I’m not going to lie and say that I wasn’t among those that were originally disappointed when The Wind Waker was revealed back at Space World in 2001. I was almost 21 and the memory of the Link and Ganondorf clip from the year prior was still fresh in my mind. Regardless, we all know that the game ended up being one of the greatest releases in the Zelda series and also one of the finer instances of a game that has truly aged gracefully. What has also aged quite gracefully is the oft overlooked Link bobblehead promotional item that was produced for the game release.
This bobblehead was never sold in stores and was produced as a bonus item for those that pre-ordered from the retail store, Target. For those that were lucky enough to grab one, they came in a very non-descript white cardboard box, with the figurine being protected in shaped Styrofoam. Now that we’ve talked about where it came from, let’s take a look at the Hero of Winds.
Link stands atop a Platinum GameCube in his signature pose, albeit with a slightly different colored undershirt. Despite the color swap, for the early 2000s, this is definitely not a bad looking sculpt for what would affectionately (eventually) be referred to as Toon Link. He has the same wry smile and alert cat eyes as his digital counterpart, while he casually holds the Hero’s Sword behind him. The tunic, aside from color, is rightfully duplicated from the white leggings, to the whorled belt buckle. On his back, his scabbard is covered by a surprisingly detailed Hero’s Shield, even if the proportions are a little bit off.
In contrast to the whimsical design of Link is the Platinum GameCube that he stands on top of. From the controller ports and memory card slots on the front to the A/V ports and AC connection on the back, this little Cube has the most sculpt detail of the entire figurine. The famous handle is intact on the back, along with the bump outs located below the individually painted vent port holes on the sides. Even more, they took the time to paint Nintendo GameCube on the lid and added The Wind Waker logo complete with the King of Red Lions just above the controller port section.
How did I come across this piece of Zelda history? Well, at the time I actually worked at Best Buy, an electronics store, and had pre-ordered my copy there. This was one of the only times I could ever remember a pre-order getting you something the moment you pre-ordered. I actually set up the cardboard display and stocked it with the Ocarina of Time: Master Quest discs…where I promptly picked one up as soon as we opened. I then proceeded to go across the street to GameStop after my shift to buy a GameCube, since they were doing the pick your game promo at the time (I chose Metroid Prime, if anyone was wondering).
At the time, I didn’t even know Target was doing the bobblehead promo. Mine came from our local Nintendo representative. Over the couple years that I had worked at Best Buy, I had maintained good relationships with our rep and had gradually gotten to know them. Naturally, my love for Zelda would come up and we would talk about it from time to time. She supplied all of us with the regular types of promo items, like Nintendo pens or memo pads, but I’ll never forget the day that she dropped this bomb on me. She handed me a green Legend of Zelda t-shirt along with an ordinary looking white box. Inside was this bad boy that still sits between my GameCube and Wii.
Given that this was a pre-order bonus for Target, and the lower sales of GameCube games, it’s hard to determine how many of these may actually still be in the wild. Nowadays, a search for sold Wind Waker bobbleheads on eBay will show that they sell for between about $90-$100 depending on condition. For me, though, it’s more about the memories attached to this little curiosity than the value of the bobblehead itself.
