I don’t want to come across as ungrateful, considering the bountiful plenty of a game that’s only just been released in the form of Tears of the Kingdom, but I’d really like a 15-25 hour game to play next.
I know I’m not the only gamer burned out on open world games. They’re just so big.
Thinking of this inevitably brought me to thinking of the Zelda games I can happily complete over the course of a few weeks and still feel like I’ve explored every area of the map. The Wind Waker was what sprung to mind first, as I’ve not replayed that for a couple of years.
Part of the reason the jail sticks in my mind is it’s aesthetic. It doesn’t have the razzle-dazzle of so many of the buildings throughout this game, but what it has is an elevated version of the simplicity of earlier Zelda games.
Compare it to the Oceanside Spider House from Majora’s Mask. While all the textures in Windfall Island jail may be simpler, their depth seems greater due to the bold use of lines. The styles are wildly different, but I find Wind Waker’s rendering gives it a kind of realism in its simplicity.
The Wind Waker spiderweb is simpler, more streamlined, and far clearer as to what it’s depicting. There is greater contrast in all the materials that make up the room, and the little bucket and crockery add to the sparse feeling of the room.
Its purpose is very clear, and I think this is an exemplary example of what the developers were going for when they designed this game. A pared-back style of greater contrasts, allowing us to see more detail while sometimes adding less detail than they might have in other games.
I would be remiss not to mention the Jail’s resident, the great man (fairy?) himself, Tingle. Supposedly jailed for the crime of theft instead of crimes against fashion, he asks Link for free him. Hit a secret button, and our favorite weirdo is free once more.
Putting Tingle aside once more, there is one more secret hidden in the jail. Behind a crate in the cell lies a secret entrance to the Jail Maze. This complex network of tunnels is full of trap doors and false promises, with one hidden room at the end and a treasure chest waiting to be found.
To navigate this maze you have to avoid the evil rats, who have little pulleys to open the trapdoors and drop you through the floor.
I don’t think it’s intentional, but this maze always reminded me of the old Windows ’98 screensaver, with the endless scrolling brick tunnels. This might be because I could never remember the right way to go, and found myself constantly falling through the trapdoor.
Windfall Island Jail might not be the most exciting building on the island, and you probably never went back after completing the maze, but it’s an area that encapsulates the gameplay of The Wind Waker. Between the secret switches and seamless puzzles, this is a quick but satisfying area to conquer. Solve the puzzles, win the items, and move onto the next. This is how I see The Wind Waker as a whole, and probably why I find it so enjoyable to go back to. There is pleasure and joy in simplicity.
