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Our Wind Waker Memories: A Decade of Sailing Above Hyrule

Andrew Brown, Australia Correspondent

by Andrew Brown - October 1, 2013, 3:06 pm EDT

The way I figure...

I can get pretty obsessive over completing games I play to 100%, especially Zelda games. Heart Pieces, Gold Skulltulas, rings, hidden items. I feel I haven't given a game the attention it deserves unless I have completed the checklist of things to do and experienced everything the game has to offer. Wind Waker's figurine collection, known as the Nintendo Gallery in the game, sparked up my inner completionist in a way that had never been done in a Zelda game before. Beware, if you're only experiencing this game for the first time on your Wii U, there might be some minor spoilers ahead!

At the time this game came out I was in university learning how to make and animate 3D CGI models. This only amplified my desire to finish the Nintendo Gallery. 3D models of every character, enemy and creature in the game? Yes! 360 degree rotation and zoom, allowing you to see how they looked from different angles? Heck yes! Something like this was perfect for someone studying the art of polygon crafting and, given my obsession with collecting figurines to start with, it was the coolest sidequest ever.

The way in which you obtained these figurines was a lot of fun. Partway into the game you're given the chance to get an old Pictograph Box, a black and white camera to carry around with you. If you manage to find the hidden location of the Nintendo Gallery, Carlov, the owner, will offer to sculpt figurines of anyone you snap a photo of, but only if you're able to obtain color photos. You must then complete a relatively convoluted photography sidequest to upgrade the camera. Even after you complete your objectives and the quest begins, the photos you hand over to the sculptor must show the subject's entire body, centered in the photo's frame, and they must be looking at the camera. To top it off, the camera was only able to hold three photos at once, so you had to carefully prioritize which photos to keep. It was such a massive challenge, but to me the outcome was so worth it. There was even a special hidden figure that could only be obtained by completing the (almost as awesome) Tingle Tuner sidequest with your GBA connected to your GameCube, and one last figurine that would be awarded to you for collecting every other character in the entire gallery.

My only gripe was that by the time you usually finished the necessary quests to be able to start your collection you had already beaten the first few dungeons and missed some one-shot opportunities to snap your photos. Fortunately your figurine gallery and possession of the Pictograph Box carried over to a new quest when you completed the game, allowing you to go back and get the figures you missed. Unfortunately, from the second time you start a new play-through on your old save file, Link wears a different outfit. I don't know why this bothered me so much, to this day I can't fully explain my frustration, only that in my mind Link's alternate costume was the ultimate badge of failure. My meagre skills were so pitiful that I had to resort to starting the whole game over in order to finish one quest. It taunted me. It pushed me over the edge of excessive determination and into obsessive compulsion. I resolved to do the impossible.

I completed the entire figurine collection in a first-run play-through of the game. This monumental task required constant planning and hours of hard work. In order to obtain the upgraded Pictograph Box as early as possible I had to break the sequence of events of the game, backtracking from the Forest Haven to Windfall Island while detouring past Dragon Roost island, traveling against the wind direction (which at that point was forced south) and only moving in sections of the map that I had been allowed to travel so far. Up until a certain point, the King of Red Lions would force Link to stop and turn around if he tried to sail off the edge of certain map segments. I had to continually leave a dungeon halfway through so I could get some figurines made, so that I would have the required slots in my film when it came time to battle the boss. I even had to save and quit during the final battle in order to get suitable pictures of Ganondorf.

Photographic proof! Link stands by the final figurine in his normal outfit.

What did all that effort net me? Satisfaction and bragging rights that I could proudly look upon my completed collection with Link dolled up in his Hero of Legend garments, and not much else. At the time, strategy guides claimed it was not possible to complete the task without restarting your game, and I proved them wrong. Since then specific guides on the topic have popped up around the internet. At least I can take solace in the knowledge that I'm not the only crazy one out there.

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Talkback

StrawHousePigSeptember 16, 2013

I loved this one. The sailing could be a bit much, as well as the grappling hook / crane animation. It wasn't a dungeon fest, which was also a disappointment, but all-in-all a fabulous game.

No other Zelda game really nailed home the legendary hero aspect as well. Sure they all talk about it, but here it isn't just a vague prophecy.

And the ending... Jaw, meet floor.

I replayed it on a Wii and it's a serious lament that you couldn't have used the Wii remote to control the Wind Waker the whole time. I've always wondered since if that was where the whole motion control came from.

ShyGuySeptember 16, 2013

I never bought it! I borrowed it from a friend soon after I purchased my Gamecube. He told me his toddler son would just sit and watch him play like he was watching a cartoon.

Chad SexingtonSeptember 17, 2013

I never had a problem with the graphics.  Funny that now everyone (including the general gaming media) is finally coming around to the cell shaded style.

AdrockSeptember 17, 2013

I did at first because the Spaceworld 2000 demo had and still has unrealized potential. I'm not a huge fan of the character designs, but I like cel-shading. I still prefer Zelda keep the more realistic graphical style. The Twilight Princess inspired Wii U demo is the direction I hope Nintendo takes with the upcoming Wii U game.

The Wind Waker still has my favorite Zelda final boss fight even if it's not my favorite Zelda game. I only beat the game once so I'm looking forward to playing it again. I don't really need the remake, but I'm buying it anyway. If Nintendo rereleased Majora's Mask, I'd probably buy that again too.

Leo13September 17, 2013

I was “that guy” I HATED the art style and therefor refused to play it. My best friend bought it and told me it was an incredibly fun Zelda game and that if I can just get past the art style I’d have a lot of fun. But I was a very immature jr. high kid and I couldn’t have cared less if it was a fun game there was no way I was going to play this game. Luckily I have a Wii U and I’ve now gotten over my problem so in a few days I’ll have a chance to try this game out.

Ian SaneSeptember 17, 2013

Okay so you've got the infamous art style switcheroo, the flooded world storyline that pretty much singlehandedly fucked up the Zelda timeline, slow paced sailing across a big blue ocean of nothing, and the Triforce hunt tacked on at the end.  I realize that this is actually the turning point for me for the Zelda series in that every game from this one on had some questionable game design element that kept the game from feeling truly special.  It's the first Zelda since I got into the series with A Link to the Past where my reaction was "well that was pretty good" instead of "HOLY SHIT THIS IS AWESOME!"  Frankly Wind Waker kicked off a rut that the series has yet to get out of.

But despite all that this still is a great game and I had a blast playing it and for any new Gamecube owners it is absolutely a must-play game for the system.  I think it speaks to the Zelda franchise that even the "lesser" games in the series are still phenomenal by the standards of other games.  Bitching as a Zelda fan is like a New York Yankees fan bitching that your team hasn't won a title in the last few years despite consistently making the playoffs and contending.  Us fans are so used to excellence that we expect the very best, not just "great" and certainly not merely "good".  But then I think Nintendo has something special with Zelda and should take great care of it.  It is so associated with quality that if Nintendo let that stray it would kill the commercial value of the IP.  Even from a business perspective it is in their best interest to invest a lot of care into it.

Chad SexingtonSeptember 18, 2013

Quote from: Adrock

I did at first because the Spaceworld 2000 demo had and still has unrealized potential. I'm not a huge fan of the character designs, but I like cel-shading. I still prefer Zelda keep the more realistic graphical style. The Twilight Princess inspired Wii U demo is the direction I hope Nintendo takes with the upcoming Wii U game.

The Wind Waker still has my favorite Zelda final boss fight even if it's not my favorite Zelda game. I only beat the game once so I'm looking forward to playing it again. I don't really need the remake, but I'm buying it anyway. If Nintendo rereleased Majora's Mask, I'd probably buy that again too.

OT: Adrock, did you used to post in the old NChamber forums?  Your name sounds familiar.  My old username on NChamber and Teamxbox used to be "Metroids."

WahSeptember 18, 2013

Graphics don't make a game, gameplay and storyline does, so i injoyed this one!
p.s i think you can tell i don't like long replys i just say what i want and don't bother about "stuff to support it"

AdrockSeptember 18, 2013

Quote from: Chad

OT: Adrock, did you used to post in the old NChamber forums?  Your name sounds familiar.  My old username on NChamber and Teamxbox used to be "Metroids."

Why, yes. Yes, I did. I migrated to NWR after nChamber closed for the like 37th and final time. I remember your old username. The good ol' days...

MommarSeptember 18, 2013

My memory of the game was skewed.  I loved the artwork but I remember my roommate hating it with a burning passion (these days he loves it...)  I could only play it in short bursts between classes.  I didn't particularly like how few dungeons there were, and I still dislike the fact they haven't added any extra in this HD remake.  The biggest thing that really struck me was that final scene where, up until then everything came off as a charming cartoon, suddenly became the most outwardly violent Zelda with that final battle/conclusion with Gannon.  And then watching what was left of Hyrule be swallowed back up by the ocean. 

pololmejorSeptember 18, 2013

I played this game when one of my friends borrowed it to me for about 1 year in late 2009, so it took me around 1 year to actually beat it.
The memories I have about it are pretty nice, I remember playing it for the most part on cold mornings and for long long play times, I don't know how it took me 1 year to beat it, but I'm really glad it did.
Also I remember another friend buying it at the same time I borrowed it, so we beat it together. If I had problems he would tell me, and the other way around, the best part is that even in late 2009, we never ended up on the internet... At least not me. I've only beaten it once and I barely remember how frustrating it was, I only remember the good stuff, but those memories are just too good. Can't wait to pick up my limited edition Wii U :D

VickiLSeptember 19, 2013

My bro-in-law hates this game with a passion.  Just proves me right in that my sister coulda done better.  The first time I saw an enemy go up in a cloud of purple smoke, I was in love.  I enjoyed sailing and exploring; my only beef with the game was that it seemed about four dungeons short.  Wind Waker had probably one of the most depressing Zelda endings, but somehow still so full of hope and optimism.  It moves me to this day.

SundoulosSeptember 20, 2013

For whatever reason, I always associate the art style in Wind Waker game with that of Samurai Jack (at least a little).  Probably mostly because that series was going on at the time that this game was released.  It sort of had the same storybook look. 

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