GoNintendo 'End of Day' thought - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD review

A night off with Mom Brain's homemade pizza is a good night indeed. I hope you all had a wonderful Wednesday evening with Daan and a wonderful night with me. I'll see you in a few, short hours!

I very vividly remember sitting at my computer back when we saw the first footage of The Wind Waker. I was absolutely blown away by what I was seeing. I also knew that instant that the design choice just unveiled was going to drive people away. They'd see the new visuals and want nothing to do with the next Zelda installment. Indeed that was the case all those years ago, but time has certainly been kind to Wind Waker.

While there are still some holdouts, most that disliked the design approach have since warmed up to it. There are even people that cry out for Nintendo to utilize the visual style once again in a new console Zelda game. While that may never happen, we can at least relive the first time we got our hands on this visually stunning Zelda entry. Nintendo has revamped and re-released The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, this time with HD visuals. The best news is, the game itself is a better experience for it.


I'm really not going to go that much into the gameplay, since we're talking about a title that came out in 2002/2003. Most of us know what the game is all about. Most of us know how to play, where to go and what to do. For those that are experiencing the Wind Waker for the first time around via this remake, I don't want to ruin any of the magic or mystery! What I will do is discuss what has changed since the original.

In my mind, there is no doubt that Wind Waker is a better game now due to the overhaul in controls. Playing with the GameCube controller worked just fine, but the adaptation to the GamePad makes for a much more streamlined and precise experience. This is the first time we're getting a glimpse at what a Zelda title might be like on the Wii U. We're seeing what ideas Nintendo has come up with for the GamePad, and the results feel absolutely wonderful.

For me, the gyroscopic aiming made the gameplay experience that much better. Once you pick the item you want to use (boomerang, bow and arrow, ect.), all you do is hit the button you've assigned it to and use the GamePad's motion controls to aim. If you want to use the joystick to aim, you can do that as well. Personally, I found the motion controls to be spot on a super sensitive. I could adjust my aim in very tiny increments by barely moving my hands. Lining up shots with pinpoint accuracy felt so good! Even if you are against motion controls in Zelda games, having this option to move for aiming is a fantastic touch.

Speaking of touch, the GamePad's touch screen makes item selection easier than ever now. No need to pause the game and shift through menus. All you have to do is touch the item you want and drag it to the button you'd like to use it with. You can easily shift your items around to the various buttons over and over again. It was great to have everything on Link available with a simple touch. It's also very beneficial to be able to slide things into your control scheme while on the fly.

The GamePad also makes for a wonderful helper when it comes to sailing about. I kid you not, playing Wind Waker HD has spoiled me. I could never go back to the GameCube title, all because of the map availability. When you are out sailing about, you have a map right there on your GamePad screen. You can plan out routes as you're sailing along on the TV. Having that map available at all times surely beats out the map-viewing scheme of the GameCube outing. There's simply no comparing the two. It'd be like driving in a car with GPS vs. driving in a car with a traditional paper map. There's a reason why GPS' are so popular today!

Sailing has also been given an overhaul, thanks to the inclusion of the swift sail. This item is only available via the midnight auction, and I think it's only auctioned off after you beat the first dungeon. I hopped over to the auction as soon as I could get my hands on the item. The swift sail lets you control the boat directly without needing to change the wind in right direction. This obviously streamlines gameplay quite a bit. You also go double the speed you normally would by sailing with the wind, so that's another added bonus. You'll still need to use your wind waking abilities for all other areas of the game, so it's not like the swift sail eliminates the need for your wind waker. With that said, this item is totally optional. If you want to keep the experience closer to what it was for the original release, you can skip over this item completely.

The other big change comes via the Triforce collection aspect at the end of the game. Many fans know that this element was a bit tedious in the original release, and that's being generous. This aspect of the adventure has been tweaked a bit, eliminating the need to get every single Triforce chart translated by Tingle. Now you'll have just three charts that need translating, with the other locations hiding the actual Triforce pieces. This definitely cuts down on all the back-and-forth sailing you'll have to do at the end of the game, but the experience is still a bit messy. It's not as bad as it used to be, but I still think it could be better handled overall.

Of course, you can't tackle this game without taking a look visuals once again. Wind Waker was visually stunning from the get-go, but this HD remake takes things to a completely new level. There were many, MANY instances where I would just stop and stare at the screen. I've never, ever played a game that felt so alive before. Seriously, I had multiple experiences where I felt I could reach out and touch the game world I was looking at. Saying that a cartoon-like presentation felt extremely realistic is an odd thing to say, but that's really how I felt. It was like looking into a portal for another world. One of the most amazing visual experiences I've ever had.

Outside of those elements, this is the Wind Waker experience you know and love. There are other minor tweaks like Miiverse message bottles and a new difficulty option, but you'll be picking up this game again to experience that same amazing adventure you had years ago. This fresh coat of paint and tweaks to gameplay really do wonders for the entire experience. You'll definitely feel refreshed when you play, noting the minor changes and big overhauls as they hit you. Truly a top-notch remake that shouldn't be missed.

I truly envy those of you that have never played Wind Waker. I had a beautiful experience playing this remake, but newcomers are in for an experience that can't be topped. To have this definitive version of the game be your first time playing will create memories that'll stick with you forever. There's a sense of wonder and whimsy here, a sense of design approach that the Zelda series hasn't quite touched since Wind Waker's release. Knowing that Nintendo has gone back to re-examine this game has given me confidence that the next Zelda title could be the best yet. The Zelda team has relearned what made Wind Waker special and we're all going to have better future experiences for it.