Zelda Runthrough: The Wind Waker (Gamecube, 2003)

Besides giving me an excuse to replay some great games, the main reason I began this runthrough was to determine, once and for all, what is the greatest Zelda game.  In that respect I've failed entirely.  I now have more "favorite" Zelda games than ever: Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask are all excellent for very different reasons, and being forced to choose between these feels... unnecessarily pedantic.

However, after more than a year, I'm finally ready to declare my first bold and unmitigated opinion: The Wind Waker is NOT the greatest Zelda game.

Okay, let me mitigate that a little:  I enjoyed Wind Waker tremendously.  Like nearly everyone, I'm a huge fan of the graphical style.  It should be remembered that the decision to forgo the quest for "photorealism" and instead exhibit a crafted and conscious aesthetic style was extremely controversial in 2003.  The decision paid off in spades.  I love the way this game looks - to give just one example, I love Link's expressions.  The scared look he gets in front of a boss, the solemn nod he gives when the King of Red Lions asks him whether he's ready, even the slightly queasy look he gets when he puts a Hyoi Pear on his head to attract a seagull.  The game is overflowing with personality.  I also love the story, the characters, and most of all the wonderful idea to set the game on the ocean.  I even love the sailing, for all its flaws (on the Gamecube version).

So what's the problem?  Well, if you've played the game, think about the first time you set out on the ocean on your tiny sailboat.  An entire world out there for you to explore - who knows what you're going to find?  And then you look at your map, and you see a nice 7x7 grid.  It soon becomes apparent that every one of those squares on the grid, without exception, contains exactly one island.  Suddenly that grand sense of mystery and adventure vanishes, and visiting all of the islands starts to feel like busywork.  If you're old enough to remember how cool it was to find a hidden cave in Legend of Zelda, then imagine what would happen to your sense of wonder if EVERY screen in the game was guaranteed to contain one.

Now having 49 islands to explore is still pretty cool, even if finding them isn't exactly a challenge.  But then you start to see how much repetition there is.  Most of the islands only contain a few baddies to fight or a puzzle to solve for a reward, and there are just too many "eye reefs".  Given the technical constraints, I don't fault Nintendo for not making every island unique and interesting.  But consider that the rewards for exploring these islands are quite often treasure charts, which are there to generate yet more busywork.

I suppose it seems like I'm being grouchy, complaining that there's just too much to do in this game.  But playing it a second time, it became clear that for all there is to do in Wind Waker, there's surprisingly little content.  There are, after all, only four dungeons and one shortish boss tower.  The game's "new" items, the grappling hook and Deku leaf, don't feel that unique.  The combat is fun, but most of the enemies feel a bit overrecycled, and the challenge isn't really there (even in the misnamed Savage Labyrinth).

Wind Waker is a very good game, and I really want to just sit back and enjoy it without being nitpicky.  Certainly the game has no shortage of fans, and if you feel that this one's the best, I certainly won't argue.  But I can't help feeling that the game marks a real turning point for the series, and a certain sense of mystery that the early games had is being lost.

But Link has a way of always making me feel better.