The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is my favorite game in the Zelda franchise.
What I miss from many modern videogames is that sense of wonder, excitement, and adventure that they generated in my young self. Every new cart was a new world, just waiting to be explored. I was sitting in my parents tiny basement playing on a small 12 or-so inch TV, but I was also slaying dragons, conferring with kings, or discovering my latent magical abilities. The Wind Waker recaptured that sense of imagination and possiblity greater than, in my opinion, any other game on the GameCube, and any other Zelda game. It's that sense of possibility that sets Wind Waker apart from its precessors, but I'll get to that in a bit.
Even back in those days I played and enjoyed games like Tecmo Bowl, so videogames for me weren't all about escapism. This thread isn't arguing about the relative merits of Madden or GTA compared to a Zelda or Shadow of the Collossus. The memories that stuck with me were the adventures, however. Not the game-winning touchdowns. It was the bat-filled caves, bottemless pits, and sprawling overworlds.
I used to map them out on graph paper.
Right from the start Wind Waker awakened that long-dormant part of my personality (soul?). In fact, Wind Waker was the first game I mapped out myself on paper in probably about 10 years, and I haven't come close being compelled enough to do it sense.
The game's charm is apparent (to those that "get it") right from the start. Zelda title screens are always memorable. Ocarina of Time's is an especially classy and emotion-laden. But Wind Waker's had a special charm, in part thanks to its celtic-sounding music. This charm and genuine soul is something that was maintained throughout the entire game. Wind Waker is the saddest and the funniest game in the franchise.
I tried to a long time to find a picture of the bored NPC who runs the battleship minigame. I dare anyone to tell me they didn't grin as he held up the different cardboard cutouts, introducing his game's story. Or the "sploooshghgg" noise he'd make when you'd miss, and the "ka-BOOOM" when you hit. It's not laugh-out-loud funny, but taken in aggregate with all the game's other charm (much of which was generated by Link himself - remember his reaction to the plan to shoot him out of a cannon), it creates a game world I could never get enough of.
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Where Wind Waker truly shines, however, is in its deslightfully wide-open ocean, and its emphasis on sailing.
Yes, what most people like least about Wind Waker is what has for me solidified the game as an unforgettable experience, nearly without peer. Don't tell me that you weren't disappointed in Ocarina of Time to finally gain access to Hyrule field on a moody night, only to see the torches of hyrule castle just over that first hill. Wind Waker takes that disappointment and flips it on its head, creating an ocean full of possibility, begging to be discovered.
Every new island was an adventure. Or at least a potential one.
Most people seem to hate the game's Triforce quest, but I wished it would have never ended. When the quest began I understood that the game was winding down, so I took my time with it. Almost the entire outer ring of islands were unexplored, by me. Along with a handful in the middle of the map. I would explore just one or two islands a night. What would each new island hold for me? A heart piece? A minigame? Slimes for me to harvest? Rupees? Along the way I'd happily stop and investigate the enemy's totem outposts (shown in the distance in the shot above), or shining spots on the ocean's floor, or anything else that crossed my path.
It's true that the world was largely empty thanks to the "one island per square" rule, but this seemed to heighten the sense of adventure and endless possibility. There was nothing quite like rolling your boat up and exploring a mysterious beach that had slowly materialized out of the haze as you made your way towards it.
The ghost ship. The rare and deadly giant squid (octopus?). The enemy's barrel-shaped submarines. The Island of Lava and The Island of Ice. I absolutely loved that much of the world could remain unexplored, if you were only interested in the quest itself. Many will argue that Oblivion does it bigger, but that doesn't mean it does it better. As you're sailing to your destination you come across a mysterious island with a lone hut at its center. Can you REALLY resist stopping to check it out? Possibilities abound!
