Zelda: The Wind Waker Review - A Cel-Shaded Classic

🌊 Introduction — The Game That Proved Everyone Wrong

🗡️ This review is part of our The Legend of Zelda Hub — every mainline game reviewed and rated, plus the movies and the LEGO Zelda sets, all in one place.

No Zelda has a redemption arc quite like The Wind Waker . When Nintendo revealed it in 2002, fans who had been promised a realistic successor to Ocarina of Time recoiled at its bright, cartoonish, cel-shaded look. “Celda,” the internet sneered. Two decades on, that same art style is held up as the most timeless in the entire series, and the game itself is cherished. For the Dadnology community, this is a 9/10 — a wonderful adventure whose only real flaw is one stretch of padding, and a masterclass in why style outlasts spectacle.

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The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (Wii U) (opens in a new tab)

The definitive way to play: the 2013 Wii U remaster sharpens the art, improves the sailing and streamlines the Triforce hunt.

The boldness went beyond the visuals. Where every Zelda before had a Hyrule to roam, The Wind Waker drowned it. The game takes place on the Great Sea, a vast ocean dotted with dozens of small islands, which Link explores by sailing — commanding a talking boat, the King of Red Lions, and conducting the wind itself with a magic baton. It is the most unconventional mainline Zelda of its generation, and it remains one of the most distinctive.

The Cel-Shaded Look: Timeless by Design

Let us start with the thing everyone fought about, because time has rendered a verdict. The cel-shaded art was not just “cute” — it was a profound design decision, and it is the single biggest reason the game has not aged. Realistic graphics chase the cutting edge and inevitably fall behind it; a stylised, hand-drawn look exists outside of that race entirely. The Wind Waker looks essentially as good today as it did in 2002, while many “realistic” games of its era look like muddy relics.

More than that, the style does work the game could not otherwise do. This Link is the most expressive in the series — his eyes track threats, he reacts with cartoon shock and delight, his whole body acts. The animation gives the adventure a warmth and comedic timing that polygonal realism simply cannot match. What looked in 2002 like Nintendo not taking the series seriously turned out to be Nintendo understanding, better than its critics, what makes art endure.

Sailing the Great Sea: Freedom and Its Costs

The Great Sea is the game’s masterstroke and its most divisive feature in one. Setting sail with the wind at your back, music swelling, an unexplored island on the horizon — it is one of the most evocative feelings in gaming, a genuine sense of being a small boat in a big world. The sailing taps into the same wanderlust that Breath of the Wild would later perfect; you can see the open-world Zelda of the future being sketched out here, fifteen years early.

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Nintendo Switch 2 (opens in a new tab)

The modern Nintendo console — and the platform fans are hoping a Wind Waker port will finally call home.

The honest trade-off is travel time. In the GameCube original, crossing the sea means stopping to conduct the wind into a new direction and then waiting as you sail, and over a long game that ritual can wear thin. This is exactly the kind of friction the Wii U HD remaster targets, adding a faster sail that holds a tailwind and largely solves the complaint. On HD, the sea is pure pleasure; on original hardware, it asks a little more patience. Either way, the sense of a world to discover beyond the next wave is special.

Combat, Dungeons and the Most Charming Link

Beneath the novelty, this is a confident, classical Zelda. The combat is the most fluid the series had managed to that point, built around a slick parry-and-counter system that, paired with the expressive animation, makes swordfights feel like little choreographed duels. Flourishes and finishing moves give every encounter a sense of style — fitting for a game so concerned with it.

The dungeons are excellent, if fewer than some entries, with standouts like the Earth and Wind Temples that lean on a clever companion-character mechanic to solve puzzles together. The bosses are memorable set-pieces, and the final confrontation is among the most beautiful and emotionally satisfying in the series. Throughout, the new items — the Deku Leaf for gliding, the Grappling Hook, the Wind Waker baton itself — keep the toolbox fresh. This is Zelda design working at a very high level, simply wearing an unexpected coat of paint.

The Triforce Hunt: The One Real Blemish

Honesty demands we address the late game, because it is where The Wind Waker stumbles. In the GameCube original, the final act tasks you with a Triforce hunt — scouring the sea for charts, paying to decipher them, then sailing out to dredge up the scattered pieces. It is a transparent bit of padding, a fetch quest that brings the momentum to a crawl right when the story should be accelerating toward its climax. It is the game’s one genuine misstep.

The good news, again, is the HD remaster, which slashes the number of pieces you must fish out of the sea and removes much of the busywork, turning a slog into a brisk final stretch. It is the clearest example of why HD is the version to play. On the original it is a frustrating speed bump in an otherwise wonderful journey; on HD it is barely a blip. Knowing it is coming — and which version smooths it — takes most of the sting out.

Availability and the HD Remaster

A practical word, because it matters for this one. The Wind Waker currently lives in an awkward spot: the definitive HD version is locked to the Wii U, Nintendo’s least-owned modern console, and the original requires a GameCube. There is, as of now, no Switch release — which is why a Wind Waker port consistently tops fan wish lists, and why I have linked the Switch 2 above in the genuine hope that a port arrives to call it home.

If you have a Wii U, the HD remaster is an easy, enthusiastic recommendation and the best way to experience the game. If you do not, the GameCube original is still very much worth seeking out, padding and all. This is a game good enough to justify the hardware hunt — and one I suspect a great many dads are quietly hoping to replay on a Switch 2 someday soon.

A Bridge to Breath of the Wild

Play The Wind Waker now, after the modern open-world entries, and something clicks: this is where that future began. The wide-open Great Sea, the emphasis on exploration and discovery, the sense of a horizon dotted with secrets to chase down on a whim — it is all a clear, early sketch of the philosophy Breath of the Wild would perfect fifteen years later. Where Ocarina of Time built the grammar of 3D Zelda, The Wind Waker quietly started imagining the open Zelda that would eventually take over the series.

The soundtrack deserves its own mention in that lineage. Conducting the wind with the baton turns music into an interactive ritual, and Kenta Nagata’s sweeping, nautical score — all rolling waves and adventurous brass — gives the sailing its emotional lift. The Great Sea would feel like empty water without that music; with it, every voyage feels like the opening of a storybook. It is one of the most underrated soundtracks in the series.

That forward-looking DNA is a big part of why The Wind Waker has only grown in stature. In 2002 it looked like an odd detour; in hindsight it was a glimpse of where Zelda was always heading. For a dad who fell in love with Breath of the Wild and wants to understand its roots, there is no better game to go back to — the wanderlust that defines modern Zelda was born here, on a little boat under a big sky.

Family Fit: The Most Welcoming Zelda to Look At

If you are introducing a child to Zelda by appearance alone, The Wind Waker might be the easiest sell in the series. That bright, animated, cartoon look is instantly appealing to kids, and it is rated E10+ with only mild fantasy combat — no gore, no real horror. Compared to the brooding Twilight Princess or the unsettling Majora’s Mask, this is sunshine.

It is a lovely co-op-by-conversation game, too: the sailing gives natural breathing room to chat and plan, the puzzles are fair, and Link’s expressive reactions make the whole thing feel like an animated film you are steering together. The only caveat is length and the occasional tense boss, but for a patient older child it is a joyful, welcoming gateway into the series — the kind of game that makes a kid fall in love with adventure.

Why was The Wind Waker so controversial at first?

Its cartoonish cel-shaded art style shocked fans expecting a realistic follow-up to Ocarina of Time, earning the mocking nickname ‘Celda’. That backlash reversed completely once people played it — the style is now widely considered the most timeless in the series.

Where can I play The Wind Waker today?

The best version is The Wind Waker HD, released on the Wii U in 2013, which improves the visuals, sailing and pacing. The GameCube original is also playable on original hardware. A Switch port remains one of the most-requested re-releases in the series.

Is the Triforce hunt as bad as people say?

In the GameCube original it is the weakest stretch — a fetch quest that slows the late game. The Wii U HD remaster streamlines it significantly, removing much of the tedium. On HD it is a minor speed bump rather than a real problem.

Is The Wind Waker good for kids?

Yes. Its bright, expressive art makes it one of the most kid-friendly-looking Zeldas, and it is rated E10+ with only mild fantasy combat. A couple of moments are tense, but overall it is a fantastic, welcoming adventure to share with children.