Short and sweet, like the game itself.
After the initial reveal of the cel-shaded style for the next Zelda game, I was disappointed, although that disappointment faded quickly. I began to get more hyped for the game as the local release got closer. Reading the import review on Planet GameCube had me dreading the wait until May.
Once the release had rolled around, the first thing I did actually was pop in the bonus disc which included Ocarina of Time. I was, and still am, a big fan of Ocarina, so before I started the latest adventure I checked out this re-release. It didn’t take long before I was ready for some new Zelda.
One of the things I loved about playing through Ocarina of Time back on the N64 was that it took me a long time to finish the game. So the entire adventure felt more epic and more expansive in my mind. With Wind Waker, I was expecting to take awhile to play through the whole game. This ended up not being the case as I completed the game in under a week. I was not exactly rushing myself through it, it just sort of happened. I even began slowing myself down around halfway through and just started to explore more. I do remember skipping my soccer training that week though, I just wanted to stay home in the warmth and play Zelda.
One thought I remember having early on in the game was when I first left Windfall Island and was traveling towards Dragon Roost. I thought that the game did feel like an anime, heading off to the next part of the adventure. It was epic seeing Windfall disappear behind me and then changing my focus to the slowing looming new island ahead. I enjoyed playing with the manual camera a lot, finding cool cinematic shots of whatever I was doing.
Over the years I have gone back to the game every now and then, sometimes just wanting to finally complete that huge figure collection. I was/am so close, only needing five or six more. Maybe I will finally finish it with the HD remake. I also sometimes just wanted to sail around inside the game, checking things out and just generally looking around the world. Beating Ganondorf again is something I enjoy doing from time to time, that final battle and climax to the story is really great.
So Wind Waker, like a lot of games, continues to stay in my mind. It managed to create some fun experiences and memories. It’s not even strictly solid memories about the game itself, but general feelings and experiences I had at around the time I played it that I am able to recall when I dive back into that world.