One of my fondest memories of playing Wind Waker was during a relatively scripted sequence about a third of the way through the story. The game turns to night, the clouds become stormy, and you're tasked with making your way across to different points on the map to continue the plot. On the journey back towards my home island, I suppose I had strayed off the intended path from what was intended as an enormous Octorok emerged from the waters and I was slowly pulled in towards it by a whirlpool. I didn't expect this to happen, and I didn't know it could happen. But... it was happening! It was an accidental sequence that i'd just bumped into, but with the mood of the story already so thick at that point in the game, I was convinced this was an intentional boss fight. Instead, the Great Sea's own dangers interacted with me in a moment of emergent gameplay that couldn't have been better timed.
I remember being fully onboard with Wind Waker since its unveiling. The art style was bold, there were a host of cool new mechanics, and there was just so much potential. Also, it was Zelda. What I didn't expect was setting the game in the vast ocean, and just how much that changed the experience. The worlds in the N64 games were so tailored around the progression of your abilities, Wind Waker ended up feeling like the first true step towards the open world Zelda in 3D. While your ability to interact with the various islands was obviously limited by your tools, you atleast felt like you could sail around and see everything.
Even away from the actual islands though, the ocean really sold its sense of place. Whether it was being attacked by sharks, coming across enemy watchtowers, or even stumbling across a fucking ghost ship, it all sold a perfect feeling of adventure. Wind Waker was not without its problems, but it never failed with its world. With so much to find (or miss), along with it came so much to explore.
But it goes beyond its overworld. Wind Waker introduced a ton of mechanics that evolved its predecessors' core. Dedicated stealth mechanics, opening the game with a pseudo-dungeon without your sword. Even the combat was improved, not just in its movement, but in its tactics. I remember picking up a slain enemy's weapon and being amazed. I remember a rush of possibilities going through my head, thinking "Well what if I could sheathe an enemy's weapon for myself? How many other weapons could there be?!" Sadly, this element wasn't really developed, but it nevertheless laid the groundwork for my imagined "perfect Zelda." My friends and I were largely crazy about Diablo 2 at the time, and I began picturing a blend of Zelda's sense of adventure with Diablo's ability to let the player obsess over the minutia of their skills and weapons.
These evolutions only made the disappointment of Twilight Princess all the more disheartening. Not only was the game so strictly linear, its world was ultimately a waste. Its overworld was mostly empty, with little to find or do. It never really sold its setting or your place in it. Mechanics introduced in Wind Waker were dropped and many of Twilight Princess' own great ideas went unfulfilled in comparison to their potential.
In many obvious ways, Twilight Princess is the spiritual successor to Ocarina of Time, only with many more technical advancements and with a blatant intent to ape popular fantasy films of the time ("Hey, this Lord of the Rings thing seems popular..."). A proposed "Wind Waker 2" from an official Nintendo briefing ultimately ended up being nothing more than suggestion. While Wind Waker's characters and art style did live on through the DS games, none of its key concepts carried forward. Back on console, Skyward Sword managed to be even more linear than before, while being its own bizarre thing in the grand scheme of the franchise.
This is what makes Breath of the Wild so interesting. When Nintendo gave its massive E3 focus on the new game last year, the drastic shift in direction clearly left an impression, but it's only just now that I feel capable of being able to articulate why:
Breath of the Wild feels the first true sequel to the gameplay of Wind Waker
Aside from "Link on a horse, in a field," the game seems to share so many concepts that originated in Wind Waker. Picking up dropped weapons returns, however the game instead wholly embraces it as a key resource as you make your way through the game. For the first time in almost 15 years, the world in a console Zelda game can feel open (in no small part thanks to Link Between Worlds and the popularity of games like Skyrim). There's a re-emerged focus on stealth, so much so that there's a noise meter on your default HUD.
But most importantly, I feel, the game looks to want to re-establish a naturalistic connection between you and the environment. Taking wind into consideration with how you might approach an enemy outpost. Finding food, and campsites. Noticing the natural features of your environment to help you explore.
Or stumbling onto a boss in the overworld, entirely by accident...
The joy I felt in Wind Waker didn't just derive from its style, its traditional Zelda gameplay, or its personality. The joy I felt was getting lost. Every new island was a mystery being uncovered, and moving towards the horizon would make 14-year old Shaanyboi completely lose himself in the possibilities.
It may be really easy and reductive to summarize everything I've posted as "Yo, I'm really excited for Breath of the Wild, guys." And... I mean it's not inaccurate. But the key difference is that while I've still managed to enjoy my time with most of the Zelda games to come out since 2003, I feel like this is the first real evolution of Zelda I've been waiting to see for almost 14 years. And I can't wait to get lost again.
TL;DR - yo I'm really excited for Breath of the Wild. Also it has alot of similarities to Wind Waker. Pce.
I remember being fully onboard with Wind Waker since its unveiling. The art style was bold, there were a host of cool new mechanics, and there was just so much potential. Also, it was Zelda. What I didn't expect was setting the game in the vast ocean, and just how much that changed the experience. The worlds in the N64 games were so tailored around the progression of your abilities, Wind Waker ended up feeling like the first true step towards the open world Zelda in 3D. While your ability to interact with the various islands was obviously limited by your tools, you atleast felt like you could sail around and see everything.
Even away from the actual islands though, the ocean really sold its sense of place. Whether it was being attacked by sharks, coming across enemy watchtowers, or even stumbling across a fucking ghost ship, it all sold a perfect feeling of adventure. Wind Waker was not without its problems, but it never failed with its world. With so much to find (or miss), along with it came so much to explore.
But it goes beyond its overworld. Wind Waker introduced a ton of mechanics that evolved its predecessors' core. Dedicated stealth mechanics, opening the game with a pseudo-dungeon without your sword. Even the combat was improved, not just in its movement, but in its tactics. I remember picking up a slain enemy's weapon and being amazed. I remember a rush of possibilities going through my head, thinking "Well what if I could sheathe an enemy's weapon for myself? How many other weapons could there be?!" Sadly, this element wasn't really developed, but it nevertheless laid the groundwork for my imagined "perfect Zelda." My friends and I were largely crazy about Diablo 2 at the time, and I began picturing a blend of Zelda's sense of adventure with Diablo's ability to let the player obsess over the minutia of their skills and weapons.
These evolutions only made the disappointment of Twilight Princess all the more disheartening. Not only was the game so strictly linear, its world was ultimately a waste. Its overworld was mostly empty, with little to find or do. It never really sold its setting or your place in it. Mechanics introduced in Wind Waker were dropped and many of Twilight Princess' own great ideas went unfulfilled in comparison to their potential.
In many obvious ways, Twilight Princess is the spiritual successor to Ocarina of Time, only with many more technical advancements and with a blatant intent to ape popular fantasy films of the time ("Hey, this Lord of the Rings thing seems popular..."). A proposed "Wind Waker 2" from an official Nintendo briefing ultimately ended up being nothing more than suggestion. While Wind Waker's characters and art style did live on through the DS games, none of its key concepts carried forward. Back on console, Skyward Sword managed to be even more linear than before, while being its own bizarre thing in the grand scheme of the franchise.
This is what makes Breath of the Wild so interesting. When Nintendo gave its massive E3 focus on the new game last year, the drastic shift in direction clearly left an impression, but it's only just now that I feel capable of being able to articulate why:
Breath of the Wild feels the first true sequel to the gameplay of Wind Waker
Aside from "Link on a horse, in a field," the game seems to share so many concepts that originated in Wind Waker. Picking up dropped weapons returns, however the game instead wholly embraces it as a key resource as you make your way through the game. For the first time in almost 15 years, the world in a console Zelda game can feel open (in no small part thanks to Link Between Worlds and the popularity of games like Skyrim). There's a re-emerged focus on stealth, so much so that there's a noise meter on your default HUD.
But most importantly, I feel, the game looks to want to re-establish a naturalistic connection between you and the environment. Taking wind into consideration with how you might approach an enemy outpost. Finding food, and campsites. Noticing the natural features of your environment to help you explore.
Or stumbling onto a boss in the overworld, entirely by accident...
The joy I felt in Wind Waker didn't just derive from its style, its traditional Zelda gameplay, or its personality. The joy I felt was getting lost. Every new island was a mystery being uncovered, and moving towards the horizon would make 14-year old Shaanyboi completely lose himself in the possibilities.
It may be really easy and reductive to summarize everything I've posted as "Yo, I'm really excited for Breath of the Wild, guys." And... I mean it's not inaccurate. But the key difference is that while I've still managed to enjoy my time with most of the Zelda games to come out since 2003, I feel like this is the first real evolution of Zelda I've been waiting to see for almost 14 years. And I can't wait to get lost again.
TL;DR - yo I'm really excited for Breath of the Wild. Also it has alot of similarities to Wind Waker. Pce.
Also when the fuck do we get a spiritual sequel to Majora's Mask. Come on, Nintendo.
