ne hundred years have passed since the hero of the last title in this venerable series donned the trademark green tunic and took up arms to save the world. As in the legendary Zelda titles of years past, diabolical evil has returned, seeking once more to dominate reality by obtaining the infamous golden Triforce—a trio of golden triangles that channel the very essence of creation.
The unlikely hero of The Wind Waker is a dreamy blond-haired boy celebrating his birthday with his bubbly younger sister as the story opens. A gigantic rainbow-plumed bird appears, pursued by a cannon-toting pirate ship and carrying a helpless girl in its talons. A few well-placed shots and the bird drops its cargo, but in a case of mistaken identity, returns to steal the hero's little sister instead. From here, the story turns quickly from an innocent rescue mission into another delectable evil-thumping epic.
In a gorgeous, cel-brushed, fully 3-D world, the hero is manipulated by the same control scheme that was introduced to critical acclaim in The Ocarina of Time. The joystick is used for walking or running, and the gamepad's color-coded buttons execute attacks and rolls or can be mapped to access inventory objects. Enemies are targeted using the Z-trigger, and a new counter-assault feature allows the hero to perform a spin-behind-and-attack move. The controversial auto-jumping feature is also back, triggered by running off the edges of things.
Advancing through the game is reliably Zelda-esque, blending non-linear exploration with thinly disguised tutorials designed to bring old and new alike quickly up to snuff. Progress is measured according to items acquired, dungeons completed and precious life-gauge hearts, which are passed out, one at a time, after defeating each area's "boss." The game world consists of a 7x7 grid of open ocean, speckled with islands that range from cloud-wreathed and volcanic to dreary and densely forested. Travel between the islands is possible by boat, and the player's manipulation of the wind with a magic musical baton plays a crucial role in charting courses and solving the game's intermediate puzzles.
Same delicious candy, different wrapper
Some franchises seem to get better without really changing. The Wind Waker is the 10th major Zelda release in the series, making good on mythical designer Shigeru Miyamoto's promise to deliver a fully integrated 3-D world, with consistency of design and animation throughout. This is the first Zelda title where the marketing campaign, manual and cover art match precisely the look and feel of the in-game experience.
But that's not entirely true, because seeing a perfectly animated 3-D world up close and personal is an extraordinary experience that transcends mere entertainment value and encroaches on the realm of serious art. Ignore anyone that balks at the cartoon-like style, because the collective result here is stunning. Fabulous turbines of molten liquid erupt at intervals into the air and tickle dungeon ceilings; torches cast flickering shadows with gradient light sourcing and create blurry waves of superheated air; enormous waterspouts whip the ocean into a cappuccino froth and suck ships into an inescapable maelstrom. Never in the history of video gaming has a game so perfectly captured the essence of atmosphere and dramatic timing, from the fluid kinetics right down to the startled little "o" of the hero's mouth when swinging from ropes, or the squint-eyed determination and clenched teeth when he pulls himself up over ledges.
And yet there's something missing, a certain alarmingly familiar sense that it has all been done before, if not ever quite this well. Yes, the same can also be said of previous Zeldas in terms of plot and story structure, but like last year's Super Mario Sunshine, it's the feeling that innovation here was restricted to the purely visual as opposed to pushing the gameplay itself.
Still, this is an incredible gaming experience, easily one of the best on any system so far this year, and destined for hall-of-fame status. What the game lacks in innovation it makes up for in perhaps being the culmination of a design dream, one that finally marries superior control and storytelling with a seamless, visual style that is peer to none.
This is an unbelievably beautiful title, filled with signature Miyamoto storytelling, endearing characters and meticulously crafted puzzles. What it lacks in innovative gameplay it easily makes up for with stunning cel-shaded graphics. I'm expecting more from the next one, but until that happy day, it's back to play through The Wind Waker a second time.
— Matt
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