LoZ: WW

RODAN

Banned deucer.
ok so i recently got into a rather heated discussion with my friend over whether wind waker was a good game or not. He said it wasnt due to them ruining the story and the visual style. IMO its totally solid - and i prefer it to games like Majoras Mask.

so smogon whats your opinion
 
I love that game. Sure, they changed the visual style, but different isn't necessarily bad. And sure, there is a lot of sailing, but in other games, there is a lot of travel time as well, and personally I prefer the sailing to horseback riding, but I'm probably in the minority. I don't understand what you mean by "ruining the story," I thought the story was great. Honestly, Wind Waker is my favorite Zelda game.
 
i loved the shit out of this game. even though i like the horseback riding mechanics better, i liked the story, graphics and sheer amount of extra space to explore in ww.
 
It gets far too much hate for the artistic style than it deserves. The temples are excellent, it actually has a compelling storyline, and the side characters are more interesting than any other Zelda game. It's also a lot more focused on exploring rather than dungeon-overworld-dungeon-overworld etc that Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time are bad about.

The only flaws in the game is having to sail so much (if you're impatient) and the damned triforce shard collecting quest.
 
Your friend is wrong for condemning the game based on the graphical style - it's charming and full of character. I much prefer it to the dreary feel of Twilight Princess.

If he's looking to condemn it he should bring up the Triforce shard section (seriously one of my worst memories in all of video games), or the fact that it's a little bit easy.

if I'm listing 3D Zelda games it's OoT > MM > WW > TP.
 
In my opinion, Wind Waker's graphical style isn't even necessarily a bad thing, it's just a different tone than a lot of the series. That should not detract from the fact that it is an awesome game, and I would easily rate it above Twilight Princess as well.
 
I think Wind Waker was one of the better LOZ games.

  • It had one of the biggest, if not the biggest, overworlds.
  • The dungeons were relatively massive (like volume wise) and, having played through literally almost every LOZ game now, contained, in my opinion some of the trickiest puzzles.
  • Treasure and useful items were scattered all over the place, so, unlike Twilight Princess, Four Swords Adventures, LOZ, AOL, etc, there was a serious reason to explore the entire open world and not just rush straight through the storyline to get to the end.
  • It had a fairly lengthy storyline that never got boring to me.
  • Being able to use your opponent's weapons was an interesting new twist.
  • It was the first game to include the Cave of Ordeals WHICH IS THE ABSOLUTE BEST PART OF WINDWAKER OR TWILIGHT PRINCESS IN MY OPINION.
  • Being able to control seagulls with fruit was a very fun and interesting diversion.
  • Although there is no real, solid, concrete, official storyline that links any of the individual LOZ games to each other, I really appreciated that the intro hearkened back to the prior games, and that throughout the game you could find things that related to the prior ones (like Saria in the stained glass, etc). That was a very nice touch, and as a hardcore LOZ fan I really appreciated that.
  • I also personally liked the more expressive art style of this game. In prior games you had to use your imagination much more when it came to how Link or the other characters felt.
  • It had a 2nd playthrough that was distinctly different from the first (different clothes, translated ancient Hylian text, different items earlier in the game, etc)
  • I personally love the little details that you could learn about people and characters through the Nintendo Gallery (just like in The Minish Cap). I spent hours upon hours there taking pictures and learning more about the various lore of the game.

It did have it's bad points for a lot of people, but as for me, when I got that game, it was different than prior games, but it was an incredibly enjoyable experience from beginning to end. And then from beginning to end again. And then from beginning to end again. And so on.

[edit]
Freaking Rodan. I've already beaten a completionist and minimalist quest in WW, but now I have to drive 50 miles and get this game back from my dad now and play it through again!!!!!!!!
 
Wind Waker is my favorite Zelda game (though to be fair I haven't played through MM yet; I'm actually playing it on an emulator right now). It was original in terms of a Zelda game, like Killah said about the dungeons.

I do not dislike any temple in Wind Waker, unlike OoT where I dislike a few (Jabu-Jabu, the Water Temple, and the Forest Temple solely for the creepy music), and TP where I dislike the Sky Temple. The dungeons were beautifully laid out imo, like Dragon Roost Island's. You had not only your typical rocky, fiery Fire Dungeon, but also an outdoors part leading up higher in the dungeon. It wasn't just, "insert standard dungeon features here." EDIT: The door puzzle in Ganon's castle with all of the Shadow Ganon literally took me forever to figure out.

The music was also great. Comparing the title music from these 3 games, Wind Waker wins in a landslide imo, though OoT's is still great. Wind Waker is just so different in that it's not that dark and gloomy of a game, unlike the other 3 big games. Brings a slightly cheerful atmosphere to the series.

Wind Waker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WfKTAAX9DE
OoT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tf7gu6hKkc
TP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iltlMCj3Lw

And I agree with everyone else about the graphics and art style. Loved it. I was actually more surprised by Tetra = Zelda than Sheik = Zelda. Tetra looks obviously similar to Zelda, which is why I guess it felt more surprising that it turned out to be true.

....A little tl;dr, but I can't help it. Love this game .___.
 
I'm also in the minority that liked Wind Waker over TP. TP was just too short and easy, save for a few memorable sections (getting the master sword).

On the other hand I'm stuck far into the Majora's Mask camp for a few reasons. It was the first Zelda game I ever played, and the longest it took me to beat (due to my young age). The music from that game are my favorites and the land is far different from Hyrule. OoT seemed kinda repetitive (you beat the grass, fire, and water temples, now beat similar ones again plus a few).

tl;dr
MM > OoT = WW > TP
 
I've never played Wind Waker, but I assume that it is like Phantom Hourglass, except better graphically and stuff. I very much enjoyed Phantom Hourglass, I put 20 hours into it. Now, I just finished OoT 3D (my first playthrough of OoT in any form) and that blows any other Zelda game that I've played out of the water. If I still had my Wii, I'd probably play Wind Waker. Of the games that I've played, OOT 3D > Twilight Princess > Phantom Hourglass > Link's Awakening DX.

Has there ever been a poor Zelda game?

p.s. look at Wind Waker rendered in HD via Dolphin and tell me that it doesn't look gorgeous.

edit: I forgot that I will probably be selling my Xbox and picking up a cheap Wii to play Skyward Sword.
 
Lee said:
If he's looking to condemn it he should bring up the Triforce shard section (seriously one of my worst memories in all of video games)
Click to expand...

This is actually when I quit playing. Other than that I loved WW, it kept my interest much longer than TP.
 
After seeing this thread, I don't think we can call the Windwaker>TP crowd such a small minority anymore. I personally think that WW is the best looking Zelda, especially when you play it with progressive cables. The colors just pop so wonderfully.

As for story, I don't think it necessarily beats out any of the other 3D Zelda games, but it doesn't fall short by any means.

The main downfalls were definitely the shard quest (the whole ordeal has prevented any thoughts of replaying the game stay very long in my head) and the lack of difficulty with the enemies/bosses. The second problem is somewhat of a running theme with majority of fights in all the 3D Zelda games so it's not exclusive. I looooved the puzzles in WW, though.

So yeah, I basically echoed exactly what Lee said.
 
Lee said:
Your friend is wrong for condemning the game based on the graphical style - it's charming and full of character. I much prefer it to the dreary feel of Twilight Princess.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the exact same thing about the first part but I liked the atmosphere of TP. Even though I didn't really like WW, the graphics didn't make it better or worse, they were just different. Saying that WW is bad because of the graphics is like saying that Paper Mario is bad compared to Super Mario 64 because of the graphics, which is invalid, they're just different art styles
 
Wind Waker is pretty bad by Zelda standards, it was the shortest game if you cut out the crap like 100 hours of surfing and also had the worst gameplay type employed in all of video gaming. Fetch quests. It wasn't even challenging, none of the puzzles were hard like MM/OoT. Twilight Princess had better puzzles and most people find it to be the weakest 3D Zelda, for whatever reason.

It did have one of the better visuals and honestly tightest fighting mechanic ever to grace Zelda, cool story too. It will stand up to time better then TP visually.
 
TP was better than WW but WW is still really good. I hate how people dismiss it immediately for its graphics; what matters is how it plays. Sailing and collecting the Triforce was really shitty though not gonna lie.
 
Windwaker plays amazingly, and I liked all the sailing parts... I admit I didn't as much at first but it grew on me quickly. I actually loved the graphics though, especially Link's facial expressions. They were way too amusing to ignore.

Also I'd put WW over TP but not by much, I loved both.
 
I found the temples in Wind Waker to be much less annoying than the ones in TP (seriously, fuck the Water Temple, fuck Arbiter's Grounds, and fuck City in the Sky, although Temple of Time was pretty cool). I'd take the Triforce quest over anyone of those temples any day.
 
lol i enjoyed collecting the triforce.

Actually, there was only one thing that I never understood. After you get the Big Key in the first dungeon (the one in the volcano), I could never get back out, I was always stuck. The elevator that you used to get there originally was cut down, so you couldn't use it to get back. There was something that you could attach a grappling hook to, but once you got on it, there wasn't anywhere you could swing to except the lava. The only way I could continue was by saving and quitting the game after I got the Big Key, and then reloading at the start of the temple. Did anyone else have that problem?
 
JimBob said:
lol i enjoyed collecting the triforce.

Actually, there was only one thing that I never understood. After you get the Big Key in the first dungeon (the one in the volcano), I could never get back out, I was always stuck. The elevator that you used to get there originally was cut down, so you couldn't use it to get back. There was something that you could attach a grappling hook to, but once you got on it, there wasn't anywhere you could swing to except the lava. The only way I could continue was by saving and quitting the game after I got the Big Key, and then reloading at the start of the temple. Did anyone else have that problem?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure I know what you are talking about. You had to swing onto a ledge to your right then get off and grapple again so you get a different angle and can get out.

WW is probably one of my favorite games, and I replay it like every summer; I just recently did. It's a solid game with quite a bit to do out of the actual story, which by itself takes up a fair amount of time. I also like replaying the thingy on outset island under the rock you have to lift; the 50 floors of progressively-harder enemies. The puzzles are also pretty cool, and I especially like the one in the Earth temple with all the mirrors at the end. I also spent hours, and the subsequent "new game+," on one of my files filling out the nintendo gallery near forest haven with sculptures, lol.

There's only one thing that I hate about WW: Floor Masters. Man fuck those things I still find them creepy as hell...
 
I like Wind Waker in every way except when it comes to bosses. The only boss battles I enjoyed or where any challenge was presented were the final two fights and the Helmaroc King. Smashing the bird's skull that kidnapped your sister and then threw you out of the castle as soon as you reached her with a giant hammer was the single most satisfying moment in the entire game imo. Other than those three, none of the bosses where that memorable for me.
 
This is my favourite Zelda game, the visual style sets it apart from the rest, and in my opinion they took a risk and it paid off. They honestly could just port the exact same game to the Wii-U or something in the future with the exact same graphics because they stand the test of time so well.

One thing I think people overlooked so far in this thread is the SOUND of the game. Wow the songs of Wind Waker were so good I still go on Youtube from time to time just to give me some nostalgia trips. I've been meaning to play through it again for a while but now I probably will since I got my Wii out of my wardrobe. I could probably play this game at least once a year every year.
 
B-Lulz said:
One thing I think people overlooked so far in this thread is the SOUND of the game. Wow the songs of Wind Waker were so good I still go on Youtube from time to time just to give me some nostalgia trips. I've been meaning to play through it again for a while but now I probably will since I got my Wii out of my wardrobe. I could probably play this game at least once a year every year.
Click to expand...

+1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7fqllhtdHI
I remember watching a demo of Wind Waker before it came out and hearing this song... The music on this game is flawless. While all Zelda games have good music, the songs on Wind Waker really seemed to fit with the feel of the game imo.

I never really got very far on OoT before I played WW, so just for nostalgia's sake this game is my favourite Zelda.
 
WW is the only 3D Zelda game I haven't played, but the cel-shading doesn't sound like it'd be a problem for me lol.


MM is my favorite Zelda :3
 
The one thing that annoys me more than anything is that dungeons were cut from the game, which resulted in the triforce quest. The most insulting part is that you have to keep going back to frigging Tingle to do it. I offset it by exploring some of the many islands that I hadn't yet. The sidequests rival MM, if you are crazy enough to get every sculpture then you are insane. One of the other small things things that does bother me is the first time you tour the Forsaken Fortress you have to use stealth, and at the start of the game it's sort of tutorial mode still. But the problem is you never get the chance to hide in barrels or anything like that again, not like you'd want to but there isn't really another required segment (except that part with tailing the poor girl).

Although going through the Fortress again with a sword in hand was unusually cathartic.

And on the subject of songs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRv8gnBMiWM
 
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