"An Ambitious Action Adventure Game"

INTRO: Before we get into the real part of the review, I have two things to say about this game before I even got it. For one I hate cel shaded games. The cel shade look gives everything a very kiddish look, which I don't prefer. The whole point of making bigger better console systems is to make games more realistic. Cel shaded graphics are step backward in this regard. Some people say graphics shouldn't really matter. But would GTA be as popular if it were cel shaded, how bout Mortal Kombat? This is my point here. But of course you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, and neither should you with a game. Instead judge a game by it's style, and Wind Waker does conform to the typical cel shaded kiddish style. Another thing I must admit to is this is the first Zelda game I have ever played. Despite being an N64 faithful I never picked up one of the wildly popular games. Even back then I thought Zelda looked a bit kiddish. Now they do this to it? But having a lack of quality games to play for my Gamecube I decided to give Wind Waker a try. The result? I am impressed with the ambition, but the easy yet tedious gameplay in a cartoony wrapped shell bring my first impression of Zelda down.

GRAPHICS: Of course this is the most talked about subject concerning Wind Waker. As I touched on this in my intro, I am not a fan of the cel shaded look. I like more mature realistic worlds that I can relate to as I interact with them. Personally I don't relate to well with the Power Puff Girls. Anyways, for what Wind Waker is it succeeds where it wants to. The hand drawn look is gorgeous in it's own respect. The environments have a very long draw distance. All the colors are very vibrant and are the only thing that really gives the game life. The framerate is extremely high and performs very well. Zelda and all of friends are full of exaggerate emotion, which I think was the developer's main goal with this game. The water is beautiful and performs with realistic physics. The cut scenes are not played as FMVs, but RPG esque mute story boards using the in game graphics engine. This certainly doesn't help build any tension. The biggest problem I had with graphic presentation was the enemy models. They are very uninspired blocky looking creations. Even a die hard cel shade fan will admit that. None of them vary that well and look like they belong on a NES Mario game. But as good as the cel shade look shows emotion, it subtracts from the game. Zelda looks like a mute drama queen. All of exaggerated emotions take away from any seriousness the game once had. This is why it is kiddish. Not simply because it is brightly colored and resembles cartoons of the old, but because it ACTS kiddish.
Score 9

SOUND: Again Zelda shows its immature face even in this area. Zelda sounds like an over exaggerate kid. Zelda does not talk but makes ridiculous noises that you would expect a pre-school child to make. It further becomes annoying when you consider all of characters do this. There is no actual talking in the game. Nintendo is infamous for doing this. So I'm not really that surprised but it certainly doesn't help the game's presentation at all. The monsters make very un-intimidating noises that don't demand any respect. All of the enemies will remind you more of beanie babies than threats. The sound effects although crisp and clear are also not very helping of the cause to make Zelda bearable. Expect the annoying blips of the old Mario times to invade your brain. The music itself is another story entirely. Although I have not played any of the older Zelda games personally, I am familiar with the music (I don't really know how?). But I do remember the classic tunes. Wind Waker seems to be almost a remix of the past audio. Which in some cases sounds very good, in other cases not that well. The music varies from upbeat typical early 90s adventure music to more moody and dark tones. All of the darker music seems to be played at all the wrong times. While the upbeat music can get very eccentric and over the top in comparison.
Score 7

CONTROLS: Even though I am not a fan of Gamecube controllers, Wind Waker suits the Gamecube controller perfectly. I personally recommend the Madcatz Gamecube controller. Everything about the controls is mapped out very well though. There are no complicated button schemes to master in the game, so controlling Zelda turns out to be a breeze. The camera also performs very well, especially when considering there is both the wide open lands and the tight dungeons. The only complaint I have about the camera is the manual adjustment, it is way too touchy. It can be a real pain to try and scout out an area for a jump before doing it. Another complaint I have about the controls in general is the auto jump. I can not remember the last modern adventure game without a jump button. All of the jumping is done by simply running at the edge. As basic as this sounds, it is some what intuitive. But jumping is a necessity when exploring of any kind. Plus this just adds to the mediocre challenge level the game offers. It almost seems like the game is trying to hold your hand and guide through it. The combat system although easy to use and learn is very simple. In combat you won't use more than two buttons, for a very limited and basic combo system. Again, this attributes to the easy difficulty. But besides these few complaints Wind Waker does interface well.
Score 8

STORY: Although Wind Waker tries to be something different and epic, because of its childish themes it can never be taken to seriously. On top of that the “epic” story turns out to be a very convoluted hybrid version of “save the princes”. The very basic story outline is that you are in a world where children at a certain birthday dress up in green commemorating the Hero of Time (Link) for a day. Well of course this where the game starts and you are running around this little island with your family when a giant bird comes and kidnaps your sister (aka the princess). Pirates are also traveling in the giant bird's wake (their little girl was kidnapped too, you save her though) and you strike up an unlikely team with the pirates to save your sister. Of course once you start to progress it gets much more complicated, therefore more ridiculous. In the end everything doesn't meet up to well, which is very disappointing. Not being a big fan of the series I did become lost on a couple different things. For one is this a prequel or sequel to the other games. Because the main character is called Link but looks to the Hero of Time (who is supposed to be Link?). It seems there are two different Links from as far as I can tell, but I am probably completely wrong.
Score 5

REPLAY: I am told one of the best things about Legend of Zelda games is the amount of depth to them. But in my opinion, for this particular game, it is quite lacking. There is no multiplayer. This is fairly common practice for action adventure games but any sort of mini game or party mode would have gone a long way here. Supposedly the “depth” is in the gameplay. The game itself will take you 15 to 25 hours to finish depending on how involved you get. But there honestly is probably a total of two hours of “Wind Waking” on your boat. Obviously this pointless gameplay is beyond tedious. So by the time you finish you probably will never want to pick this one up again. Secrets are abound throughout the game but I did not look for them seeing as they don't affect the gameplay. In the end Wind Waker doesn't set itself out in any way so it's uninspiring gameplay will barely warrant you one play through.
Score 4

GAMEPLAY: Technically this game is brilliant. But the mediocre gameplay and childish themes are what really make this game subpar. First off, the combat system sucks. You really only two attacks. The combo system is a very short list and weak at that too. Although some other combat techniques are used, like bow and arrow, this is a dramatic short coming. Quickly the action comes repetitive and quickly becomes too easy. Another part of the game that sucks is the auto jump. Auto jump takes out all skill of navigation. That is if the camera wasn't so bad. Over sensitive and uncooperative the camera quickly will become a thorn in your side. You will spend a ridiculous amount of time on the water. What do you do on the water you ask? Absolutely nothing. You can not go into the water or interact with the water in any way. All you do travel great distances across the ocean. How great of distances? Try 10 to 15 minutes!!!!! Did the developers honestly think people could enjoy 10 minutes of meaningless and tedious gameplay 12 times a play through?!! Besides the childish theme itself this is the biggest turn off to the game. The boss battles are the one reprieve of the game. The bosses all look original and play out well in their own respects. All of them generally involve a newly acquired item and are actually fun, a concept the rest of the game failed to do.
Score 4

BOTTOM LINE: After reading this review you should probably have gotten the impression that I don't like it. Well if so then you are correct. But my distaste for Wind Waker does not come from the graphics, but the image portrayed and overly simple gameplay. Zelda just feels like it is targeted for the pre teen group. I personally don't recommend Wind Waker unless you are a big fan of the series. And even if you are a fan rent first because I am fairly sure the rest of Zelda franchise is not like this or it probably wouldn't be quite as successful.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 05/01/05