More Thoughts on The Wind Waker

Written by Kyle Williams on June 26, 2003

Special: Another look at The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Before the game came out, and it still goes on now, people were bashing The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for looking childish, with it's cel-shaded graphics and sprightly young hero. Were the masses afraid that the gameplay would take a turn for the worse? Were they disappointed that the early GameCube demo of Link and Gannondorf fighting wasn't going to be packed into the game? It's hard to say exactly what the beef was, but the overwhelming response to the title has been positive. So, what exactly is it about The Wind Waker that caused it to excel?

The Merits of Cel-da
One thing that The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker did, and did well, was break the graphical mold. Sure, a lot of people were disappointed that the game didn't maintain the realistic graphic scheme that people were hoping for, but in the long run everything turned out better than could be expected. Now, I'm the first to admit that the still shots taken from The Wind Waker were underwhelming but seeing the game in action is truly a gamers dream.

What the cel-shaded graphics allowed the Nintendo crew to achieve was a level of emotion that is unparalleled in the gaming world. The exaggerated facial features permitted expressions to help tell the story, all real time and in engine. Look at Link's eyes, for example. By exaggerating his facial features and using the cel-shaded art style, we were able to watch Link's eyes for several different game cues. Are you not sure what to do next? Look at Link's eyes. Not sure where that last monster is? Look at Link's eyes.

The art style also lent itself to a very creative cast of characters that couldn't be realized with a more traditional scheme. Cel-shading is truly the transition between the gorgeous hand drawn graphics of the 16-bit days and the sprawling 3D environments and character models of the current generation of hardware. What The Wind Waker shows us is just how to bring the best of both worlds into one project.

Miyamoto in Charge
You can't go wrong with Shigeru Miyamoto at the reins of any video game title. He established the standard for 3D adventure titles with his work on the Nintendo 64, especially the Zelda titles that it sported. The Ocarina of Time, along with Mario 64, showed the world that even the most recognizable and high profile of the two-dimensional franchises could make the transition to 3D. What was so great about what was done? It was the action. It was the adventure. It was the character. It was the story.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker manages to recreate everything good that the N64 Zelda titles had included. It also managed to dive to new depths of search and acquisition. Between all of the exploration that was to be done, the treasure chests that were to be found, and the side-quests that you could choose to partake in, The Wind Waker gave players the opportunity to play as much or as little of the game as they wanted to and still be able to complete the game's story.

The Bottom Line
The Wind Waker broke new visual ground with a fantastic chapter in the Legend of Zelda series. Shigeru Miyamoto knows how to craft a tale that is both timeless and cutting edge. The Wind Waker actually manages to have a broader appeal than either of the N64 titles and offers a level of replay that most adventure titles are lacking. Now, if Nintendo decides to bring back the adult Zelda they will need to abandon the cel-shading in favor of a more realistic visual style. However, as long as they keep up the quality of gameplay that we've been seeing, Nintendo can do just about anything they want to with the visual style.