Does The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Still Hold Up In 2020?

A while ago I wrote a piece for Nintendo Enthusiast on whether or not Super Mario 64 holds up. You can read it here, but it’s disappointing that my follow-up wasn’t approved before I got cut. So I figured that I’d do it here. Brace yourselves.

I’ve never been big on the Zelda franchise. The games are well-made, and I don’t consider any to be “bad”, but they’re incredibly frustrating to play. Some of them, like The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, I don’t like altogether, but most of them I simply feel indifferent about. And nowhere’s this more-apparent than The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, which I finally sat down and played for the first time a few years ago. Considering its status in the Zelda fandom, I have a lot to say about it. And I’m going to, because why not?

I should state what I liked first: the game looks gorgeous. One of the unfortunate pitfalls of older games in 3D is that they’ve aged poorly visually. Even with Zelda, the N64 entries look like blocky, unappealing mush, complete with texture distortion and clipping issues. This game lacks that, looking better now than in the early-2000’s. Sure, it’s easy to see the limitations, but the game’s “Saturday Morning Cartoon” aesthetic helps bypass that. It’s also cel-shaded, and I have a weakness for that.

Speaking of, I have to mention the game’s decision to theme itself around water. The water effects, simply put, look amazing. This came out around the time of Finding Nemo, and both titles pushed their mediums to the limit. It’s easy to get lost in the oceans of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, which is great because you spend so much time traversing them. It’s, in some ways, relaxing.

Speaking of relaxing, the game’s music is too. Whether it’s the overworld theme, which is as slow and soothing as it is upbeat and energetic, or Dragon Roost Island, there’s no shortage of great tracks. Even the piece from the final fight, which is somewhat "choir-esque in epic chorus", is fitting. (The latter somewhat reminds me of the final battle in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island.)

I like the game’s use of stealth, particularly when you’re trying to rescue Aryll. It’s a nice change of pace from what’s normally expected in a Zelda game, forcing you to think on your feet. I’m not normally a big fan of stealth missions, so that’s high praise! Plus, it gives you a chance to play tricks on enemies! Who doesn’t like that?

The game’s combat’s also great. This is the first franchise entry to incorporate timing and skill in the sword-fights, which you see a lot of. Whether it’s deflecting Phantom Ganon’s attacks, or taking out an enemy’s shield/armour, you have to work at earning your victories. You can’t cheat to win, you have to be resourceful. It takes a little getting used to, but it can be incredibly rewarding.

Finally, I like the game’s tone. I like how post-apocalyptic it is, taking place after the world was flooded. I also like, at least in theory, how sorrowful Ganon is. He doesn’t simply want to be evil, and while I think he represents a missed opportunity (more on that later), at least there was thought there. He at least has a motive.

That’s fine and dandy, but I did say I had issues with this game. The most-obvious is the decision to have sailing as the focus, yet making it slow and-at times-boring. This is mostly attributable to the islands being scattered all-over. At times you’re forced to backtrack to different parts of the ocean for in-game objectives, sometimes one after the other. You can change the flow of the wind with your Wind Waker (more on that in a bit), buy a faster sail and find an enemy that allows you to warp to discovered islands instantaneously, but even with that it feels tedious. Add in that the map only opens up later in the game, and it becomes a chore to travel.

I guess I’d be less-miffed if there were more enemies to fight. This is something 3D Zelda games pre-The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess were all guilty of: big, expansive overworlds with lots of detail, yet minimal enemies to fill them with. It makes it feel empty, boring and lacking life. It also gives you next-to-nothing to do when travelling to your next objective. And it gets frustrating.

On the note, I’m not a fan of the Wind Waker item. It’s this game’s version of an Ocarina, but although neat in theory…in practice it requires too much precision and rote memory to use properly. It also doesn’t speed up the game’s arduous sailing, even if it changes wind directions with a simple tune. It feels like you need to be a musical pro to use it, which I’m not.

Then there’s that blasted Tri-Force Shards quest. It takes place right before you enter the final dungeon, and it grinds the game to a near-halt. The point is to add a scavenger hunt, but collecting fragments of The Tri-Force of Courage, which can be tedious, is a pain and incredibly confusing. Even the Wii U remaster, which improved this quest, can’t break from its monotony. It’s also the only part where I was chained to a walkthrough.

Switching gears, the dungeons and dungeon bosses also annoy me. With the former, the Boss Key and Boss Door are never within close proximity. You have to always backtrack to get to the doors, which are usually in an unhelpful spot. And the bosses aren’t terribly creative. They usually aren’t even that intense or difficult, consisting of 3 minutes or so of lazy repetition. I don’t normally mind an easy fight, I’m not great at video games, but some more thought would’ve been nice!

Speaking of bosses, Ganon, while the only tough fight in the game, is a missed opportunity. I appreciate the attempt at making him fleshed-out, especially compared to previous iterations, but his motives are rushed, jammed into the final confrontation and make no sense: so you wanted to rebuild your kingdom after the world was flooded? Why not move? Better yet, why not rebuild it on the bits of land offered to you post-flood? Ganon’s motives are shallow, and he abandons his goal almost immediately after The King of Hyrule touches The Tri-Force.

I also don’t like how the game, like every Zelda game, relies on franchise knowledge to solve puzzles. It’s not always bad, I know that the weapon I find in a dungeon will be used for the dungeon’s main boss, but then you have memorizing which door to go through after defeating Phantom Ganon in the final dungeon. Whenever he drops his sword and flees, you’re supposed to take note of which direction the blade’s pointing. It might be neat for experienced players, but how would a novice gamer figure it out? How fair is that?!

As a final quibble, I don’t like how Tetra’s characterized. She starts off interesting, being a spunky pirate captain, but once she’s revealed as Princess Zelda, she stops being much of anything. You don’t even see her again until the finale. Such an interesting idea is wasted, and all for the sake of cheap tension. I get that Nintendo’s adhering to franchise tradition, but why? Couldn’t they have found a workaround?

I could go on to discuss minor issues, like how you have to pay out of pocket to chart islands, but I’d feel bad for slamming the game further. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker isn’t really a bad game. Parts are even, dare I say, brilliant! But its insistence on staying true to conventional Zelda-isms, and well as its occasional lack of creativity, really keep it from greatness. I appreciate that it’s not lengthy, especially considering various other Zelda entries, but it’s not something I’d play regularly. Sorry to disappoint.

Besides, Okami’s still the best Zelda game.