Favorite Zelda Moments: Boarding the Ghost Ship in The Wind Waker

December 13th, 2012 by Axle the Beast

This post is going to be a little short because it’s a short moment, but I still wanted to spotlight the Ghost Ship from The Wind Waker. This ethereal vessel was boarded as part of the Triforce quest, where the player had to seek out shards of the Triforce of Courage. But first they had to find the charts leading to them, and one of these charts was found on-board the Ghost Ship.

The Ghost Ship could be seen throughout the game if you were in the right place during the right lunar phase, long before it had to be boarded. The player could only do so while holding the Ghost Ship Chart. The Ghost Ship itself is foreshadowed only a little bit, but it’s enough, and the minimalism here is arguably more effective at setting up anticipation than a lot of detail might have been. Ultimately, the Ghost Ship has no explanation. Who or what used to sail on it, we don’t know.

The cool vessel is accompanied by an epic song that follows it as it sails surrounded by blue flames. It fades away when approached unless you have the chart, making it especially mysterious for players who don’t know what to do with it yet. On-board the ship, the player is attacked by all manner of undead until they claim its prize, the Triforce Chart, but not before witnessing a strange mirror on a wall that has a menacing, sharp-toothed and grinning face on it when you’re not looking at it in first-person view or are too close to it. I’m not sure if many people notice this detail or not.

After acquiring the Triforce Chart, a malevolent laugh sounds and the player is booted from the ship, never to return. The ship is never mentioned again and never explained, though another Ghost Ship appears in Phantom Hourglass.

It’s just a really cool moment. An excellent play on seafaring ghost stories. Nintendo could have probably done a lot more with it, but it’s still really cool as it is, and it’s one of my favorite parts of the game. How about you? Did you like The Wind Waker’s Ghost Ship? Did you notice the creepy mirror? Any other moments like it that you enjoyed a lot? Tell me in the comments!

Categorized under: Editorials, The Wind Waker
Tagged: Axle the Beast, Boarding, Editorial, favorite, Ghost Ship, In, moments, the, The Wind Waker, TWW, WW, Zelda

Zephka

It’s Wind Waker’s 10th Anniversary (Japan Release Date) CosmoWright is doing 10 hours of world record attempts today to celebrate! http://www.twitch.tv/cosmowright
Darkgreyfire

Loved the ghost ship idea in wind waker. Just wish there was more interaction with it during the game. They could have had a entire side story, and side quests dealing with uncovering the ghost ships past. That would have been a good addition, because, I always felt that wind waker was just too short of a game.
- EOTW
  
  I get what you’re saying but I agree with Axle. The fact that the ghost ship is barely mentioned adds to its mystery. The atmosphere and lack of knowledge about this ethereal vessel is what makes it so ghostly. That and the fact that it is covered with ghosts. :p
  - Darkgreyfire
    
    It did add to the mystery, that I will agree with you. I felt like I was certainly in a place i knew nothing about, and shouldn’t be in. I was just wishing and thinking of ways the game could have been longer. If you take away the time you spent sailing, the actual gameplay was very short. I know they had a lot of exploring in that game, but it just didn’t feel as consuming as other Zeldas. Once I got in Hyrule field, I was thinking there was going to be two or three temples or quests to do before you faced Ganondorf. But it was just one short temple. Although I did love fighting puppet Ganon.
    - IMFWeirdo
      
      Eh, you could argue that wind waker had a TON of sidequests…all those islands that you don’t go on in the main quest…if you do all of those it’s certainly not a short game. Although I understand where you’re coming from.
      - http://www.facebook.com/connor.spiotto Connor Spiotto
        
        I think it was nice that they threw you through a loop by not including a dungeon for Nayru’s pearl, sometimes consistency is boring and not that realistic. Like with the triforce shards – there was no formula for where they were placed. Some were in the ocean, one in the ghost ship, and one in the sewer beneath the private oasis if I remember correctly.
    - EOTW
      
      I know what you mean. Like how there should have been an entire dungeon based around Jabun and Nayru’s Pearl, but instead we just end up sailing aaaaall the way across the ocean, and then aaall the way back in a storm. It wasn’t terrible, but I would have preferred a dungeon over gyorgs.
    - majora’s pants
      
      The actual games story was short, because of the size of the world (ocean) and all the sidequests and things to explore. The gamecube disks can only hold so much content. Although I was super pissed that they made the actual Hyrule field off limits. I hated that you had to stick to the path on the way to Ganons tower. I wanted to go explore the field and swim in the water while you were under the water.
Zephka

It’s Wind Waker’s 10th Anniversary today (Japan release date), and CosmoWright is doing TEN HOURS of world record attempts live! http://www.twitch.tv/cosmowright
hot apple Fi

I remember the laugh, but not the mirror. Now I have to go back and play the entire game again.
Nikilist

Didn’t even remember there was a Ghost Ship in WW. Really hated that game.
- Waker of Winds
  
  yuo are thtoopid
  - hot apple Fi
    
    don’t feed the troll
    - Guest
      
      Not a troll, at least not based on that comment alone. I loved Wind Waker myself, but if someone just says they hated the game, they’re not really trolling. Just saying.
    - IMFWeirdo
      
      I agree with the Guest, I liked Wind Waker (first Zelda game!!) but I can see why someone would hate it. The sailing was pretty boring, although the atmosphere on the open seas was great, and the change in night/day/weather was felt awesome. And the OST is my favorite (Dragon Roost Island theme!!)
      - sebastian
        
        What is OST?
baileygirl99

I don’t really remember the ghost ship, even though I just passed it (like a week or so ago). But I know I have been trough it. I’m POSITIVE. Getting the chart for it though, was a pain in the a**
http://www.facebook.com/emma.k.inglis Emma Inglis

It would have been interesting if they’d constructed a back story for the Ghost Ship like Okami did for the Sunken Ship (If anyone has played Okamiden you’ll understand how depressing it is). Nevertheless,I loved the atmosphere surrounding the Ghost Ship as you tried to approach it (but I can’t say that I remember too much off the inside). Aesthetically it really added to the difference in mood that occurs for day and night-time in the game. I’m going to have to start playing the Wind Waker again, methinks…one shouldn’t leave such a great game untouched for so long.
erikingvoldsen

Unless you’re like most players and never saw nor heard of it until then.
Ness1985

One of the best moments in WW for me.
http://www.facebook.com/jdunbabyyy Marcos Hernandez

Nintendo could of made the ghost ship into a mini dungeon like in OOT or MM but NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Waker of Winds

If you looked up you could see “ghosts” going through the air.
pizzaman

It reminds me of the ship in Paper Mario: the one-thousand year door, with the skull pirate. With the blue flame and everything.
firecrb

my first zelda memory, looking at the ghost ship and saving tetra in PH
Amnis

I was kind of disappointed. The ghost ship looked so awesome from the outside I thought it would be the same way from the inside, but in the end it was just like another submarine interior.
Guest

Love Wind Waker, loved the idea of the ghost ship, and I love the mystery of it all. But I sort of wish there was more to it. When I first boarded the ship, I was expecting an actual mini-dungeon of sorts, not just a small room with a bunch of enemies. Still a cool concept, though.
IMFWeirdo

I second everyone saying there should’ve been more to the Ghost Ship; a whole side story thing would’ve been nice (imagine how creepy and creative they could’ve gotten with that!!) I absolutely loved entering the ship for the first time; I remember getting so scared, but when I got inside I was disappointed, I believe it was just like the inside of any ordinary submarine except a little bigger. Seriously, they could’ve made it a whole mini dungeon, and put some tragic-romance backstory to it (lol)… But I’m glad WW at least mentioned the old cliche “ghost ship” story, a seafaring adventure simply wouldn’t be complete without it.
Kablamogroup

The Ghost Ship was a good play on seafaring ghost stories. I look at the Ghost ship now, and I think about how they kind of merged Eastern and Western ghost myths. You have the very Western-style transparent, rotted, decrepit pirate ship, with the very Eastern-style floating blue flames that may be representing restless spirits. It makes me think of some shonen anime that deal with Japanese folklore and death (the first ones that come to mind are Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan and Bleach).
JeredenDonnar

The ghost ship terrified me (though PH’s was sorta boring and too gaudy on the outside), It took me quite a few partial run-throughs (mainly thanks to my crappy memory cards) to garner the courage (get it???) to enter it.
littlemissgleek

They totally could’ve had a ghost ship in the ocean realm of spirit tracks, just to mess with people’s minds XD
- The Hylian Monolith
  
  That would’ve exploded my mind. Maybe just off in the distance, a silhouette of a ship with ragged sails, tinged green and surrounded by floating blueish dots…
  
  See, even the thought makes me need to go across the Ocean Realm again and make sure that there wasn’t one.
  - John
    
    There wasn’t a ghost ship, but the symbol for the Ocean Realm was a distinct shape very reminiscent of an hourglass, possibly a phantom one associated with an annoying-as-hell central hub dungeon.
Zen Brown

I loved the ghost ship creep’ed me out when I was younger saw it before chart and I was like “what the hell is that thing”
Zen Brown

How do I change My profile pic? really confused
- Rick Astley
  
  click on the green dot under your picture to the left of where you post. that will bring up a picture loader.
- EOTW
  
  Thats not what I see for it. For me it’s a cog over to the right. From the cog hit “edit profile” which takes you to the disqus page to edit stuff. No green dot for me.
  - EOTW
    
    *edit settings
The Hylian Monolith

Personally, I really liked what they did wiht its lack of usage. It created mystery. My first time throught WW I had no idea what to do with it. I just left it for a while, because it creeped me out. I thought it was some kind of monster ship. When I got lost plot-wise, I went out to find it again and confront it, but the Ghost Ship wasn’t a nonster. It was an amazing experience. One I’ll never get over, but in a good way. I just can’t stop thinking about it now that you bring it up.
The Wolfess

What about that island with the sunken ships? That was really cool too. I always felt like they were related.
Fang_Ariatus

Loved the Ghost Ship. To be honest, I’m glad WW is my favorite. Having played through about 6 times, I find that there’s a lot players don’t notice on their first run. I remember the miiror from my 2nd run, but never saw the face until my 4th, I think. The Ghost Ship scared the crap out of me before that. That, and the one submarine with no light and those stupid imp creatures.

But I’m not bitter. It was all well done, and I found it fine as it was, though I do agree that Nintendo could have done just a smidge more.
http://www.controlpaddesign.com/ TheMaverickk

I remember that portrait that changes behind the treasure chest…. I will never forget it… great choice in moments!
Anonymous

I LOVED that part! Probably one of the best sidequests in the game in my opinion.
Hanzilla

Yeah, this was a great moment. Subtle and effective. The fact that you’re not told how to read the Ghost Ship Chart adds a lot to the experience too (even though it doesn’t take long to figure out). I’m surprised I missed the mirror though. I guess I’ll just have to play it again!
Zzen

I loved this game.
qwertyuiop

Did anyone notice that there was a small hole in the side of the hull? A small shaft of moonlight came in from in, and where the light hit the floor, a small flower grew. I thought it was a pretty impressive symbol. A flower growing in a dead ship, that has to mean that there is still hope for the Ghost Ship…
Majora Unmasked

By far my favorite triforce chart to collect, alongside the one under the private cabana. Both had a really forboding feel to them, like you weren’t supposed to be there
Elliott Chiasson

The ghost ship was more badass in PH
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