The cel-shaded Zelda that first split fans then won them over. Archipelago world crossed by sea, animation of rare expressiveness and dungeons of mad elegance. Some stretches at sea drag a touch, yet the voyage has become a timeless classic.
Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure1 player7+
Description
Link sails the seas on the King of Red Lions to defeat Ganondorf in this Nintendo GameCube Wind Waker. Published by Nintendo, released in South Korea in May 2003. Action-adventure with cel-shaded visuals, maritime navigation and island exploration in a flooded Hyrule.
Legend of Zelda, The - The Wind Waker review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
A bold gamble on release, the round-lined cel-shading gave us a cartoon Link of wild expressiveness. A watercolour sea, colourful islands and bouncing animation compose a tale that refuses to age. This stylised beauty, long misunderstood, is now hailed as a peak of the art of video games.
Sea spray, accordion and Celtic accents lend the sailing an irresistible scent of maritime adventure. The music breathes with the islands and the winds, accompanying exploration with a luminous freshness. This lively, escapist score remains one of the most charming of the series.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Raising the sail, cutting across a glittering ocean and landing on islands to comb through: the sailing sets its own rhythm, contemplative and free. The swordplay, fluid and readable, punctuates exploration with spectacular parries. The long crossings can wear thin, but the timeless cel-shading and the gentle handling keep it as pleasant as ever.
Fun
"From the very first minutes"
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Raising the sail toward an unknown island, scouring it for treasure and then sailing back armed with a new tool sets a rhythm of exploration that always points to the next heading. Dungeons, puzzles and treasure maps chain objectives and rewards without a lull. The sailing sometimes drags, yet the wonder of discovery keeps its pull fully intact.
Difficulty
"Balanced"
Lifespan
"Massive"
Hoisting the sails on an ocean dotted with islands turns exploration into a long-haul adventure, punctuated by dungeons, sunken treasures and secrets to ferret out. The main quest stretches out, and free sailing invites you to comb every corner of the open sea. The timeless charm of its cel-shaded art direction explains why people still dive back in today without exhausting it.
The Korean edition of The Wind Waker is one of the rarest Nintendo Korea localisations ever released on GameCube. Very high collector value: an extremely limited local print, a specific Korean sleeve and a configuration never reproduced outside the Korean market.
Memorable bosses
Beneath their cartoon lines, the colossi faced here hide real inventiveness: Molgera bursting from the sands, the gigantic Helmaroc King, then a final duel for the ages against a Ganondorf more human and tragic than ever. The expressiveness of the cel-shading, readable arenas and a carefully built dramatic rise make these fights as elegant as they are memorable.
A cult cover
Toon Link's round face, eyes wide and green tunic against a luminous backdrop, states the saga's cel-shaded turn without apology. The gentle palette and cartoon line promise a mischievous, expressive seafaring adventure. Cheerful and crystal-clear, it remains the emblem of a Zelda that dared to upend its own image.
Is Legend of Zelda, The - The Wind Waker still worth playing in 2026?
A bold artistic choice on release, The Wind Waker offers a magnificent cel shading that has not aged a day thanks to its graphical timelessness. Link's seafaring adventure across the Great Sea delivers a sense of exploration unique to the series. The dungeons are refined and the writing is among the most expressive of the entire saga. A few maritime back and forth runs may grate, yet the emotion and charm of the title stay intact today. An indispensable work of the catalogue.
