Beating every Zelda in timeline order 8/20:
The Wind Waker is a game I've played through several times. I think a large part of the enjoyment I get from Wind Waker is the exploration. The first few times I played this game, I had a blast exploring every island, filling out my sea chart and just getting lost in the great sea. It's a magical experience your first few times through. Now that I'm on playthrough 5(?), I know where everything I need to get is. I'm no longer exploring, I'm just kind of doing. Without the fresh joy of exploration and discovery, the game feels a little small. It's not as robust as other Zelda games, at least in the core content. The dungeons are some of the weakest in the series. The Earth and Wind temples are the only things that feel like full dungeons in my opinion. There was a lot of times during the Triforce quest and the final dungeon where I found myself saying "oh okay, I've just got to fight a bunch of guys again." The overworld might be the best in the series, but everything around it felt lacking this time around. Unlike Twilight Princess, which still kept me engaged, even on my 12th(?) playthrough of the game due to its great core design in the dungeons and lategame pacing, this one left me feeling like something was lost in the replays. I don't think these things detract from the fact that this is still a wonderful time, especially on your first or second playthrough. I still love this game. It's charming as hell, all the characters are fun to look at and talk to, the music is great and the story ends so well.
If I could erase my memory of any game and play it for the first time, Wind Waker would be that game. Unfortunately, it loses some of the je ne sais quoi on multiple playthroughs.
The Wind Waker is a game I've played through several times. I think a large part of the enjoyment I get from Wind Waker is the exploration. The first few times I played this game, I had a blast exploring every island, filling out my sea chart and just getting lost in the great sea. It's a magical experience your first few times through. Now that I'm on playthrough 5(?), I know where everything I need to get is. I'm no longer exploring, I'm just kind of doing. Without the fresh joy of exploration and discovery, the game feels a little small. It's not as robust as other Zelda games, at least in the core content. The dungeons are some of the weakest in the series. The Earth and Wind temples are the only things that feel like full dungeons in my opinion. There was a lot of times during the Triforce quest and the final dungeon where I found myself saying "oh okay, I've just got to fight a bunch of guys again." The overworld might be the best in the series, but everything around it felt lacking this time around. Unlike Twilight Princess, which still kept me engaged, even on my 12th(?) playthrough of the game due to its great core design in the dungeons and lategame pacing, this one left me feeling like something was lost in the replays. I don't think these things detract from the fact that this is still a wonderful time, especially on your first or second playthrough. I still love this game. It's charming as hell, all the characters are fun to look at and talk to, the music is great and the story ends so well.
If I could erase my memory of any game and play it for the first time, Wind Waker would be that game. Unfortunately, it loses some of the je ne sais quoi on multiple playthroughs.