RETRO REVIEW: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (Wii U, 2003-2013) No Wind Breaking Jokes, Please
Let’s take a moment to soak this in, shall we? Here we are now in 2024 with a retro review of an 11 year old high definition remake of a 21 year old game. And one that is still tethered to Nintendo’s Wii U console, a system that somehow feels more ancient than the GameCube. And for unknown reasons that still manage to baffle, this cel-shaded installment in the series still has yet to make the leap over to the Switch. I mean, the godawful New Super Mario U has a port, so what the deuce you guys? What’s the fucking gosh-darn hold up?
And speaking of holding up, how well does this for the most part two decade title play these days? Well, aside from the obvious HD visual upgrade from the GameCube original, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker also introduced some mild retooling in the pacing department. Remember the notoriously misjudged inclusion of that hunt for Triforce shards which was tacked on near the end of the game to pad out the play time? That’s slightly less offensive now! Remember what a royal pain in the chesnos it was to have to stop and alter the wind’s path every time you needed to change direction while sailing? Thanks to the newly added swift sail, that’s gone! Do you hate when people ask a question right before answering it themselves? Noted!
Like many Nintendo fans at the time, I have to admit to being a being a bit disappointed in this this one when it first came out. While the visuals were hit hardest, deemed too simplistic and cartoonish by the nerd majority, they never really bothered me. But a few of the basic problems that I had were as follows:
The “just too damn much” sailing.
The incessant use of the baton.
The odd sense of emptiness in the overworld.
The overall lack of that Zelda “feel.”
I still stand by exactly 50% of those issues as the top two were deemed troublesome enough for Nintendo to “fix.” But as far as the other two go, I’m just going to have to chalk that up to being in my early 20’s and clearly a big idiot.
The best news is that everything great about this game remains untampered with in this remake. Most notably the combat system which to this day is still by far the most satisfying of the entire series. (Um hi, Skyward Sword, what happened there?). Fighting is so seamless and intuitive that you’ll regularly find yourself completely immersed, seemingly a spectator at the beautiful choreography of your own movements. And those little chimes every time your swing makes contact with an enemy? Oh boy do those provide a sensual massage to the pleasure part of your brain or what? The overall control in this game is absolutely impeccable, especially when moving that camera around. Does this still stand tall as the best camera in a 3D game ever? That isn’t a rhetorical question, I really want to know because it is amazing.
In addition to being able to play offscreen with the Wii U game pad so long as you are never more than 15 feet away from the console and always facing due south, Wii U Pro controller support is also included. Which is a nice option as this is by far my preferred method. This isn’t to say that going all in on handheld mode is never useful: The touch screen is great for mapping items to various buttons and playing on the tablet is of course absolutely welcome for those private moments. But the battery life of that thing is a real problem, as the pad is well known for not lasting very long even with the brightness set down, or power-saving mode turned on. Or while still plugged in, really. What I’ve been doing is a combo though: Playing off of the television with the Pro Controller while having the pad sitting in its cradle with the map displayed at all times. It works phenomenally.
Of course, no game is perfect (except Super Punch-Out!!) and if I were forced to find something that burns my ass, I suppose a couple of gripes could be made. After making a very welcome appearance in the 3DS remake of Ocarina of Time, there’s no boss mode to be found here. This is a real shame as the Zeldas have a long history of giving players some pretty amazing boss battles and it would be pretty nice if fighting them any time we wanted would become a standard for the entire series. We only get at the most 3 save files in these things, so c’mon already dudes. Another complaint is admittedly kind of a stretch, but I’ve always thought that this game specifically would have been a perfect fit for motion controls. To me, the Wii-mote seems like it would have made a great substitute for the Wind Waker baton and motion controlled conducting is like, kind of a no-brainer. They could have even titled it The Legend of Zelda: Wiind Waker? Yes? No? Ehhh. Anyway, this control scheme could have easily been added as another option but like I said, no big loss. Maybe they can slap it onto a joy-con someday.
Overall the presentation is of course on point, with the HD graphics being a natural fit for the visual style. Coupled with the as expected gorgeous music (just give this track a listen and try to not grin), expressive characters and intriguing storyline, the whole thing really feels nothing short of timeless. And there’s one other slightly esoteric aspect I’d like to touch on because upon booting this thing up, something hit me like I’d never felt before. It’s no secret that I am sometimes guilty of being a bit of a shall we say…sentimental wuss. But when I first heard the sound of those waves and found myself gazing into the bright light of a beautiful high definition sun glaring out over Outset Island, I felt an incredible combination of nostalgia and excitement for the adventure now on the horizon. Somehow a game that I’d played several times already managed to feel fresh and I found myself impatient to discover all of its secrets all over again. I even came up with a word for it just now: Newstalgia.
The fact that some players will already be familiar with the world only helps to make this gorgeous remake that much more intimate. It is the very definition of playing something again for the first time, offering a deep, rich and yes emotional experience. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is a game that has revealed itself to be far ahead of its time; filled with a simplistic depth and emotional charm that few (if any) contemporary pieces of software can even dream of matching.
Now bring it on over to the Switch already, Nintendo.
