History Videogame / TheLegendofZeldaTheWindwaker

* TheHerosBirthday: Unusual for a Zelda game, but yep.

* RetCanon: The idea of the titular Princess Zelda being an ActionGirl with archery skills first originated in the [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda1989 '80s cartoon]]. It carries over to the games from ''The Wind Waker'' onwards (and here, notably, [[spoiler:Zelda attacks Ganondorf with Light Arros while Link uses his sword]]), and Zelda's trademark weapon (when it's not just plain magic) is usually the Bow and Arrows of Light.

** During his quest to awaken the Sages of the Earth and Wind Temples, if the assigned Sage is captured by a Floormaster, they are put in a cell in a vital room of the respective temples. For Medli in the Earth Temple, she is imprisoned in a cell in a room containing a ReDead statue, and Link can easily free her by placing her under his control via the Command Melody and have her fly out. As for Makar in the Wind Temple, however, he is imprisoned in the central room with a large stone statue serving as the door, and Link needs to find the Hookshot to pull it down and open it (while wearing the Iron Boots, since they make Link heavy enough to have large items pulled towards him).

** The Forsaken Fortress has a prison for Link if he is caught infiltrating the fortress, and it's easily escapable via a secret passage that he can crawl through. During the first visit to the fortress, Link loses his sword after he is launched in by Tetra via a catapult, and while making his way through the fortress to get it back, he has to avoid being spotted by Moblins and searchlights to avoid imprisonment. During either the first or second visits, or post-visits where the fortress is completely abandoned after the Helmaroc King is defeated, Link will be imprisoned in that particular cell by a Floormaster.

* TimedMission: After shooting the volcano's mouth at the top of Fire Mountain with an Ice Arrow, Link has five minutes to get inside and find the Power Bracelet before the island's heat rises again; luckily, once he gets the item, the exterior of the island remains warm for the rest of the game. This is repeated with the Ice Ring Isle: He shoots at the mouth of the dragon-shaped cave entrance with a Fire Arrow and has five minutes to enter and get the Iron Boots before the whole island freeze over again; when said item is collected, the island remains safe for good.

* SurpriseCreepy: The ''Zelda'' franchise has always been good at this, but the art style makes the creepy moments stand out all the more. That's without mentioning the rather dark backstory, and [[spoiler:Ganondorf meets his end at the hands of Link]] via ''brain-kebab.'' There's also the NoHoldsBarredBeatdown mentioned above. Unsettling enough on its own merits (how often do you see Link at the ''receiving'' end of those?), the fact that the oldest Link could be 16 and possibly as young as 9 makes it all the worse.

''The Wind Waker'' is explicitly set some time after ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' (hundreds of years), showing off [[CelShading cel-shading]] techniques combined with slightly realistic shading to produce a game visually reminiscent of animated films. Its major gameplay concept is the titular conductor's baton, the Wind Waker, which among other things, allowed Link to control the wind. Following from the first true multiplayer ''Legend of Zelda'' game, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords Four Swords]]'', it also included a limited two-player AsymmetricMultiplayer mode using the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance cable, allowing a second player to control Tingle and assist ([[{{Griefer}} or hinder]]) the player.

* BladeOnAStick: The weapon used by the Moblins; Link can pick them up and use them as weapons, but as they're easily three times his size, he's rather clumsy with them.

* WeakenedByTheLight: [=ReDeads=], Dark Chuchus and Poes can be stunned with light. With the latter two, it's the only way to make them vulnerable to conventional attacks.

* WeakenedByTheLight: ReDeads, Dark Chuchus and Poes can be stunned with light. With the latter two, it's the only way to make them vulnerable to conventional attacks.

** After obtaining the Fire and Ice Arrows, Link is given the option of using the latter arrows to freeze enemies solid and then smashing them to pieces with the Skull Hammer, which works even on ''Darknuts'' if you're quick enough.

* TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget: The game implies this was what happened to [[BigBad Ganondorf]]. He initially set out to conquer Hyrule because he envied its idyllic nature while his people lived in a harsh desert... but when he laid hands on the Triforce, seven years later all he'd changed is that now the rest of Hyrule is even ''worse'' than the desert while he chased the missing pieces of the Triforce.

* TeleportKeycardSquad: Getting the Boss Key in Forbidden Woods brings in two Moblins to the room where it was guarded, courtesy of some Kargaroks that drop them right in front of Link. And getting the one in Tower of the Gods activates the previously-inanimate Armos.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** The backstory shows the problem with only having one chosen one available at any one time until the previously chosen one has passed away; with no Link to fight Ganon when he re-emerged from the Sacred Realm (Link has gone back to the child timeline, this happens in the adult one), he runs rampant over Hyrule like Link's victory never happened, and comes very close to obtaining the complete Triforce, forcing the gods to cross the GodzillaThreshold and flood Hyrule with water that was cursed so deeply it even forced the Zora to evolve into the Rito.
** At first, the bomb shop owner in this game is an abrasive {{Jerkass}} who charges out the nose (more than Link could find a wallet to afford at this point in the game) and mocks people for their lack of funds to afford his wares. This is just annoying for Link who doesn't do anything to him, but when he tries the same shtick on Tetra's crew, they very quickly make the point that they're ''pirates'' by beating him up, leaving him bound and gagged, and stealing his entire stock. Link doesn't even make an attempt to free him either probably because of how he treated him. This harrowing experience thankfully mellows him out, and he'll sell Link bombs at reasonable prices with a smile on his face from then on.

* AlluringAnglerfish: Jabun resembles a mix between an anglerfish and a catfish. His lure, which resembles a man-made lantern hanging from a tendril, appears to be purely decorative.