A lot of gamers these days complain that there are too many tutorials, too much hand-holding, and no confidence that players will understand new controls. While I do agree with this most of the time, there are some cases in older games where the game could stand to help you out a bit more. This…
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker celebrated its 16th birthday recently, which means we’ve had 16 years of Toon Link and his expressive antics, 16 years of gorgeous seas filled with adventure, and 16 years of some of the most charming music in the series. Among these amazing songs is the overture that plays at…
Conducting various melodies with a magical baton is a hallmark of The Wind Waker. I mean, the game shares its name with the baton itself. It’s hard to imagine that the baton wasn’t integral to the game’s design from the beginning, but the creators did originally have something else in mind. Had they kept their…
I love Makar. Like, he’s one of my favorite Wind Waker characters ever. I tell you this because the story I’m about to share is about the time I did something stupid, and poor little Makar got tangled up in the mess. It was a total accident and I feel really bad about it. But…
The Wind Waker is one of my favorite Zelda games of all time. Tetra has always been such a fascinating character for me, and when I saw this beautiful art of Tetra and Zelda together by papelmarfil, I couldn’t help but share it with all of you. I love the way that each character’s eyes glow…
The Wind Waker has always been one of my favorite Zelda games. I never hopped on the hate train for its graphics as I had fallen in love with the exploration of the game. With 49 islands to investigate, Wind Waker features a great volume of elements to play around with and explore. One of…
Just when you think a Zelda shop theme can’t get any better (case in point: Ocarina of Time’s shop), Beedle’s theme comes along and steals the spotlight with its super catchy beat. Honestly, like the endless waves of the Great Ocean, The Wind Waker has a constant flow of upbeat music. One minute you’re sailing through…
A Nintendo fan in China created one of the most beautiful pieces of fan art that I have ever laid eyes on. This re-creation of Link riding the King of the Red Lions from The Wind Waker could not be more iconic and impressively accurate. The attention to detail is astonishing, from the accuracy of…
Tucked away in the northeast corner of The Wind Waker’s world map sits an island with three towers overlooking the sea. For most of the game, this island’s relevant area stays out of reach for the player. After obtaining the Hookshot, players will be able to reach the top of towers. Avoiding the cannonballs shot…
If you visit an art gallery or examine collections of personal artwork, you will eventually find a picture of the sea. The ocean is undeniably beautiful, and it begs to be immortalized in both print and portrait. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker captures this spirit using cel-shading graphics that yield a cartoon-esque and…
When first treading through this dungeon, it was the bane of my in-game existence. Now, as an experienced player, it is one of my favorite dungeons featured in The Wind Waker. Regardless of what my opinion was or now is, every time I enter this tower I am in complete awe of the next challenge…
The Wind Waker is a fantastic and highly praised game, but not every aspect of its design has gone without criticism. There is some questionable content, such as the game-length padding added by the collecting of the Triforce pieces, but the one feature that gets the most groans from fans is the navigation and sailing…
There have been a number of non-canonical entries in Zelda media over the years. These are products that, while they may sport “The Legend of Zelda” brand, don’t have a place in the official timeline. These include the infamous CD-i games, the hack-and-slash spin-off Hyrule Warriors, the 1989 animated series, and of course, Akira Himekawa’s excellent manga series.…
The first time I played Wind Waker, I was a thirteen-year-old kid and relatively new to the Zelda series. This game blew me away from the outset (see what I did there?), so the finale had a massive build up for me. Aryll’s being kidnapped by the bird, the bird owning Link, Link owning the bird, and…
On my first visit to Diamond Steppe Island, I could only scratch my head in an attempt to climb the landscape. The island teased me with its flat vertical sides. With no means to climb onto the small plateau, I was left with only one option: Leave and drive myself crazy wondering what was on…
