Looking back at comments for the original Wind Waker’s reveal

How time flies! It certainly doesn’t seem like 12 years ago the The Wind Waker was being unveiled for the GameCube. It was a great game and I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the HD remake. However, I’m sure we all remember the tech demo shown at Space World 2000 that was known as ‘Zelda 128’ which showed off a dark, gritty, realistic Zelda game and a lot of people were hoping was going to turn into the new Zelda game. It was soon after this that The Wind Waker was unvailed but the new cel-shaded look wasn’t exactly a welcome change to a lot of people.

Take the jump so find out what people had to say about this huge change!

With Nintendo having a reputation as being a family friendly company, a lot of gamers wanted a grittier game to get stuck in to and, with how Zelda 128 was looking, it seemed as though their prayers had been answered. When it was announced it had all been changed there was uproar from a lot of fans with comments like:

“I can’t beleive what they di dto that Zelda game, just when I was saying that nintendo caters to old school gamers, they go and make zelda look like a frigging puppet show for 5 year olds.”

“where is the game that i think is a real world where is my mature zelda this just at right”

“OMG!!!! WTF HAPPENED?!?!?!?! Zelda looks like a little weak sissy bitch!! I just saw the movie/pics like 2 mins ago and what a pile of stinking crap!”

 

Poor grammar and spelling aside (and before you all shoot me down, I know my posts haven’t exactly been 100% perfect!) but these reactions are hugely over the top. I’d certainly disagree it looks like a puppet show for 5 year olds but Zelda looking a little weak I’d be more inclined to agree with even if it is still a bit excessive. Her Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess incarnations did look like you could depend on them more, especially as, in Wind Waker, she gets hit once by Ganondorf and is out cold. Someone mentioned that people in the game looked like rejects from the cartoon Hey, Arnold which I thought was pretty funny. Then again, that person also said they ‘wanted mature, I got 5 year old’. Granted the art style was aimed at a younger audience but 5 year old is probably pushing it a bit.

Not only were there comments about the graphics but letters were sent to Nintendo complaining about the changes. There was even a petition that was circulated asking that both a cartoon styled and mature Zelda game be released together, rather than just the cartoon styled one. The petition garnered 11,680 signatures and may have been what influenced the more mature themed Twilight Princess. The biggest irony is that while The Wind Waker became a loved game despite a few issues, Twilight Princess received much more criticism. Even so, there were some that liked the new art style and commented:

“I love it, i went crazy last night when i saw the shots but when i saw the video this morning, i felt in love with it. Sure, link now looks younger than before, but so what, he’s link, he’s always been young in past games anyway.”

So at least there were some people that were pleased to see the change. Though I would have much preferred the more mature game, I appreciated the art style of The Wind Waker for what it was so wasn’t put off by it and can still remember the day I went into the shop to buy it (and was annoyed I could only pay it for a couple of hours at the weekend due to college!).

What was your reaction when you saw the new art style? Would you have preferred a more mature game like Twilight Princess? Would The Wind Waker have been as good as it is if the art style was different? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Kotaku