The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
A Masterpiece, Remastered
97/100 (A)
Positives:
- Fixes some of the original game's flaws, greatly improving the experience
- Cel shaded graphics look beautiful in HD
- WiiU gamepad allows for smoother gameplay and navigation
- Preserves what made the original game great
Negatives:
- Improves the old game, but doesn't add much new content
- New features speed up gameplay, but reduce overall game duration (not necessarily a bad thing, though)
I received The Wind Waker HD for Christmas, and I was immediately hooked. I was already a devout fan of the original game, so I was at first a bit skeptical about the remake, hoping the original formula wouldn't be altered too much. As it turned out, my skepticism was unwarranted; The Wind Waker HD preserved everything that made the original special, then proceeded to polish the entire game to a brilliant shine. The story is still engaging and endearing, and the art and music retain all of their original charm. The art looks even crisper and cleaner in glorious HD, causing many small details that originally went unnoticed to stand out and deepen the player's immersion.
One of the most pleasant surprises of The Wind Waker HD are the changes and improvements made to some of the original game's weakest points: a common criticism of the original Wind Waker is that the sailing was far too slow and often irritating, due to the fact that the player was forced to constantly stop their forward motion to adjust wind direction, and seagoing enemies could also throw you out of your boat, wasting even more of your time. In The Wind Waker HD, fairly early in the game, the player is able to purchase an item called the Swift Sail that not only doubles their sailing speed, but also causes the wind to automatically shift in your favor, no stopping needed. Additionally, ocean foes can no longer knock you out of your boat, making them less of a nuisance (though also indirectly reducing the difficulty level of the game as a whole). The locations of some items have been switched around a bit, and the rewards for some quests have been swapped around, though generally these changes have little positive or negative impact. Last but not least, another lovely change to the formula is a significant improvement to the late-game Triforce-hunting quest, which originally had the player searching the ocean for charts that would then reveal a different location in the ocean where they would have to go to retrieve a piece of the Triforce; in the remake, there are fewer charts to collect, and instead, the player just fishes up a the Triforce piece directly for five of the eight necessary pieces. The Wind Waker HD as a whole is much more aware of its player's precious time, and the improvements made show this awareness, as the game's pace has increased significantly.
Another important and easy to overlook point is the improvements made by the hardware itself. In a brilliant move, the developers of The Wind Waker HD chose to make full use of the WiiU gamepad. The gamepad's embedded screen is put to fantastic use, allowing the player to rapidly change equipped items from the gamepad (instead of having to pause and open your inventory every time you needed a different tool) or use the gamepad's screen to display a real-time map of either the dungeon the player is currently in, or a chart of the entire ocean while in the overworld. Needless to say, a real time map makes navigation a breeze, whether it be in a dark labyrinth or the open sea. Due to the plethora of boons granted by using the WiiU gamepad, I would advise players to use the gamepad rather than a Pro controller, even though the gamepad's battery life isn't enough for particularly long play sessions.
No game is perfect (though this one comes close), though, and some imperfections carry over from the original Wind Waker. The Wind Waker HD made major improvements to some areas of the original game that were unnecessarily tedious or time-consuming, but as a result, the difficulty of the game is lowered simply by the fact that many tasks become less of a chore (though the original game wasn't exactly the pinnacle of difficulty, either). The game's length is also cut significantly by the new additions, which I am personally fine with, but some die-hard fans of the original game may be disappointed by how short the game feels in comparison (I personally finished the game in under twenty hours, and I completed most of the optional side-quests).
While it might be a bit of a stretch to say that The Wind Waker HD is reason enough to own a WiiU, it's certainly one of the best games the console currently has to offer. The Wind Waker HD fixed many problems that were cause for complaints in the original, and even people who weren't fans of the original may change their mind after some time with the remake. The Wind Waker HD is a positively fantastic game that I would recommend to both Zelda fans and newcomers alike; if you own or plan on buying a WiiU, The Wind Waker HD deserves a spot in your game library.
- Fixes some of the original game's flaws, greatly improving the experience
- Cel shaded graphics look beautiful in HD
- WiiU gamepad allows for smoother gameplay and navigation
- Preserves what made the original game great
Negatives:
- Improves the old game, but doesn't add much new content
- New features speed up gameplay, but reduce overall game duration (not necessarily a bad thing, though)
I received The Wind Waker HD for Christmas, and I was immediately hooked. I was already a devout fan of the original game, so I was at first a bit skeptical about the remake, hoping the original formula wouldn't be altered too much. As it turned out, my skepticism was unwarranted; The Wind Waker HD preserved everything that made the original special, then proceeded to polish the entire game to a brilliant shine. The story is still engaging and endearing, and the art and music retain all of their original charm. The art looks even crisper and cleaner in glorious HD, causing many small details that originally went unnoticed to stand out and deepen the player's immersion.
One of the most pleasant surprises of The Wind Waker HD are the changes and improvements made to some of the original game's weakest points: a common criticism of the original Wind Waker is that the sailing was far too slow and often irritating, due to the fact that the player was forced to constantly stop their forward motion to adjust wind direction, and seagoing enemies could also throw you out of your boat, wasting even more of your time. In The Wind Waker HD, fairly early in the game, the player is able to purchase an item called the Swift Sail that not only doubles their sailing speed, but also causes the wind to automatically shift in your favor, no stopping needed. Additionally, ocean foes can no longer knock you out of your boat, making them less of a nuisance (though also indirectly reducing the difficulty level of the game as a whole). The locations of some items have been switched around a bit, and the rewards for some quests have been swapped around, though generally these changes have little positive or negative impact. Last but not least, another lovely change to the formula is a significant improvement to the late-game Triforce-hunting quest, which originally had the player searching the ocean for charts that would then reveal a different location in the ocean where they would have to go to retrieve a piece of the Triforce; in the remake, there are fewer charts to collect, and instead, the player just fishes up a the Triforce piece directly for five of the eight necessary pieces. The Wind Waker HD as a whole is much more aware of its player's precious time, and the improvements made show this awareness, as the game's pace has increased significantly.
Another important and easy to overlook point is the improvements made by the hardware itself. In a brilliant move, the developers of The Wind Waker HD chose to make full use of the WiiU gamepad. The gamepad's embedded screen is put to fantastic use, allowing the player to rapidly change equipped items from the gamepad (instead of having to pause and open your inventory every time you needed a different tool) or use the gamepad's screen to display a real-time map of either the dungeon the player is currently in, or a chart of the entire ocean while in the overworld. Needless to say, a real time map makes navigation a breeze, whether it be in a dark labyrinth or the open sea. Due to the plethora of boons granted by using the WiiU gamepad, I would advise players to use the gamepad rather than a Pro controller, even though the gamepad's battery life isn't enough for particularly long play sessions.
No game is perfect (though this one comes close), though, and some imperfections carry over from the original Wind Waker. The Wind Waker HD made major improvements to some areas of the original game that were unnecessarily tedious or time-consuming, but as a result, the difficulty of the game is lowered simply by the fact that many tasks become less of a chore (though the original game wasn't exactly the pinnacle of difficulty, either). The game's length is also cut significantly by the new additions, which I am personally fine with, but some die-hard fans of the original game may be disappointed by how short the game feels in comparison (I personally finished the game in under twenty hours, and I completed most of the optional side-quests).
While it might be a bit of a stretch to say that The Wind Waker HD is reason enough to own a WiiU, it's certainly one of the best games the console currently has to offer. The Wind Waker HD fixed many problems that were cause for complaints in the original, and even people who weren't fans of the original may change their mind after some time with the remake. The Wind Waker HD is a positively fantastic game that I would recommend to both Zelda fans and newcomers alike; if you own or plan on buying a WiiU, The Wind Waker HD deserves a spot in your game library.
One of the most pleasant surprises of The Wind Waker HD are the changes and improvements made to some of the original game's weakest points: a common criticism of the original Wind Waker is that the sailing was far too slow and often irritating, due to the fact that the player was forced to constantly stop their forward motion to adjust wind direction, and seagoing enemies could also throw you out of your boat, wasting even more of your time. In The Wind Waker HD, fairly early in the game, the player is able to purchase an item called the Swift Sail that not only doubles their sailing speed, but also causes the wind to automatically shift in your favor, no stopping needed. Additionally, ocean foes can no longer knock you out of your boat, making them less of a nuisance (though also indirectly reducing the difficulty level of the game as a whole). The locations of some items have been switched around a bit, and the rewards for some quests have been swapped around, though generally these changes have little positive or negative impact. Last but not least, another lovely change to the formula is a significant improvement to the late-game Triforce-hunting quest, which originally had the player searching the ocean for charts that would then reveal a different location in the ocean where they would have to go to retrieve a piece of the Triforce; in the remake, there are fewer charts to collect, and instead, the player just fishes up a the Triforce piece directly for five of the eight necessary pieces. The Wind Waker HD as a whole is much more aware of its player's precious time, and the improvements made show this awareness, as the game's pace has increased significantly.
Another important and easy to overlook point is the improvements made by the hardware itself. In a brilliant move, the developers of The Wind Waker HD chose to make full use of the WiiU gamepad. The gamepad's embedded screen is put to fantastic use, allowing the player to rapidly change equipped items from the gamepad (instead of having to pause and open your inventory every time you needed a different tool) or use the gamepad's screen to display a real-time map of either the dungeon the player is currently in, or a chart of the entire ocean while in the overworld. Needless to say, a real time map makes navigation a breeze, whether it be in a dark labyrinth or the open sea. Due to the plethora of boons granted by using the WiiU gamepad, I would advise players to use the gamepad rather than a Pro controller, even though the gamepad's battery life isn't enough for particularly long play sessions.
No game is perfect (though this one comes close), though, and some imperfections carry over from the original Wind Waker. The Wind Waker HD made major improvements to some areas of the original game that were unnecessarily tedious or time-consuming, but as a result, the difficulty of the game is lowered simply by the fact that many tasks become less of a chore (though the original game wasn't exactly the pinnacle of difficulty, either). The game's length is also cut significantly by the new additions, which I am personally fine with, but some die-hard fans of the original game may be disappointed by how short the game feels in comparison (I personally finished the game in under twenty hours, and I completed most of the optional side-quests).
While it might be a bit of a stretch to say that The Wind Waker HD is reason enough to own a WiiU, it's certainly one of the best games the console currently has to offer. The Wind Waker HD fixed many problems that were cause for complaints in the original, and even people who weren't fans of the original may change their mind after some time with the remake. The Wind Waker HD is a positively fantastic game that I would recommend to both Zelda fans and newcomers alike; if you own or plan on buying a WiiU, The Wind Waker HD deserves a spot in your game library.
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