Game Info Name: The Legend Of Zelda Wind Waker review Category: RPG Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Players: 1 Score 10 Screenshots

Unadulterated, Pure, Incredible, Entertainment.
As you all may know, I am on hell of a Zelda fanatic. My avatar on this site is Link. I have Zelda posters on my wall. I have a Zelda baseball cap. I have the Majora’s Mask Action Figures. I have 3 Zelda t-shirts (one is custom made) and a custom made coffee mug. I have sculpted young Link out of clay. I have played every Zelda game, and above all else, I have Link tattooed on my arm. As I waited to play this game, my mind started to wander. I began to think crazy things. Things like, “What will my life be like after Zelda?” “Will I die before I get to play it?” or even, “Once it ends, will I still enjoy it?” Enjoy is too small of a word to describe this experience. Instead, I’ll say words like “triumph” “legendary” “phenomenal” “landmark” “revolutionary” and I’ll even throw in “awesome” for good measure. Y’see, there’s games, and then there’s Zelda: The Wind Waker. You will not find another superbly excellent game on the market today.

WTF HE L00KS LIKE A POWERPUFF GIRL!!!!!!!!!
Upon first glance of this game, in both pictures and in motion, many people will instantly (and agonizingly) dismiss the game just for its graphical style, known as “cel-shading.” When Nintendo had shown us the realistic Link and Ganondorf fighting each other at Space World 2000, we all were completely awe-stricken. After the major overhaul, many were hurt, confused, and even scared of their precious Zelda being turned into a Looney Tunes cartoon. Even yours truly had his doubts. After all, who were we, the adoring fans, to question how Nintendo created its games? Well after playing this I can safely say I will never doubt Nintendo ever again. The graphical engine used in this game not only does its job extremely well, but it in many ways over-achieves where a realism-based engine would not. The game relies solely on emotion, invoking it in such a powerful manner from you, the victim, that it will etch a moment in your brain that you will not be able to remove until you die. I came so close to an emotional outbreak while playing this game that I safely kept a box of Kleenexes near me just in case one of my eyes decided to explode and rain down upon my face. There is not a moment in this game where you will dislike or even be annoyed with the graphics. And just in case this does happen to you I have a few words of advice: GROW THE FUCK UP.

I Must Flee; The Open Sea is Calling to Me.
This game is so enormous that you will actually feel slightly bored as you progress through the game. The ocean covers the entire world, and you must traverse it using only your little red boat, known as the King of the Red Lions. He’s a talking boat, and helps you time and time again throughout your quest. Fortunately, the game is equipped with a warp song further down the road that acts much like the Song of Soaring did in Majora’s Mask. The places you can warp to are pre-selected and you don’t have to have been there previously to be able to warp there. Like OOT and MM, the game features a sun and a moon that give the world a sense of time. The moon even has different phases, and is even used to solve a few puzzles. They also slowed their orbits down from previous games, but just in case you want to speed up time, you can easily make it day or night with a swish of your magical conductor’s baton called the Wind Waker. The game also features a completely controllable camera and just works flawlessly. Mario Sunshine was the practice round with this camera and it seems Nintendo has once again perfected one of the largest problems in the gaming industry today. Fighting is also done flawlessly, as you have many more moves added to your arsenal. You can dodge oncoming attacks from enemies by pressing A at a certain time, and that causes you to flip around and automatically attack the enemy. It is so fun that after you kill an enemy, you will wish another enemy is around the corner. The only negative comment I must make on the control is…oh wait a sec there isn’t one.

A Majestic, Musical Score Like...A Zelda Game!
Koji Kondo and his assistants once again wrote the music in the Wind Waker. He has rounded up many tunes from previous Zelda games and placed them in the most appropriate spots, leaving the gamer completely baffled by the genius of its melodies. Every single song that has made Zelda famous for what it is has been included in this game. Many songs have been arranged for the better, donning a new pair of tropical clothes to go with its environment. Only true Zelda purists will recognize every tune, and those who do will be in for an immersing, wonderful aural trip down memory lane. Thankfully, the NPCs do not speak so you will not have to sit there and listen to their horrible voice acting. Instead they each make their own personal grunts and noises to set their personalities apart from the rest. Link’s grandmother and Orca are among the most emotive characters in the game. You feel so comfortable and relaxed while you’re playing the game that you become completely immersed and Link will find a new home located in your heart. Nintendo, you finally have achieved your goal of making us feel like we are in the game.

Could You Lend Me a Piece of Your Heart?
The essence of this game has been made and remade countless times for the past 17 years. And that I believe is saying something. How could you design a game that is so effortlessly fun and so intuitive that you can keep re-inventing the entire process just to succeed yet again? Whatever that secret may be, it is inevitable truth that the Zelda franchise is the most successful and endlessly playable franchise on our entire planet. Go ahead and mock me. All it will bring is more strength to my argument. Knowing that Zelda has fully grasped the perfect combination of every element found in a video game leads to infinite possibilities. Nintendo has tapped the GameBoy Advance resource once again and will let you control Tingle throughout a section of the game. Throwing a second player into the mix allows for a more enjoyable and satisfying experience, like it wasn’t satisfying enough already! You can also receive a special item called the Picto Box Deluxe, that lets you take three pictographs of anything in the game. If you take full-bodied shots of all the characters in the game, they can be taken to the Master Craftsman located in the “Nintendo Gallery” in the game and he will happily make a figurine for you. The hundreds of characters will keep collectors entertained for months, and people like me happy that Nintendo has once again upped the ante on what we call “replay value.”

The Master Sword Sleeps.
The Wind Waker has easily taken five days of my life away in one quick, effortless undulation of its sword. At the same time, while playing it I became focused on a reason why I shouldn’t love this game so much. That irksome force stayed with me the entire five days I spent with the game. When I finally approached the end boss and eventually the ending, however, all my pains and qualms I ever had instantly vanished forever, and I will never look back. The game has reached a legendary status, and has triumphed over every game it competes with. This game should stand the test of time over every game released in this time period. The fact of the matter is, once you let Zelda: The Wind Waker into your life, you will never be the same. And that is worth its weight in gold, er…rupees.