For Nintendo and Link fans alike, yesterday would have been a big day as it saw the Nintendo Wii U launch its first ever fully sledged Zelda game with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. While it’s not the brand new, super impressive TLOF game that was teased in the Wii U announcement video (check out our Nintendo Wii U launch games page to see for yourself if you missed it), but it doesn’t take long before it becomes a genuine joy to play.
Storyline:
The story behind the game is a brilliant play on the original plot of Link becoming a brave adventurer to save Zelda from the dark clutches of the mighty Ganondorf.
You start out as little Link on his home island as he’s about to celebrate his birthday, becoming the same age as the nameless warrior from the past who previously fought the darkness and saved the world. However, his big day is punctured by the sudden appearance of a monstrous bird carrying the pirate, Tetra, in its claws and while he’s distracted rescuing her once she’s dropped in the islands woods, the bird captures his sister Aryll and steals her away. From this point on, Link must travel the Great Sea in search of his sister to bring her back safely and put a stop to the darkness that is building.
While things start out pretty sedate on Outset Island, it doesn’t take long for the quest to build. From the moment you see the vicious bird in the sky, rescue Tetra and see your sister getting kidnapped, you’re pretty much hooked and the storyline drives you on through the game.
There’s a good amount of tongue in cheek comedy to the dialogue of the game too, which helps to keep things fun as you progress. Tetra is the biggest source of this with her pirating banter and unforgiving nature.
Graphics:
Recreating the game that was first released for the Nintendo GameCube back in 2003, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD takes an already brilliant game and pads it out with updated graphics of the high definition variety. As soon as Aryll wakes you up on Outset Island, you’ll be instantly impressed by how incredible lush and detailed the look and feel of the game is.
It’s still got the unique 3D cartoon, cel shaded style of the original game, but this time around its even more beautifully crafted as the Wii U powered update takes things up to the 1080p quality of HD. Moving around the game is flowing, with seamless animation. with great detail and embellishments. Real time lighting effects and blur help to create the depth and texture that makes the game so easy on the eye, although this does lose its effect a little when Link is walking or running up a hill away from the screen.
The only other negative is that some of the characters’ faces can look a little too simple at times, but in general this is a stunning looking game.
Gameplay:
The gameplay is based on a similar system to the one that made the Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64 so much of a ground breaking release. Controlling little Link to move around the islands that dot throughout the great sea you have a pseudo-open world environment to roam around. The gameplay is a little tame to begin with as you start on Ouset Island with no sword and no idea where to go or what to do. However, it doesn’t take you all that long to find your feet, hero wardrobe, sword shield and all manner of items to really get into the full force adventure of the game. Getting your first ride on the King of Red Lions, the talking boat that guides Link through his adventure, is also a big part of the fun.
Link moves around the environment at a good pace with the ability to jump, climb, crawl, swing, sail and swim. His options for more exciting gameplay are increased significantly as he becomes a bit more tooled up, giving him the skills and weaponry to take the fight to the nasties. Battle sequences are a lot of fun, with the option to attack with your sword or other weapons, block with your shield and lock onto an enemy to make sure you hit your target square between the eye. This is boosted by the dodge function that lets you duck out of the way of an attack and counter. The target ability also make it easier to lock onto objects that are out of reach, which comes in handy with a lot of the puzzles throughout the game.
There’s even elements of stealth thrown into the mix, blurring the divide between Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater and the world of Zelda, as link can sneak, wall hang, peak around corners, slide along narrow ledges and even hide under the relative camouflage safety of a barrel. Sadly, there’s no stealth take-outs, but it definitely adds a lot the gameplay.
A big part of the brilliance of other games in the series is the sheer size and ferocity of boss characters and Wind Waker HD is just as impressive. Big, fast and menacing, the bosses look very cool, using some great animation and colour to bring them to life. They’re rarely a push over, so get yourself set for some epic battles ranging from the scorpion might of Gohma to the Helmeroc King (the vicious bird that steals Aryll) and Ganondorf himself.
As well as a very cool fight system, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD also features a lot of puzzle based activity as you will need to search for items and unlock areas to progress. These are a big feature of dungeon levels as you need to find a way through their labyrinthine tracks to get through them.
If you’re ever a little lost trying to solve a puzzle, make sure you keep an eye on where Link is looking as he can sometimes give you a nod in the direction of the solution. It makes the game a little less frustrating and lets you progress through the game without getting completely stuck and being able to proceed. However, this can still sometimes happen, so you need to make sure you keep your eyes peeled, because often the solution to the problem is right in from of your eyes, like finding your grandma up the ladder in her house on Outset Island or escaping from prison through the tunnel at the top of the book case in the Forsaken Fortress.
With the Wii U gamepad you get to control your inventory and check out the map of the island or dungeon you’re in, which makes it easier to keep on moving without having to pause the game to see them, which was always the case with previous Zelda games. You can also use it for off TV play, to keep the action going when the TV’s being taken over by someone else, although this does mean reverting to the pause process for map and inventory access.
Music/sounds:
The music is fuelled by the Legen of Zelda action theme, which sets a good tone to the pace of the game. It’s added to by much darker music as you take to the dungeons of Wind Waker HD. The sound effects are super slick, and while we would have loved to have had voiced actors for the dilogue scenes, which would have really brought it up to date with next gen technology, the noises characters make when during a text conversation is sort of OK.
Review summary:
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD is a gem of a game that grows in strength as you develop through the story. It’s visually stunning and has the kind of gameplay that makes for a lot of gaming fun and excitement. It’ll be a big part of the potential renewed success of the Nintendo Wii U in the run up to Christmas as it picks up the challenge of the Xbox ONE and PlayStation 4. If the first epic Zelda game and the upcoming Super Mario 3D World release can’t up the sales then we’re not sure what can. Although, with Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. U and the impending new Legend of Zelda game still in the offing, there’s still a lot up Nintendo’s sleeve.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD review: 4.5/5
