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A cave entrance blocked by a rockfall. A stone head visible on an unreachable
mountain top. A sign saying DO NOT ENTER. Haven't you just got to know? Haven't you?
See, that's the clever thing about
Zelda games. Where it matters, they don't have to tell you what to do or where to go. One glimpse of something out of place
or unusual and your natural curiosity goes to work, filling in hopes of new realms, hidden treasures and intriguing mysteries.
SAILING THE HIGH C
You may not immediately know how to get there, but you're prepared to die trying. Even if going
from A to C means getting past B's pointy drool-flecked teeth. Indeed, we can't think of many games where you're expected
to storm an ocean fortress with a barrel, a stick and some pottery.
MAGIC GATHERING
But the rewards are often worth
it, and you won't be relying solely on your wits. Where other games might fob you off with a coin reward or a nice message,
Zelda knows when to deliver the goods, straight into your inventory. We're talking weapons, gadgets, magical effects - with
useful effects, all to be held aloft on receipt with the trademark "Ta da da DAAH!"
You'll have read NGC's review
of the Japanese release, of course, but it's a relief to finally get to grips with the storyline in full. This translation
suffers the usual Americanisms - we strongly suspect they weren't uttering "Uh, whatever" or calling you 'bud' in Japanese
- but on the whole it's intelligently done, with clear instructions and humour aplenty.
What's more, we're pretty
sure they've made a few tweaks to the game itself here and there. As much as we like Japanese weirdness, and prefer solving
puzzles without Nintendo's occasionally heavy-handed hints, there are some sidequests that we completely missed first time
round.
BIRTHDAY BOY
Wind Waker takes place 100 years after Ocarina of Time, and our hero is fortunately not a tortoise-necked
geriatric, but a young boy who only happens to be wearing the Link gear as part of a birthday tradition.
TIME BANDIT
But
his party is gatecrashed by a giant bird intent on snatching all the small pointy-eared girls in the area, and there's no
time to change. In essence, he turns out to be a kind of eternal Hero of Time, replaying a predestined role. If we're to explain
why this title is so much fun then we might as well refer to Zelda games in general, because the same compliments happily
apply. What you get is a mix of lateral thinking puzzles, pad-based action and an underlining plot that ties the whole game
into a story.
The series is often described as an RPG, even though it has more in common with Mario than with Final
Fantasy, but it's an understandable mistake when you consider the fairytale setting and the extensive speech interaction with
the inhabitants of the gameworld. But while Mario has evolved from traditional platform-leaping challenges into a versatile
uber-athlete, Zelda's hero is just a kid.
CARTOON TIME
He can only acquire his abilities by collecting items that
enhance his power, which means a series of quests where the goal is often plainly in sight, but reaching it requires thoughtful
use of all your powers. A bomb to blast through rock, a missile to hit a distant switch - every new power opens up new areas
to explore, but only if you're clever enough to spot them.
As for those much-discussed (and cussed) graphics, we're
almost tired of hearing this debate. It looks like a quality cartoon, but when you're actually playing there's no sense in
which the graphics detract or distract from the experience. And even though the creatures are rendered as fully 3D entities,
they flex and stretch and shimmer as if ol' Disney or Miyazaki had got out their paintboxes. Take our word for it - the new
look really works, and before long you'll be wondering if other video games really have to look so obviously drawn by machines.
SAILING AWAY
With the hindsight of playing it through for a second time, we can confidently voice a few niggles.
As if wary of accusations about longevity, Nintendo have padded out the main quest with a fair amount of repetition and travelling
back and forth. Having to buy the final tri-force locations for thousands of rupees seems an especially cheap way to extend
lifespan. Well, the difficulty level certainly won't stop you in your tracks, as we have trouble remembering if we ever actually
died so much as once.
And as we mentioned before, the sailing sections are brilliantly rendered but can feel lengthy
if you don't know where you're going. That's mostly because there's not much to do along the way except set the wind in your
sails, prod the tiller in the right direction and sit back with an eye on the beautiful fashion in which cloud formations
unfold. As such, it can't quite compare with leaping fences on horseback or hacking through woods.
LITTLE DUNGEONS
Ocean
battles are pretty thin on the ground too, probably because the clunky ship combat is the only aspect of the game where the
Nintendo polish momentarily slips. Strangely, though, those most likely to pick holes in Wind Waker will be stalwart old Zelda
fans with too many expectations.
See, it would be easy to start comparing dungeon sizes or bemoaning the lack of a
detailed overworld, but to describe Wind Waker as an Ocarina Lite is no bad thing. It may not have the epic scale of the N64
classic or the emotional pull of Majora's Mask, but it delivers a tightly-crafted experience with a sense of fun that seems
calculated to draw in a new audience of Zelda fans on the Cube.
CAVEMAN DAYS
Bottom line? For the few faults it
has, you'd need a heart of pure mould to deny Wind Waker's greatness. The end result is packed with so many ideas, details
and neat touches that we're only noticing some of them on our second play. It's the kind of Nintendo title that will leave
you feeling immensely happy to have played it, and yet cheated. Yes, cheated, because all those other 3D platformers, slash-'em-ups
and action RPGs that you've enjoyed in recent years now look like primitive under-achievers.
Bless you, Nintendo,
for doing it again. And curse your bones, for not giving anyone else a chance.
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