The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker has, in more recent years, been regarded as one of the most finely crafted Zelda titles and many believe it to be the best entry in the acclaimed series. However no game is perfect and all great video games have at least one or two kinks in the armor. This year gamers were treated to two highly-anticipated HD remastered remakes, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX and The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker. Both titles have more than 10 years under their belts and are hailed as classics in the hearts of millions across the globe. In the case of Kingdom Hearts 1.5, the Kingdom Hearts Final Mix portion of the game was built from the ground up all-over again due to the missing masters. Though bringing back a game true to form is certainly commendable, Square Enix however didn’t fix many of the problems that were persistent and frustrating in the original which cause the game to fall short of outshining it’s older counterpart.
The Wind Waker, on the other hand, is a completely different story. This is a remake done right, Nintendo listened to all the complaints that were voiced about the original and solved every single one of them and more! The sea was too big and the your ship was too slow? They threw in a swift sail! This effectively reduced the time sailing around from island to island by making your boat faster and eliminates the need to change wind direction. This also made exploring the sea fun, engaging and less of a chore. The Triforce quest was too tedious? No problem! They streamlined it so that it literally shaves hours off your schedule by reducing the amount of charts from 8 to 3! It’s changes like these that truly make me respect Nintendo in the sense that they learn from their shortcomings. The Wind Waker HD also enhances the experience in other less significant that end up having a big impact. Such enhancements are the reduction in the time it takes to use the grappling hook to latch onto post or to salvage treasure from the Great Sea, they are small changes but they go a long way. Perhaps one of the biggest addition to this exemplary package is The Hero Mode option that is available from the beginning of the game. Debuting in The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, this mode offers more of a challenge to seasoned Wind Waker players in which the player takes twice the amount of damage and that there are no recovery hearts to be found in the game, the player must rely on potions and fairies to restore their health.
All of this along with remastered graphics, more advanced lighting effects, and a re-orchestrated soundtracks it’s no doubt that this trip down memory lane completely obliterates the original in every aspect. This is grand classic that is experienced even better this time around thanks to the smart decisions by our guys at the Big N. Nobody does it quite like Nintendo and The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker is a reminder of that!
The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker drops in stores October 4 but it is now available in the Nintendo eShop. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX is available now. Don’t hesitate to relive the magic of these great games.
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