The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker is perhaps the hardest game in the Zelda series to review. On the one hand it showed a huge improvement in both dungeon design and combat over its N64 predecessors. On the other hand it contains the worst moments of any 3d Zelda game and is lacking in content compared to other games.
The minute to minute gameplay of The Wind Waker is much more fun than the minute to minute gameplay of any Zelda that came before it. It is the first 3d Zelda game to truly have satisfying combat, and the first half is full of memorable moments and moves at a good pace most of the time.
There are two major problems with The Wind Waker. One is how tedious sailing becomes after the first few times. The other, more serious problem is the late-game padding to make up for the two dungeons that were cut so the game wouldn't be delayed further. The tri-force quest is the single worst part of any 3d Zelda game (it isn't as bad as the CDI games or Zelda 2, but still pretty bad.
Ultimately, The Wind Waker is a case of soaring highs the likes of which Zelda hadn't seen before, but also very low lows. Had the missing dungeons been added it might have been the greatest Zelda ever, but that loss hurts the game even more than it would have had they simply left it a shorter game.
The highs, which also include that beautiful graphics and music, outweigh the lows by a wide margin, but it is a shame that the lows are there to begin with.
High Highs Low Lows
The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker is perhaps the hardest game in the Zelda series to review. On the one hand it showed a huge improvement in both dungeon design and combat over its N64 predecessors. On the other hand it contains the worst moments of any 3d Zelda game and is lacking in content compared to other games.
The minute to minute gameplay of The Wind Waker is much more fun than the minute to minute gameplay of any Zelda that came before it. It is the first 3d Zelda game to truly have satisfying combat, and the first half is full of memorable moments and moves at a good pace most of the time.
There are two major problems with The Wind Waker. One is how tedious sailing becomes after the first few times. The other, more serious problem is the late-game padding to make up for the two dungeons that were cut so the game wouldn't be delayed further. The tri-force quest is the single worst part of any 3d Zelda game (it isn't as bad as the CDI games or Zelda 2, but still pretty bad.
Ultimately, The Wind Waker is a case of soaring highs the likes of which Zelda hadn't seen before, but also very low lows. Had the missing dungeons been added it might have been the greatest Zelda ever, but that loss hurts the game even more than it would have had they simply left it a shorter game.
The highs, which also include that beautiful graphics and music, outweigh the lows by a wide margin, but it is a shame that the lows are there to begin with.