A brilliant piece of game design. Simply Magical Nintendo Goodness.
The contreversial graphics style will undoubtedly be scrutinised, but it is a brilliant concept. It just feels more story-bookish now, but as much as I like them, I want a mature Zelda next. The gameplay is there in spades. Whether you have just rescued Tetra, discovered her secret identity, or are collecting the triforce pieces at the end, The Wind Waker beckons you to play on. The emotion didsplayed on our favorite elf's face is amazing. The afore-mentioned eye mechanics only help along the feeling of happiness, pain, anger and despair on Link's face at various times in the game. There is a surprising amount of freedom to be achieved in the game. You can smash a wooden signpost, and it will splinter, and fall into the ocean and create ripples in the water. You can explore the gameworld at will (unless you have already entered a dungeon level), and you find worlds where you fight, barter, sell, communicate and interact with.
The Wind waker is set 100 years after The Ocarina of Time. We meet our hero Link at his home on Outset Island, a remote piece of land in the middle of nowhere. It's Link's birthday, and we see his sister waking him up on the pair's treehouse. For boys Link's age, it is customary to wear the garbs of the Hero of Time (Ocarina Link to us) and we see the new look cel-shaded costume. Link's sister gives her telescope to Link as a present, and through this he sees a giant bird carrying a small girl. Link, armed with a sword goes to rescue the girl, but his own sister gets captured by the bird, and Link sets off with Tetra and her gang of pirates on a mission to get her back safely.
The controls are spot on. The Start button is used to bring up a menu, which you use to assign items to the Y, X and Z buttons. The B button is used for your sword techniques, and the A button is your action button that is used for almost all interaction (except for 'aggressive negotiations'... negotiations with a lightsabre... I mean sword). They are extremely responsive, and work to just bring the game to another level.
I know this is a contreversial comment, but this is better than Ocarina (If you got the bonus disk with it, compare the two) and the next generation system allows for better everything. That doesn't nessecarily mean that Harry Potter is better than Mario 64, but it does mean that the full array of ochestral harmony can be projected right across the room where your cube is. And you know what? The Zelda theme has never sounded so good.
There are some bad points, though. The graphics are bound to get some bad press, and there are a few bugs with re-spawning enemies. But it is one of the best games on the Cube, and it is one of the BEST games to come of Ninty in years.