The first thing you'll notice after watching the opening cut-scene that tells the story of the 'Hero of Time' is the unique sail boat behind the game title, and the ocean setting. These are two of the most important aspects in the game as this adventure of Link revolves around a huge oceanic expedition on a boat with a talking lion head. He's rather important, as you'll discover later in the game, even though the idea of such a thing is so goofy it's almost stupid. If there's anyone who can bring together a vast open sea, a talking boat, and a little boy in green tights with pointy ears, it's Nintendo.

The main idea here is that there's this small island, and on this small island they have a tradition. The tradition is to dress any boy that reaches the age of the legend, the Hero of Time. For a single day this boy will wear the green outfit and wield a sword. It signifies his maturity while remembering the brave and courageous deeds of the hero. This is where Ocarina Of Time comes in, as that is where the story of the Hero of Time comes in to play. It just so happens that the day your character turns this age, his sister is captured by a giant bird and taken to creepy woods where you must follow. Not only that, but some sea pirates show up. This is how it all begins, and it unfolds nicely. Since a lot of the focus is on sea travel, you can expect to come across lots of strange islands and lots of strange characters. Of course, what it all boils down to is that Ganondorf has returned and he is searching for the three Tri-Force pieces... again. This time, he's a little more charming about his intentions. I enjoyed the way everything was implemented into the game story-wise. The way I think of it is this: How many Zelda games have revolved around finding the Tri-Force and destroying Ganon now? How many times has each story been equally refreshing? I don't understand, but it's always intriguing to follow these repeating quests.

While Wind Waker doesn't stray too far from the previous formula of find dungeon, get item, beat boss, go to next dungeon; it does offer up some fresh gameplay elements. Like Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker has an instrument that allows you to change the direction of the wind or warp from place to place. It's a very different system but the concept is the same. Unlike Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker boasts virtually no load times. It's so smooth, you won't even be able to look away before the transition from place to place has occurred.

The other big feature is the sailing of a large ocean. This is when you go to get a snack. At will, you can be anywhere you want to be. The problem is getting there. The world of Wind Waker is a fairly big one and scouring at about 5 miles per hour is kind of nerve-racking. Later in the game you'll gain access to a song that allows you to teleport to 7 or 8 various locations on the map out of the 42 locations available. I found myself sailing for the majority of the game, but there was hints of attempts to try and reduce the boredom as you'll constantly come across giant octopuses, giant birds, sharks, and floating canons. There are also some mini-game type things to do like collecting treasure and racing from barrel to barrel to collect rupees. When you actually have a destination, the sailing isn't so bad because you feel like you have a reason to get where you need to be quickly or something bad will happen. Later in the game however, you're pretty much left without any rhyme or reason. Here you are sitting in this big pool of rumbling water with no idea what's next. All the information you have is "Collect the Tri-Force shards to form the Tri-Force so we can continue to Hyrule." It's almost forcing you to play with a strategy guide. I like being able to play a game without having to worry about going to my computer and looking up what's next on GameFAQs.com. I'm sure you can find out what's next in the game by talking to the fish that mark areas on your sea chart, but I really don't want to explore every inch of an ocean that takes hours to trek across. That being the biggest problem out of the way, now I can address the finer points.

The combat is extremely easy to pick up on while maintaining a balance of entertainment and change. Most enemies and all bosses have different strategies. All of the boss battles are extremely fun, and the final string of bosses is a blast. The common enemies are constantly demanding of you. Wind Waker makes sure that you encounter all the enemies individually first so that you can develop a strategy against them. Next, it pits you against different mixtures of them making it a little more complicated to figure out. Taking on 2 Darknuts and 2 Wizzrobes is never an easy task. For example, Darknuts require that you first strip them of their armor, then you can attack their frail bodies. If their sword is knocked from their hand, they'll run about like a chicken without a head searching for a weapon. It's a very satisfying spectacle.

The puzzles are what always get me in to the games though. It's amazing how engaging and clever they are. The only thing that bothered me this time around was watching a scene for the grappling hook every single time I used it. Was that really necessary? Other than that, it's a pretty basic Zelda game.