The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD – Review (Wii U)

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD – Review (Wii U)

Most of us know the story, Hyrule is plunged into darkness by the evil Ganondorf, the pesky Gerudo thief we all love to hate! Link wakes up (usually late for some ridiculous ceremony) and has to save the hapless Princess Zelda, who always seems to have ridiculous magical power but can never stop fate. It’s Nintendo at its best though, taking a simple, almost childlike concept and making it hugely accessible through tens of different versions of the same story. The attention to the gameplay make these games stand out from the rest and despite the similarity to all its other rehashes, it still shines through as a superb title.

The Legend of Zelda series has been going strong since its beginning in 1986. Aside from Mario, Link has been one of the most recognisable faces of Nintendo. The games he features in boosts the sales of every console it releases. In the UK, sales of the Wii U increased by 685% after the HD remake of The Wind Waker was released. Every iteration of these games seems to deliver a meaningful yet deep, immersive experience. All following the same narrative generally, even though this is the case, each has its own distinct personality in the Zelda timeline.

Wind Waker HD looking great on the Wii U
Wind Waker HD looking great on the Wii U

The Wind Waker is the first game of Zelda’s in which you can traverse the seas, roaming islands and oceans by harnessing the powers of the wind. The story is based on Link’s coming-of-age after his sister Aryll is kidnapped. Link secures passage on the ship of pirate girl Tetra and sets out to rescue her. Upon its first release on the Gamecube in 2003, it was met with scepticism by some fans who were unsure of the cutesy cel-shaded nature of the game. This however, was quickly dispelled by favourable reviews of the gameplay across the board, praising its accessibility for new fans to the series and snappy swordplay. This instalment saw a no-fuss approach to the traditional start-ups to a Zelda game, seeing the protagonist embark upon his journey because his Grandma told him to and his sister was kidnapped, rather than be handed a mission by some lofty deities adds a relatable, human element and doesn’t feel too familiar or boring. Although visually it was a big change, the core experience still remained and allowed the player to sit through a well thought out and clever game.

a comparison with the original...
a comparison with the original… the colours wash out a little.

While The Wind Waker HD remake on Wii U may seem like a money spinning opportunity, the graphical difference from its Gamecube counterpart is enough to warrant you separating with your cash. It runs at a native 1080p resolution and the updated graphics show a big leap forward in the console’s capability. The draw distance and the textures highlight these improvements most effectively. A new lighting engine was also used for this game. While some critics have mentioned the textures featuring some jagged edges, the general reception to the HD update has been great. The ten year anniversary of the originals international release is a celebration and it is definitely one that is worth while. It offers up a chance to Wii U owners that didn’t access the Gamecube version (this includes myself) to play a version of the game that stands proudly and indeed not out of place against todays current crop of blockbuster titles.

Link and pirate-girl Aryll sharing a moment
Link and pirate-girl Aryll sharing a moment

Also notable is the use of the Wii U gamepad, which allows for easy access to your maps and control over the Wind Waker. This is a magical baton which enables you to change the direction of the wind while sailing or at other times during the game. The gamepad aids you when switching items, ridding the gamer of the monotony of entering the start menu time and again. Motion sensors in the gamepad’s built-in Gyroscope allow for intuitive control when using certain weapons (hookshot and bow) as well as items and the first person camera. None of these feel like a tacky addition, the controls feel responsive and slick, a welcome update to the Gamecube version.

wind-waker-tuned-up

The gamepad also comes into its own when you use the under-appreciated (it’s mentioned probably once at the start of the game and easy to miss) Off-TV play. The graphics look crisp and sometimes you find yourself preferring the portable feel to that of the 1080p 40-inch front room TV that is 6 feet away from you. It sounds strange but this feature does entice you. Despite the gamepads terrible battery life! The fact that most handheld Zelda games, excluding the 3DS Ocarina remake, are all played from a top down view, encourages you to experience a proper 3D Zelda game portably and is a big part of the reason for using the gamepad. The Wii U pro controller can also be used to control this game, and doesn’t feel too dissimilar to that of the Gamecube’s.

ZELDA-006

The Tingle Bottle is a new feature which utilises the Miiverse function of the Wii U, enabling players to receive hints from other players which helps you out during certain objectives in the game. The Picto Box item lets players post screenshots of Link at certain locations, with differing facial expressions, which seems slightly bizarre.

The Wind Waker has a few extra minor tweaks to help streamline the gameplay process. The Triforce Quest from the original, Gamecube version, required the player to obtain Triforce Charts for each shard of the Triforce of Courage. In the updated HD remake, you only need three Charts to find the hidden shards under the Great Sea and there will be five of these to collect. The inclusion of the Swift Sail negates most of the tedious sailing time spent sailing between hidden islands and other locations. It decreases the journey time by 50% and can be acquired through an auction house early in the game. Fitting this to your ship automatically puts you at full speed as it doesn’t require you to sail in the correct wind direction.

Hero Mode is a cool feature that was included in Skyward Sword back in 2011 on the Wii. The big difference between then and now is that you can toggle this mode on and off at your leisure, and that you don’t need to complete the game in order to ‘unlock’ it. The hero aspect of this mode significantly notches up the challenge, stopping the constant appearance of hearts in vases and in the grass, meaning you have to instead make do with potions. As if things weren’t sounding hard enough, the evil monsters deal double damage.

The Wii U HD version of The Wind Waker really stands out as a stellar title for the console, which has had a pretty rough ride so far. Yes, it’s a remake but it’s a great one at that. Visually it works wonders for Zelda fans and it introduces new features that keep gamers familiar with the original enticed, and challenged. Newer players get the thrill of what feels and looks like a new game. This is the biggest reason as to why this HD remake has been such a success. It stays true to what the Zelda series does well and improves on elements that infuriated people that did play the original, over ten years ago now. The Cel-shaded animation may not be to everyone’s taste, but if you can look past ‘Toon Link’ and get lost in The Wind Waker’s awesome storyline, you will not be disappointed.

Pros

+ Stunning HD graphics

+ Excellent Gamepad uses

+ Swift Sail/Hero Mode

 Cons

– Some colours look a little faded

– Graphics almost too good for a cartoon?

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
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