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A LEGEND REBORN
Along with Mario, Link is a key figurehead of Nintendo. Each Zelda game has been a critical and commercial success and is a key game in the shifting of consoles. Links’ first adventure on the GameCube has been widely anticipated for a long time now. Fans got a glimpse of what they thought was him at Spaceworld 2000 showing a ultra realistic adult Link. Interest of the game escalated with people talking of a lifelike world for the next Zelda game. However Nintendo decided to take a different direction with the much-publicised switch to the use of cell-shaded graphics. Fans were puzzled and some annoyed at the change of style and some set up petitions and threatened to boycott the game. Nintendo, thankfully, didn’t listen and as all of the fuss of the new ‘Celda’ died down people became to realise that the new change of look may be just what the series needed. The Wind Waker takes place one hundred years on from the last adventure. The legend of the young boy in green who defeated the evil wizard Ganandorf has been passed down via generations and lives on in the minds of the inhabitants of Outset Island. It becomes customary that when a boy reaches the right age he is kitted out in the familiar green attire and from then on he is an adult. This is where you come in. It is time for you to don the little green number and become all big and strong. However the premise of you becoming a hero becomes all too real. The peace of the little island is shattered when a giant bird sweeps over with a young girl clutched in it talons and a pirate ship sailing after it bombing all over the place. The bird is hit but the young girl falls into a sinister looking forest. Being the kind sort of chap you rescue her but the moment of joy is shattered when the bird returns making off with your sister. This is where the adventure begins with the quest of you rescuing your sister becoming far bigger than you ever imagined. The game plays just like any other Zelda game. You begin in a main world and must progress through dungeons and bosses to reach your final goal. The dungeons in the game offer the same brain scratching puzzles and quick timed thinking that the Zelda games are based upon. The level design is just as well crafted as in past titles, with each dungeon posing significant different challenges and will call upon new and old items to be used in order to progress. The over world in the Wind Waker is made up of islands in a vast ocean. Sailing plays an integral part in the game and you will find yourself in the little boat of yours quite a few times on your adventure which may not thrill all gamers. With the clue in the title the wind plays a key part in this game. At a certain point you are given the power to control the wind. This is used to its full potential the game, it is used to direct your boat, solve puzzles and defeat certain enemies. The game is gorgeous. I was never a person to be put off by the cell-shaded nature of the game. It made it look different, fresh and vibrant. Even with the current craze of all things cell shaded The Wind Waker holds a distinct look of its own. An ‘interactive cartoon’ is the most overused but best way to describe the game. The colours are bright and bold as they are plentiful. Environments that you find yourself in are huge, the early Forbidden Fortress island, is testament to this. Animations are superbly crafted, indeed the birds that you will do battle with, are masterful in terms of flight and the way they look with their multitude of coloured feathers. Bosses are also large on size and imagination in terms of looks and are always a visual treat. Other little effects are all around in the game. The wind makes objects sway realistically and in the right direction, little particles will drift along in a free roaming manner. Lighting effects suit this type of look perfectly and will illuminate in a life like fashion. A neat little feature is that when an enemy gets a prod of your sword on his bum he will jump up and down crying. These little things really do add to the cartoon atmosphere well. Playing a young Link means that the cell shaded look lends itself well to the cute little boy. It also means that facial expressions are now more exaggerated. His eyes will open wide in surprise when greeted with a new boss, he will look upset if anything causes him to be and he will look fierce when in combat. Not all of the characters in the game have this much attention lavished upon them and many don’t really shift in expression but they still all blend in well. There are people who will dismiss the game as looking too childish and basic. These narrow-minded people are missing out. The graphical style suits this game down to the ground and looks all the better for it. It also takes a lot of work and effort to get a game looking like this so it shouldn’t be looked upon as a rush job. Like many first party Nintendo titles the game supports Dolby Pro Logic II for people with a surround sound system. Sound is just as polished as the looks in the game. People familiar with the Zelda games will be able to recognise the Zelda musical scores that feature in the game, albeit in a slightly remixed fashion. Sound effects such as the slight ruffles when you wade through the long grass, the clashes of swords and, pretty crucially, the wind all sound spot on. Dialogue in the game is all in text, which may not suit all gamers who are used to having it in at least cinematics, let alone when someone speaks to you in game. This never really becomes an issue, only when you want to skip a part that is taking a while to come up in text, and is pretty much expectant of a Nintendo first party title. Also having Link speak could ruin what many people believe he should sound like – look what happened to Sonic turning into a cocky, know it all sounding American. The GameCube controller is used to its best ability in the game. Those familiar with the N64 Zelda’s will have little problem getting to grips with controlling Link. The Control Stick is nice and responsive in movement. The A button is used for specific actions, an onscreen prompt will show you when you can use it for things such as climbing, speaking and opening doors. The Y, X and Z buttons are used to store items so that you don’t have to go to the menu every time you want to select a certain one which saves time though later on in the game switching and swapping becomes inevitable. The C stick controls the camera, though for the most part because the camera works so well, you barely need to use it. It also comes in to use when conducting with the Wand of Wind. The control system is just as easy to master as the N64 incarnation. The L button is used to lock onto an enemy, from there you can use R to defend yourself and B to use your sword. There are also a number of special combo moves at your disposal for more damage. A new feature to combat is that you can now pick up weapons left behind from enemies, which is always good for a laugh to see the pint size Link pick up a vastly oversized sword. The Wind Waker has the pick up and play controls of many Nintendo games and each button is mapped out well. For those with a GBA and a cable to attach to the GameCube you can link it up so that another player can use Tingle as a helper to drop bombs on enemies, however nothing concerning Tingle is free and will eat up your Rupees. The length of the game varies drastically depending on how you go about it. The main quest is not that long and it could probably be breezed through within a week or less depending on how many hours you play a day. Nintendo have admitted that due to time constraints two main dungeons had to be left out of the game, which do become obvious when all-important objects are just quickly handed to you instead of you having to track them down. For the more adventurous player this game is huge. There are scores of little side quests for you to take part in each with their own little rewards, some bigger than others. The quests can see you tracking down a pickpocket, taking pictures of the friendly locals or playing hide and seek. One side quest works in a similar vein to the trophy collecting in Super Smash Bros Melee whereby taking a picture of things in the world and taking it to a character in the game will make him carve you a little wooden figurine of them. With hundreds of objects in the game to take pictures of that alone will take up a lot of time. Action is not just confined to the main islands. There are plenty of other little islands dotted around the vast ocean that can sometimes contain things for you to do and contain a few hidden surprises along the way. This is game that really does give as much as you are willing to put in and offers hours upon hours of entertainment. There are a few criticisms that tend to crop up every time a review of the Wind Waker is written. The first is the aspect of sailing island to island. The world that you travel in is quite large and sailing from one end to the other will take quite some time. Cynics have pointed out that this is to lengthen the game time. The sailing can indeed get tiresome at some stages but it really does depend on what type of gamer you are as to how you use your time at sea. There are plenty of little islands to explore, treasure chests to find and monsters to defeat (though the at-sea combat is decidedly awkward) so there is always something to do. Also, later in the game, you will be able to transport yourself to key points of the world in a matter of seconds. The other main criticism levelled at the game is that it isn’t all that challenging. At later stages of the game you will become a tough opponent to beat thanks to a generous life system. Bosses also never prove any real challenge once you’ve mastered their repeated attacks. This is, however, all relative. Experience will make things easier, no doubt, and this certainly isn’t the most challenging game out there but some people will breeze through this while others will find it a bit more demanding. These two drawbacks never really disheartened me from playing the game because, for the most part, I didn’t really notice them or found them to lessen the experience. It would have been nice, however, for Nintendo to have spent a little more time on the game and included the two dungeons that were left out of the game but in this day in age business can inevitably get in the way of things. The Wind Waker certainly lives up to the quality of the Zelda series so far and it is defiantly worth buying a GameCube for. With a little more time spent on this then it really could have been a perfect adventure for the young Link. Despite its shortcomings, however, this is a game with few equals. Nintendo have once again created a benchmark game for other developers to look at and learn from. For those who are fans of the series, those who are Zelda virgins and for people who call themselves gamers this game deserves to be played. [9 out of 10] THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE WIND WAKER IS Huge Gorgeous Legendary THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE WIND WAKER IS NOT The end of the Legend To be dismissed Childish
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