The Wind Waker Wii U

[Hanz]

Nice to have a reason to revist it.

[Linkmaster30000]

Yeah, this looks pretty awesome.

Edited January 23, 2013 by Linkmaster30000

[Torn]

I've overplayed Wind Waker to invest in an HD remake. HD is good, but I really with they would've done a totally recreation of Majora's Mask, as I've only 100%'d MM.

 

But good for the folks who love Wind Waker (which is probably my favorite Zelda game tied with MM and SS) or for newer generations who were not given a Gamecube.

[Robokat]

Is it just me or did they totally kill the cel shading with the new lighting engine? It looks more like play-doh than anything else to me now. I hope they change it back honestly. Otherwise WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Linkmaster30000]

I rather like it, actually. It's definitely different from the old graphics, but it's got its own kind of charm.

[Linkmaster30000]

This is a gigantic bump, but seeing as nobody else has really talked about this lately...

 

I picked up the Wii U bundle on Friday. The controller does look pretty spiffy (larger than I expected), and I'm very pleased with the TV Remote integration. But enough about the system - on to the game!

 

The first thing to note is that the HD graphics really don't change the cel-shaded feel as much as the pictures portrayed. It looks very much the same, with some minor touch-ups to make it look even better than it did the first time. In short, don't let the pictures fool you - it looks and feels very much like the Gamecube version.

 

Some of the music has been re-touched as well, though it's not terribly noticeable. Just a few major places (Windfall Island and Outset Island in particular) have a couple of minor changes. It makes the music sound more like real instruments, even though it's pretty obvious that it's still MIDI. Improved MIDI, I guess.

 

This game also features the gyroscope function. In fact, it practically forces it upon you, as the items are used with the right thumb, and adjusting your target is also done with your right thumb. As such, in order to effectively aim anything, you basically need to use the gyroscope. The good news is that it works extremely well (certainly more than the 3DS gyroscope), so I'm actually happy with it overall. Some parts are awkward, but most of the time, it works to near-perfection.

 

The Deluxe Pictograph Box is one of the major improvements. First, you can get it before you get the sail, as you no longer need the Forest Haven Firefly (you get a Joy Pendant if you try to deliver one). This means you can start getting figurine-worthy photos immediately after arriving at Windfall Island for the first time - you just do the "Trials" to be the star pupil, and you get it. This is huge, as it means you can get Gohma and Kalle Demos figurines during your initial fights instead of waiting for Ganon's Tower. In addition, you can hold up to TWELVE pictographs at a time instead of three. This is a gigantic help for collecting figurines. Another large advantage is that if you take a figurine-worthy photo, a gold stamp shows up on the pictograph so you know it's good. If the stamp doesn't show up, you can opt to not save it, then try again. Extremely helpful. The final addition is the Tingle Bottle, which replaces the Tingle Tuner. This works inconjunction with the Pictograph Box, as you can change the perspective so that you're looking at Link's face and his surroundings. You can also change Link's facial expressions. After taking a picture (in either perspective), you can send it out as a "Tingle Bottle" for other players to see. It's a rather amusing addition to the game, and it's optional - you can change it so you only see your friends' bottles, or turn them off entirely. It's like Zeldabook. FaceZelda? Whatever.

 

The other major improvement is the Swift Sail. You have to auction for this, but once you get it, you no longer need to change the wind direction to sail effectively. In addition, as advertised, you sail significantly faster. It's great for traversing the world, particularly before you defeat Cyclos (but obviously still helpful after that).

 

I haven't gotten far enough to check out the Triumph Forks Quest yet, so I don't know exactly how different it is (though I've obviously read about it).

 

As of this post, those are the major changes outside of Hero Mode (which I haven't turned on, though you can turn it on/off at any time at the File Selection screen). Everything else is true to the original, and I'm very pleased with my purchase and the changes done to this masterpiece. I'll write more thoughts as I play. If you're on the fence about getting this, I strongly encourage you to try it out.

Edited September 24, 2013 by Linkmaster30000

[Hanz]

I will get it soon...but probably won't be playing much with Pokémon on the horizon.

[Linkmaster30000]

So I've finished the Triforce Quest. Only 3 Charts for Tingle to decipher, meaning only 1194 rupees instead of 3184. Very pleased with that. The other 5 charts have been replaced by the actual shards.

 

In light of this, there are apparently 5 new Treasure Charts. I got one for giving 40 Joy Pendants to the teacher (the Hero's Charm is now at the bottom of the Savage Labyrinth, which means that Heart Piece is somewhere else, hopefully in conjunction with one of the new Treasure Charts). I'll have to look it up and see where they are.

 

Aside from those last 4 Treasure Charts and that last Heart Piece, I only have 3 Figurines left. 2 of them will be obtained in Ganon's Tower, and the final one I'll get once I get the other 2. After that, finish the game. Final thoughts to come at that point.

[Hanz]

Big list of all the changes apparently...sounds good.

 

 

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=689649

[Linkmaster30000]

"Orca no longer knocks you down if you screw up the sword tutorial once."

 

That's incorrect.

 

"Wind Waker songs will no longer repeat themselves after being conducted once."

 

True, but it's per play period. If you turn it off and back on, the repeat will happen again for the first time, then stop. The exceptions are the Wind God's Aria and the Earth God's Lyric, which still repeat each time, and the Wind's Requiem when conducting for Triforce pieces. As you'd imagine, this feature makes speeding up day/night and warping all over the place a lot less annoying.

 

Everything else is spot-on. The only part I didn't know/notice during my playthrough was the MiiVerse photo sharing. That would've helped when I decided to restart for Cyclos... Oh well.

 

But yeah, finished it last night. Overall, I was extremely pleased with the improvements (listed in that link), and it was a joy to replay one of the finest Zelda games created.