The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

1001 Video Games

The GameCube version of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Cut content

The programmers left in some really bizarre levels from the beta stages (and maybe even one from the alpha stages) of testing. You can access these with Action Replay.

Development

At some point a Japanese company released a product called The Zelda Box. Inside the box was exclusive information, media and figures from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Included in were prints of concept art for the game, one of which reveals that the team was considering having an adult Link in the game.

Pigs

You can not drown the pigs of Outset Island by throwing them in the ocean (the first thing I tried when I got the game), but with luck you can trap them behind one of the rocks you're supposed to practice jumping on. The pig(s) will swim back and forth along one side of the rock for an indefinite amount of time, making them much more suited for an archipelagian adventure than the wimpy kid you have to control.

References

• The masks adorning the wall behind Carlov in the Nintendo Gallery are from "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
• The stained-glass windows surrounding the Master Sword in the Hyrule Castle basement depict the sages from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
• The symbols upon the three pearls of the goddesses are the same symbols that represent the songs that can be played on the Harp of Ages in The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages.

Rito

The bird-like Rito are believed to be descendants of the Zoras from Ocarina of Time. Medli, an important NPC has a symbol similar to the Zora's Sapphire on her clothing. She is also mentioned as being of the bloodline of an important Zora.

The Rito may also be inspired by the Watarara, who are also avians and who only appear in the Legend of Zelda series manga. These people were more like giant birds than humans, but had a similar gaining of wings past a certain age and the same chieftain leadership structure.

Sales

On August 31, 2003 the game has won the Gold-Award from the German VUD (Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland - Entertainment Software Association Germany) for selling more then 100,000 (but less then 200,000) units in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

According to publisher Nintendo, the Wii U version sold 1.62 million copies worldwide (as of September 30, 2015).

Awards

• 4Players
  • 2003 – Best Console Action-Adventure Game of the Year
• GamePro (Germany)
  • February 13, 2004 - Best GameCube Game in 2003 (Readers' Vote)
• GameSpy
  • 2003 – #5 Game of the Year
  • 2003 – GameCube Game of the Year
  • 2003 – GameCube Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)
• Golden Joystick Awards
  • 2003 - GameCube Game of the Year
  • 2003 - Runner up to Pro Evolution Soccer 3 as Game of the Year (Editors' Award)
  • 2003 - Runner up to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as Ultimate Game of the Year category

Information also contributed by ~~, Late, Mark Ennis, piltdown_man, Tiago Jaques and Xoleras