Update: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Ever since its unveiling at Space World 2001, Link?s new look has been hailed alternately as ?brilliant!? or as ?just the biggest, suckiest, stupidest mistake ever.? But Shigeru Miyamoto?s position has always been confident: "Just wait ?til you play it before you judge."
Once upon another yesterday, there lived a young man (a time-traveler, so they say) with a sword and a penchant for wearing stylish green clothes. One day, when evil threatened the land, this heroic young man (the Hero of Time, so they called him) fought back and banished it, bringing peace to the kingdom once more?and then, as mysteriously as he had come, the Hero disappeared without a trace.
And so it came to pass that evil, unsatisfied with its exile, returned from banishment to threaten the land once more. The people looked for the Hero of Time to return and save them once again?but despite their prayers and their pleas, the Hero never came, and evil was left to do that which evil does....
What became of that ancient kingdom, no one knows for sure.
Legends Speak of a Legend
But Now is another time when peace is perpetual, and Here is another land where evil is but a memory of a myth?and everyone, to certain folks? dismay, looks a little more cartoony than they used to. The new GameCube Legend of Zelda (subtitled The Wind Waker) begins on your birthday as you?re presented with your own traditional set of green clothes in honor of the Hero of Time. Not too long afterward, your sister is kidnapped by a giant bird?and one pirate ship, one prison breakout, and a few dungeons later, you discover that a bad, bad man named Ganondorf has emerged from his kingdom beneath the sea to capture every girl in the land with pointy ears?and your own new Legend begins.
Appearances Deceive, the Old Man Said
Ever since its unveiling at Space World 2001, Link?s new look has been hailed alternately as "brilliant!" or as "just the biggest, suckiest, stupidest mistake ever." But Shigeru Miyamoto?s position has always been confident: "Just wait ?til you play it before you judge." If there?s one lesson we learned from Metroid Prime, it?s that screen shots never paint the complete picture of a game.
In motion, the new Zelda is unlike anything you?ve seen before. It?s not quite cel-shaded??watercolor-shaded? would be more accurate?and loaded with tons of stylized swirls that make it look like an avant-garde painting of a cartoon. Characters are ridiculously expressive, the bosses are works of art, and the animation is feature-film worthy; except you?re playing this movie instead of just watching it.
And So the Young Hero Learned Much From His Past
Much to the surprise of few, the gameplay in a nearly finished version of Zelda showed off what?s essentially an enhanced model of the classic third-person N64 games with the familiar auto-jumping, lock-on targeting system, and key-item-boss dungeon structure. If you know Majora, you know the drill.
What?s been enhanced? The camera has an Auto mode and a Free mode so you can pan the camera around, above, and below the Hero with the C Stick should the current angle not be to your liking. Combat combos are formed by tapping B in combination with different analog stick directions, and powerful counter moves are performed by tapping A when an enemy?s about to strike (your sword will flash green). Enemy weapons can be picked up (by you or by other enemies), pieces of armor can be knocked off, and key items can be yanked away with your grappling hook.
But a Great and Terrible Evil Lurked Beneath the Waves
The traditional Overworld has gone under a bit of an overhaul, too, shirking dry land in favor of a monstrous, briny sea. Every one of the squares on the 7x7 grid will contain an island?be it a dungeon, a side-quest-intensive town, or just some crazy creature in a hut?with dozens of floating platforms, ships, treasure, and other such flotsam strewn about for good measure. Since ponies can?t swim, your main mode of transport this time will be a world-weathered talking sailboat and a mystic conductor?s baton that can call upon the gods to change the direction of the wind.
You Shall Make a Very Fine Companion Indeed
The Wind Waker will also be one of the first games to really, truly support the GameCube-GBA link in the form of Tingle, a fairy creature who?ll essentially play the ?mobile information kiosk? role that Navi played in Ocarina of Time. Once the GameCube-GBA link is established, a map of the area will appear on the GBA screen representing the action on the TV screen, and you?ll be able to use Tingle?s ?cursor? to get hints, factoids about enemies, and even uncover the occasional treasure.
A Triangle of Great Power
When The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker hits stores this March, the holy Nintendo TriForce will finally be complete on the GameCube. A water cannon couldn?t sink Mario. A first-person perspective didn?t stop Samus. And this fresh set of green clothes looks like it will fit Link just fine.
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