Growing up in the ’90s, I was one of those unfortunate kids who missed out on all the Nintendo consoles that came on the scene after the NES and the Super Nintendo. This finally changed in 2011 when I received a Wii as a gift, but by that point, the glory days of Zelda had already passed me by. It wasn’t until I fell in love with Breath of the Wild on the Switch that my fierce love for all things Zelda returned, and I began poring through old articles and listening to podcasts that talked how great games like Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, and The Wind Waker were. I wanted — no, I needed to go back to those games.
In May 2019, I received a GameCube and a copy of The Wind Waker as part of my best friend’s video game collection, which was gifted to me following his sudden death. After bouts of grief and depression over this loss, I decided to put off touching his collection until I was ready to move forward. Now, in the year 2022, I am finally ready to experience The Wind Waker for the first time. It is dangerous to go alone, so please come along on this journey with me!
As I opened up the game case, I was treated to the sight of the original instructional manual, still in pristine condition after all that time! I was hit with a wave of nostalgia because, as a child of the ’80s and ’90s, I used to love reading the instruction manuals that came with video games (and in some cases, you actually needed to read them in order to understand and complete the game). In addition to the manual, I also saw an advertisement encouraging me to subscribe to Nintendo Power in order to get the official player’s guide.
I scoped out the game’s disc and was surprised to discover that there wasn’t a single scratch on it! I don’t think my friend even played the game at all. As I popped the disc in and booted up the game, I listened to what is now one of my favorite renditions of the classic Zelda theme. When you’re reading about the Hero who sealed away the darkness known as Ganon, the music sounds so upbeat. But then, when you learn about Ganon’s return, it shifts over to a more ominous tune that really sets the tone of the game. When the other columns writers told me that I should really savor the music, I knew that I would, but I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it this much so early on in my playthrough.
I began my journey through The Wind Waker by doing what I do in every Zelda game now: naming my character and save file after my deceased best friend, Nate. By doing so, I know that I am never truly alone while playing this game. I may not be setting up a multiplayer game through the use of the Tingle Tuner, but my best friend Nate will still be right there, guiding me along the way.
Not surprisingly, the game has a great tutorial for you as you start the game. You learn how to use Aryll’s telescope, climb a ladder, fight with a sword, and creep up on unsuspecting pigs. I was already familiar with the controls because I was able to read the instruction manual, but compared to other games, this tutorial section didn’t feel like a bore at all. I was invested in the story, as well as the characters who were teaching me how to play the game. I especially liked Sturgeon’s pointers on the wall, one of which cautioned me not to stay up all night playing the game. I do wonder, though: if the game ever does get remade for the Switch (oh please, please make it happen!), will there be an option to skip these parts if you’re a returning player?
At this early point in the story, my connection with Link is primarily centered around the relationship he has with his grandmother. Growing up with two working parents, I spent many of my days, both during the school year and throughout summer, under the watchful, loving eye of my grandma. Now in my later years, I am also very close with my other grandmother, who, much like Link’s grandma, dotes on me all the time. I would never want to disappoint my own grandmothers, so I made a sincere promise to Link’s grandma that I wouldn’t disappoint her either. Whatever it takes, I’m going to make sure that Aryll is returned.
And speaking of Aryll, I was a bit surprised to learn that in this game, instead of trying to rescue Princess Zelda, Link is on a mission to save his little sister. I do appreciate it when franchises introduce new characters, and even though I do miss Zelda, I take comfort in the knowledge that I’ll be seeing her a lot in other Zelda titles.
Anyway, it doesn’t take long before the player is thrust into the oceanic world that The Wind Waker is so famous for. After being gifted a sword and rescuing a girl that had been kidnapped by a giant bird, I found myself joining up with a band of pirates and climbing aboard their ship. The character designs in this game are pretty creepy overall (in a good way), with an art style particularly befitting of these pirates. And it’s also very fitting that my character would start out at the bottom rung of the ladder and get stuck doing all the grunt work with Niko. But it was at this point in the game that I was faced with a difficult challenge: swinging on ropes and timing jumps onto platforms while grappling with the in-game camera. It took me around eight attempts before I finally accomplished that small task and reached the treasure chest. I now know going forward that if I’m ever going to rescue Aryll, I will need to master the inverted C-stick controls and learn how to properly manipulate the camera.
These controls continued to plague me as I trekked through the Forsaken Fortress. I tried to learn how to sneak around while inside a barrel and evade the Moblin guards, but I kept getting caught and thrown back into that jail cell over, and over, and over again. It got to the point where I knew exactly where to go, yet still ended up back in the slammer due to some kind of folly. This did frustrate me, but more than anything, I appreciated the fact that the game was challenging me even before I engaged in any kind of real combat.
Despite knocking out the Bokoblins guarding the searchlights, the angling of the camera caused me to fall off ledges and poorly time my movements while sneaking past the patrolling Moblins. I even intentionally got caught a few times because I fell too far, so it was actually easier to just restart from the jail cell. After a while, I started wondering if the warden would eventually come in and patch up the hole behind the vase so that I couldn’t crawl out anymore.
But I kept plugging along, and after many trials, tribulations, and restarts, I finally saw my sister! But only for a brief moment, as I was swiftly carried away by that awful bird with the giant talons and dropped off in the middle of the ocean! I guess it is a bit silly to expect that we would rescue her this early on in the game. Now, as my character wakes up in an unknown location after being saved by a talking boat, I know that my adventures in The Wind Waker have only just begun.
Have you played The Wind Waker? What is your take on the inverted controls? Did you have problems manipulating the camera too, or am I just a big baby? Let me know in the comments below, and please stay tuned for the next leg of my journey!
The Wind Waker is 20 years old on December 13, 2022! We’re celebrating with dedicated articles throughout the first two weeks of December!
