Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Nintendo's Legend of Zelda franchise over the years has defined a genre, first revolutionizing the action-adventure and then evolving it with several critically acclaimed sequels spanning multiple console and handheld platforms. For many, the Zelda brand represents the pinnacle of gaming, a perfect convergence of polished design, tightly crafted control and beautiful presentation. Indeed, the N64 Ocarina of Time is widely considered the best videogame ever created.

So to say that the GameCube Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker has a lot to live up to is, simply put, the understatement of the year.

And yet, Nintendo delivers. Director Eiji Aonuma's latest offering is a breathtakingly epic romp into a dramatically changed world 100 years after the events in the N64 classic. Wind Waker masterfully baits and hooks us in with its scope and host of improvements over previous Zelda titles, and then it takes us on a long, ultimately satisfying voyage across troubled seas, into dangerous dungeons and against unforgiving foes. It's not a game without flaws -- there are a few minor shortcomings to speak of, but where it succeeds, it is absolutely unparalleled. GameCube owners, Link is back.

The Facts

• Epic 3D action-adventure from Nintendo/EAD director Eiji Aonuma
• Become legendary hero Link and set out on an all-new quest 100 years after the Ocarina of Time
• Explore a gargantuan-sized world on foot or sail across the seas on Link's own boat
• Polished, tight real-time combat mechanics mingle with exploration, puzzle-solving and dungeon action
• Use a variety of weapons and items including Link's famous master sword
• Change the direction of the wind with Link's Wind Waker and then sail with it
• Fight massive bosses scattered throughout the world
• 20+ hours of gameplay and as much as twice that for completionists
• GCN-to-GBA link functionality
• Runs in progressive scan mode
• Supports Dolby Pro Logic II
• Requires 12 memory blocks for saves

Video Review Available! Once you're done reading the full text review of the game, be sure to watch and listen to Matt's detailed video review: Download now: Wind Waker Video Review

Gameplay
It's Link's birthday and he's walked to his grandmother's house to get a present, a green costume that is given to every boy after they've reached a certain age on his home of Outset Island. It's a tradition, for there was once a great hero who donned the same outfit and fought away a dark evil that threatened to rule the land. Little does Link know that before the end of the day his sister will be kidnapped, he will embark on a long and troubled quest with a group of pirates, and by the time his journey has truly ended he too will be a legend. Wind Waker's story, like so many Nintendo games, let alone Zelda titles, initially revolves around rescuing the damsel in distress. But, as players advance, there will be delightfully unexpected twists and turns that separate this adventure from the norm. The character will encounter recognizable figures from the past, meet new friends, and likewise visit both familiar and completely fresh locations. Final Fantasy this is not, but Wind Waker's story nonetheless can and often does charm with a splash of good-natured cute, a pinch of dark and moody, and a still a pinch more of intense action.

Gamers must for a moment forget that Wind Waker looks totally different from Ocarina of Time because in actuality these two games are very much alike. The GameCube adventure is clearly inspired by its N64 predecessor where design and play mechanics are concerned. Link once again travels through an immense world -- except this time not by horse, but by boat. The character is still called upon to solve countless environmental puzzles, to drudge through dungeons, to engage in fierce combat with enemies, to learn spells, to use a variety of weapons and items and more. It all still controls and moves along at a pace that will be d¿j¿ vu for anyone who's swung the Master Sword at Ganon in the past. In fact, everything from the way in which Link is maneuvered to the lock-on battle camera and the very way players can assign individual items like the boomerang and hookshot to specific buttons is all almost identical to Ocarina of Time -- a good thing.

All sorts of mysteries -- like this -- await players in The Wind Waker