Wind Waker: Flawed but Perfect

Ten years and two days after its Japanese release I began Wind Waker.  You’re probably wondering why, after all these years, I decided to buy a Gamecube.  There were two main reasons.  The first is that my interest in gaming, which had been waning for quite some time, was given a near fatal blow by Halo 4 (the review I co-wrote can be read here).  It managed to almost kill both my passion for a franchise that had occupied my devout attention for a decade, and for Xbox in general.  I could no longer stand the direction the gaming industry is inexorably moving.  The second reason was a concoction between longing to relive my memories of Ocarina of Time, and having a close friend who was forever reminding me of what I’d missed out on (or more accurately tempting me, and sharing pictures of their very pretty limited edition Zelda 3DS).  Finally I decided to begin making amends.  I sold Halo 4 and put the money towards a number of Ebay bidding wars.


Little ten year old Tom T had asked for an Xbox, seduced by Star Wars: Obi-Wan (I know!), and followed the path of the tryhard when he found aptitude for Halo.  In doing so he allowed a golden generation of gaming to pass him by.  Nothing epitomises this more strongly than Wind Waker…

The game begins by telling legend of Link's sealing away of the dark lord Ganondorf, at the end of Ocarina of Time.  At some point after Ganondorf managed to escape, but the hero who all expected to return did not.  As result, Gods and Sages intervened and his evil was contained, but at a cost: the golden land of Hyrule was flooded and lost beneath the waves.

The player thus wakes not amongst the well-trodden fields and forests of Hyrule, but on a beautiful island paradise.  The land is not one of horseback riding, and castle towns, but is instead one of great seas, sailing, and plundering pirates.  You are first given a telescope from your sister, who reminds you that it's your birthday!  You are then garbed in green, like the hero of legend, by your grandmother (which is the island's tradition, when youths come of age).  What must be emphasised is that for the first time in any Zelda game (to my limited knowledge anyway) you have a real family.  The grandmother, in particular, is an ingenious addition, in providing players with a strong feeling of affection for their home, which an encroaching evil will soon force them to leave.

What is immediately apparent to the first time player, due to graphics alone, is that Wind Waker is a game of unique character.  After its success on the N64, everyone was expecting another OoT.  Rather than maintain a certain seriousness in art direction, Wind Waker did something completely unexpected, and opted for a 'toon-like' appearance.  Contemporaries met this with a mixed reception, and were to be appeased, 4 years later, with Twilight Princess, but retrospectively I cannot help but admire Nintendo's decision.  TP is a visually appealing game, but it simply hasn't aged like Wind Waker.  There are no modern comparisons to make Wind Waker seem outdated.  By breaking tradition, it has become timeless.  The style is also deceptive in its vibrancy, which lends perfectly to darkness and chaos.  The contrasts arguably give the game more atmosphere than the modern approach of colour saturation, without losing any of the game's character.

And on the subject of characters, Wind Waker again has a very... unique charm.  You have the creepy bare-chested salesman Beedle, who offers to pay good money for your junk; a fat green fairy wearing very tight clothing, who has a walk I will never purge from my memory, and extortionately exploits a player who is trying to save the world; and a pirate crew led by a female hero named Tetra, who again emphasises Nintendo's wish to present strong independent women (much like Sheik in Ocarina of Time - oh man, spoilers, sorry).

Unsurprisingly, Wind Waker is not a perfect game.  It suffers in particular from pacing issues.  The first act, requiring the player to collect pearls, and climaxing with the Tower of the Gods, is exceptionally well put together.  I never once felt at a loss of what to do, and the game maintained a very good pace.  Unfortunately the transition in to the second act was quite cumbersome, requiring players to enter a random tornado and shoot Cyclos, or in my case requiring me to use google.  Thankfully the act was saved by two superb co-operative styled dungeons.  Sadly the pace yet again ebbed in the third act, which was a glorified treasure hunt, entailing a lot of sailing and short, repetitive dungeons (far too much of a good thing).  It is a shame, as this part of the game drained away any excitement from the impending final battle.

However, I can disregard these faults in saying that there is no game I have enjoyed so much in the last three (or more?) years.  Our memories thrive off of the unfamiliar; when something is familiar we do not bother to lay down new memories.  For years I have wasted my time on games with increasingly 'ultra-realistic' graphics and mindless explosions, and it is all a pointless blur.  Wind Waker was such a refreshing change.  It has quirky characters, and timeless graphics.  It is also filled with subtle little things, like having seagulls flock your boat for the very first time, and, most notably of all, it has the reveal of a Hyrule frozen in time beneath the waves, complete with a soundtrack that induces goosebumps in all who hear it.  I have embedded it below, for your convenience.

The game is testament to the power of breaking tradition, and I wish more developers would learn from it.  I am exceptionally glad I finally caved, and bought a Gamecube.  With a true classic, it is never too late.