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Description
Before I start, the drawing of Medli is based off this drawing by moskvichok . I like it.

Spoilers. Keep reading from here and it's your own fault.

I'm doing this thing where I go from my least favorite Zelda to my most favorite and explain why along the way. This is 15 out of 19, and I'm not sure whether or not people may be confused by that information. After all, the character I use the most, Marii, is based off of both Link and Medli from this game. For that alone, Wind Waker seems like an obvious #1 for me as it is for a lot of other people.

Let me talk about what I like first. It's only fair, seeing how this game got smashed on release due to being a cartoon. The artstyle is pretty timeless. All the characters, enemies, islands, and animations are just really well designed. Link has really fun controls. Just about all his abilities are fun to use. This almost extends to the other controllable characters, however you don't have any defense against the hazards. The music is some of the best like any good Zelda. Maybe not as memorable as others, but still better than a lot of other games. The presentation is much better than the previous N64 games. Presentation got better after this game too, but it's still pretty solid here. Unfortunately, this is where my praise stops. Medli is a cute character and all, but she doesn't save anything for me.

After careful consideration, this game is just a huge missed opportunity. A Zelda game on the open sea, how creative that could've been? Unfortunately, almost all the gameplay attached to sailing is tedious at best. Not just the sailing. Treasure hunting is really, really dumb. If I have a map for the treasure, either have the halo light on the water at all times or not at all. There's one type of sea monster you actually have to fight, the giant squid. Anything else can be skipped every time. The giant squid would be fine if it was just another eyeball boss, but it doesn't attack, it bloats up just to mess up the aiming, and the only downside to losing is a change of location. Any island that isn't in the main quest is basically a waste of resources. There may be one thing to do on them and that's it. There's even island like the constellations, but they amount to nothing. They're just spires you can't even get on. There's six "Reefs" that have nothing but rocks and cannons. There's seven fairy fountains, but four of them are quivers and bomb bag upgrades, things you'll never run out of as long as you cut some grass. There's an island shaped like the moon, but the only thing on it is a treasure chart. No obstacles, just a chest.

What would I want out of A Zelda game on the open sea? Pirate battles, real boss fights on the beaches or in the water, sea shanties, tropical islands! The islands in this game are suppose to be tropical, but the style is completely off. Everything looks more like Kokiri Forest instead of Super Mario Sunshine. It's like they took "Zelda overworld with lots of water" literally. This game is one of the cases where being more stereotypical would've greatly benefited the overall experience. Maybe if Pirates of the Caribbean released earlier, this would've been a better classic ocean experience.

So what about the game besides that? The dungeons, the monsters, the bosses? Instead of complaining about what this game doesn't have, why not talk about the things it does? Unfortunately, I run into more problems. This game is easy. Not easy as in wishing every game was kicking my ass, but as in nobody in their right mind would ever lose more than two hearts, let alone see the game over screen. If it wasn't for Youtubers playing the randomizer where you can start without the sword, I'd never know what the Game Over screen looked like. The puzzles aren't even worth talking about. I'm not even sure if they count. By the time you've laid your eyes on one, you've already solved it.

Progression is the biggest problem I have with Wind Waker and almost the entire reason I hate replays of it. After you get thrown out the Forsaken Fortress, why don't you get the Wind Waker right away and sail wherever you want? Whats the point? I don't have anything against linear Zelda. Twilight Princess is a lot higher on this list because of how it handles it. Wind Waker seems to only have linearity because it felt like having linearity. You don't even use items from previous dungeons often enough to warrant using them at all. They're more like reminders that you have them rather than fun or thoughtful uses of them. If you split the game in half where you get the master sword and let you complete the dungeons in any order between those two halves, this problem goes away. If the concern is the shock of Greatfish Isle, whats really the difference of seeing an exploded island in the beginning or the halfway point?

This is easily my favorite Zelda to re-imagine. Like I said, there's so much potential for a Zelda game with pirates and islanders as the focus. I've combined it with almost every other 3D Zelda in my head. I have two of my concepts on DA already. It's just that this game isn't fun to play. The randomizer is a million times better just because you aren't restricted for no reason. There are fun parts in Wind Waker, but it's such a chore to get to them. I haven't even mentioned the stealth section or the Triforce quest. Its great if you like this game, it's great that you love the art and it's really stupid if people hate Wind Waker because its not dark and edgy. However, I just don't think it's a good game.

Please, if you're going to put you opinions in the comments, please be civil. This isn't worth the anger. I want to hear your opinions.

Description
Before I start, the drawing of Medli is based off this drawing by moskvichok . I like it.

Spoilers. Keep reading from here and it's your own fault.

I'm doing this thing where I go from my least favorite Zelda to my most favorite and explain why along the way. This is 15 out of 19, and I'm not sure whether or not people may be confused by that information. After all, the character I use the most, Marii, is based off of both Link and Medli from this game. For that alone, Wind Waker seems like an obvious #1 for me as it is for a lot of other people.

Let me talk about what I like first. It's only fair, seeing how this game got smashed on release due to being a cartoon. The artstyle is pretty timeless. All the characters, enemies, islands, and animations are just really well designed. Link has really fun controls. Just about all his abilities are fun to use. This almost extends to the other controllable characters, however you don't have any defense against the hazards. The music is some of the best like any good Zelda. Maybe not as memorable as others, but still better than a lot of other games. The presentation is much better than the previous N64 games. Presentation got better after this game too, but it's still pretty solid here. Unfortunately, this is where my praise stops. Medli is a cute character and all, but she doesn't save anything for me.

After careful consideration, this game is just a huge missed opportunity. A Zelda game on the open sea, how creative that could've been? Unfortunately, almost all the gameplay attached to sailing is tedious at best. Not just the sailing. Treasure hunting is really, really dumb. If I have a map for the treasure, either have the halo light on the water at all times or not at all. There's one type of sea monster you actually have to fight, the giant squid. Anything else can be skipped every time. The giant squid would be fine if it was just another eyeball boss, but it doesn't attack, it bloats up just to mess up the aiming, and the only downside to losing is a change of location. Any island that isn't in the main quest is basically a waste of resources. There may be one thing to do on them and that's it. There's even island like the constellations, but they amount to nothing. They're just spires you can't even get on. There's six "Reefs" that have nothing but rocks and cannons. There's seven fairy fountains, but four of them are quivers and bomb bag upgrades, things you'll never run out of as long as you cut some grass. There's an island shaped like the moon, but the only thing on it is a treasure chart. No obstacles, just a chest.

What would I want out of A Zelda game on the open sea? Pirate battles, real boss fights on the beaches or in the water, sea shanties, tropical islands! The islands in this game are suppose to be tropical, but the style is completely off. Everything looks more like Kokiri Forest instead of Super Mario Sunshine. It's like they took "Zelda overworld with lots of water" literally. This game is one of the cases where being more stereotypical would've greatly benefited the overall experience. Maybe if Pirates of the Caribbean released earlier, this would've been a better classic ocean experience.

So what about the game besides that? The dungeons, the monsters, the bosses? Instead of complaining about what this game doesn't have, why not talk about the things it does? Unfortunately, I run into more problems. This game is easy. Not easy as in wishing every game was kicking my ass, but as in nobody in their right mind would ever lose more than two hearts, let alone see the game over screen. If it wasn't for Youtubers playing the randomizer where you can start without the sword, I'd never know what the Game Over screen looked like. The puzzles aren't even worth talking about. I'm not even sure if they count. By the time you've laid your eyes on one, you've already solved it.

Progression is the biggest problem I have with Wind Waker and almost the entire reason I hate replays of it. After you get thrown out the Forsaken Fortress, why don't you get the Wind Waker right away and sail wherever you want? Whats the point? I don't have anything against linear Zelda. Twilight Princess is a lot higher on this list because of how it handles it. Wind Waker seems to only have linearity because it felt like having linearity. You don't even use items from previous dungeons often enough to warrant using them at all. They're more like reminders that you have them rather than fun or thoughtful uses of them. If you split the game in half where you get the master sword and let you complete the dungeons in any order between those two halves, this problem goes away. If the concern is the shock of Greatfish Isle, whats really the difference of seeing an exploded island in the beginning or the halfway point?

This is easily my favorite Zelda to re-imagine. Like I said, there's so much potential for a Zelda game with pirates and islanders as the focus. I've combined it with almost every other 3D Zelda in my head. I have two of my concepts on DA already. It's just that this game isn't fun to play. The randomizer is a million times better just because you aren't restricted for no reason. There are fun parts in Wind Waker, but it's such a chore to get to them. I haven't even mentioned the stealth section or the Triforce quest. Its great if you like this game, it's great that you love the art and it's really stupid if people hate Wind Waker because its not dark and edgy. However, I just don't think it's a good game.

Please, if you're going to put you opinions in the comments, please be civil. This isn't worth the anger. I want to hear your opinions.