Review - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD

“The Legend of Zelda - The Wind Waker HD” is 2013 Wii U remaster of a 2002 GameCube game. It cleaned up the visuals, introduced a few quality of life changes, and tweaked the game to make use of the console's two screen system. In 2025, it might be a struggle to decide which version to play, or whether to play a 20+ year old game at all, but I can tell you that Wind Waker HD is still a fantastic game and a great representation of the Zelda series as a whole.

Wind Waker is tough to analyze from the perspective of someone who didn't live through it. It came out in North America in 2003, at which point I already had a GameCube (I'm pretty sure). I played through once, started a second play through, and put it down for a good 15+ years.

On that first run, Wind Waker was... fine. The visuals were bright and cheery, a stark contrast from Ocarina of Time and Majora's mask before, as well as Twilight Princess after. Plus, the cel shaded graphics were just strange to me. Not bad, but not really what I wanted in a Zelda game. Furthermore, the bulk of the world was a vast sea with a few islands dotting the map. The combination just made Wind Waker fade into the ambiguous collection of "mid" Zelda games for me.

When I first played Wind Waker, I was a student in middle school. When I came back to Wind Waker, I was an adult with kids of my own. I had played numerous games since then (a lot of Zelda games specifically), and I didn't realize how much my perspective of Wind Waker had changed. The cel shaded graphics and cartoon styling aged remarkably well, and I remembered so little of the story that it was like playing a new game.

I installed Wind Waker on my hacked Wii and considered continuing from an old second quest file, but I was just too far removed from the game. I couldn't recall what I was doing or where I should be going. It would be better to start fresh from a new save file, and I would simply play as Hylian-speaking Link in his PJs some other time.

To make the game even more readily available (rather than having to play on the Wii hooked up to the living room TV), I decided I would emulate it on my Steam Deck. However, I was presented with two distinct options: I could play the original release on a GameCube emulator, or I could play the HD remaster on Wii U. Rather than simply polished up visuals, The Wind Waker HD also has a few quality of life improvements, specifically the Swift Sail. With as much sea travel as the game includes, and the fact that I had already experienced the original release, I opted to get started on the HD remaster.

Story - 8/10

Link gets thrown into this grand quest when his sister is kidnapped by a large bird affiliated with Ganondorf. A band of pirates led by Tetra offers to take Link with them to the Forsaken Fortress, to allow him the opportunity to rescue his sister. Once Link meets with Ganondorf at the top of the Forsaken Fortress, the goal transitions from simply saving his sister to defeating Ganondorf.

Through his journey, Link realizes his destiny as the Hero of Winds and Tetra is revealed as the modern incarnation of Zelda. In a series where Zelda is so often recognized as the princess and rightful heir to the Hyrule throne from the beginning of the game, it's interesting to see BOTH Link and Zelda struggling with their new identities and understanding the responsibilities that they have inherited.

There are four individual dungeons, with a final dungeon to wrap up the game, but there is a ton of side content that you can choose to play or ignore completely. It's very similar in that way to Majora's Mask. If you rush through, it may be one of the shorter Zelda games, but you can always find more to do (especially filling the Nintendo Gallery with figurines).

Beyond the novel take on Link and Tetra, Ganondorf also has much more depth than many other Zelda games. In a series where he is so often reduced down to a power hungry maniac, Wind Waker's Ganondorf has subtlety and nuance. He is still bad, no doubt about it, but in a sense he is more reasonable (as illustrated by redditor u/RenanXIII).

The problem that a lot of people have with Wind Waker is the Great Sea. Although there is a story explanation for it, a lot of people hate the fact that so much of the playable world is covered in water. As much as I understand that complaint, I would also wager that there's still a significant amount of explorable land. Furthermore, many of the open areas from other Zelda games are frankly empty and boring. With Wind Waker, you at least have some distinction in gameplay while traversing those long stretches between points of interest.

Another place where Wind Waker shines is the presence of a more compelling second quest. I love Zelda games, and I've played several of them enough to quote basically the whole game. However, replays are usually just more of the exact same. Wind Waker offers the interesting twist of allowing Link to understand the Hylian language on subsequent plays. Several segments are very one-sided, with the King of Red Lions providing a summary after the conversation is over. Although the story remains the same, it offers new insight and some incentive to play the game a second time through (although I've still never FINISHED a second quest Wind Waker run).

General Gameplay - 7/10

If you've played a Zelda game before Breath of the Wild, the gameplay is largely similar across all of the titles. You run around, collect some items, and explore through dungeons. There are puzzles with a definite solution, unlike the ambiguous suggestions of Echoes of Wisdom. The best way I can describe it is traditional Zelda.

I love the gameplay loop, but I do think that some of the puzzles struggle to convey exactly how you're supposed to engage with them occasionally. The Deku Leaf makes sense for letting you glide around, but using its wind can sometimes be a little unwieldy and rarely seems obvious as a solution to a given puzzle. Plus, there were quite a few times that I spent an embarrassingly long time trying to find a missed switch or key when I just forgot to look up and see a Grappling Hook target to help me progress.

The biggest negative with the overall gameplay of Wind Waker is absolutely navigating the Great Sea. It does give the game some tangible size, but holy crap if it isn't boring sometimes. Plus, in the original Wind Waker, you had to play the Wind's Requiem to change the direction of the wind if you got off course. The Swift Sail in Wind Waker HD doubles your speed and adjusts the wind to your current direction automatically, which makes the whole endeavor substantially less annoying. For anyone who tried to play the original Wind Waker and hated it because of the sailing aspect, I would highly recommend Wind Waker HD if for nothing else than the Swift Sail.

Combat - 8/10

To the best of my knowledge, Wind Waker was the first Zelda game to introduce any sort of parry mechanics to combat. Where you previously just slashed with your sword when the enemy was open to attack, Wind Waker introduced the ability to dodge and counterattack for certain enemies.

Most notably for Moblins and Darknuts, specific attacks will prompt for a dodge and counter with the A button. This will allow link to avoid damage, stun the enemy, and in the case of Darknuts remove a piece of armor. It makes combat much more engaging and rewards the player for quick reflexes. Most encounters become much more than just slashing your sword until you win; there is actual strategy.

Difficulty - 4/10

Zelda games in general aren't typically known to be particularly difficult, and I would say Wind Waker keeps to this trend. Some segments are more difficult than others, but none of them were so hard that I got frustrated with the game. And as usual, you can get bottles for potions or fairies (or Grandma's soup), so health restoration is absolutely available.

There is a Hero Mode where recovery hearts do not drop, but I'm frankly too scared to try it. Maybe I'll give it a shot one day, but just know that if you want more of a challenge, it is absolutely available. For all you Souls fans, this is probably the closest Zelda can come to that level of difficulty.

Graphics - 8/10

As I mentioned in the intro, the first time I played Wind Waker, the graphics didn't stand out as great. However, it was also a stylistic decision that went in stark contrast to what the latest definition of "realistic" was. Wind Waker really shines now because of how those stylistic graphics look so much better than similar era games shooting for realism. Wind Waker HD increased the polygon count for some smoother textures, but even the original looks great to this day.

Music - 9/10

Zelda games often have music tied very heavily into the story, and Wind Waker does fit that trend. With that heightened emphasis on music, you tend to focus more on it, and it holds up to scrutiny so well. Even background music fits the mood, from grand adventure to casually exploring Windfall Island.

The title theme and its variation that plays during the staff roll are great tracks even with no context, but they become so much better as you unpack the components and the story purpose behind them. These instruments aren't just for entertainment, they are the fulfillment of a consequential duty.

Performance

This was my first time emulating a Wii U game on the Steam Deck, and it ran like a champ. I don't think the framerate ever dropped below 30fps, and the ability to swap between screens with the back paddles made a traditionally 2-screen device feel not terrible. Having to pause and THEN open the map or inventory could be a little clunky, but it was kinda nice being able to bring up the map while sailing to see how close I was to my destination without stopping my progress.

My Take

The Good

The story is top tier Zelda, the music is fantastic, and I personally think the graphics look amazing.

The Bad

Traversing the Great Sea occupies a large portion of the game, and especially without the Swift Sail to speed things up, it's a lot of simply waiting until you arrive at your destination.

The Ugly

The cel shaded graphics were polarizing at the time, and some people STILL hate toon Link for reasons I cannot fathom.

Overall - 8/10

Where many older Zelda games have faded into obscurity, or graphically suffer from their release date, Wind Waker (and its HD remaster) have aged line fine wine. It is a master class in how stylized graphics age better than realism seven days out of the week. Plus, the depth of the story and characters makes this absolutely a tale worth hearing (or hearing again). Wind Waker is a story about finding yourself and fulfilling your purpose, and I think that often helps us explore who we are individually. If you haven't every experienced the Wind Waker story before, I think it is absolutely worth playing.