The legend of zelda the wind waker on the nintendo gamecube had huge sceptics when it first was revealed.
And can anyone blame them?
The art style was a huge departure from the serie's roots and many assumed straight away it was for the kids.
But once you dive in to the game....wow.
This is the best zelda title by far in my opinion.
It's not all that different from the ocarina of time (except for the graphics).
The controls are very well thought out, and while link's variety of moves is not the most varied, you've got to appriciate the effort that was put in to making the game's fights awesome.
The Story revolves around a new link, who lives on the fairly well named outset island.
Without giving away spoilers (though nearly everyone has played it) a terrible event forces link to team up with a group of pirates and roam the world.
To be blunt, the story is passable.
In true nintendo style, the gameplay takes such a central position that the story is almost an afterthought.
It's predictible, cliched, and all should be well aware of the coming twists and turns.
The gameplay is a shining example of how good the series is though.
It's interesting that the control scheme is almost identical to the Ocarina of time, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Link also has most of his items back.
The boomerang and bow make very triumphant returns.
The fighting system retains the same feel, with link able to slash and block his foes attacks.
You can also still circle the enemy and inflict blows in a weak spot.
An interesting addition is that you now sail the sea, with about 50 islands to traverse.
This is a mojor departure from OOT, and probably the major difference.
As such you need to traverse the sea, in your companion boat the king of red lions.
You also need the wind waker, a slim silver baton that will allow you to change the flow of the winds and go to new areas.
The graphics have been praised and hated in equal measure.
n the good side, the game has great charm.
The cartoony expressions of link are hilarious, and sometimes are needed for gameplay as link will give you hints by looking at where you have to go next.
The detail is also fantastic, from the king of red lion's fantastic design to the lovely look of the spashing sea, the graphics are certainly superb and amongst the best on gamecube.
On the flipside, the game's cartoony looks have not proven that popular with the older crowd of fans, and many consider it a let down.
One thing that I feel needs to be addressed is the lenth of the game.
A good player with experience will finish it in about 16-20 hours.
That isn't all that long for the main zelda quest, which after all is the meat of the game.
The saving grace is the good side quests availdible for zeldaholics.
These involve collecting items for specific people, or following maps out on the ocean.
If you go for the full completion, this game will take a huge 60-80 hours to finish.
This replay value is a great way to keep you coming back.
Overall, the game has no major faults.
Little niggles like the occasional dullness of the sailing and the weakish story are there, but you don't really notice it after a while.
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