Zelda 64 vs The Wind Waker.

[Andy_T]

i don't think fans of OOT will be disappointed by Wind Waker because it's basically more of the same and roughly follows the, if it aint broke don't try and fix it, rule. fans of Majora's Mask may resent the apparant lack of innovation compared with that title, though in fareness MM was strictly speaking a gaiden title anyway which it allowed it to break some the established Zelda 'rules'.

not sure how Nintendo will move the series foward in the future. Gamecube to me is like a Nintendo resume; Mario - check, Zelda - check, Metroid - check etc. we're not really seeing anything new but we're being reminded just how good their games are. i'm very interested to know of their future plans for these established titles.

[Neon Ignition]

Well for me:

SM64 edged it over SMS

So far the more I play the more....

WW edges it over OOT

[womblingfree]

For me OOT lacked the feeling of exploration which is essential to an RPG. After travelling various worlds in FF games walking across Hyrule field just felt far too provincial. In fact I never really considered OOT an RPG, more an epic arcade adventure. TWW has a true RPG feel, with a combat system that is deep enough to warrant varying tactics and styles.

TWW opens up the game world in an incredible way, you can pretty much travel the vast ocean at will, exploring the globe as you please. This makes the side quests far more enjoyable than OOT where they felt rather like a chore to me.

Seems as though Nintendo may have 'borrowed' this element from Skies of Arcadia, but improved it massively due to the absence of endless random battles.

Of course the graphics are astounding but that is just one of the many improvements on offer.

TWW delivers what every magazine told me that OOT did, but I didn't agree, the best gaming experience of this generation so far.

[Smeghead]

Secretly I think I enjoy the pain..

Game Bondage?

I think OOT was amazing when released, but Wind Waker is possibly the most impressed 3D game I have ever played. As firsty said, the ability to physically travel to other islands in full real time, no breaks, no loading, it's all just there on one huge map rather than selecting an island from a main screen or something is quite incredible.

Wind Waker really is for me, Zelda a Link to the Past perfectly recreated in a 3D environment. and the combat engine is simply stunning, locking on has never worked so well in a game, toss a boomerang to stun an enemy before slashing away, or shooting with an arrow, even lobbing a bomb at them. Asphetically pleasing, the cel shaded graphics are quite incredible it all looks so complete something I've never seen before from a cel shaded game.

Ocarina of Time seems so basic and limited after this, with very little in the way of hidden secrets and puzzles to allow you to really deviate from the main quest, in fact, it makes Miyamoto's comments that cube is more like the 8-16bit transition than the 16-32/64 bit transition more true than ever. They have essentially perfected perfection with the Wind Waker and I'm loving every minute of it

[srgbilco]

I was sailing along to Windfall in my little boat when I saw an island in the distance to the left of me. I took out my map, thinking this was the main block of land for that square of sea. But the shape on the map was nowhere near the shape of the island. Regardless, I sailed on.

When after about 10 seconds, I wasn't getting much closer, I looked on the map again. Then I realised I was looking at a huge island 3 blocks away!

Wind Waker is bloody huge, and the endless sea just emphasises this.
It has plenty of emotive moments too, but more humourous ones. Like the first big scene where you leave home and Tetra starts laughing at your solemn waving. And the "SPLIISH!" guy and his brother, the cannon game guy. The camp pirates. The Elvis impersonator.

But it has it's side of seriousness. That sad variation on the theme tune in your sick grandmother's house and her crazy, sad mumblings were soo sad. As was her sending you her life savings of 20 rupees when I was carrying over 800. And that scene between Jabun and King of Red Lions, where you can only understand King and the whole air is very solemn and forboding. The whole thing makes you feel guilty for taking Link away from his old world to go on this adventure.

[Ryo]

Enough spoilers? ft:

[evilmatt]

I hate to be the only nay-sayer, but so far whilst it is obviously amazing (being a Zelda game after all ) its not up there with OoT, for me. I've only got as far as...

spoilers, obviously

...getting the master sword, but so far the narrative structure seems all over the place. In OoT, I always knew what I was doing, and why. But so far in WW, I've just been ordered from one island to another by a talking boat, with no idea why I'm collecting these orbs. Surely the logical thing to do once I'd got the sail, is to head straight back to the fortress and attempt another rescue? This sense of being lead by the hand is almost spoiling the magic of the game for me. I suppose it's inevitable, as the Zelda games become bigger and more open, its harder for the game to 'open up' the way it used to in the 2d games. And especially with all the islands being reachable once you have the wind waker. But it feels a little forced to me

[Andy_T]

This sense of being lead by the hand is almost spoiling the magic of the game for me.

i know what you mean, considering the open ended nature of the ocean and the many sub-quests etc they do seem pretty determined to guide you through the game as quickly as possible.

[SharkAttack]

I got the game saturday and have so far progressed to windfall island and now on to drag mount.

My question is - When I was sailing on the ocean I came across an island on the way to my destination that has a huge stone dome and this contained some enemies and some treasure. Is this a "Random" island or do these little islands stick to their location for the entire game? I'd like to think that every last post, island, look out point and creature is actually tracked in real time and doesn't just appear at random...am I right?

[Neon Ignition]

Every island remains exactly in place and so do all its features. Enemies can alter, mainly depending on time of day or shape of moon but largely everything is constant. Its not randomly generated.

[srgbilco]

Whoops, sorry about the spoilers. I thought it would be taken for granted, especially as we're discussing emotions that you need to give examples for.