The Wind Waker is yet another fine installment in the long-running Zelda series. The gameplay is is just as great as before: dungeons are still as fun and cleverly designed, and combat is improved from Ocarina of Time. However, Wind Waker introduces a few major changes to the series.
The most noticable change is, of course, the cartoony, cel-shaded graphics. For the most part they look awesome, especially the characters and the way they animate. It is incredible. It truly feels like a cartoon that you playing, and it makes this game truly unique.
However, it cel-shaded look does make the sea look more bland than it usually does, and this is a big issue since there is so much sea travel in the game. After, seeing the water in Mario Sunshine, this is a tad disappointing. This actually doesn't detract from gameplay, but it makes sea travel a little less interesting.
What MAY detract from gameplay, however, is the sea travel itself. While it makes the game even more unique, you sail around ALOT, and you'll have to play a song to change wind direction quite few times. But the thing is, I probably only felt the monotony of sea travel because I wanted to explore. You don't necessarily HAVE to explore if you dont want to, and instead you can just go directly from place to place. Plus, there is a warp spell you can get halfway through the game that makes getting around a lot faster. But travelling is not the only thing the sea is used for. You can look for treasure, fight baddies, play minigames, etc.
But there is one issue that is NOT a matter of opinion: the difficulty level. It's ridiculous. Almost every monster in the game will only take of a quarter of a heart off your life when they hit you. As a result, I haven't died yet, or even come close to. Not even against the bosses. This is disapointing since combat now is so much more fun. There are now many ways to take out baddies... and it looks cool too, thanks to the superb animation.
While cel-shading and sea-travel don't mix very well, and combat is too easy(why can't Nintendo ever give us the option to adjust the difficulty level), the Wind Waker is still a worthy addtion to the Zelda series. And the dungeons haven't been this much fun since A Link To The Past. And the story as interesting. And the world as big. If you are skeptical of Zelda's new direction, don't be.
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