The Armchair Empire - GameCube Reviews: The Legend of Zelda


<MAP NAME="boxmap-p8"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="14, 200, 103, 207" HREF="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" ><AREA COORDS="0,0,10000,10000" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/thearmchairem-20" ></MAP><img src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x240.gif" width="120" height="240" border="0" usemap="#boxmap-p8" alt="Shop at Amazon.com">	Platform GameCube Genre Action / Adventure Publisher Nintendo Developer Nintendo ESRB E (Everyone) Released Q2 2003

- Deep, deep game - Great presentation - Effortless to get into for Zelda fans - Tons of stuff to do - Deeper fighting system

- It’s a big, big ocean out there - Wind Waker wand might get on your nerves

Review: Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time (N64) Review: Legend of Zelda - Majora's Mask (N64) Review: The Legend of Zelda - Link to the Past (GBA)
Newsletter
Be notified of site updates. Sign-up for the Newsletter sent out twice weekly. Enter E-Mail Address Below: Subscribe \| Unsubscribe

The Legend of Zelda:

The Wind Waker

Score: 9.5 / 10

Do you like being on the ocean? The smell of salt and seaweed? Sunken treasure? Pirates? The occasional talking fish? Sea shanties? Giant squid? Then the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (WW) is your game because no other game has so much martime action. If you thought crossing the open fields of Hyrule in Ocarina of Time was boring, WW’s ocean may likely put you to sleep. Of course, there are objects to find and quests to complete on the open ocean so it’s not a complete washout.

And so ends my lone gripe about WW. Everything else is classic Zelda-gaming joy.

Over the many hours it will take you to finish WW, the story unfolds around you. If you haven’t played any of the Zelda games the story might surprise you but for everyone else the inevitable showdown with the evil-as-ever Ganondorf is a given. There are many sidequests and mini-stories along the way but nearly all contribute to Link’s development as an operative of Good. Basically, it’s all we’ve come to expect from a story featuring Link.

The control system (and inventory and item management) is very much like Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask but with more depth in the fighting department. Link can now string combos and parry enemy attacks not seen in the previous two games. Combat also requires better timing and strategy since enemies won’t wait their turn to start pummeling you. Link also has some new non-combat moves including the ability to slide along walls (a move made so fashionable by Snake and Sam Fisher).

Advertisement

- Gamecube Game Reviews

- Adventure Game Reviews

- Reviews of Games Published by Nintendo

Familiarity will greet old school Zelda fans when it comes to WW’s puzzles. You’ll be lighting torches, pushing blocks, stepping on floor switches, swinging to higher levels and collecting those ever-handy silver keys. Link will also spend time talking to some weird-looking NPCs – gathering information and quests. Although there are typical puzzles, there are some not so typical puzzles, which may give your gray matter some exercise. One constant challenge you’ll face is waving your Wind Waker Magic Wand™ which acts like Link’s ocarina from

Advertisement

the previous two games except for one important aspect. Not only do you have to get the moves right (performed with the C-stick) you have to do so in the correct time. Once you get the hang of it and become a bit of a maestro it’s really no problem but some players are likely to cringe whenever some wand work is necessary (and it’s necessary often).

The much talked about graphical style is a non-issue. Thanks to an early demo reel of a “realistic” Link and Ganondorf pitted in battle, the expectations were quite different from what Mr. Miyamoto and team delivered. (If you missed the demo reel, Link looked more like the model found in Soul Calibur 2.) Let’s get over it – it’s a game, it looks great and animates well. The comparison to a good animated feature are warranted but the constant bickering about Link’s looks aren’t.

Also familiar is the audio. Many sound effects have been directly lifted from the N64 titles but much of the music is new (and tinged with themes many years old). This doesn’t prevent WW from presenting a complete audio package.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is deserving of the Zelda label and a great game. Although there are a couple of annoyances, Wind Waker does too much right (and in spectacular detail) to be ignored and every GameCube owner should give it a shot if not buy it outright. It’s an example of a game that doesn’t skimp on deep gameplay in favor of style – instead, it has both and it’s already a GameCube classic.

- Omni

(May 24, 2003)