I have completed Wind Waker. again, there will be no spoilers.



Like with Prince of Persia, I had played the latest entry in this series, Twilight Princess, before playing this game. But to be honest in terms of gameplay, apart from the controller I used to play both games, and a couple of little things I'll go into later, Twilight Princess and Wind Waker play and feel very much the same. (I understand they all follow the template Ocarina of time layed down)

First of all, I love the way the game looks, I think it's beautiful. The colour palette is gorgeous and varied, the art style is unique and full of personality. I know back in the day there was a big ho-ha over the fact they made the game all cartoony instead of semi realistic looking. But that cartoonish look has also ment that this game has not aged a day visually, and it's all because the cell shaded style completely hides just how old the technology powering that game is. There was a point when I was sailing across the sea, and the sun was rising over the waves, it was just picture perfect. Seriously, in that moment, I could have honestly believed I was playing a low end current gen console game (it looks better than dragon age, thats for sure). It is important to note that I have been playing it on SD screen, I don't know if it looks that good on a HD screen, I haven't tryed yet. I suspect it's probably a bit fuzzy on a HD screen, much like PS2 games.

The music in this game is of a very high quality and The Great Sea theme is one of my new favourite pieces of video game music. The soundtrack as a whole really gets across that feeling of going on a grand adventure, and can really inspire you in ways that can get the adrenalin pumping and urges you to push forwards, which is always the mark of good video game soundtrack.

The story line is very well told and well put together. There are a couple of twists and turns, only one of which I didn't predict a mile off. Seriously, if you don't guess who princess Zelda is in the first 10 minutes of that game,...consult your doctor. I like the back story about there being a Hero of Time (who I assume is Link in Ocarina of Time), who had defeated Ganon before the land was covered in ocean, and once it was a huge land mass, not just tiny islands divided by sea. It is just nice to have a sense of history and mythology to the land your exploring. I personally still prefer the story in Twilight Princess, but hey, thats just me.

The gameplay is largely identical to Twilight Princess. Lock on combat, auto jumping, puzzle temples, etc, etc. There were some clever boss battles, some really great puzzles to solve. That end game scavenger hunt is a big pain in my ass, but what ever, thats Zelda I suppose. But I found the variety, not just in gameplay, but in weapons and items, to be more extensive in Twilight Princess. But ofcourse it is, it's the latest installment in the franchise, thats the way it should be; so thats hardly a valid complaint. What I will say is I much prefer the Wii controller to the Gamecube controller. The accuracy with things like the hook shot, the bow, etc, were far superior with the motion control aiming mechanic than the really imprecise Gamecube analog stick. This wasn't hugely annoying, because most of the time you could lock on with your bow anyway. But after coming off Twilight Princess, with its really smooth aiming, it was a bit frustrating. As for the camera though, it was better than Twilight Princess, but it was still a bit rubbish.

Overall I really liked the game, and I think it's one of the best looking last gen games I've ever played. That said, I still think Twilight Princess is the superior product on all fronts. Bring on Ocarina of Time, lets see if this legendary game holds up for me.

i also enjoyed windwaker.

My wife and I played this soon after we got married. Somehow it was always my turn to play when there was a big chunk of sailing to do. Love this game.

Oh come on dudes, it's his first post, give him a break ;) Also welcome to GiantBomb!
 
I'd first like to say that Windwaker is possibly one of my favorite top 10 games of all time. The Cell shading and rendering is beautiful and gives a great feeling of water depth and atmosphere in the game. I actually felt as though I was sailing the seas, as you look around and see all the tiny islands set out throughout the land.
 
I felt that Twilight Princess was not as good a game in the layout and storyline. But that's just my opinion. However i would still say it's an excellent game to play and would recommend it for anyone who loves the Zelda series. The combat in my opinion was not as fulfilling as it was in the Windwaker, but was still pretty appealing. 
 
Overall I'd pick the Windwaker over the Twilight Princess, but maybe that's just my biased love for the Gamecube ;)
 
Great blog post.

Now when you say "classic," I think of games from the 80s (and maybe 90s).  I'm getting old.

" @combinehunter:  The template they follow is not what Ocarina of Time laid down, but the one that was perfected in A Link to the Past (the series has been following the same basic template since the very first one). "