Developer/Publisher: Nintendo Released: October 2013

Played on: Wii U (2003 original available on Gamecube)

I came quite late to the Zelda Party. I played my first Zelda games in 2003, and they were A Link to the Past on the Gameboy Advance and Wind Waker on the Gamecube. Both were purchased for my younger brother, and for the life of me I can’t remember which one I played first. What I do remember is playing both games within a short time frame and being totally bowled over by the games’ structures and level designs. At this point I was only playing point-and-click adventure games, first person shooters and games with Mario in it, I had no idea that anything like Zelda existed and that it could be so bloody good! I was an instant fan, and worked my way through the older titles and all subsequent releases.

Ten years later, and Nintendo release an HD version of Wind Waker for the Wii U. This is a no-brainer for me, I’d been meaning to replay Wind Waker for ages, and the ability to play it on the gamepad screen for hours and not hog the television was massively appealing. Within minutes of playing I was on one of the strongest nostalgia kicks in years – remembering the first time playing this game and how open and exciting it felt, how delighted I was when I discovered that you could shoot a dude in a tornado to unlock fast travel, getting totally stuck near the end of the game and firing up the dial-up internet (ok, we might’ve had cable by then) to lookup what the hell I was supposed to do. At multiple points in this playthrough I was reminded of so many moments in the game that I had since forgotten.

While everyone else was looting the Caribbean in Assassin’s Creed 4, I was hanging out with these pirates

Firing up the Gamecube reveals that the original Wind Waker’s cell-shaded art style totally holds up 10 years later, marred only by some very pronounced pixelated borders, particularly on a modern TV. Wind Waker HD maintains the original’s art style but updates the graphics to look beautiful in HD. The results are mixed. In general, I do prefer the new version’s look, everything looks bright and beautiful, and all the character models are simple and charming. However they might have gone a little overboard with the lighting effects, washing out some details to the point of distraction. The original game felt like it had a slightly darker palette which the HD remake could have taken more note of, but the HD version’s long draw distance is something that would’ve blown our minds in 2003.

The game’s other changes are unquestionably improvements, including a beautifully recorded soundtrack, an almost indispensable world map on the touch screen, and the “swift sail” that I recommend you try to get as soon as the auctions open on Windfall Island. The swift sail makes sailing around on the King of Red Lions a treat by giving you faster speeds and requiring no consideration of wind direction. I explored the Great Sea and its islands far more thoroughly this playthrough because it was so easy to sail around with the swift sail, and quite relaxing to stare at the sea as it went past.

Even the Miiverse integration is well done, allowing you to put pictures you take with an in-game camera into a bottle and send it out for other players to discover. Posting to the Miiverse still seems really slow, and I suspect it’s the Wii U’s lack of memory rather than the network infrastructure. Still, opening a bottle on a random island and discovering an amusing Zelda selfie makes it totally worth it.

Oscars selfies got nothing on this guy. Click the pic to go to the Wind Waker Miiverse page and see what an endless stream of Zela selfies.

I haven’t talked about the game much, but it still holds up as an exceptional title in an amazing series of games. Progression through the game is fairly linear, but the Great Sea is so big and open to exploration you’ll never feel like you’re being funneled, you can do what you like at any point. The characters and enemies you’ll encounter in your bid to rescue your kidnapped sister are memorable and charmingly written. The combat system is probably the most enjoyable of any of the 3D Zelda games, and the whole game handles better and more smoothly in this HD incarnation.

This would be in my top 5 Zelda games, and is a must-play for any fans of the series or anyone seeking something to play on their Wii U. I plunged a good 40 hours into this rich world and look forward to revisiting it again. I’m still not convinced we really needed a Wind Waker remake, but the quality of this release leaves me with little to complain about.

Verdict: This is the definitive version of an already outstanding adventure game. A joy to play and rediscover.

Should Bradley play this: I don’t think Bradley has ever played a Zelda game, but this would be as good a place to start as any.