THE GOOD:+ Lovely cel-shaded visuals
+ Cool dungeons
+ Nice boss ideas
+ Clever puzzles
+ Nice items
+ Awesome enemies
THE BAD:
- Too short
- Bosses, once again, are too easy
- The first load of temples are too easy
- Sailing to far away lands can get boring
- The opening
SUMMARY:
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is far from beating Ocarina of Time but it is a good Zelda game with a nice story, cool puzzles and superb visuals. The Gamecube is now in possesion of a truly amazing Zelda game, but this game is also far from perfect, but lets face it. No game is perfect. So can Wind Waker come close to OoT? Lets check it out:
GRAPHICS
These cel-shaded visuals are very pretty.
LoZ: TWW uses a new graphical style known as cel-shaded graphics. These are basically 3D cartoony graphics with bold, 3D worlds and crisp, clear textures. This style is not perfect, as the water looks abit strange. I know its meant to be cartoony and all that, but the water is fully blue. It should have at least a small transparency style in it to make it better. Otherwise the visuals rule. Pretty, clear and colourful. Proves Ninty isn't afraid to try new ideas, even if it has a high risk.
STORY
Wind Waker has quite a slow and boring beginning.
Wind Waker's opening is rubbish compared to other Zelda games. The drawings on the prophecy are strange, but ofcourse it fits in with the fact thats an old prophecy. However, the opening is not at all epic, its very boring and seems to take forever. Basically it displays many images like the one above about an acient prophecy, howver its just not satisfying. I really was angry with it and didn't at all like it. Ninty should stick to their classic epic openings like the one in OoT. The story in this game is basically Links sister, Aryll, is kidnapped by the Helmorac King and Link goes off to save her. He must travel through all sorts of puzzling dungeons and eventually meets Ganindorf. And, again, must stop him from gaining the three pieces of the Triforce. Good story, crap opening.
GAMEPLAY
Dragon Roost Island, the first dungeon.
Wind Waker is basically the same gameply as all Zelda games to date. However, it is easier, shorter and not as much fun as previous ones but the Gameplay is still awesome. The control scheme is improved from OoT as it doesn't mess up as much and the camera can now be set to a FREE mode where players can use the C Stick to move the camera around freely, or press L to set the camera behind them. Its like your hack 'n' slash gameplay, but with awesome items like the Grappling Hook, Iron Boots, Fire, Ice and Light arrows and many more. However, Wind Waker falls flat on its face by not offering enough items such as clothing, or any more boots except the iron ones. Also, Ninty have thrown in a new element to the LoZ series, sailing. Boring? Kinda. Sailing gets very boring if you have to go across the sea, but luckily you get a warp song to play that lets you warp to other locations. Phew.
BAD
Sailing. Boring and very repetitive.
Wind Waker, like I said, is far from an Ocarina of Time beater and here we prove it. Here are the bad points I sucked out of this game. Firstly, this game is too short. If you're a Zelda master, you may complete it around 15 hours. If your new to the series, it may take you around 20 hours. But most of that is stuffed with easy temples and sailing. I admit, I said Metroid Prime was a long game when it was 25-30 hours but its all spent on challenging puzzles and awesome levels. Wind Waker lacks that. The bosses are also too easy, like in most Zelda games. I have already talked about sailing so no need for that. And I expressed my angryness about the opening for you so no need either.
OVERALL
I said it before and I'll say it again, Wind Waker is far from an Ocarina of Time beater. Its short, has many boring sections and is too easy. It is a great game, but in the Zelda dimesion, its only a good one.
If you want a Zelda challenge, OoT is your game. WW is not.
FINAL SCORES
Neoscore-----------4.1
% Score------------88%
/10 Score----------8/10
Grade--------------B
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