews

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.