Wind Waker is one of those games that has been discussed to death. I could give the usual beginning paragraph that talks about how controversial the game was on release because of its graphics, and how beloved it is now also because of those graphics. I'd say that I'm gonna spare you from reading about it but I guess I did just write about it.
In terms of gameplay, Wind Waker is fairly typical Zelda fare, and especially if you played Ocarina of Time before most of the ideas presented in this game will be very familiar. The main thing that differentiates it from that game and most other Zelda titles is how much weight is given to the overworld part when put against the dungeons (all 5 of them). This is the aspect that might make you love or hate this game.
If I had to be put on either camp, I'd be on the latter side. Not that the idea of exploring a mostly uncharted sea isn't intriguing, but the execution of it is sloppy and rushed. Mainly because there just isn't much to see and the act of sailing is very tedious. Combine the fact that you need to change whichever direction the wind is blowing every time, plus the fact that the map itself is pretty barren, and the tradeoff of finding a heart fragment or 200 rupies isn't all that worth it.
The game's rushed nature really shows itself when the game asks you to find 8 fragments of the Triforce, essentially doing what would otherwise be side quests, usually not very interesting ones. If I felt neutral towards the sailing originally, I started hating it by the end just because of how much time it was getting. There are some clever sections like finding the ghost ship, but by then I was completely checked out and was more waiting for the game to be over with.
And over it was pretty quickly, because what follows this is a really underwhelming final "dungeon". This is the part of the game that really feels like the developers had a lot more in mind that they had to scrap because they just didn't have enough time. It's a fairly simple series of challenges with items you should be very familiar with by then, combined with a very simple boss rush. The final couple bosses are kinda neat but even those feel like there should've been more to them.
Despite all the time spent wandering around aimlessly, I can't say I hated my time with Wind Waker. It will definitely be an acquired taste, and it might be a disappointingly small game (despite the premise), but the content that is there is usually of good quality. It plays well, the dungeons that are there are all very different from each other and pretty clever and interesting, and even at its worst it's at least creative. Worth playing, but stay far away if you hate padding and lack of clear direction.
In terms of gameplay, Wind Waker is fairly typical Zelda fare, and especially if you played Ocarina of Time before most of the ideas presented in this game will be very familiar. The main thing that differentiates it from that game and most other Zelda titles is how much weight is given to the overworld part when put against the dungeons (all 5 of them). This is the aspect that might make you love or hate this game.
If I had to be put on either camp, I'd be on the latter side. Not that the idea of exploring a mostly uncharted sea isn't intriguing, but the execution of it is sloppy and rushed. Mainly because there just isn't much to see and the act of sailing is very tedious. Combine the fact that you need to change whichever direction the wind is blowing every time, plus the fact that the map itself is pretty barren, and the tradeoff of finding a heart fragment or 200 rupies isn't all that worth it.
The game's rushed nature really shows itself when the game asks you to find 8 fragments of the Triforce, essentially doing what would otherwise be side quests, usually not very interesting ones. If I felt neutral towards the sailing originally, I started hating it by the end just because of how much time it was getting. There are some clever sections like finding the ghost ship, but by then I was completely checked out and was more waiting for the game to be over with.
And over it was pretty quickly, because what follows this is a really underwhelming final "dungeon". This is the part of the game that really feels like the developers had a lot more in mind that they had to scrap because they just didn't have enough time. It's a fairly simple series of challenges with items you should be very familiar with by then, combined with a very simple boss rush. The final couple bosses are kinda neat but even those feel like there should've been more to them.
Despite all the time spent wandering around aimlessly, I can't say I hated my time with Wind Waker. It will definitely be an acquired taste, and it might be a disappointingly small game (despite the premise), but the content that is there is usually of good quality. It plays well, the dungeons that are there are all very different from each other and pretty clever and interesting, and even at its worst it's at least creative. Worth playing, but stay far away if you hate padding and lack of clear direction.