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The original “Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker” was released in 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube, and after a decade its well-deserved HD remake is finally here for the Wii U. The game is by far the most beautiful game in the series.
The original “Wind Waker” has always stood out from the rest of the series because of its cartoon-like and colorful graphics and the beautiful overworld and vast sailing seas. Having received mixed reviews from critics that range from having a childish atmosphere and boring landscapes to it being the best game of the series, the re-release has received some tweaks to make it the definitive Zelda game.
“Wind Waker HD” shows what may very well be Nintendo’s most beautiful game to date. With the use of cel-shading graphics, lighting effects, shadows for details and improved textures, the environment looks amazing. This is noticed from the very first steps on Outset Island at the beginning of the game all the way through to the end. This is especially noted when sailing upon the seas, where fog, a blurry sky and islands in the distance give the game a real feeling of navigation.
With this re-release, Nintendo not only improved the game’s visuals, but made intelligent decisions on what to add and what to remove from the game. Some of its new features include the swift sail that cuts down to half the travelling time between islands, which was major complaint a decade ago.
The “Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD” has interchangeable screens to play between TV or the Wii U game pad, and both run on 1080p, making any of the two screens just as good as the other.
Nonetheless, when playing on a TV screen, the game takes advantage of the Wii U game pad, allowing players to access the menu screen and items without pausing the game, which makes it flow better.
As for gameplay, “Wind Waker HD” is as brilliant as ever with some of the best combat mechanics that only “The Legend of Zelda” can deliver. It has the classic lock-on and several techniques such as parrying and offers more than 30 hours of gameplay with plenty of side quests and intricate dungeons and puzzle solving that never gets repetitive.
One of the biggest features of the game is the new “hero mode,” which adds a great level of difficulty to an already challenging game. By deleting hearts (health-recovering items) from the game and adding tougher enemies, players can experience the game as if it were their first time playing.
It may be a remake of a decade-old game, but “The Wind Waker HD” is definitely an adventure that no gamer should miss, especially if they never played it before. With its improved graphics and new features, it is an already charming game with lovable characters. Add in its superb design, great storyline and one of the best gameplays in action RPGs of all time, “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD” is one of the best Zelda games to date.
Leonardo Montañez may be reached at [email protected].
