How many Zelda titles have been on this 1001 list so far? It seems like all of them. The series can't be that good, can it? Well, I ought to know by now if it is or isn't, having played those previous entries, to some degree... I mean, that was sort of the point in this whole endeavour, wasn't it?
Picture the scene, then. The GameCube is on the horizon, and a new Zelda title has been teased. It's grown up, and moody, in stark contrast to the colourful entries of the past. This is a new age for Zelda, a time where it tackles the tough stuff.
And then The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is released, and our hero is a stumpy little Funko Pop figure, and the graphics are the absolute opposite of dark and moody. Fans flipped, I'm told. I wouldn't know. I wasn't fussed about the GameCube or Zelda back then.
But Wind Waker has stuck around and looks like it hasn't aged. It even got an HD re-release. Why? What's there to improve here? What even is The Wind Waker?
Fun Times
Of all the Zelda titles, I've been looking forward to The Wind Waker the most. Other than the looks, I think it's almost-open world approach is intriguing, and the idea of setting sail on the seas reminds me of how much I enjoyed my time with Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. But make no mistake, that's not a similar game to this.
This is, through and through, a Zelda adventure. Evil has swept across the land and only one man - one boy, even - is capable of stopping it.
But that was in the past. A distant past, perhaps, only known of through tales and traditions. When a boy comes of age, they celebrate this history by donning the familiar green garb and aspiring to the success of the Hero of Time.
Provided, that is, that you even know what day it is. This is Link's first emotion in Wind Waker, and it is glorious. This one reaction to being woken up has sold me on this iteration of the character, and he's done next to nothing so far.
Our sister reminds us that today is indeed our birthday, and Grandma wishes for my return to the house to put on that special costume. Before we get around to that, let's explore our island home.
Like previous titles, our HUD tracks our health and wealth, and context-sensitive button input options are displayed in the top right. If these games aren't friendly to new players, I don't know how you'd define friendly.
The islanders serve as mini-tutorials, teaching you about jumping (which is still scarily automatic when you run off something), sneaking, and the all-important L-targeting. The controls feel great, though my problems with them come from emulation. I've mapped the face buttons to their letters, not positions, so I can't rely on the diagram in the corner to get inputs correct.
The camera controls are fluid too, but inverted, with no way of changing them in-game, from what I can see. I could remap it in emulation, I suppose, but let's not go down that rabbit hole if we can help it. We just need to go home and talk to Grandma.
 |
| Lovely. |
Why yes, Link, it does look dorky. Just run around outside and enjoy your birthday, yeah?
We're interrupted by a colossal bird being chased by a pirate ship. In its claws is - or was - a girl. We're dressed as a hero. She's in trouble. I think we know what we need to do, but first, we require a weapon.
Excellent. That was easy. Hit the B button to swing your sword, combine it with the L button to lock onto your target, combine them with the analogue stick to thrust, or use the A button to launch into a jump attack or even a dodge and parry. From the start, Link seems to know what he's doing. I only hope I do too.
Something dangles from a tree in the forest. Our hero crawls through a log to collect an item. This is all very reminiscent of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, isn't it? What other games have been inspired by Wind Waker?
Link can indeed crouch and crawl his way through the environment, allowing for a stealthy approach to your target, one of which happens to be up ahead.
Whoever he was is swiftly dispatched, exploding into a puff of evil cartoon smoke. It looks good here, it looks even better in motion. L-targeting isn't required but sure is recommended. I don't think I actually did so there, but don't worry about it. The obstacle was overcome, let's find the girl.
Well, it seems she doesn't need our help after all, and almost insults us as well. This is a tradition - I'm not dressed like this for fun, you know.
Job done, whether we did anything directly or not, we follow Miss Tetra out of the forest and stumble into another bird-related problem.
Our sister is next to be snatched. Is this the whole game? Saving people from birds? It heads out to sea, unfortunately, and there's only one person we know with a boat (ignore the fact that we're on an island, we've a plot to progress).
She has a point. We're not prepared to go on a rescue mission right now. We need a shield, and there happens to be one hanging up in our house.
The lack of voiced dialogue lessens the impact of scenes like this, but the way these characters emote does a lot to portray what's going on. Grandma is rightly concerned for our wellbeing, but she is proud of us, and of what we might become. The reality of the situation hits Link. He's got to grow up quickly if he's to succeed, and he's got to leave his island home for the first time, for a long time.
Oh great. Good plan, Tetra. You've gone and smacked me into a solid rock wall, dropped me into the sea and lost my sword in the process. To be fair, though, I was expecting this whole area to be an end game area, or later on in any case. Instead of sailing the seas looking for clues on our sister's whereabouts, we're just told by the postman where she probably is and go straight there.
And once again, I have to compare what I'm seeing to Metal Gear Solid. I've seen bits and pieces of Wind Waker, but not in any detail. Our hero emerging from the water in a murky blue environment at the beginning of a sneaking mission... how can you not evoke feelings of MGS. Let's get our stealth on then.
Barrels we can hide in, searchlights to avoid... let's just chuck in Sly Cooper to the big pot of games I'm reminded of when playing this title. I know exactly what to do here, but beware: 'Drop' doesn't mean 'drop to the floor, motionless', but 'get out of the barrel'. You don't want to do that.
You don't want to get caught, either. A searchlight came out of nowhere, and I was thrown into jail. No worries, however, as my captors aren't terribly fussed about how I got here or what I'm doing. Through a magical stone, Tetra tells me to look for a crack or something to get out of. It's a climb to get to, but sure enough, we can shimmy out to freedom.
Frustrations
After missing a rope swing, I fall to the floor below, get attacked by some rat-looking things, and then near immediately found by some thugs while attempting to escape down the corridor in another barrel.
As jumping is automatic, jumping for a swinging rope to hop over a gap in the floor scares the bejesus out of me. With inverted camera controls, lining up your jump can be a little fiddly. Timing it is forgiving, to some extent, as you can clearly jump and miss, only to safely snap into a rope swing animation.
Time to escape again.
I manage to work my way outside and up to the towers where the searchlights are operated, but I haven't found my sword yet. I'm told I can use my shield to block attacks (obviously), and eventually, my opponents' weapon will bounce off and out of their hands, where I can run over and grab it before them, unleashing a beatdown of my own.
Sometimes, there are even weapons lying around, and you can sneak up and grab one before getting into a fight, but as they're not your default weapon, pressing the A button will, under certain circumstances, throw it away.
These fights were, as you might expect, sloppy. I was throwing away weapons, I was mistiming attacks, I was losing health. But, at least some of the searchlights had been turned off, helping me out in future.
God damn, was I getting annoyed at these grunts and their ability to detect me. Was I moving at the wrong time, or too fast? Did I actually smell or was that just an animation that they did? I could have save stated, I guess, but I didn't want to be beaten. I was irked by the inverted camera, I was flustered by some of the controls in combat, I really wanted my sword back, and to get past these bloody guards.
But I couldn't. I just couldn't.
Final Word
I saved in frustration, wondering what I was doing wrong. My first stint with Wind Waker came to an end, and it didn't end on a high.
It was my own fault for the most part, yes. If I had taken my time, if I had gotten used to the controls, if I had thought before acting, I might have made some progress. But at the same time, what I thought I was doing was right. I was sneaking in a barrel behind an enemy who couldn't see me. I turned a corner and with no warning at all, thanks to where the camera was pointing, I was discovered and locked back up.
It's a long way back each time, let me tell you. Whether you get the jumps and the rope swings right or not, getting back to where you failed is a run you don't want to do multiple times, especially when you view the failure as silly or insignificant or bullshit beyond your control or whatever.
I don't think it was bullshit, but I was upset that it has happened so often. I wanted to see where this story was going. While I believe it is held back by having everything said in speech bubbles, the emotions, on Link especially, land really well. They're comical, they're authentic, they're so simple but mean so much, and they make Wind Waker appealing to watch.
Hmm. To watch. To play. I'm not happy with the way I left Wind Waker, but yes, there will be more playing of it at some point. These games do everything they can to welcome new players, and while I'm getting old and cranky, I should be able to get through the first real challenge...
I've not seen any of the gadgets and weapons, I've not met any of the wonderful characters, and I've not gone out on the seas in my own little boat, sailing from rock to rock on a quest for the ages. I've got so much to see - if I could just get out of this bloody prison cell.
It looks fantastic, even after all of these years. The look, love it or hate it, is practically timeless. It's nowhere near as good looking as A Link to the Past, but it is a looker, and (re)discovering games like this has been a joy. I just need to get good at some of them, it seems.
I've no idea what's in store for the larger Wind Waker plot, but I look forward to finding out. This is perhaps the best chance I've got at getting through a Zelda title, in terms of feeling somewhat comfortable with the controls. It helps that this version of Link is perhaps the best one too.
That's right, I said it.
Fun Facts
In response to the unexpected visuals, critics dubbed this game 'Celda'. Well done, whoever that was.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, developed by Nintendo EAD, first released in 2002.
Version played: GameCube, 2003, via emulation.