Day 115, Game 115 - The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

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With the release of every Zelda game, there was always tons of fanfare and hype. Well, a lot considering that most releases didn't have the benefit of having the internet prevalent enough to create the kind of buzz that Zelda games do now. 

Usually, Zelda games are highly anticipated, as everyone is looking forward to seeing which direction and what changes Nintendo will make to the series in order to to it to the next level of awesomeness. After Wind Waker was announced, however, with screen shots and details showing off the next version of Link on the GameCube, Zelda fans pretty much all turned their collective shoulders and pretty much boycotted the very drastic changes. And this was all before the game even came out.

You see, the biggest problem people had was the look of the game, specifically the characters like Link. The game was designed in cell-shaded style, a unique thing at the time of the game's release and definitely a first for the series. Link was still recognizable by all his trademark characteristics, but the fact that the developers went the way of cartoonish art style instead of a more realistic style that everyone was anticipating, really irritated people to no end. 

Personally, when I first saw what the game would look like, I was more excited than anyone else I knew. Sure, the thought of a realistic Zelda was intriguing, but I've always seen the series as a story, a fairy tale of sorts, and this new style fit perfectly into the vision I always had for the series. 

Sure enough, after the game's release, people started to realize how great the game looked despite the cell shading style, and how well it complemented the story that it was telling, The game has only grown on people more so every day since its release, and just recently Nintendo announced that it was remaking Wind Waker in HD for the Wii U. So much for no one liking the game, right?

Anyway, tonight I played it and it was great. The story is so engaging, as the new cast of characters and settings felt refreshing and different, yet surprisingly familiar. The game still holds up graphically even by today's standards, but with the touch of HD, I simply cannot wait for the remastered version of this game to play on my Wii U later this year. 

Everyone usually complains about the sailing adventures within this game, but honestly, I don't mind them at all. The sheer amount of territory to cover in the game, even if most of it is water, is astounding. But hey, to each their own, I guess. 

All in all, this is a great game, and one of the best looking games of the series, if only for the unique art style. Thank goodness the Internet wasn't as big as it is today, or the amount of hate before hand might have derailed this series permanently. 

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