Some games deserve a second look...
3 years later, I've grown up and finally played Wind Waker how it was meant to be played... with heart.
GAMEPLAY
----COMBAT SECTION
You take the Ocarina of Time engine, add some sweet new moves to it, and you have the Wind Waker engine. It does have some quirks though. Like Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker uses the auto jump system. But, some platforms that float will bob. The auto jump system in OoT also had a problem with not jumping in this situation, WW has the same problem. Its only in one area, and its not a problem really, but the one flaw is worth noting.
Most of the gameplay revolves around sword fighting. The sword fighting is superb in Wind Waker. Enemies will block, and you can block the enemies swipes with your shield. Enemies will pick up weapons, and if you hit them right, they will drop their weapons. From Darknuts to Wizrobes you will be fighting all kinds of classic and new enemies with all kinds of new moves. The boss fights are just as intriquing also, more on that later.
It wouldn't be a Zelda game without awesome items. With new items like the grapple hook, which allows you to swing across large gaps, and returning favorites like the hookshot, you'll never be short of ways to embarrass and destroy your enemies. Sometimes you'll smile gleefully when you discover a tough enemies weakness.
----SAILING SECTION
The other part of the game is not quite as strong, but you can't expect it to be. The sailing will get boring... unless you actually are sailing for a reason. I decided I'd go mark every island, and did, and it wasn't boring sailing. Though you'll spend an hour or so sailing from point A to point B in the game, it will never be a problem because said time is broken up with 3 dungeons. You use the Wind Waker (what a surprise) to change the wind in the direction you want to go. You can feed these strange fish bait to mark the island for you, which is strange, but they also give you clues if you are looking to completely 100 percent or are stuck in the story, one clue in particular leads to you being able to easily get joy pendants, the most annoying item to collect in the game.
The overworld is HUGE. I've never seen so much ocean in a game, with so many little islands, some of them are cute, shaped like something like a bomb, and others are shaped like star constellations in the skies. They all have names based on what the island is like... if you watch closely, one of the islands have your name after you do a particular quest. Its really nice to be looking at the map and see your name on that island.
You never get lost though, because later on you can teleport to any major points, and if you do go to far, your boat will tell you to turn around.
The sailing part also comprises of you shooting other boats and firing boomerangs at stuff, it can be frustrating when you get double or triple teamed, with almost no time to get back in your boat, but this only happens when your trying to do extra stuff, so you'll usually have the necessary means to get out of said situation. The cannon aiming is wierd, and long range shots are near impossible, but the enemies ships are so inaccurate for the first few shots its not a problem. But after the third or so shot, they will become deadly accurate and hit you every time.
----TOWNS SECTION
Towns are smaller this time through, but boy do they pack a lot in them. There are plenty of boat shops where you can buy stuff, or you can drop by the bomb shop and get bombs. You talk to people, which they usually talk down to you as a kid. I never want to choose the bad choices in the game, but I always wonder what it would be like if I could just take my sword out and kill some of the annoying people. I wouldn't if I could though, but it is an interesting prospect. Maybe in Twilight Princess this will be a reality.
There are some minor puzzles, and some really cool items to be found, good luck finding them all.
On a side note, this is the easiest Zelda ever to come out. If you had trouble on any older Zelda game, you'll likely only stumble on the earliest part of the game, after that its the easiest Zelda yet.
GRAPHICS
The whole reason I hated this game 3 years ago was completely wrong. I consider it some kind of insecurity on my own part when I was that age, but whatever. If you can't stand the graphics, you need to have a reality check.
The graphics are a bit strange, and do take some getting used to though. The colors are vibrant, the facial expressions are... expressive, towns are nice, and dungeons are dark when they need be. But overall my favorite part of the graphics was how Link was always looking at something, never just staring into the distance. Someone nearby? Link will look them in the eye. Wierd object or treasure chest, Link will stare at that. Sometimes you'll get clues just by watching at what Link is looking at, its a very nice feature.
Some character designs are once again wierd, but they have a very good style if you actually decide to look at them. My favorite people in the game are the Rito, because they can fly, and they are an integral part of the game in some situations.
The Cel-shaded graphics do make the game look a lot different. Purists like me scuffed at the changes. But now... I hate to admit it but I like these graphics better than the ones in Twilight Princess, even though TP's graphics are a hell of a lot better from a technical aspect. I guess a lot of things change with age. The characters do not have outlines at all, which more cel-shaded games do have, and I think it was good that they did not add lines to it. Just don't expect OoT with Gamecube graphics like I did and you'll fall in love with this new style.
SOUND
A lot of people expect voice acting in video games now a days. I did too for this game. One of the things I felt that could have brought this game to another level would have been voice acting for every character except Link (because Link is you, so that would kind of ruin a rule that adventure games follow that immerse you as the character). I'm not down rating the sound because I've played Mario Sunshine... which has voice acting. After that I'm so glad they didn't voice act Wind Waker that there is no reason to down rate it at all.
On to other aspects of the sound. Music ranges from good to brilliant. They do over use some older music, but unless you own the OST like I do, you won't notice at all. Some of the music is brilliant, such as the battle with Molgera (I don't know why, I love that song) and returning songs like the one played in Hyrule Castle are also appreciated. The dungeons unfortunately do not have as good of music as OoT. They seemed to want more ambience than viseral music, it works... but I really miss the sweeping music from the dungeons. The one exception is the Tower of the Gods though, which has an OoT style of dungeon music.
Main characters do have voice clips to them. Aryll and Quill yell "HOY" to my knowledge when they talk in certain scenes. Its not annoying at all, because its never heard enough. I really wish they'd give us a bit more into the characters voices and personalities, but alas they didn't. Hopefully Phantom Hourglass will give the characters a few more clips if anything. Links yelps are MUCH better than the ones from OoT (the child ones at least), and definitely add a touch of personality to Link.
Ambience... is rarely noticed. Though they seem to have put extra work in ambient sounds in Wind Waker. The Gulls in the air, enemies make noise, when they're sitting around. The world never appears silent. At night, the ambient sounds are most prominent because of the lack of music. I like how they added this, and it adds more to the game.
VALUE
I was going to say this was the shortest Zelda I ever played, but then I played Minish Cap. The number of dungeons are very low. Some parts of the game seemed to be added as filler. The game can be blown through in 12 hours easy... if you have any experience from OoT. The sheer massive size of the Overworld will easily add 100s of hours if you want to collect every sculpture and heart piece... unless you are following a guide. I'm currently not started on the collection of sculptures, but found every item and all but a few heart pieces, and I'm at 40 hours (Second time through the game since I changed my mind about it) so far. I never think I'll get every picture, since some MAY be impossible get at how far I am, and I am not restarting the game.
Just don't expect a long main quest, and you'll be fine with the value. Its got a TON of extra stuff, just make sure you have the will to find it.
TILT
Tilt usually comprises of how the game's story immersed me within the world of the game.
Something OoT was unable to do was make me care about the characters in the game, make me feel like I'm in the game. Wind Waker did manage to do this though. I felt like I had a duty to save Aryll, and kick Ganon's ass. Ever since the end of OoT I wanted to finish him off. Basically, let the story get to you and you'll be hooked to the ending... the disappointing ending.
The ending, is terrible in my opinion. I would have lowered Tilt to an 8, but with Phantom Hourglass coming out, I finally understand the ending in a way I could never before. It is still one of the crappiest endings ever... think of doing everything in the game for one thing, and then after achieving it completely abandoning it for something or somebody else. I kind of wish they would have left it a cliff hanger myself. You decide though, and after Phantom Hourglass is released I may amend the tilt further here.
Overall, Wind Waker is a beautiful game from most aspects. Once you get over the once controversial change of the graphics, you'll see the subtle beauty within. If you have not bought it, buy it and play through, even if you hate the graphics don't make the mistake I did. Give the graphics a chance. I played through the whole game hating the graphics (even beat the game), took back the game disgusted and never saw it again for 3 years. Don't make the same mistake I did, don't be a purist, its not worth missing a great game like this.