Who doesn't like Wind Waker?

[daroga]

I'm just getting into the Zelda series. My friends have all been Zelda nuts for a long time and since I owned all of them, I figured it was about time to start enjoying them. I started with Link's Awakening DX and then rocked through Zelda 1. All the while I was working my way through Wind Waker on the cube. I must say, for all the flak this game gets, I really, really enjoyed. The play control is spot on, the levels are fun, and I simply adore the bright, vivid art style. A departure from OoT, no doubt, but WW really feels like the top-down Zeldas in 3D in its style.

I thought the sailing was pretty fun, exploring all the little islands. It could've had a few more dungeons, I'll admit, and it could've been a tad more challenging (I beat it easily with only 1 heart on the second row), but I think the attention to the detail in the little things just about made up for the somewhat lacking big things like extra dungeons. I love how the story linked intmately with OoT (which I haven't played through yet, but know the story well). Going back to OoT I can really feel how the gameplay tightened up for Wind Waker.

I was prepared to be disappointed by this game because of all the flack it had gotten. In my opinion, it was almost all wholly unjustified.

I simply cannot wait for Twilight Princess. I just hope I can get through Link to the Past, OoT, and Majora's Mask before then. :)

[Chris in Cali]

I honestly didn't care for it, it's by far my least favorite Zelda game in the series (not counting Four Swords for the GCN).

[Jaket]

response to the title...

me

[Friend of Sonic]

I hate that $$$$a Wind Waker he owes me money and shit.

[willardhaven]

Better game than Zelda 64.

[Rig]

Well, out of all the (major) Zelda titles, Wind Wake and Majora's Mask are the only two I've never finished. (MM was nearly finished, but my damn Gamecube copy kept locking up!) I don't know why it couldn't hold my attention. I really hated that dungeon (the first one??) where you had to sneak around. Maybe that's why I never played much further...

[Reality's Fringe]

The only people who don't like it are Nazis, and people who can't ger past cell-shading for some reason. I think it might be sexual.

[daroga]

The only people who don't like it are Nazis, and people who can't ger past cell-shading for some reason. I think it might be sexual.
wow, that was rather... blunt ;)

I reall dug the cell-shading. It let them add far more expression to the characters than is possible with traditionally modeled characters. And in a world of GTA-themed games, it was a nice departure back to the "golden age" of the brightly colors NES/SNES/Genesis games. Don't get me wrong, cell-shading can be just awful, but well exectued (Naruto GNTs, WW, etc.), it's one of the more beautiful ways I've seen game displayed.

[Arakias]

better than ocarina, but the sailing kills it - i never played majoras or the newer gameboy ones.

[AshesofWake]

the gameplay was just lacking for me, none of it was fun, the puzzles just seemed stupid. but the graphics were just amazing, kept me playing. Ocarina will always be my favorite. I was hoping for this game to be at least as good, but nope :cry:

[2Fast]

Not liking Wind Waker seems to be the "cool" thing to do. The game is amazing. I still need to get around to finishing it though.

[Blind the Thief]

Yeah, Wind Waker is fantastic. The sailing got really old by the end of the game, but that hardly detracts from the overall experience. And for the first half of the game or so, the sailing felt really epic...too bad it ran out of steam. My only other complaint was the difficulty. I know Zelda games aren't supposed to be hard, but it felt too easy even among its brothers.

Other than that, an overall fantastic game. I know it's been said to death, but I can't wait for Twilight Princess.



Daroga - you've got three of the best Zelda games ahead of you. I'm sure you'll find time to finish 'em all.

[kaw]

I really liked it. I loved the style and thought the cell-shading worked well for the game. Sailing and conducting got a little repetitive after awhile, but that aside it is a great game. I'd like to see Nintendo branch out and take chances like that with other fanchises.

[elprincipe]

I think WW is a MUCH better game than OOT. Sure it's not challenging and there are too few dungeons, but the actual combat is much, much better. I doubt any 3D Zelda will surpass Link to the Past, but WW is sure an improvement.

[PenguinMaster]

I don't like Wind Waker, but I don't like any of these Zelda games either:
The original
Zelda 2
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Ages
Oracle of Seasons
The CD-I games

Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Link's Awakening, and the Minish Cap are all good (but not great). Four Swords Adventures is excellent. I expect Twilight Princess to be about the quality of Ocarina of Time.

[zionoverfire]

I hate it, but then I hate nearly all cell shaded games.

[cochesecochese]

I absolutely adored the first few islands of WindWaker. But...there were a few things that pissed me off.

1) The lack of dungeons, we've all heard it before so I won't dwell on it

2) The underusage of the in-game postal system (could have been so much more fleshed out imo, especially with a mailbox in every major island)

3) The Tingle Tuner. Totally half-assed effort on Nintendo's part, and it was complete bullshit that it had to be used in order to get all the figurines in the Nintendo gallery.

4) Stopping to shoot my cannon. Why the hell can the goblins move and fire and I can't?!?!?

5) That damn wind direction changing song. It's not that hard to give Link a mystical compass or something that didn't involve playing the gratingly annoying song every five minutes.

Miyamato and Co. created an incredibly robust gameworld but they just didn't flesh it out enough. The game relied on first impressions to carry it through to the end which was tepid IMO. Definitely worth playing all the way through, it's just a shame about the missed oppurtunities is all.

[Kaijufan]

I love Wind Waker. The only major problem I have with it is that it's too short and too easy.

I'm actually not a big fan of the 2d Zelda games. I've played Zelda 1, 2, and LttP and I just can't enjoy them for some reason. I loved the 3d Zeldas.

[goatindaruffness]

better than ocarina, but the sailing kills it - i never played majoras or the newer gameboy ones.

You hit it spot on...
The game it self was great, I remember when I first got it, and enjoying it for a month or so, but the sailing just KILLED it...
At first it wasn't so bad, but if they just made a way where you can skip the sailing if you already were in the area it would've been much better...
Instead game manufacturers like to throw in time wasters, such as this, just to brag about how long the game is...
Hopefully the next one, focuses more on the action at hand, and not open land travel...
Ex. the horse fights look great, but I really hope we're not spending hours on horseback trying to find hidden caves only visible with a special light...
-Goatman

[Chris in Cali]

To me the game cut out all the great exploration that makes Zelda games so great, and in it's place added a massive, empty, boring, tedious ocean that ruined the game. Wind Waker felt extremely linear, you go from point a, to b, to c, and back to a and it all takes forever because of the damned pointless ocean. Now, I realize all Zelda games are linear, but this is the only one that actually felt like it to me. Plus, it had sort of a platform feel to it, like their should have been a jump button. Also, the hookshot is a million times better then that stupid rope thing.

[Vegan]

Most of the people who don't like it probably didn't get far enough to the point where you gain the ability to warp instead of sailing everywhere.

[RAMSTORIA]

Most of the people who don't like it probably didn't get far enough to the point where you gain the ability to warp instead of sailing everywhere.

i agree the spell really helps what would otherwise be really annoying. i didnt mind the sailing that much at all. i feel like people complain just because its a boat, nobody seemed to care about riding a horse in ocarina, even though you could ride for a bit from point a to point b.

i really liked the game, i think wind waker got a bad rap because everyone was expecting a glorious looking game for the gamecube's, at the time, next-gen system (which is what were getting in TP). but personally, i love the cel shaded graphics, they look great and the gameplay is top notch. however, im also agree on the too short/easy part too, but that certainly doesnt mean the game wasnt enjoyale.

[j.elles]

Zelda WW has some spectacular graphics in my opinion. Looking at certain scenes and comparing them to the other Graphicall powerhouses like RE4 I think this is better. And anyone who doesn't beat or at least see the ending to this game is NOT a Zelda fan. It's that simple. If you've seen it you know what I mean. But ya this and MMask get a bad rap when they were both fun games. The triforce fetching in this, and the time warp thing in MM could get annoying but thats it the rest of the game was fantasic

And these are a few of the games in my collection I was able to beat with no problem. With no breaks, playing other games, long gaps in play periods etc. . . So with my habit of taking forever to beat certain games. Theres no excuse for the other people out there. You just never gave some great games the chance they deserved.

[b3b0p]

I hated Wind Waker. It felt like no challenge, so boring, not engaging enough to continue. And the sailing, oh the sailing, ugh!

Better than Ocarina? I don't think so (not even close even without the sailing), but that's just me.

[coltyhuxx]

I absolutely adored the first few islands of WindWaker. But...there were a few things that pissed me off.

1) The lack of dungeons, we've all heard it before so I won't dwell on it

2) The underusage of the in-game postal system (could have been so much more fleshed out imo, especially with a mailbox in every major island)

3) The Tingle Tuner. Totally half-assed effort on Nintendo's part, and it was complete bullshit that it had to be used in order to get all the figurines in the Nintendo gallery.

4) Stopping to shoot my cannon. Why the hell can the goblins move and fire and I can't?!?!?

5) That damn wind direction changing song. It's not that hard to give Link a mystical compass or something that didn't involve playing the gratingly annoying song every five minutes.

Miyamato and Co. created an incredibly robust gameworld but they just didn't flesh it out enough. The game relied on first impressions to carry it through to the end which was tepid IMO. Definitely worth playing all the way through, it's just a shame about the missed oppurtunities is all.

Well put! I agree on all counts. The sailing at the end (I forget what you had to collect, but this is where I stopped playing the game) was ridiculous. Totally un-fun. I never beat the game because of this. I'm not a believer (nor do I think that I should be) of muscling through hours and hours of padded gameplay/collecting jsut to get to the next dungeon.

[javeryh]

They should have kept WW in development for 12 more months minimum to address the complaints people have mentioned already.

[Mookyjooky]

cochesecochese made awesome points, I would add the shitty tacked on search for the 12 pieces of the master sword part at the end. It was just busy work, and I stopped playing right there.

[j.elles]

Hours and Hours of play. I beat this game in about the same amount of time I best POP 1 Sands of time? ? ? AND I got every single heart container on top of that. You want filler gameplay play Castlevania DS. That soul collecting is driving me crazy. The sailing wasn't that bad, especially after you got the warp song.

[Mookyjooky]

Hours and Hours of play. I beat this game in about the same amount of time I best POP 1 Sands of time? ? ? AND I got every single heart container on top of that. You want filler gameplay play Castlevania DS. That soul collecting is driving me crazy. The sailing wasn't that bad, especially after you got the warp song.

spoiler:
And Seeing Link slam that sword into Ganons forhead was so awesome I periodically beat the game again just to see it, and the rest of the sweet final sequence again.

We have spoiler tags.

[terribledeli]

I didn't like the game, but I really dislike 3D zelda games.


However, the addition of Link's emotions (Other than the big eyes shocked face from the previous games) really built a connection with the character for me.

Other than that, I bought it for my wife.

[Rig]

Well, after reading this thread, I'm really going to try and play through it to completion this time. No getting sidetracked on hearts and such. (Which methinks is one reason why I didn't finish.) It might be good to do over the upcoming spring break.

[j.elles]

How do you use spoiler tags?

[Rig]

How do you use spoiler tags?

[ spoiler] Put text in here [ /spoiler]

Just remove the spaces before the s on each tag.

[zewone]

Wind Waker is the hot fire, only Zelda better than it is LttP.

[Mookyjooky]

[ spoiler] Put text in here [ /spoiler]

Just remove the spaces before the s on each tag.

You can select the text and click on this thing. http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/6708/spoiler8rm.gif

[sblymnlcrymnl]

I preordered WW, played an hour the first night, and never touched it again. :lol:Wind Waker is the hot fire, only Zelda better than it is LttP.But LttP is one of the worst games in the series. It beats out MM, sure, but that's about it.

[Kendal]

I preordered WW, played an hour the first night, and never touched it again. :lol:But LttP is one of the worst games in the series. It beats out MM, sure, but that's about it.

You are a horrible person. How do you totally piss on two of the best games in the series and sleep at night? Do you touch yourself with those fingers, or do you use protective gloves while masturbating? Let me guess, Minish Cap sucked too? LttP is by far the best of the series in my book. But to each their own I guess. Are you a fan of Zelda games at all?

[j.elles]

LTTP is the greatest game on the SNes in my opinion. WWaker was different. But it had one of the greatest endings of any video game I've seen in a while

Spoiler (highlight to view) And Seeing Link slam that sword into Ganons forhead was so awesome I periodically beat the game again just to see it, and the rest of the sweet final sequence again. Sword driwn downwords right in his skull, turned to stone, and stuck in a now underwater Hyrule at the bottom of the ocean. Ganon's not coming back from that.

[Blind the Thief]

Also, the hookshot is a million times better then that stupid rope thing.

You didn't finish the game, did you?



You are a horrible person. How do you totally piss on two of the best games in the series and sleep at night? Do you touch yourself with those fingers, or do you use protective gloves while masturbating? Let me guess, Minish Cap sucked too? LttP is by far the best of the series in my book. But to each their own I guess. Are you a fan of Zelda games at all?

Thanks, someone had to say it. I can understand getting bored with Wind Waker, I can understand not liking MM as much as OOT, but to flat-out insult LttP is unacceptable. Sure, some people prefer the 3D games, but LttP is still undeniably fantastic.

[Blind the Thief]

p.s. The ending alone makes Wind Waker worth finishing.

[daroga]

p.s. The ending alone makes Wind Waker worth finishing.
I agree. It rocked and was very satisfying :)

[jkam]

I don't know being an old school gamer I always thought the ultimate video game would be something Dragon's Lair esque cartoony but that was actually playable. The first time I booted WW up and played through the castle section getting my sword back I couldn't believe I was controlling the character on the screen. Cell-Shading doesn't always look that great but I felt as if it was done in this game wonderfully. Dragon's Lair 3D (an attempt on a playable Dargon's Lair) couldn't capture the overall look and feel that WW had for me. Great game IMO.

[sblymnlcrymnl]

You are a horrible person. How do you totally piss on two of the best games in the series and sleep at night? Do you touch yourself with those fingers, or do you use protective gloves while masturbating? Let me guess, Minish Cap sucked too? LttP is by far the best of the series in my book. But to each their own I guess. Are you a fan of Zelda games at all?I've meant to get back into WW, it just never happened.

As for LttP (which I didn't play until last year, so it's fresh in my mind), all of the GB/GBC games are much better, especially Link's Awakening. OOT is incredible. Of course the original Zelda is beyond reproach. The second one, ok that one might be worse, but that's not really a fair comparison. I haven't picked up Minish Cap yet, so I can't speak on that.

Yeah, I'm a zelda fan. Probably my favorite series. :lol:

[willardhaven]

It really did pickup after the sailing portion.

I realized that the reason I hated sailing for the Triforce was because I already sailed to every map fish prior to the quest.

[Chacrana]

So really, is this game easy enough to ruin it? I've got a copy sitting on my shelf still sealed and I don't want to bother if it's not engaging.

[Kendal]

I've meant to get back into WW, it just never happened.

As for LttP (which I didn't play until last year, so it's fresh in my mind), all of the GB/GBC games are much better, especially Link's Awakening. OOT is incredible. Of course the original Zelda is beyond reproach. The second one, ok that one might be worse, but that's not really a fair comparison. I haven't picked up Minish Cap yet, so I can't speak on that.

Yeah, I'm a zelda fan. Probably my favorite series. :lol:

On a somewhat related note, I don't really think you are a horrible person. I just really like LttP, did you play it on SNES or on GBA? Cause the one on SNES is better cause Link doesn't scream everytime you take a step. I guess it has nostalga factor and the NES Zeldas are good in their own right. Wind Waker does have it's faults, but the good totally destroys the bad. Kind of like Shadow of the Colossus has crappy frame rate and some of the enviroments look like various colors of mud, but the game as a whole is awesome. Next time you play LttP, imagine yourself as an 11 year old boy and enjoying your first brand new Zelda game. Oh and Link's Awakening is awesome.

In short, I love you...wait, what?

[thorbahn3]

Both sides have good points but I still enjoyed WW. I guess the fact that there are a million things you can do pushed it over the edge for me. Also the new characters rocked. How could you not like the forest spirits and the battleship mini game dude. "Spooooolsh."

[Scobie]

To those who didn't like The Wind Waker, maybe it's just because you're a little grumpy from being overly tired... wouldn't you like a jar of grandma's nice elixir soup to perk you up and make things better?

[daroga]

To those who didn't like The Wind Waker, maybe it's just because you're a little grumpy from being overly tired... wouldn't you like a jar of grandma's nice elixir soup to perk you up and make things better?
Greatest item in the game, hands down.

[Blind the Thief]

So really, is this game easy enough to ruin it? I've got a copy sitting on my shelf still sealed and I don't want to bother if it's not engaging.

Nah, it didn't ruin it. The combat system was really cool, and a lot of fun to use, I just never REALLY felt threatened.

[j.elles]

Boss's weren't hard. Getting a piece of heart on your home island in that long sequence of near never ending monster fights was hard. And falling down and being forced to start over in certain sports was hard. Overall though it's a normal Zelda game and the playing is what makes it fun not the difficulty. Of course the last game I thought was hard was Ninja Gaiden. And I've played and beaten almost every zelda game once or twice.

Also there were way to many potions in that game. Especially since you didn't really need any of them once you got Grandmas potion. But ya. Also the Private Island you get was a cool touch. The flying minigame was fun. Throwing that one girl with the wings into walls and stuff too.

[Reality's Fringe]

Greatest item in the game, hands down.

And you get two helpings per bottle!

[daroga]

And you get two helpings per bottle!
I have the sweetest grandmother EVER!

[CappyCobra]

EXTREME snoozefest before you get the warp ability. After that it, was definalty more enjoyable. I stuck through it because everyone was saying the ending was worth it. It was good enough to stick around until the end.

[sblymnlcrymnl]

On a somewhat related note, I don't really think you are a horrible person. I just really like LttP, did you play it on SNES or on GBA? Cause the one on SNES is better cause Link doesn't scream everytime you take a step. I guess it has nostalga factor and the NES Zeldas are good in their own right. Wind Waker does have it's faults, but the good totally destroys the bad. Kind of like Shadow of the Colossus has crappy frame rate and some of the enviroments look like various colors of mud, but the game as a whole is awesome. Next time you play LttP, imagine yourself as an 11 year old boy and enjoying your first brand new Zelda game. Oh and Link's Awakening is awesome.

In short, I love you...wait, what?I played it on the GBA, but I didn't even notice the screaming. :lol:

See, what you have with LttP, that's what I have with Link's Awakening. I got a new gameboy w/ LA for my ... 12th? birthday, and played the hell out of that thing, loving every minute. It's still my favorite in the series, and the one I've played though the most times.

[Kendal]

I played it on the GBA, but I didn't even notice the screaming. :lol:

See, what you have with LttP, that's what I have with Link's Awakening. I got a new gameboy w/ LA for my ... 12th? birthday, and played the hell out of that thing, loving every minute. It's still my favorite in the series, and the one I've played though the most times.

I miss that game. I had like 15 GBtitles and my giant Gameboy carrying case stolen from me. It is sad. That was one of the games. Do yourself a favor, go buy Minish Car. It is some of the best 2D Zelda you can get. I am a fan of 2D gaming. If I could, I would never play in 3D. That is probably why I don't care too much for OoT and MM. Not that they aren't great games, but my favorites are the 2D games.

[whoknows]

I liked WW, but I quit at the Triforce piece collecting part like many other people. That was definatley a half-assed attempt to lengthen the game. I really enjoyed the game up until that part though, even with the massive amounts of sailing.

[j.elles]

If you can find it get some one to beat it for you. Or download a video of then end game sequence. Because if you haven't seen it you are not a zelda fan. It's that simple. And there can be no arguement. Everyone who has seen it will agree with me.

And the game designers have said that they wished they had time to put it dungeans for the triforce pieces but couldn't so they did the sunken treasure thing. It wasn't to lengthen the game. It in fact cut it short.

[Vegan]

lol What Zelda game ISN'T Tri-force collecting? Come on, guys. What's the difference between going to a dungeon to get a Tri-force and going to a dungeon to get a map to a Tri-force?

[javeryh]

lol What Zelda game ISN'T Tri-force collecting? Come on, guys. What's the difference between going to a dungeon to get a Tri-force and going to a dungeon to get a map to a Tri-force?

So true but I think the problem (for me anyway) wasn't actually finding the triforce - it was all the sailing to find the triforce. They should have spaced it out too - like forcing you to find 2 or 3 pieces between dungeons instead of all at once. Also, the Fire and Ice islands should have been two full dungeons. It was almost perfect but a little more development would have been great.

[Tybee]

I'd go so far as to say that Wind Waker is my favorite Zelda game. Link's Awakening comes just after, with Minish Cap maybe in third. I thought the sailing was great, and just when it started to get tiresome, you got the spell to bypass a lot of it. That's good game design. In general, I thought the game did an excellent job of capturing the spirit of the Zelda series without being enslaved by it.

I'm one of those rare people who just was not able to connect with OoT. I liked it, but for me it's not the pinnacle that it seems to represent for a lot of other people.

[coltyhuxx]

lol What Zelda game ISN'T Tri-force collecting? Come on, guys. What's the difference between going to a dungeon to get a Tri-force and going to a dungeon to get a map to a Tri-force?

It was the timing of that horribly long and boring quest that killed it for me. Really, like they had to inject that "game extending" portion of the game right when you were getting pumped to finish off the last dungeon (or was it two?). I was so excited and then I couldn't believe I had this huge mandatory (and very tacked on feeling quest... contrived, that's a better word) RIGHT before the exciting finish to the game?

Give me a break.

[whoknows]

lol What Zelda game ISN'T Tri-force collecting? Come on, guys. What's the difference between going to a dungeon to get a Tri-force and going to a dungeon to get a map to a Tri-force?

It was ok in other games, but in WW it went like this:

1.Get map, go pay tingle to translate.
2.Go to spot where piece is and go through mini dungeon type thing.
3.Go find another map, collect a couple hundred rupees and pay Tingle to translate again and then go to island.
4.Repeat as many times as needed until you feel the urge to smash the disc.

Doing that as many times as was required was a waste of time. I was so pissed that they were making you do that so I traded it to my friend for Turok, yes Turok Evolution the game everyone hates a lot.

[j.elles]

Well... I didn't do it all at once. I got a lot of the troforce pieces with the two dungeans near the end still left to go. I think I might even have left the dungeans mid way through to collect the triforce pieces. The only part that annoyed me is getting the Rupees to pay Tingle. Of course I can watch TV on my computer so I tend to watch tv while i'm playing games, therefore It's hard for me to get bored playing.

[Vegan]

I wasn't at a lack of rupees once in that game.

[Scobie]

I wasn't at a lack of rupees once in that game.

Indeed. Rupees were so plentiful that it was kind of shocking to see that a lot of islanders were kinda living like rats... Maybe they didn't want jewel-encrusted crunk cups or magic sticks and didn't want to live in decked-out pleasure domes just to enjoy the chic of being poor, or maybe they were too damn lazy to go out and bust a few clay pots or slay a few slimes now and then...

[j.elles]

Well I for one had to find Ruppees to pay Tingle's translating fees. It wasn't hard to do it. But I had to. I also did it when I had one of the smaller wallets I believe so that was definetly an issue.

[Reality's Fringe]

Well I for one had to find Ruppees to pay Tingle's translating fees. It wasn't hard to do it. But I had to. I also did it when I had one of the smaller wallets I believe so that was definetly an issue.

If you gave bait to a fish who already filled in a map square, he'd let you play a game where you had to shoot him with arrows as he dove out of the water. If you hit him 8 or 10 times you'd get 200 rupees and you could do it as many times as you want.

[cochesecochese]

If you gave bait to a fish who already filled in a map square, he'd let you play a game where you had to shoot him with arrows as he dove out of the water. If you hit him 8 or 10 times you'd get 200 rupees and you could do it as many times as you want.

Yeah, I kind of liked beaning the fish so I played that a bit much.

[j.elles]

I tried that game twice and wasn't so good at it. So I searched for buried treasure and did other things like mini-games and pots in certain areas with a large rupee number.

[trip1eX]

Most of the people who don't like it probably didn't get far enough to the point where you gain the ability to warp instead of sailing everywhere.

hehe. So true. I'm not sure some folks knew that you could move alot faster if you followed the direction of the wind either. :P

Anyway I thought the game was Epic. It was a joy to play.

[FriskyTanuki]

I'd play this over spring break if my GC's power and AV cords didn't disappear. :-(

[tiktok0]

This might get long, but I am very passionate about a games' potential versus their reality.

Having not played a Zelda since SNES, I was extremely excited to get into Wind Waker. Sadly, it disappointed me more than any other game has. It is the worst game I have played so far on the gamecube - by far.

1) It almost had no storyline whatsoever. The old Zeldas didn't have much story either, but moving into a new age of gaming I expected much more than three short scenes that encompassed the entire storyline of the game. After the first major fighting area, there is almost nothing that happens until the last scene of the game. You never know why things are happening, why you are collecting things, or anybody's motive (until the last scene). You are just told to collect things and that is all there is.

2) Monotony. 49 islands, 40 of which are useless aside from adding a place to collect something. Having to go to each island numerous times, spending three minutes per trip to each spot, only to spend about 3 minutes at the spot to solve the island's puzzle or collection, then on to another 3 minutes of traveling - which I would just go to the bathroom or get food while waiting. Then having to waste time with the wind waker...ugh.

3) Difficulty. Not one tricky puzzle ever in the game. Not one single monster that had the ability to kill Link. Most monsters would never get a chance to hurt Link, and if they did manage to hit him the damage was so low that it wasn't noticable...then each room had a dozen pots to gain any HPs back. You could sit still in a room full of monsters and let them attack you for five minutes before you came close to dying at the end. There was perhaps twice in the entire game that I left a room without full hearts - same with money. The only time I had less than the max money was the very beginning of the game, and when my purse got bigger.

4) Setting. The world is boring being just a large ocean. Only one useful town, which had no bearing on the story...adding more to the monotony. Nobody ever feels like they are in danger. There never seems to be an urgency about anything. With the overly childish setting, even when someone should have been in danger you felt like the worst thing that would happen to them is a cute little pink spider would sit on their head and make them scream in a giddy way.

5) Personality. The graphics were super childish, which was not a bad thing. I got to where I liked them...however, the graphics were not used well enough to present personality. I keep reading that the cartoon faces really worked well to show expressions, but there were only about 3 faces. A person either had a squiggly mouth making them look confused / constipated, an open mouth making them look surprised, or no mouth which meant no-reaction. Perhaps it is because I come from a large RPG playing background, but I've seen more personality in games where you can't even see faces and just a bubble showing a happy face or zZz - then comparing this to a graphical masterpiece of emotion like Final Fantasy X just shows that Wind Waker missed out entirely.

....
The game had a ton of potential, because the Zelda formula for dungeons and item use could make a great game. However, Nintendo failed to use it right. Just adding some difficulty to the monsters, an actual storyline that spanned more than 3 combined minutes, and changing the setting to get away from the constant ocean travel would have made this game a million times better. As it was, I continued to play it all the way through in an incredulous stupor hoping that something would finally click and make it a good game near the end...which did not happen.

[Mr Durand Pierre]

I liked the Wind-Waker alright overall, but felt it was pretty dissappointing. I won't compare it to the 3D zeldas, because I feel that they're in a league of their own with a different engine and gameplay style, but as far as 3D Zelda goes, the Wind-Waker started out my favorite of the three. The cartoon style was great, I liked the exploration, and it just seemed like a pretty slick overall package.

But as I played it more and more it got more and more tedious. I mean having to play a song, then watch a short cutscene every time you want to friggin' change direction? No thanks. And the world was unnecessarily large. The islands were great and all, but spending over a minute not touching a button, merely waiting for your ship to reach an island is all kinds of not fun. I also hated playing a song and watching a cutscene every time you wanted to switch partners in the later dungeons. The series really needs a quick-song button (maybe like the Ratchet & Clank series' weapon selection menu that pulls up when you hold a button down), and shouild let you skip cutscenes.

All those problems bothered me a little in the first half of the game, but by the end, especially with the tri-force shard collecting, it simply became unbearable.

Twilight Princess looks nice though. The only not nice thing I have to say about it is that I really hate the way Link looks in it.

[Vegan]

then comparing this to a graphical masterpiece of emotion like Final Fantasy X

Hahaha you lost me.

[Rig]

Well, I must thank the OP. After reading the thread, I went back and began playing it again, with the intent to see that ending. I'm nearly there. Just a couple more "Triumph Forks" and I'll be done. I cannot believe people gave up when they made it this far. If I knew the game was this close to ending, I would've finished. (It's not really too bad since you can warp everywhere.) I'll let you know what I thought of that ending.

[javeryh]

I recently finished it as well after stalling at the triforce collection way back when the game came out. I'm glad I finished it but it could have been better. I still think it's great though.

[yukine]

I loved Wind Waker, but I like cell-shaded games. I think the only problem I had with Wind Waker was of course the sailing, it got boring pretty damn quickly. Lets all hope that Twilight Princess is not plagued with the same issue (for horseback riding.)

[capnbringdown]

Let me start by saying that I liked the Wind Waker. I also really loved ocarina of time. I'm not completely in love with the zelda series. I never really played zelda on the nes, and I never finished a link to the past, though I think I need a break from zelda otherwise I'd start to play it on my old reliable snes. I don't want to go into the cliches of how ocarina reinvigerated my lust for gaming, but I had been on a gaming hiatus before playing it and am now back to casual play.

The problem with the wind waker is primarily the sailing. It's been said before, but it seems odd that nintendo would stake the successful outcome of this game on something that so obviously is hit or miss, in this case miss.

I do understand why people quit when the triforce collecting began. It's because this game is way too short, and they probably thought they were only half-way done when, in fact, they were nearing completion. I misread one of the hints the game gives you, so I collected most of the triforce pieces before entering either of the two temples. On my little world tour, I accidently stumbled accross the fire mini-dungeon, and upon completion, realized I had an item that I could use to enter one of the temples. If I had paid more attention, I could've been scooping up those map fish and got some hints, but I did not until after I had all the triforce maps, and then I just started mapping random islands until I had them all.

This is not even close to being a hard game, though I felt the same way about ocarina. I don't think it's meant to be hard; it's meant to be fun, and some parts really are. Others are not. But still, the difficulty is something to mention. Even the bosses are extremely easy. The game slaps you in the face with this fact when it makes you defeat four of the bosses you faced previously. Even some of the sidequests, particularly the one where you get the piece of heart after getting the triforce map piece on outset island, are not that hard. Once you take down four darknuts a couple of times, there's nothing this game can really throw at you to put you in fear of your life. I only had twelve or thirteen hearts, and I easily beat the game.

My biggest problem with this game, though, is the half-assed way in which everything is implemented. Take the iron boots, for instance. It seems much more reasonable for them to exist in ocarina. You don't want link to float, weight him down. But here, they're just kind of thrown in. Yeah, you need them to complete the game, but they really weren't implemented that well. The magic armor is a better example of something completely useless. I tried to use it a couple of times, but there really was no point. The enemies don't do that much damage. This was best used against the wizards for me, but really, you can just run around like a maniac until they either reappear on the ground or you can get a clear shot at them with your bow. The grappling hook sucks. I like the hookshot, and it seems kind of superflous to have both a grappling hook and a hookshot. The worst offender, however, is the wind waker. Why is this even here? The only reason is only because of ocarina. If this wasn't such a great concept in ocarina, then it would have never appeared in the wind waker. It just seems kind of pointless and immediately annoyed me, at least the sailing had time to get old. I'm half-expecting there to be some kind of magic dance system in twilight princess. Or maybe Link could get a pair of magic bongos. I kinda like that, too.

So, as I said before, I liked this game, but it's not great. The gameplay is way too derivitive, which makes it a sequel in the worst sense. If you haven't checked out ocarina, yet, do so. Ocarina is not without its problems, but I think it is much better. I just wish the price for the bonus disc for gamecube wasn't so expensive. I really want to play the master quest, but I'm too much of a cheap bastard to pay the going rate to do so.

It's kinda like gta3, which I thought was a great transition from a 2d game to the 3d world. However, I was disapointed with both the 3d renditions of mario and metroid. I guess for those who don't like zelda in 3d, it just depends on what you grew up with. I played a link to the past, but I was never captivated by it. By the same extension, I think metroid prime, while being a good game, completely missed the point of the metroid series, but I guess I'm starting to ramble and talk about things that would be more appropriate for other threads...

[depascal22]

Wind Waker is a visual masterpiece. Instead of going for photo realism, they went with something that might not look as good but artistically is much more powerful. WW was a perfect game for my daughter and I to play together. She enjoyed the style and the low difficulty. Not every game has to be a hardcore experience. Not all of us want to throw a controller against the wall in frustration because of cheap bosses or whatnot.

[megashock5]

loved it

I actually wish they'd do another cell shaded Zelda. I thought it was beautiful.

[yukine]

loved it

I actually wish they'd do another cell shaded Zelda. I thought it was beautiful.

Sounds good to me, but other Zelda fans would shit bricks about it.

[Rig]

Finished it this morning. Never once in the game did I come close to death. It was extremely easy but it was also a very fun game. I enjoyed the last, final battle with Ganondorf, although I say again it was too easy. Glad I finally finished it.