The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - Reception

Reception

The Wind Waker is the fourth of nineteen games to receive a perfect score from Famitsu magazine, despite assertions that it lacks the sense of newness that accompanied Ocarina of Time, the first 3D Zelda game. Reviewers favorably noted the gameplay similarities to Ocarina of Time and praised the cel-shaded art style that had initially met a cold reception. GamePro called the game "a combination of vivid artistry and timeless gameplay"; IGN advised gamers to "forget that Wind Waker looks totally different from Ocarina of Time" since "these two games are very much alike". The 2004 Game Developers Choice Awards and the Seventh Annual Interactive Achievement Awards gave The Wind Waker awards for Excellence in Visual Arts and Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, respectively. In 2007, it was named fourth best GameCube game of all time in IGN's feature reflecting on the GameCube's lifespan.

The game's most common criticism is the heavy emphasis on sailing. GameSpot noted that the game "starts out in a very brisk manner", but that in the last third of the game, the "focus on sailing (...) is pretty tedious". IGN complained that viewing the animation of using the Wind Waker "hundreds of times" became "a tedious nuisance", and that the lack of an option to skip the animation "is more bothersome still". GameSpot thought that some players would be "a little put off" by the "easy puzzles and boss battles"; IGN called the boss battles "slightly simplistic" and noted that enemies "inflict little damage onto Link". GamePro, on the other hand, felt that the dungeons tended to be "huger and more challenging with new twists", with treasure hunts that would "tax even the most accomplished Zelda gamer".

Despite some negative comments, critics consistently gave The Wind Waker high reviews, with Nintendo Power calling the game the fourth best game to ever appear on a Nintendo console, while Official Nintendo Magazine placed it 12th. Nintendo Power listed its ending as one of the greatest in Nintendo history, due to the final battle's climax. Further praise came from Game Informer, who awarded the game a perfect 10/10 while saying that it "blows every Zelda game out of the water and stands as the video game event of a lifetime." The game also met commercial success, propelling sales of the GameCube console, and becoming the most successful pre-order campaign in Nintendo history. It sold 4.6 million copies worldwide. UGO listed The Wind Waker on their list of the "Top 50 Games That Belong On the 3DS", stating "Sailing through the oceans of a submerged Hyrule in 3D shatters the word epic into pieces."