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Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
GameRatio Review
GC |
View Full Game Info
Published by
Nintendo
Released on
2003-03-24
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| 95% GameRatio |
90% GR% Review |
Shay
Reviewed on
2003-10-31
Zelda: The Wind Waker is a very creative and innovative game. It blends original graphics, recognizable music, exciting gameplay, and an above-average Zelda storyline to make for a fun experience. However, there are a few things that prevented me from rating it the same as Ocarina of Time (which I consider to be gaming perfection).
Instead of using a story that replaces the last Zelda storyline, Wind Waker takes place hundreds of years after Ocarina of Time ended. This makes for a really cool plot, as you get to see some familiar faces and locations. The opening movie even refers to the events of Ocarina of Time, and it explains how the world has once again fallen into darkness. There are a couple of plot gaps, but the story is still pretty awesome.
Wind Waker doesn’t exactly take place in Hyrule. Hyrule has disappeared, and the world is now totally flooded. You have to use your boat to sail between the more than 40 islands, which is pretty much a pain by the end of the game. Each island is small, but only one island is in each grid space of the map. I really never got comfortable with this concept. I think it would have worked out better if the ocean was half the size that it is. Half of the game is spent sailing to your next destination, which is usually interrupted by annoying sharks and octoroks that knock you out of your boat. You eventually get warp spells, but you still have to sail a lot.
At a first glance, I didn’t think that this game could possibly improve upon Ocarina of Time’s battle system. But by the time I finished the game, I decided that Wind Waker’s battle system wipes the floor with OoT’s version. No longer do you only get handful of sword attacks. In addition to the thrust, lunge, horizontal slash, spin attack, side jumps, and back flips, you get counter-attacks, combos, enemy weapons, and a hurricane spin. The combos are an excellent addition that adds tons to the simple Zelda fighting. When an enemy is about to attack, the B button lights up, allowing you to perform a counter-attack. The hurricane spin is powerful, and using enemy weapons is cool but overall unnecessary for the most part.
The other half of the gameplay consists of talking to people, finding items, solving puzzles, and exploring. Unlike in past Zelda games, the people here have intelligent, interesting dialogue. There is also lots of humor present, such as when Link gets smashed into walls. The puzzles are very creative and unique from OoT, yet they are not impossibly difficult. Block pushing is back, along with using your shield to reflect light. New puzzles involve using the grappling hook and of course the wind, which happens to be a major part in the game. New items include the deku leaf, grappling hook, power bracelets, telescope, wind waker, and a few other things. The boomerang received a major upgrade, allowing it to target up to five objects/enemies at the same time.
Technologically, Wind Waker is impressive. The graphics are perfect. The game is just so beautiful, but the beauty comes with one drawback: the serious and creepy atmospheres of OoT are gone. There are no dungeons that have the same mood as the Forest Temple and Shadow Temple had in OoT. Sound effects are superb as well. The characters don’t talk, but they make strange noises that seem to fit them. They are similar to Mario Sunshine, but not as strange. But as for the music... it’s not revolutionary. In fact, half the music is remixed versions of classic Zelda music, which is good. But the new stuff just isn’t as lively and unique as what I’ve come to expect from a Zelda game.
Now for a few things that gave me a sour taste. First of all, the game length is way too short. Take out the sailing and treasure hunts and you have a game that lasts 10 hours at most. There are about 8 dungeons, ranging from small to large, but that is it - most of the islands are too small to be considered in the same league as the over worlds in OoT. Next, the treasure hunting goes beyond ludicrous. Finding a map that shows me where to find maps to find a map to find a triforce piece... that isn’t fun, it is tedious and boring. There are way too many treasure chests in the game. Zelda games are known for their items and the thrill of finding them. The thrill of the hunt in Wind Waker was over very quickly, and I must have opened at least 200 chests easily, most of which contained crap. The game is easy, so easy in fact that many items and maneuvers are useless. I didn’t die once, I never used any healing potions from the bottles I never needed fairies, and I never needed to use the look-around borrowed from Metal Gear Solid. The hookshot is also pretty much useless, being used only in the last level. Rupees are useless for the most part, although you get to buy a few things worthwhile. And finally Tingle: he is the gayest character ever created.
Despite these flaws, Wind Waker is still a superb game and is very enjoyable. One last thing I should mention is the Tingle Tuner. If you have a GBA, you can play along using Tingle. He allows you to buy bombs, balloons, potions, and other items that are a waste because the game is so easy. However, he also lets you check out info on enemies and places much like Navi did in OoT (who happened to be much, much better). Unless you have a second player, don’t use Tingle. The time and effort spent searching for rupees aren’t worth it.
Shay O'NeilGameRatio review by Shay
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