The Wind Waker is not just my favorite Zelda game of all time, but also my favorite video game in general. I love everything about it! The sailing replaced the well-worn horseback riding mechanic, and exploring a flooded Hyrule was definitely a new and exciting experience. While sailing across the Great Sea, you’ll come across a number of small islands with structures shaped like seashells, which contain Great Fairy fountains where you can upgrade your items. These areas are definitely cool, but I much prefer the island duo that houses the Queen of Fairies herself: the Mother and Child Isles!
The Mother and Child Isles are located one square south and one square east of the Forsaken Fortress. The Child island is the smaller of the two and can be easily reached by boat. Here you can find a lone Korok who’s waiting for someone to water his tree sapling, as well as a traveling Goron merchant who can help you during the Island Trading Sequence.
Then we have the much-larger Mother island. At first glance, you may be inclined to ignore this island since it doesn’t really look like much from the outside, but inside is a whole different story. Summoning a cyclone with the Balled of the Gales and warping to the Mother and Child Isles will transport you directly to the interior of the Mother island, which is the only way to enter it.
Once inside, Link and the King of Red Lions find themselves floating in a tiny pool of water, surrounded by fairies and trees. If you come here after your second visit to Hyrule Castle, the Queen of Fairies will appear and introduce herself. She is holding a doll that resembles the normal Great Fairies you come across throughout the Great Sea, which she uses to enhance Link’s arrows with the power of fire and ice. And she also openly flirts with the young boy, making him blush.
The Queen has a childlike nature to her, with large eyes and a dress that a little girl might wear. The other Great Fairies may look more mature than her, but nevertheless, she is their queen. I should also mention that when I first saw Fi from Skyward Sword in Issue 222 of Game Informer, her appearance immediately made me think of the Queen of Fairies.
The Mother and Child Isles may seem like they have little to offer at first, but that’s simply not true! On the Child island, helping the merchant and the Korok during their respective sidequests will ultimately yield you two Pieces of Heart. And visiting the mysterious Queen of Fairies on the Mother island is actually required to complete the game, since the arrow upgrades help you gain entry to the Earth and Wind Temples. Plus, the Queen herself is adorable with her innocent appearance, and her home is tranquil and beautiful. I’m not sure if we’ll ever see the Queen again, but she was a neat character who made her home on the Mother and Child Isles!
