Throwback Thursday - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Welcome to another Throwback Thursday, our weekly look into my Top 100 games and general nostalgia.  And wouldn't you know it, we've finally arrived at what is perhaps my favorite game of all time.  It is by no means a perfect game I will acknowledge, but no game has managed to ignite my imagination and wonder quite as magically as this masterpiece pulled off.  Topping off our esteemed list of games this week: The game of pulling up sunken treasures and calling upon the forces of weather that is The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

Released in the US on March 24th, 2003, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was the much anticipated debut of the Zelda series for the GameCube.  After the series' critically acclaimed jump to 3D on the N64 with Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, and a demo called Space World showing off the graphical capabilities for this new Nintendo hardware, the world's excitement could not be contained for what next laid in store for this series.  So it was quite a surprise when this next Zelda adventure of The Wind Waker instead featured a bold, cel-shaded art direction with a cartoonish, young Link (we now refer to as Toon Link thanks to the Smash Bros series).  While this caused a heated divide among players at the time, hindsight and time have proven this art direction to have aged flawlessly and to be a timeless work of art.

This epic adventure begins with one of the most memorable and iconic intros found in the medium of gaming.  Retelling the events of Link's exploits in Ocarina of Time, depicted in gorgeous woodcut art, the game poses a captivating continuation to which if at the conclusion of Ocarina of Time, Link were sent back in time to relive his lost childhood, who would protect the kingdom of Hyrule in this timeline?  The kingdom falls to supposed ruin at the hands of Ganon, but the legend of this brave hero lives on and inspires future generations to share his same courage.  And as fate and good storytelling would have it, this call to heroics and adventure is quickly cast upon our sleepy new incarnation of Link, who is just a child living on Outset island with his sister and grandma when pirates and a monstrous bird stir trouble for its peaceful residents.  With the intimidating flying beast mistaking Link's sister for its intended target and plucking her to a faraway keep, thus begins a grandiose quest for Link to rescue his sister and stop the return of the emperor of darkness that is Ganondorf.

Art used for the legendary prologue presented in The Wind Waker.

With an enchanted talking boat, the King of Red Lions, a wide blue expanse of exciting and curious possibilities lay before you in which to explore.  There is such a entrancing and yet also exhilarating rush to be had as you sail about these open waters, seeing the visual depiction of winds gust by and viewing the growing clarity and size of oncoming land masses.  The intrinsic joys of slowly filling in your sea charts and discovering the unique qualities that make up each new island.  The thrills of stumbling upon a peculiar flock of seagulls to suddenly become engaged in a whirling fight against a menacing sea monster.  The Great Sea served as the perfect pallet in which to thread together an adventurous epic of daring and discovery.  And the invigorating music that accompanies these bold sailings exemplifies these feelings just that much further.





Of course, another key staple of any good Zelda game are those rich and memorable dungeons.  While the Wind Waker's dungeons are fewer and a bit more linear, they still strike a satisfying chord for their masterful means of depicting ambiance and mood, and for much creative, layered puzzles.  That, and some really cool boss designs.  They're not particularly difficult, but they make for some incredibly striking and memorable bouts to be had still.  Swinging by a dragon's tail facing a monstrous fire-breating centipede, or facing off in a climatic duel atop a ruined keep against a backdrop of cascading falls.  Those are spectacles to surely remember.

Concept art of Gohma, the first boss in The Wind Waker.

There's so much more to be praised and said regarding this exemplary game.  The imaginative world building and storytelling, of which builds to an incredible mid-game climax, giving fresh and wondrous perspective to an already enchanting world.  A rich and stirring soundtrack, of which the many motifs are so expertly interwoven into key mechanics and story beats, making them resonate all the more.  Such whimsical character designs, many of which have recurring roles throughout the adventure, some even as partners in which to work through dungeons together in unique and creative means.  Even the simple design of Link's eyes, which will wander in the direction of treasure or puzzle solutions.  I absolutely adore it.





If you've tuned in frequently enough to these weekly Throwback Thursdays, you'll likely have come to identify the types of games that resonate with me: Those with engaging gameplay, rich musical scores, striking art direction, and compelling storytelling.  The Wind Waker is all this and more.  If you share similar tastes for such games and have yet to experience this wondrous adventure, I can only envy the treat you're in for.  Unfortunately, the game has limited means of play, only available on the GameCube or remastered on the Wii-U.  That said, if you should manage the means to obtain and play this legendary work of art, I hope it ignites your heart and imagination with awe and wonder as it did mine.

Whatever your course or destination for gaming shall end up being, may the winds guide you favorably and well.  And as always, happy gaming!