After 10 years, The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker returns with a fresh coat of paint. Is it worth your time? Check out Kidzworlds game review to find out!
Link has never looked better.Courtesy of Nintendo
An Adventure Worth Revisiting
HD update after HD update. I swear half the games I've reviewed since starting here 2 months ago have been remakes or updates of classic games and normally that would bother me a little. Luckily though, us gamers have been blessed with some great updates that have been worth our time. Duck Tales: Remastered was a great trip down memory lane and the recently released Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix is another example. Well, add one more HD update to the mix because Nintendo has released The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, and it's glorious.
I've always had fond memories of Wind Waker. At the time of its release, many of my friends passed on playing Wind Waker for two reasons: very few of them actually had Gamecubes and those that did, thought the game was too childish-looking (visually). Oh what a tale did they miss. Without spoiling anything for those that have not played it, the developers behind Wind Waker found a way to tell a familiar story for Zelda fans with a few little tweaks that make it feel fresh.
Explore the seas for lost treasure.Courtesy of Nintendo
You play a young boy searching for your kidnapped sister at the start of this adventure and it's an adventure that will take you to various islands, inhabited by some old familiar foes and some new. With high-seas to explore and buried treasure to find, The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker, is a timeless adventure which any Zelda fan, or adventure-game fan, should feel proud to have in their collection. The dungeons on display in this game consistently amaze with their creative and challenging puzzles, without them ever being frustrating. You'll learn to utilize your ever-growing arsenal of weapons and gadgets in intuitive ways as the game effortlessly teaches you along your travels. The gameplay itself has never felt better, especially the camera controls and the combat is first-rate through and through.
For those that have played this game before, you may remember the complete drag in pacing nearing the end of the game with the now slightly infamous, Triforce fetch quest. If hoping Nintendo addressed said issues, you may now breathe a big sigh of relief, because they have. I won't get into details, I'll let you see for yourself but that particular quest has been improved. Not only that but Nintendo has given players the option to quick sail, which cuts travel times on the open sea down considerably.
Fantastic dungeons and epic bosses.Courtesy of Nintendo
The WiiU Gamepad also allows a couple other nice upgrades that playing on the Gamecube could not offer. You're now able to swap out weapons and inventory items without having to pause and enter menus and you can also now bring up your completed sea charts, in order quickly see which treasure you've found. They're simple but welcomed updates that significantly added to my in-game immersion.
Eye Melting Beauty
To say The Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker is a pretty game is a little bit of an understatement. The game is at times, jaw dropping and you'd be hard pressed to find a game on WiiU that looks better than this. All Nintendo has done is update the textures and lighting system, but it pays off big-time and really proves just how gorgeous Wind Waker was when it first came out. It's visual style has stood the test of time better than most games dare dream to.
The new HD environments are stunning. Courtesy of Nintendo
The environments are painting-like, the character models are almost seamless and the animations - even by today's standards - are wonderful and easily show off the most expressive characters that any Zelda adventure has featured. I talked kindly about how well Kingdom Hearts graphics held up in HD, but Nintendo's Wind Waker quite simply puts it to shame visually.
If I didn't know Wind Waker was 10 years old now, I never would have guessed it. Seeing it in action today is just as inspiring as it was all those years ago and I would sometimes find myself chopping up HD grass blades in a sort of hypnotic trance because everything just looks so slick, often times completely forgetting the epic task at hand.
Check out The Wind Waker HD in action below!
The Final Verdict
I haven't given a game a 5 star review at Kidzworld up to this point (and I've reviewed some great games) so that should say something right there. 5 stars does not mean the game is perfect. I still have slight issues with the sensitivity of the auto-jump sometimes and even with the new quick sailing in place, some of the sea travels can still feel a little long. That being said, The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker is a phenomenal game, by past standards and today's and no Zelda fan or fan of adventure games should miss out on it.
If you've been waiting to buy a WiiU, The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, is a great reason to finally grab one. There's even a new reduced price Deluxe Wind Waker WiiU Bundle available.
Rating:
ESRB Rating: E 10+
Have Your Say!
What's up, Kidzworld gamers! Any Zelda fans out there? Who's picking up The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker? Let me know in the comments below!
