Review: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Lord of the Rings of the video game world (and the most controversial E-rated game of all time) is here?and the world is a better place.
Look to the center of the console adventure gaming galaxy, and there you will find Link. Every heart piece you?ve ever collected and gem you?ve gathered, every block you?ve pushed and wall you?ve bombed open, every Dark World you?ve visited and 3D sword-lock you?ve acquired?all these things stem from Shigeru Miyamoto?s incremental innovations in arranging adventure game 1s and 0s. This time, however, our Hero?s had an inspiration of a different sort.
The Worst Thing That Ever Happened
Few things in this life have gotten gamers as riled up as the Great Kiddifying of Young Master Link; chances are you?d already convinced yourself whether you love Cel-da or hate him before you?d even played the game. For the cel-haters, no amount of gushing is gonna change your mind?even if you heard that the quality of the liquid watercolor animation rivals (heck, surpasses) Disney?s best, or that the game?s spirit taps into the same natural-mystical kid/adult crossover zone occupied by the finest films of Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke). For the cel-lover, The Wind Waker will be the adventure of a lifetime?a combination of vivid artistry and timeless gameplay that radiates magic shiny happy life light.
Lessons in Legends
Miyamoto?s goal has always been to make sure that everything that goes into his games only serves to make them more fun?features lists and demographic data be damned. In that regard, The Wind Waker doesn?t stray from the winning formula that?s made the series such a smashing success. The Overworld still holds more secrets than you?ll ever find. Dungeons contain the standard assortment of maps, new tools, and boss battles. Even Link?s new baton is essentially a dressed-up version of the Ocarina of Time as you learn various songs to open doors, transport across the map, and change night into day. There are still blocks to push and chests to open?though all of this is handled with a bit more wisdom and a bit more refinement.
The game features fewer ?dungeons? in the traditional sense, but the ones that are here tend to be huger and more challenging with new twists (several of the more ingenious ones have you leading around another character, Ico-style, to solve puzzles). Later in the game, the notion of ?dungeons? is all but overthrown by a series of wonderfully elaborate treasure hunts that are sure to tax even the most accomplished Zelda gamer.
Static Waves of Ecstasy
The biggest (non-Celda-related) change comes in the way the Overworld is presented: as a vast ocean, set in a 7x7 grid, each square containing an island with something to find?a heart container piece or rupee stash at the least, an entire bird-person city or multi-level dungeon at the most. Each island is surrounded by tons of other stuff to tax your to-do list: some magic fish to find, some unexpected mini racecourse to traverse, some shark to kill, some random treasure trove to yank up from the brine. In many ways, the structure resembles Westwood?s underappreciated Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat. While trekking between islands threatens to become tedious, there?s always a million somethings to do on the way if you?re so inclined?treasure maps to decipher, giant squids to encounter, submarines to pilfer, Great Fairies to free. Even so, the game?s surprisingly non-linear, exploration-nurturing nature often requires patience and sturdy sea legs for backtracking.
Lucid Dreaming
Combat is a supreme joy?it incorporates Ocarina?s lock-on system, though new additions like countering and disarming are a cause for celebration (combos create awesome Looney Tunes-y ?dynamic soundtracks?), and experimenting on foes with your newly acquired tools generates lots of happy fun hormone. You?ll rarely die, and while the boss battles are glorious, they?re not exactly tough. More fun/less frustrating is the game?s fighting philosophy. Unfortunately, the camera can really freak out on you, and you?ll often find yourself in first-person mode when you meant to be locked on.
Where things get truly challenging is in the puzzles: For most of the game, the fun-to-frustration ratio is pitch perfect, but be warned that you will get stuck as the Wind Waker has a knack for turning the most mundane box-pushing puzzle into a test for a Mensa membership. Take, for example, the Earth Dungeon, which does for ?reflecting light? what Ocarina of Time did for ?changing water levels.?
All this, of course, is stitched together by one of the most creative and beautiful worlds ever conceived and brought to life?not just in video gaming, but in the whole realm of animation, film, and art. While The Wind Waker may be a bit too complex for the young, it?s definitely made for the young at heart.
To Thine Own Self Be True
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker dares to defy the notion that games need to be more ?gritty and realistic? by choosing instead to become exactly the opposite. Link?s is an adventure as old as time, but it feels like the most refreshing game in the world thanks to creative daring, insanely superior production values, and?above all?gameplay that would be fun even if Link were five colors, 16 pixels, and carried a blue monochrome block for a sword.
Note: This review is based on the boxed Japanese version of the game. According to Nintendo, the only difference in the English version is language translation.
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