Review: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD

The already timeless visuals look even more beautiful now in crisp sharp HD

An almost unbelievable 11 years after the original release, I return to this new HD remake of one of my favourite Zeldas, The Wind Waker.  Promised many enhancements and game-play tweaks as well as new HD graphical upgrade, this remake provided a way for the Zelda team to cut their teeth with familiar material on the new and unfamiliar Wii U hardware before making an entirely new Zelda adventure which is to come in 2015.  The visuals have held up superbly well being quite simple and clean to begin with.  The enhancement of HD only serves to make them look even better.

Tingle is now officially obsolete.

The Wii U gamepad enhancements allow you to swap items super quick on the fly without having to pause the game.  It can also act as a dungeon map, sea chart (including treasure maps) and interface for messages in a bottle, called Tingle Bottles which replace the Tingle Tuner.  Only the few that did connect a GBA to their GameCube in the original game will remember the Tingle Tuner, but it was in essence a second screen assistant that could provide local maps, an on demand shop and allow a second player to assist in minor ways.  Since the Wii U gamepad performs the most important of these functions now, it only makes sense to retire the Tingle Tuner and this is a much appreciated addition to the game greatly speeding up menu navigation which has always broken up the action in Zelda games.  Almost everything that was needlessly slow and tedious in the original game has been tweaked and sped up in this remake.  Some notable examples include:

• Much faster extraction of treasure from the sea bed.


• A swift sail which doubles sailing speed and auto-redirects wind to your back can be won at the auction house


• The Triforce chart pieces quest has been significantly shortened


• Pictographs are immediately rated upon taking them and you can carry 12 at a time


• Pictographs from Miiverse can be submitted for statue quest


• Grapple hook can change direction while in motion

Sailing across the beautiful Hylian sea is now easier and faster than ever thanks to the new Fast Sail

And many many more smaller less noticeable changes which will still be of benefit.  Needless to say in remastering this game, the developers took a lot of feedback and listened to it because almost every flaw with the original has either been removed or reduced to have less of a negative impact.  The most notable of these being the double speed sailing (take note, you should acquire this Swift Sail from the auction house as soon as you can) which greatly reduces the tedium of navigating the oceans and greatly cutting down the length of the Triforce quest in the game’s closing chapters.

A “mandatory side-quest” to collect Triforce pieces

While I do certainly approve of cutting down the Triforce quest, which always like it should have been a side quest rather than a main one to me, I am less enthused by the cutting down of sailing time.  Yes, sailing can definitely get tedious at times especially coming to the game’s close or if you choose to do more of the optional side quests, but I always felt that the sailing was an integral part of the game and added to the experience.  It was there to convey the vast empty openness of the ocean that you were travelling.  You could sail for quite a while without ever seeing anything other than the occasional rocky outcrop or enemy post if you were unlucky or just searching for something you did not know the location of yet.  But that was the point.  The ocean is big.  You are meant to get lost and you are meant to spend time out there.  It’s often been said that this game was the closest Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto has ever come to his original vision of The Legend of Zelda which that was a child entering a dangerous cave all alone and overcoming the dangers therein.  For that, and many other reasons, it remains one of my favourites in the series and is definitely worth a re-purchase and replay in this stunning new HD version.

The Wii U gamepad additions are extremely helpful particularly for mapping and item management

Summary

The Wind Waker HD is a beautifully executed remake that sets the bar to a new high for HD remakes that will appeal to both experienced veterans who have played it before and also to Wind Waker virgins who can now experience the game with a lot of the annoyances removed and extra bonuses added on.  Bravo Nintendo.  Expert job.

Final Score: 5/5