Looking Back: Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

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Looking Back: Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
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[Jingleboy]

Truly a great game, I love the aesthetics of WW and it still feels "new" to me. I played it during early High School, I remember me and my friends would discuss our progress at break time and how I used to lead the Triforce hunt. I feel WW was much more memorable than TLP and SS, but that might just be due to being in my golden era of gaming. I also loved the Tingle Tuner.

Regardless, I love Wind Waker. Definitely one of my favourite games of all time.

[Poopaloop]

Wind Waker is definitely one of my favourite Zeldas. Even thinking about it now I remember the childish wonder that I got from sailing the seas, stumbling upon different land masses, every moment that triumphant ocean music playing pushing me forward into this grand world that was begging to be explored. I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt like Twilight Princess was a step back; it was just so 'safe' and in my eyes it really suffered because of it. Skyward Sword was a hop back in the right direction, although the sky was definitely no replacement for the ocean.

I don't think Wind Waker is an amazing game because it has no flaws; rather, it's an amazing game because it can still mean so much to me *despite* those flaws.

[ninjaTOASTY]

I still remember getting Wind Waker for my birthday the year it came out. I think this game is awesome, and I love the cel-shaded look to it. I've completed this game more times than I can count, and the only other Zelda games I can say that for are Ocarina of TIme and Majora's Mask. There was something about sailing the seas and discovering all sorts of secrets all over the place that made this game enjoyable, even on the 6th playthrough or whatever. And things like being able to play through the whole game in Link's pj's (and having all the Hylian text translated to English) is something I wish they'd incorporate more in future games in the series.

[Mirr0rR3flection]

Hopefully one day this game appears on the Wii"U" VC. (I'm sure GCN games will be added) I'd love to try this game since I never bought it for my GCN.

[redhatdrawler]

One of my favorte Zeldas.

[nGen]

Not only is it my favorite Zelda ever, but it is the best game I've ever played. As the first 3D Zelda I experienced, I was blown away by the Great Sea. I loved sailing, I love finding new islands, I loved tracking ghost ships and submarines. Wind Waker is one of those games that I could play forever and be wholly satisfied for the rest of my life.

[AnoukiAgentYellow]

Proud to be in my Top 10 Games of all Time list, the top half of said list to boot.

[tellis429]

Definitely one of my favourite games. I honestly don't see any past zelda's or zelda's to come beating this one.

Only way a new zelda will possibly beat windwaker would be for it to be a windwaker remake with upped graphics, more islands, and maybe voice acting for everybody but link.

[Vonter]

This game was great and it seems its graphics could be timeless. Still, and don't down vote it me, I don't find this as a Zelda game, it reminds me more of Sinbad the sailor. The journey across different and mysterious islands, the Roc bird, the treasures, even Gohma could be alluding to the cyclops of the story.

[Mako]

Wind Waker was my first Zelda game, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. I didn't even know what the series was at the time I bought it; I was just attracted to the boxart... Afterwards I went back and played the other games in the series I missed and continued buying the new ones. Wind Waker is still one of the best Zelda games in my opinion.

[CHAOSDRAGON88]

An amazing game in both Story and in Design perspectives that with out a doubt stands the tests of times and outshines it's graphics. The Character this game showed was amazing and really made it more immersive and evocative. You could easily share the pain of this heartbroken grandmother you just met and the sorrow that destroyed Ganon's heart and mind. They looked like cartoons but they were real and how they interacted to the emotions they showed were maximized fully by it's artistic design. Simple Gameplay elements change as well. Trolling the auction house with the occasional unreasonable bid made it amazing to even be despised by creations.That little isle was amazing in helping you find a home for yourself. Collecting Stattuetes from snapshots also made the game for me, as I loved staring at the little things hoping they'd move. So much love, too little energy to type.

[jasonmaivia]

I really need to finish that game. I've given up twice on it, with all of the searching for forks and triforce pieces. If I give up on my third try, that's it. No more Wind Waker for me.

[Entity]

Not only is it my favorite Zelda ever, but it is the best game I've ever played. As the first 3D Zelda I experienced, I was blown away by the Great Sea. I loved sailing, I love finding new islands, I loved tracking ghost ships and submarines. Wind Waker is one of those games that I could play forever and be wholly satisfied for the rest of my life.

At least we agree on two things; WW and Hotel Dusk!

[Booty]

that was an excellent article!

[bushidogamer]

I love the prioritized art direction. I've only seen it done well a few times, The Incredibles, Frank Frazetta's paintings and the GameCube controller. Many people say graphics don't matter; from a technical perspective they don't, to spur peoples' imaginations you definitely need it.

Nintendo places a heavier emphasis on getting you to emotionally connect with larger eyes. Legs don't present anything interesting in terms of information or storytelling so they downplay these types of aspects. The first time I saw Mr. Incredible, I thought he looked familiar. It's not a coincidence that the moblins from Wind Waker have almost the exact same design. They're all applying min-maxing that's usually found in role playing games to create a better designed experience for us. It’s extremely rare that an art team has all of their priorities in order.

Many people think Zelda is based on Lord of the Rings, not so. The single largest outside influence? John Milius' Conan the Barbarian. I'm not just talking about Nintendo using "Riddle of Steel/Riders of Doom" for the commercials and trailers either. Midna's helmet is similar to Thulsa Dooms’ henchmen’s.[1] If you look closely, there are two snakes coming together... facing each other. Definitely not a coincidence.[2] *Slight spoilers* The speech Gannondorf gives about wind blowing over his lands, that’s taken straight from Conan. Actually, Nintendo made it even better.

John Milius also based Conan more off of Frank Frazettas’ paintings than the Robert E. Howard books in the documentary Frazetta: Painting with Fire. Watch Conan again with the commentary on and you’ll find out that a director has to think about choosing meaningful shots to frame a story well.[3] He says so much with so little.

All of these little details fall into place so beautifully. You can tell by all of these people that Wind Waker isn’t just one of the most fondly remembered Zeldas, it’s Nintendo’s finest for decades and centuries to come. I love all of these comments about Wind Waker. The more attention this game gets, the better.

1. Videogame facts that blow your mind - http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.ph ... count=7620

2. Conan the Barbarian Schwarzenegger Short - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4NGDC1J1Ak

3. Top 5 movies from the 80's Finale (skip to about 10:00 mintues in)- http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/bt/ben ... ies-finale