The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

The Good
The animation has aged very well and something tells me that is isn't going to change either. The cute, child-friendly style is just the highlight of this game. Some people people argued that it doesn't look like a Zelda game anymore, but that isn't true (at least in my opinion), the style really adds a good bit of magic to the game. I still prefer Ocarina of Time's style (or the style they are going to use in Skyward Sword), but this is certainly not bad.

The story is very refreshing and simplified for the children, there isn't any higher power or magic realms this time, all you know is that there are diamonds that need to be found in order to go to an underwater city. I personally like it this way because younger people never ask me to explain something to them, they just understand it and leave me alone. Adults can't really complaint either because the story is not "too simple" and it's also well-written. You just have to love the perfect balance Nintendo found here.

It plays very easily, you never have any trouble moving around or fights with the menus. I especially like the "items menu" that has a sub-menu for all your bait and another for all your spoils (fetch-quest items), this makes it very tidy while there was serious potential for a gigantic and confusing menu. I also want to mention that the boat is much better than Epona and doesn't glitch as much.

The soundtrack is simply amazing, it is better than in any other Zelda game ever, maybe even the best in the history of video games. It covers everything from cheerful and light for the islands to dark and sad for the caves and dungeons. Some of my favorites would be; Dragon Roost Island, Sage Laruto and Gohdan's theme. The only songs that aren't that great are most of the songs you need to play yourself (aside from the "sages' songs").

The dungeons are pretty good and creative, there were no ports from previous games in here (aside from the Wind Temple which I heard was supposed to be in Ocarina of Time, but that doesn't count). They also interested me because they really looked like what they were supposed to be, the "Forsaken Fortress" actually looks like a fortress and the temples guarded by the Sages actually looks like a place where the Sages would pray.

The Bad
The hardest dungeon is right at the beginning of the game, only the final battle with Ganandorf is as hard. The dungeon is very annoying to navigate through, you don't have a weapon for the largest part and some enemies place you back in a prison if they catch you. This is very annoying because it makes it impossible for me to enjoy a second run through the game.

Sailing around the world is not really enjoyable, roughly 80% of the world is water, so it just doesn't feel right. Hyrule isn't Hyrule anymore, it's just water with a few islands in it. There is nothing interesting to find on the islands and fishing for treasure isn't that exciting either. Another complaint I have are the Koroks, you can't imagine how much I hate the Koroks. They are a new race that replaces the Kokiri, it's the biggest insult to Ocarina of Time ever. If you're not going to have Hyrule, you shouldn't make a Zelda game.

The Bottom Line
This is a pretty good Zelda game; it has a great soundtrack, timeless graphics and a nice story. The new "Hyrule" might not be as great as what I am used to and the Koroks should leg it before I use them as target practice, but it's overall still a great, magical whole. Especially younger fans of the Zelda franchise are going to have fun with this one and people who want to get into the franchise might also want to start here.