Why It Is My Favorite in the Series
I recently finished my third playthrough of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and there is no doubt in my mind that this is my absolute favorite game in The Legend of Zelda series. If you are unaware, this is the game that basically divided the fanbase into "love it" and "hate it" groups. The main reasons as to why people hate it are the reasons as to why I love it. I could go on and on about why I freaking love this game, but I'll settle on a few key reasons.
Style
I don't know if you can tell by the screenshot above, but The Wind Waker took a drastic turn in the art style. Many fans cite this as the reason for their dislike of the game, and when it was first shown, it wasn't necessarily met with praise. Because of this, Shigeru Miyamoto didn't release any more preview images until a demo of some fashion was shown so that people would hopefully understand that gameplay was the most important aspect.
The cel-shaded, cartoon visuals led some to believe that Nintendo was shifting its focus too much on a younger audience, but for me it was a treat. Coming from someone who enjoys more cartoons than live-action, it seemed like I was the sole person this was targeted to. Every Zelda game has its own distinct style, and this one was the most striking. It was fascinating to see how all the common enemies and people looked in the new, exaggerated style. Despite what all the haters say, the change in graphics did nothing but help the game.
Exploration
The second thing that deterred certain fans was the sailing. Some found it long, boring, and somewhat of a hassle. It is hard to really get into a Zelda game if the central gameplay element isn't to your liking, and there is a lot of sailing that goes on in this game. What makes the sailing so great is the ability to break off from your path and go exploring.
The certain section that gets the most flak involves finding all of the broken shards of the Triforce of Courage. Some were not happy with having to find the charts and having Tingle decipher them for 398 rupees. I, on the other hand, enjoyed that section the most. This is when the game opens up and encourages exploration. It requires you to sail all around in order to find the charts that lead you to the hidden shards.
Speaking of charts, a certain addiction came across me while playing. I became addicted to finding and exploring every single island on the Sea Chart. The game allows you to sail around and mark down everything you find on your sea chart. Not every island you find has a dungeon or town on it, but instead you can find hidden treasure or strange encounters. Being able to sail around in a sandbox style world overshadows the minor problems that some might have with the sailing, itself.
Story
The Wind Waker did more to tell a story than previous games. It starts out as Link trying to rescue his sister from the Forsaken Fortress, but turns into an enormous adventure when Link finds out that he needs to save The Great Sea from the hands of Gannondorf. It even goes as far as explaining some of the lore of Hyrule, and is the first game to state that there are multiple incarnations of Link and Zelda.
Probably the greatest thing about the entire game is the way that it all ends. Every Legend of Zelda game builds up to an epic battle between Link and Gannon, but the absolute most memorable is in The Wind Waker. Without ruining it for those who, for some reason, still haven't played through the game, I will say that it throws all of the arguments about it being too childish right out the window.
The quality of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is a controversial topic. Fans will debate about it until long past its inevitable remakes and re-releases. All I have to say now is that it not only is my favorite game in the Legend of Zelda series, but it is one of my favorite games ever made.
Style
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I don't know if you can tell by the screenshot above, but The Wind Waker took a drastic turn in the art style. Many fans cite this as the reason for their dislike of the game, and when it was first shown, it wasn't necessarily met with praise. Because of this, Shigeru Miyamoto didn't release any more preview images until a demo of some fashion was shown so that people would hopefully understand that gameplay was the most important aspect.
The cel-shaded, cartoon visuals led some to believe that Nintendo was shifting its focus too much on a younger audience, but for me it was a treat. Coming from someone who enjoys more cartoons than live-action, it seemed like I was the sole person this was targeted to. Every Zelda game has its own distinct style, and this one was the most striking. It was fascinating to see how all the common enemies and people looked in the new, exaggerated style. Despite what all the haters say, the change in graphics did nothing but help the game.
Exploration
The second thing that deterred certain fans was the sailing. Some found it long, boring, and somewhat of a hassle. It is hard to really get into a Zelda game if the central gameplay element isn't to your liking, and there is a lot of sailing that goes on in this game. What makes the sailing so great is the ability to break off from your path and go exploring.
The certain section that gets the most flak involves finding all of the broken shards of the Triforce of Courage. Some were not happy with having to find the charts and having Tingle decipher them for 398 rupees. I, on the other hand, enjoyed that section the most. This is when the game opens up and encourages exploration. It requires you to sail all around in order to find the charts that lead you to the hidden shards.
Speaking of charts, a certain addiction came across me while playing. I became addicted to finding and exploring every single island on the Sea Chart. The game allows you to sail around and mark down everything you find on your sea chart. Not every island you find has a dungeon or town on it, but instead you can find hidden treasure or strange encounters. Being able to sail around in a sandbox style world overshadows the minor problems that some might have with the sailing, itself.
Story
The Wind Waker did more to tell a story than previous games. It starts out as Link trying to rescue his sister from the Forsaken Fortress, but turns into an enormous adventure when Link finds out that he needs to save The Great Sea from the hands of Gannondorf. It even goes as far as explaining some of the lore of Hyrule, and is the first game to state that there are multiple incarnations of Link and Zelda.
Probably the greatest thing about the entire game is the way that it all ends. Every Legend of Zelda game builds up to an epic battle between Link and Gannon, but the absolute most memorable is in The Wind Waker. Without ruining it for those who, for some reason, still haven't played through the game, I will say that it throws all of the arguments about it being too childish right out the window.
The quality of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is a controversial topic. Fans will debate about it until long past its inevitable remakes and re-releases. All I have to say now is that it not only is my favorite game in the Legend of Zelda series, but it is one of my favorite games ever made.
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