While it features some aspects from OOT and MM, Wind waker is significantly different than previous Zelda games.
User Rating: 9.2 | The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Limited Edition) GC
What began as a series about a knight and a princess has evolved into a game involving talking plants, people with wings, an enormous ocean, an incredible plot, and so much more. Now, I admit, this game didn't take my breath away as much as OOT (Ocarina of Time), but it still made me feel happy. Concerning the game's plot, it is an epic about how the past influences the future in every action in this universe. You will think it stupid at first, for it seems that you are merely going to rescue you sister from a stupid giant bird (laaaaaame). However, it seems that this just draws you out of your home. You need to play this game to see what I mean. The ocean plays a large part in this game. It seems that this large ocean is just a place you traverse, while it is actually the central focus of the story. What lies beneath it is really an eye opener. This ocean is divided into 49 "squares" which take about a minute to traverse. So if you want to go through the whole ocean just by sailing, prepare to play for an hour. Don't panic, for there is a song you can play that will carry you to specific parts of the ocean. However, the game's fight mechanic is still a bit shallow, consisting of only Parry, Stab, Slash, Spin Attack, and Jump Attack. This is a bit of a dissapointment, but you will get over it. The game's sidequests are so plentiful, you will find yourself upon completing the game that all the sidequests wind up to be even longer than the game itself. From taking pictures to searching for treasure to lighting lighthouses to even delivering mail, this game provides about 50 hours of sidequests. Now, I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of cel shading. I find it weird, but this game does its best to make it work, and I must say it works fantasticaly. The art direction is superb, and the landscapes are so perfectly excecuted that you come to realize that cel shading is not so bad. As for the soundtrack, I found it simply superb (like my score). I found myself humming it in the car or even playing other games. I once dreamt of a song from this game. However, I wish there could have been voice acting in this game, for pressing A to advance the story gets tiresome. So overall, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is a game that accomplishes many things other games strive to do. It may not be as incredible as the ground-breaking title Ocarina of Time, but this is an entirely different experience. So if you haven't bought that stupid purple kiddie box, then you must buy it just to play this game. Really. You'll get over its purple color eventually. Well, maybe not. I never did.
