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Gaming, In My Opinion
Zelda games have always been something special. The original brought the “Save” feature to consoles, A Link to the Past was a gaming milestone, and Ocarina of Time is by far the Greatest Game Ever Made. So now we have The Wind Waker, with it’s changed look and a reputation to uphold. Will it buckle under the pressure or does Link emerge triumphant?
Well, the visuals may have changed, but long-time fans will agree it is for the best. Somewhat reminiscent of the classic Disney films that we all love (we ALL love! Admit it!), the overall effect is very much like playing a family movie. Which is always good for a game. The new style looks bloody gorgeous, with effects like heat haze, wind, and emotional faces being created seamlessly within the game world. othing sticks out, and because of that, you will begin to believe in the world as fully as you would with a Resi game. Link himself displays a variety of emotions. Throughout the cut-scenes, you can almost feel what he is feeling, which makes the storyline much more engrossing and makes you feel a part of the game more than Ocarina did. In fact, all of the characters display an incredible amount of emotion, from your poor grandma, left behind on your home island, to Tingle, the worrying, green-clad nutter from Majora’s Mask. It all comes together to support how complete the New World is. The animation is incredible. It is truly second to none. The way that Link’s hat blows about in the winds, the movements of his enemies, the cups rolling around and smashing as Link runs past them. It is a truly breathtaking accomplishment, but you’ll only notice it if you really concentrate. But then, that sums up the whole visual style. It creates a world so complete, so seamless, that you could miss certain little touches purely because your brain accepts them as real and takes them for granted. The sounds have also improved greatly. The traditional overworld theme is present as usual, along with plenty of catchy new tunes (Dragon Roost Island is my personal favourite), and the presence of some old ones (some of which will bring a tear to the eye of any Zelda fan). Link now has a new voice, though it doesn’t make much difference, and (as with Majora) all the other characters merely grunt at you while speaking...though with some exceptions. Tingle, for example, now cries out his trademark magic chant, while doing a laughable little dance, but the best of all is the ‘Battleships’ man. You’ll know what I’m on about – his Banzai-esque acting alone will draw you back to that sub-game again and again. The AI has been upped a notch. Enemies now drop their weapons when hit a certain amount of times, and will act accordingly. Some run away, some retrieve their weapon, and others put up their dukes and proceed to knock seven bells out of you. Link can actually pick up these weapons, which can help solve a few puzzles or defeat the owner, but aside from that, this new feature is largely useless. Shame. Of course the combat system is largely the same (lock-on and tap the weapon button), but this time, Link has more moves. The swordplay is much more complex to watch, but just as easy to use; for example, as a Moblin raises his sword to chop our hero in two, the player can leap over him while knocking the weapon out of his hand and slashing at his head.... And that’s just by pressing A at the right time. It makes fighting the enemy feel a lot more than simply tapping B, and yet it isn’t much more than that. The Bosses are, as usual, colossal and menacing, but there are considerably less than previous instalments. In fact, this is where the first disappointment comes in. The bosses aren’t all that tough, and neither are the normal enemies. It is very likely that you can get through the game without even dying once (though you may use two or three fairies). This means that the game is much easier than, say, Ocarina of Time. Not only are there less bosses and sub-bosses than the epics that precede this masterpiece, but there are also less levels. Don’t get me wrong. The dungeons are very well designed, and are somewhat reminiscent and, in some cases, more atmospheric than those found in previous episodes. Indeed, they all have the traditional injection of satisfaction every time you complete a puzzle, even if you knew what you were doing. And the puzzles, while not wholly original, do feature some new ideas – makes a nice change after Majora, don’t you think? Okay. Technical bit over. This game is incredible!! The atmosphere, the size of the overworld, the plot. Nintendo seem to have done the impossible; they’ve reinvented the greatest RPG series ever devised. One hundred years after Ocarina of Time, Hyrule has disappeared from both sight and memory. Only the superstitions of the islanders keep the legends alive - and now a new one is about to begin. You are Link, yet again, and this time he has grown up in a pleasant little niche of the world; the peaceful Outset Island. On this island, boys who reach the same age as Ocarina’s juvenile protagonist have to wear the traditional green tunic for one day. Then they get to run around with swords and kill things – a bit of an irresponsible birthday tradition, wouldn’t you say? Well, the birthday celebrations go a bit pear-shaped for the current incarnation of Link. After a little pig-carrying and sword training, he receives his green garb, only to find a pirate has been kidnapped by a massive bird and dropped on your island. So it’s up to our good-natured elf to rescue her from the clutches of…well, a tree that she’s dropped into. Rescuing her isn’t too difficult, but as a result, the bird returns and mistakes your sister for the pirate girl. Reluctantly, the pirates let Link aboard their ship and set sail to rescue Link’s sibling. But, as was obvious from the start, there’s far more to it than that. The storyline to The Wind Waker is just as epic and engrossing as that of the famous Ocarina of Time. From the moment you start your quest, as you watch a Bayeux Tapestry-style synopsis of Ocarina (complete with the traditional theme music), and proceed through the perfectly directed and brilliantly translated in-game cutscenes, a story unfolds that will grab you roughly and not let go, even after you finish the game. It’s very much like playing the greatest family movie of all time, with Disney-esque visuals for the kids and hardcore legends and tales of destiny for long-time fantasy fans. The whole storyline is riddled with history, fate and unsolved questions that leave your mouth watering for the next installment. The gameplay is exactly the same as Ocarina of Time, so not only will veterans be at home, but newcomers will settle in quickly. As with most Zelda games, you have to travel from dungeon to dungeon in order to obtain a new weapon, beat a boss and move the story along. In between, your inventory (which is fuller than originally expected and complete with all the old favourites) will open up new abilities, new areas and let you get your grubby mitts on new treasures. The game world is much larger than usual, though. The Sea is split into 49 squares, each as large as Hyrule Field (circa. OofT), and each had a single/group of island(s) in them. We’re talking HUGE!! To traverse between them, Link has the power of the wind and a cool little boat, King of Red Lions. The world’s only talking boat…apparently. However, very few of these islands have people on them. There are only two or three islands that could be considered towns, and the others are barely bigger than your boat. Some only have one item of interest ashore, and in many cases, this is merely a rupee. It’s a little disappointing that Nintendo didn’t include a few more ports, villages, etc. It makes the ocean feel a little empty. This is not helped by the fact that between islands, the expanse of water is vast. It is possible to make a toilet trip between islands and still return to find Link sailing along through a mainly featureless ocean. Admittedly, Nintendo have tried to compensate for this by placing pirate outposts, rafts and submarines to plunder, monsters to battle and buried treasure to uncover, but once your defeated each monster and pulled up the treasure, the journeys can be a little boring (even with the limited warp ability). And the boat-to-monster combat is very slow, and hard to handle – plus, you’ll probably sail right past the monster before you realise it, and you won’t be bothered to change the direction of the wind to fight it. But hey, there are only two or three monsters that you need to fight, and those can be defeated by arrows and boomerang. Speaking of which, all of the old favourites return. Yup, it’s weapons galore in Wind Waker – the boomerang, the bow (complete with fire, ice and light arrows), the hammer, the hookshot and the bombs are all present, plus some intriguing new toys for link to play with. The new items include the Grappling Hook (for Indiana Jones-style swinging) and the Deku Leaf (which doubles as a fan and a hang glider). Unfortunately, some of the weapons are underused, such as the all-time favourite; the Hookshot. Aside from allowing you to complete one of the dungeons, all it is used for is hopping onto the top of the smaller islands – and that’s only worth a few rupees. The most intriguing of the new items is the Tingle Tuner. This custom-made GBA will allow you to link up to your own Game Boy Advance so that a second player can join in the fun. This feature is mainly restricted to dungeons, but it’s a great co-op mode. The second player is Tingle and has the ability to bomb enemies, shield and carry Link for a short while, and uncover secret items (fairies, rupees and the elusive Tingle statues) and read messages left behind by previous adventurers. It’s nice to see Nintendo finally trying out the famed GBA-GC link, and the link’s official debut is spectacular. Perfect for getting a younger player to enjoy the dungeons of Zelda. Sub-quests are present as always, but this time there are much more. The shops for example have been revamped to incorporate sub-quests. Initially, you can’t go and buy potions – you have to find the ingredients, give them to the potion maker and that potion will then be available to buy. The trading sequence, a trademark of the Zelda series, not only bags you a mystery item but also fills up the shop from which it started. Sub-games are rife throughout the Wind Waker, but the main emphasis this time is on the trading sequences, and finding rare items. These items are kept in your new spoils bag, and range from Joy Pendants to Golden Feathers. The items can be sold at Beedle’s Shop Ship, a store that sails the oceans and sells a variety of essential goods, or given to specific people to reap rewards like Heart Pieces and the Deed to your own house. And then there’s the postal system, expanded from the days of Majora and the fact that you can get a job at the postal centre. And then there’s the Great Fairies, dotted around the ocean, able to increase your weapon-holding abilities. And….oh, there’s far too much to tell, and I’ve told far too much already. Suffice to say, this game is BIG!! No, it’s BIG!!! You will never play a game like this ever again…at least, until the next Zelda game. This is Nintendo at it’s absolute best – revolutionary, epic, heart-warming and addictive. You’ll find yourself sitting down to do one level only, but by the time you’ve finished, you’ll have done two levels and lost three and a half hours of your life. Don’t be surprised if you turn your Cube off and find that it’s one in the morning. Four words can sum up this game: DO. NOT. MISS. THIS. VISUALS: Simply beautiful. It’s so incredibly seamless, emotional and flawless. 10/10 SOUNDS: Familiar tunes, new tunes, Link’s new voice and Tingle’s chant. Need I say more. 10/10 PLAYABILITY: Anybody can play this. Everybody will be addicted to this. 10/10 LIFESPAN: Oh, YEARS! Shorter than previous episodes, but you will still be playing this when the sequel comes out! 9/10 VERDICT: The Game of the Year! The Game of the Decade! The Game of the Century! You MUST own this! 95% |