As we strategy the ultimate days of the Wii U’s life span with the upcoming eShop closure, I’ve been reflecting on my time with that system. Although it’s thought of a low level for Nintendo, the Wii U and 3DS period was once I really turned a fan of the corporate, carefully following each new announcement and launch. I loved many nice Nintendo video games on Wii U, like Super Mario 3D World and Xenoblade Chronicles X. Still, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD is the Wii U sport I nonetheless come again to probably the most.
Maybe it’s as a result of I received the Wind Waker-themed Wii U that included the sport as a pack-in, however I fell in love with the HD remaster. Not solely did it exhibit the console’s energy with attractive up to date visuals, but it surely mounted a few points with the unique and used the system’s GamePad seamlessly. On high of that, it’s a captivating and surprisingly daring sport that also stands as among the best video games within the collection 20 years after its North American launch on GameCube.
Despite many rumors, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD remains to be not on Switch, however that doesn’t hassle me. Wind Waker HD is without doubt one of the Wii U’s most definitive releases in my eyes, and one thing I like to recommend choosing up in honor of its 20th anniversary earlier than the eShop is discontinued on March 27.
An excellent sport …
In retrospect, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was a main candidate for a remaster heading into the Wii U period. Although the core fight and dungeon exploration isn’t too dissimilar to what’s current in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, it takes loads of daring swings elsewhere. Much of it’s spent exploring an enormous ocean on a ship, not fairly realizing what Link will encounter subsequent as he charts out the ocean and islands scattered about it to defeat Ganondorf.
To me, it’s the primary 3D Zelda sport that feels prefer it’s going down in a dwelling open world, and it captures an exhilarating feeling that the collection wouldn’t recapture till gamers exited the cave for the primary time in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Wind Waker isn’t probably the most revolutionary Zelda sport, but it surely takes a danger and focuses extra on its good vibes and the sense of journey gamers can get whereas crusing round greater than the rest.
Of course, probably the most radically completely different factor about Wind Waker is its cel-shaded artwork model. While it was extremely divisive 20 years in the past, I like it. Especially in 2004, a sport with this a lot water going for a practical model in all probability wouldn’t have seemed nice; as such, its artwork model permits it to have a surprisingly huge world for a 20-year-old sport and offers the builders the inventive freedom to make every island gamers come throughout visually distinct and memorable.
It’s not very controversial these days to say Wind Waker is a superb sport, but it surely deserves much more credit score for holding up so effectively and demonstrating that taking dangers is price it for storied franchises. And I haven’t even touched on its heartfelt story and quirky forged of characters. I hope Nintendo’s unabashed drive to do one thing this distinctive is a spirit that carries over to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s improvement. The greatest place to see this all in motion is Wind Waker’s Wii U remaster.
and an amazing remaster
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD remains to be one among Nintendo’s best-looking video games ever. That’s not a dig in opposition to the Wii U and Nintendo Switch’s graphical capabilities; it’s a praise to the unique’s timeless cel-shaded artwork model and the unbelievable job Nintendo did at upscaling it. When I first performed Wind Waker after getting my Wii U, I keep in mind considering it was one of the vital beautiful-looking video games I’d ever seen. Of course, the bar has been raised since then, however that is nonetheless the sport that represents Nintendo’s full transition into the HD period to me.
It’s not only a visible improve, although. Some tweaks make Wind Waker higher on Wii U, like a Swift Sail that hurries up crusing and simplifies an important midgame quest. I by no means owned Wind Waker on GameCube, so I can’t evaluate the 2 experiences. Still, I by no means felt like crusing round was sluggish or tedious, and I do know my time taking part in it on Wii U didn’t include any important and irritating delays in development. The now-defunct Miiverse message-in-a-bottle characteristic additionally added a pleasant social factor to the expertise when it nonetheless labored.
Most importantly, Wind Waker HD used the Wii U’s GamePad extraordinarily effectively with out getting too gimmicky. Not solely does it help the gyroscope for particular gadgets that should be aimed, but it surely massively simplifies trying on the map and utilizing gadgets, as these menus are omnipresent on that further display screen. Some video games on Wii U both ignored the GamePad totally or tried to do very gimmicky issues with the additional display screen, however this sport’s easy use of the GamePad remains to be one of the vital efficient.
Looking from the TV to the GamePad always in some video games like Star Fox Zero finally proved to be immersion-breaking for some individuals, however virtually anybody might see the advantage of decluttering the primary display screen and placing the entire needed menu information on the GamePad in Wind Waker HD. It actively enhances the expertise. An eventual Nintendo Switch port would lack this, giving some extra credence to the thought of taking part in this remaster on Wii U.
Does the truth that one of many Wii U’s most memorable video games is a remaster converse to the platform’s struggles in content material? Yes, it does. Still, that doesn’t detract from the truth that The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD is one among my favourite remasters ever. It made a sport that was already daring and adventurous even higher, subtly taking part in to the strengths of the Wii U within the course of.
Just as my Wii U GamePad is eternally marked with Hylian glyphs, I doubt Wind Waker HD will ever depart my Wii U’s onerous drive. As the Wii U is sunsetting and the Zelda collection retains charging ahead with the discharge of Tears of the Kingdom, it’s worthwhile to look again and admire this Wii U traditional. If Metroid Prime Remastered and Resident Evil 4’s remake have gotten you within the temper to play extra up to date variations of GameCube classics, then The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD is the subsequent greatest candidate to take a look at earlier than the Wii U eShop’s closure.
Editors’ Recommendations