The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
2002
- puzzle
- adventure
- action
- fantasy
- single player
The story
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is the first Zelda game for the Nintendo GameCube and also the first in the series to employ cel-shading, a lighting and texturing technique that results in the game having a cartoon-like appearance. Like its predecessors, The Wind Waker is an action game with puzzle-solving and light role-playing elements. Basic gameplay mechanics are similar to those found in Ocarina of Time, but it differentiates itself with its massive Great Sea which must be explored using a boat named King of Red Lions.
What it’s like
Bright, saturated cel-shaded colour gives the whole world a painted-storybook look, with sun-warmed islands, bobbing boats and waves that catch the light in flat, bold highlights. Days move past on a visible sun, and dusk turns the sea amber and then deep blue. Much of the time is spent sailing slowly across a wide, open ocean, with the wind filling the sails, gulls calling and the score swelling and dropping away between islands, so the pace is unhurried and meditative. Combat is light and rhythmic, dungeons bring puzzles more than danger, and the mood stays playful and warm, with a gentle undercurrent of wistfulness about a childhood left behind. Violence is cartoonish and bloodless, with no gore and little that is frightening. It suits a lazy weekend afternoon, a comfort replay, or a long stretch of exploring at your own pace. It is for players who want a cheerful, low-stress adventure with a strong sense of place and the freedom to wander.
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