The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD
On the GameCube, The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker established itself as a radical departure from the norm and an all-time classic that has been fondly remembered as time kept moving forward. The best version of Wind Waker can be found on the Wii U, though. Nintendo faithfully updated Link’s nautical adventure with thoughtful tweaks and player-friendly enhancements. The high-definition upgrade was an obvious improvement, one that showed just how strong the 2003’s game’s art direction was, but under the hood was where you uncovered the real magic.
Improved inventory space, a reduced number of Triforce charts to collect, more generous timed event windows, and the inclusion of the Swift Sail to speed up travel between islands removed much of the tedium from the original. With more powerful hardware that could load new locations in more quickly, the core sailing aspect of Wind Waker was drastically improved and made exploring uncharted waters a thrill. With the Gamepad, Nintendo made Wind Waker’s clunky inventory much more organic to sift through, but on the ocean, the controller really came into its own by giving you a map that made for smooth sailing and navigation.
Now that’s what you call a perfect pairing of hardware and software.
Read our Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD review.
