Some of us played our first Zelda game in 1986; for others it was Ocarina of Time when they first set foot in Hyrule; and for some, it was much later. No matter when you experienced the series for the first time, most of you have either played or heard of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. At the time of its first reveal, it was a controversial mess among the fans. With its bizarre step towards cel-shaded graphics, its emphasis on exploration and sailing, and an overall strangeness of design for the Zelda series, many fans were befuddled. While The Wind Waker received near perfect scores from most reviewers at its release, it took some time for the game to warm up to the old time Zelda fans and gamers in general. The Wind Waker these days is held in fairly high regard, and while it's probably not quite the black sheep of the series (that would be held for Majora's Mask), it's more or less the free-spirited, artsy, fun loving iteration of The Legend of Zelda.

Almost nine years later, we're sitting on our couches playing Skyward Sword, but many of us have fond memories of The Wind Waker, and as the oddball Zelda game, I think it's due time to take a retrospective look at what was, at the time, a strange yet progressive installment to the series.

Art Design and Graphics

Probably the most important and most remembered element of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was its graphics and design. When Nintendo revealed to the world the new Zelda for Gamecube (which would eventually be The Wind Waker) at Space World 2001, it was as if they pulled the carpet out from most fan's feet. Instead of taking a step towards realism (which most games at the time were striving for in lieu of style), they showed off a cel-shaded piece of work. Keep in mind, a year before the world was shown a software demo showcasing the power of the GameCube; this came in the form of a realistically rendered battle between Link and Ganondorf. Most thought this was going to be the next Zelda game, but they were wrong. Maybe that was Nintendo's first mistake.

Regardless, it wasn't that this new Zelda (now being facetiously called "Celda" due to the cel-shading) looked bad, but many thought the series was taking a taking a step backwards with this kind of graphics.

However, The Wind Waker ended up being quite beautiful. Link was more expressive than ever with his huge Bambi eyes (which would flick around to enemies and items), and even though he remained quiet throughout the adventure, that big headed Link seemed to tell us so much.

What is most interesting about these cel-shaded graphics is that they still hold up and look spectacular all these years later. While Ocarina of Time remains a Zelda favorite, for many it simply does not hold up graphically, and while resolutions have gotten far better these days, The Wind Waker does need an HD overhaul (there are videos out there of HD being achieved on The Wind Waker and they do look stunning). The Wind Waker's design still looks good in a day of Dead Spaces, God of Wars, L.A. Noires, and Gears of Wars, and I'm not saying these graphics would "just do" these days; I mean they could be wrapped up and sold right alongside the top hits of 2011, so maybe the choice to go cel-shaded wasn't such a bad idea.

Let's not forget the art design. The Wind Waker took clothing, buildings, environments, and expanded them way further than Ocarina of Time ever did. It was the first Zelda game where I really felt a sense of style, culture, and anthropologic meaning. Sure, we saw bits of this in Ocarina of Time and Link's Awakening, but something about The Wind Waker was so real and felt so deeply rooted in the origins of life (perhaps it was the archipelago feeling of it all) that The Wind Waker felt ancient and real; its designs were almost tribal more often than not. With its international folk music roots to go along with it all (we'll discuss music later), everything makes you feel connected to nature and life as you sail, explore, and fight your way through the progression of the story.

An Expansive World of Exploration

The second major element of The Wind Waker that was new was its feeling of openness. Of course, every Zelda has a large map, but most Zelda's felt fairly linear. While the first Legend of Zelda (a few dungeons could be played out of order) and Zelda 2 seemed to be all over the place, A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time held your hand most the time, and there were only a few things here or there off the beaten path worth exploring. The Wind Waker, however, had... well, The Wind Waker – a ship that gave you the freedom to explore a ton of territory, throwing in enough sub-quests to make the game feel much more open-ended. Many gamers have fond memories of sailing the seas, exploring new island after island, and holding off on the main story until they just couldn't explore anymore. 

Not quite open world, but vaster than any Zelda before it (and most action JRPGs in general), this made The Wind Waker feel epic in proportions.  

At the time, the choice was an odd one for many fans: sailing felt meticulous and long… but now that we've had time to let The Wind Waker rest, I think we can see a game that made us feel like true explorers, discovering mysterious uncharted lands like no other Zelda had allowed us to do to this date.

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