Paramount to any Zelda game is a solid back story. While I haven’t been able to discern the intricate details and conversations that are pushing this story along, there’s enough told through expression and camera work where you can make out some of the more broadly painted strokes. Link becomes enraged when he finishes rescuing a pirate girl and ends up having his sister kidnapped in the process. The regret with which Link’s grandmother bestows him with the family shield is heartbreaking, as she knows it means that he’s headed into danger. There is a clear sense of sadness when Link is forced to leave his home. A tearful goodbye is shared between his grandmother and our hero as he sails off to find his sister, reaching out to his grandma one last time. Of course, the game is loaded with humor as well, much of is as simple as how the characters are portrayed as much as what they say or how they say it. Importers beware. I’m actually disappointed that I’ve imported the game, because I know that I’m missing out on a lot of what makes a Zelda game so fantastic.

Nintendo clearly has a new mantra if Metroid Prime and Kaze no Takuto are anything to judge by. It’s all about DETAIL. The new “toon-shaded” art style of Zelda is not only incredibly impressive, but allows Nintendo to achieve a level of detail that no Zelda has had before. Link’s face is amazingly expressive, something very hard to get right with polygons, no matter how talented you are. Even better, his face is FUNCTIONAL, his eyes calling your attention to anything you might have missed. This small change in art style gives us something that we’ve had to ignore in so many other games, which is a true sense of emotion. These characters FEEL, and every emotion is clearly defined and realized. No longer do gamers need to assume an emotion based on text or stick figure actions; everything a character is feeling is shown right on their faces. The polygons saved by using cel-shading have been spent in other ways. When Link receives his shield, it appears that every indentation on the front of the shield is modeled, rather than texturing tricks.

More than the cel-shaded animation, there is a particle and physics (wind) engine in the game that is quite simply phenomenal. Early in the game there is an area where you have hot embers and flags flying around all over the place, being pushed around by the wind, which changes direction without warning. Watching the wind (and later, learning to control it) are keys to being able to solve some puzzles, and it’s the particle effects that really make it something to see.

The enemy AI shows a varying degree of intelligence, even between like creatures. When you knock the weapon out of a Moblin’s hand, for example, he will look around for a suitable replacement weapon, rushing to it if he locates one. If there is no weapon to be found, they’ll proceed to fight you hand-to-hand. Even these actions can be rife with humor … watching them run for cover when Link whips out a bomb is priceless. Speaking of enemy encounters, with every hit you land, the music reacts with a new note or percussion. We’re used to having music dynamically change when you enter or leave an area, but changing as you fight, and in direct reaction to that fight is new and exciting. It definitely serves to bring you even deeper into the battle.

I’ve got such a short amount of time into the game right now that I’m struggling to come up with words to fully express what I’ve played, but suffice it to say that it’s an incredible experience. Playing Kaze no Takuto, I felt like I was a kid again, playing The Legend of Zelda for the first time (a feeling that even the outstanding Ocarina of Time couldn’t instill). This world is alive and teeming with emotion and character. It’s easy to see why Famitsu rated it so highly and why Nintendo has pulled out the stops in promoting it. There’s really only one other accolade that I can give a game I’ve played so little of, but here goes: So far, I’m enjoying the game more than even Metroid Prime.