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akshockley's Zelda: Windwaker (GC)
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| [November 19, 2006 10:20:48 AM]
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I went exploring again in Wind Waker, mainly to fill in some of the spots on Link's map. After a while, I came across one of the huge whirlwinds and fought the critter on a cloud inside of it. Even though it made it rather hard to aim at the critter properly, I really like the fact that the winds from the tornado affected the arrows Link shot off. Really, wind seems to be implemented better/more in this game than most others... which is appropriate, considering its theme. I just wish more games with weather effects -had- actually effects from the weather, not just pretty graphics. (Not that I object to pretty graphics.)
After beating the cloud-guy (which thankfully only took three hits; getting an arrow to make contact was a bit difficult), I got to learn a new song, which lets Link summon a wind to teleport him to different locations on the map. I appreciate the teleport feature, as it makes travel when you've got a destination in mind -much- faster. I tried out the different locations, and eventually ended up inside one of the islands I could 'port to. There I got another level-up from the alien faeries: fire and ice arrows... used them to get more power-ups from a couple of fire and ice themed islands. Clear mapping is always a good thing, 'specially when you don't quite remember where you're supposed to be heading.
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| [November 19, 2006 12:47:59 AM]
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After some debate, I decided to pick up where I left off where I stopped playing two years ago instead of continuing to replay, as I know I would've simply rushed through until I'd caught up.
So, when I loaded up my old game, I was on an island with a traveling merchant and a forest sprite. The forest sprite wanted some forest water, so I decided to get that for him and just explore a bit instead of attempting to remember where I should be going according to the main plot.
I'd forgotten how big the world was... or at least how big it feels. Compared to its representation on Link's map, it feels bigger; I kept being surprised about how long it took to cross a square of the grid sine you can see islands from a fair distance away. The world also seems to be a lot more populated than Link's map gives the impression of. I think Link's map makes it seem small and empty, but it feels big and busy.
I took a roundabout path to the Forest, going treasure hunting along the way. One of my treasure maps was for an island nearby, and once I remembered that shiny spot equals treasure, I searched every spot I ran across. I also got the charts for a few more islands and stocked up on my bait.
After I was satisfied with treasure hunting, I decided to head straight for the Forest, but I was waylaid by a sea creature emerging from a sudden whirlpool. I couldn't remember what to do about fighting at sea, but the creature had a lot of yellow eyes, which I figured called for arrows. I was right about the arrows, and my aim was pretty good right off the bat, but I took too long fighting the creature, so it shot me off to the other side of the island. I sailed back to where I fought it, but it was gone.
I finally reached the Forest and got the water for the sprite. I tried to take the short way back to the sprite by going south so that I'd end up at the top of the map, but the ship claimed it was too dangerous in that direction and wouldn't let me continue. I don't know if the option of sailing around the world opens up at some point, but if it doesn't, it's a plausible thought: you're exploring a portion of a larger world rather than its entirety. Or the world is flat. Either one.
Because I couldn't take a shorter route back to the sprite, I headed north, treasure hunting along the way again. I ran across a different sea monster, which I defeated; a fairy rewarded me for my efforts. That leads me to my final thought for this entry: back when Wind Waker was still in the works and they'd shown the first images, I was among those who really didn't like the new style because of a fondness for the realistic look from the earlier trailer. After I started playing Wind Waker, the style quickly grew on me, but I still can't get used to the design for the faeries. I think they look -weird-.
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| [November 14, 2006 06:36:15 PM]
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I'd played some of Wind Waker a little over two years ago, but never got around to finishing it because I was too busy. Since I remembered little about where I'd left off and needed to reacquaint myself with the game mechanics, it was back to the beginning for a refresher course...
I was able to pick up the system again pretty quickly, though I was disoriented for the first few minutes when I kept wanting to press some button, any button, to jump. Camera control also took a minute to get fully reacquainted with.
Like the other Legend of Zelda titles I've played, Wind Waker wastes no time in starting up the story. After the backstory runs, you run around Link's village for barely minutes before Link and his sister spot a girl (Tetra) in trouble. Saving her leads to the first part of Link's quest: Link's sister Aryll is kindnapped by the bird that had been carrying Tetra earlier, and he must rescue her from the Forsaken Fortress.
My taste in games tends to run along the RPG side of things, so the quick start is a refreshing change from some of these stories that can take hours to get rolling. Granted, as soon as Link sets off with the pirates to save his sister, you get throw into a training event, but it's all in the name of learning how stuff works and honing your skills... At least the training is fairly engaging, unlike running errands for some crotchy old lady could be.
I'd say the one drawback of the fast beginning is that Aryll may be kinda cute from her two or three lines, but until Ganon showed up, I didn't really feel compelled to go save her for any reason other than Link wanting to and to progress the game. Maybe it's just because I've been here before.
Next time: the quest continues, or I pick back up where I left off in '04.
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akshockley's Zelda: Windwaker (GC)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Tuesday 14 November, 2006
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