In addition to Ocarina of Time being my favorite Zelda game of all time, I must say that Wind Waker comes second. Following its announcement that Wind Waker is getting thHD treatment, I got excited as playing through it all over again in glorious visuals will be a treat. Compared to all Zelda games, Wind Waker is one of the best looking games due to its art and colorfulness. At E3, it was one of the games that I got to play and yes, I was mind-blown.
The first thing I noticed as soon as I picked up the Wii U Game Pad is how vivid the visuals are. The color becomes more solid and clear in the HD version of Wind Waker. The fine solid line that layouts the character and environment pops out wonderfully. Comparing the game to its predecessor, you will see little improvement but what makes it stand out is the visual clarity the HD version is providing. The lighting and shades becomes darker, especially the colors, making it a pleasure to see.
Gameplay wise, nothing much has changed. It’s the same hack and slash adventure game where you will go through different islands to find Zelda. If there’s one feature that stands out in the game, that would be the ability to leave message to other people, similar to Dark Souls. If at some point you want to say something to anyone, you can use Tingle’s Bottle to leave a note. According to the Nintendo representative, Wind Waker HD’s Tingle Bottle took inspiration from Dark Souls or Demon’s Souls social system. Those who wants to warn other players of a boss lurking ahead, leaving a note will certainly be appreciated by people who will get to see it.
Exclusive on the Nintendo Wii U, the use of the Game Pad in Link’s journey will be deemed useful. Instead of bringing up the screen on your TV, you can now see them right on the D-Pad. You can put many weapons that you have in the four available hot bars. Also, the Tingle Bottle menu will also be accessible via the Game Pad.
As for exclusive content like dungeons, nothing much has been revealed. The representative kept ignoring my question by changing the topic. Will there be some sort of a content? I doubt it. Either way, Wind Waker is one of the great Zelda games and remastering it is something Zelda and Link fans will appreciate.
Jamie
June 17, 2013 at 6:54 AMWhilst you say that there is no new gameplay features of Wind Waker HD I actually think that the MiiVerse integration will be really cool. The developers said that you will be able to send other players “messages in a bottle” which can wash up on other shores in other worlds. I think this has the potential to be really cool (or really awful if they don’t manage it right!)