The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC)

This was hard. Really hard. And I do have to say that my decision is biased. Yes, Ocarina was the first Zelda game I played, but this is the first Zelda game I really enjoyed. I think that this game made me a gamer, it left that kind of impression on me.

When I was a lad in 2003, I got the Ocarina of time master quest preorder, played that game for a month (The original version that came on disc), beat it, and I was stunned. I had never played a game that deep before. The huge world, seeing Hyrule in two different time periods…Great stuff. I remember seeing what the castle town looked like, seeing the ReDeads for the first time, the evil looking mountain when you come out of the temple…Chilling stuff. But I always thought the game didn't go far enough with the destruction Hyrule went through after 7 years. I wanted everything to be blown up or somehow corrupted! I wanted big crags of rock and craters everywhere, with all traces of civilization gone. Kakariko village should of just been destroyed too.
Ah well, what about Ocarina of time hasn't been said? Its great, something all gamers should play, yadda yadda yadda. It happens to be my 3rd favorite game of all time. The restraints of my countdown does not allow one series to occupy three spots, so this can counted as my 1.3rd favorite game ever.
So, Wind Waker is….Let me get back to you on that.

The Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess is my 1.2nd favorite game. The wolf aspect was fun, horse combat was a great addition, and the game looked awesome with some great lighting effects. Midna was great character, too. The game was also pretty long. It had a couple more dungeons than Wind Waker. It lacked….Something. I can't explain it. Maybe it was the unsatisfying ending…or how it annihilated the continuity of the franchise. Something about this game made it incredible, but not as magical (Did I just use that word?) as Wind Waker.

Watching the End Credits to the Wind Waker is something I can still remember. I remember I astounded I was at the game.
Well, let me get started on why this is my favorite game. The graphics are incredible, everything is so detailed. The great sea is huge, gigantic. When Everyone said that Hyrule in TP was big, I was like" This game is half as small as Wind Waker! The sea is so big, and theres alwas treasure to collect. There's just WAAAAY more stuff to do in your free time than there was in Twilight Princess. Unless you like collecting impossible to find bugs (Which I did)! The game's dungeons are really creative, having to do with wind, fire, light, forest….yeah, I know that's not too original, but the dungeons broke the sterotypes with puzzles that were unexpected. This game had some of the hugest puzzles in a Zelda game. The combat and weapons are the best. The new items, such as the grappling hook and the deku leaf are really fun to use. The sword combat is also better in this game than in twilight Princess, because of the awesome batlle music and the ability to parry enemies. I LOVED how you could pick up an Enemies' weapon! Why did they take that away? Let's not forget the bosses. They put the other Zelda Games to SHAME when it comes to how massive and creative these bosses are.

My favorite part about this game is the ending, an ending so awesomely and creatively satisfying that it boggles my mind. Fighting Ganondorf is so awesome. It's such a fluid sword fight you forget you're controlling it, unlike the jerky sword fight at the end of Twilight Princess. Link plunging the Master Sword into Ganondorf's head is the highlight of my gaming life.

This game was solid from its humble beginning to its incredible endgame. This game is so good, it makes me wonder why it didn't get so much plaudits. Maybe this will give it the recognition it deserves.
I can only hope.