The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

"This is but one of the legends of which the people speak..."

- Prologue

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, released worldwide throughout 2003, was the first in the series to use the 'Cel-Shaded' style, a more cartoon look that allowed the game to stand out from other games on the market at the time. However, This change came under huge criticism from both fans and Videogame publications alike. Despite this the game was still very well received and at the time of its release was the best selling Zelda to date, however, this was clear part achieve by the Wind Waker being bundled with a limited edition special disc featuring The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest. Master Quest is a reworking of the original Ocarina game, only made slightly more challenging for hardcore Zelda fans. the Wind Waker eventually became the first of two Zelda games for the GameCube, followed by Twilight Princess, although it is official that the events in Twilight Princess happen long before those of Wind Waker.

Nintendo still chooses to use the cel-shaded style for its newer handheld Zelda games as well as the GameCube edition of Four Swords, the Legend of Zelda: Four Sword Adventures. A sequel to Wind Waker is planned for released in late 2007, entitled the Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, for the Nintendo DS.

Story
Based up to one hundread years after the events of Ocarina of Time, the Wind Waker begins in a world entirely filled with water, and rather than taking place in Hyrule, the setting is the Great Sea. A Legend of a great hero has been past down though generations, who survived a great flood that was caused by the Gods eons ago, when a great evil was spreading across the land. The story begins creating ambiguity around the whereabouts of the Hero of Time, but it is soon revealed that Link, the descendent of the Heroes bloodline, is alive and well.

Starting out, on Outset Island, a young Link goes in search of his kidnapped sister, Aryll, who was taken by a monstrous bird that mistakes her for a female pirate captain named Tetra. Link leaves his home and his Grandmother behind, travelling with the pirates to find his sister. It isn't long before events spiral out of control, and Link's fate falls into the hands of a wise talking boat with a Dragon shaped head, the King of Red Lions. The King of Red Lions informs Link that many young girls have been kidnapped from all over the Great Sea, and that in saving his sister, Link would also be in a good position to find out about and save the other maidens. Using the Wind Waker, Link manipulates the Winds so that he can travel anywhere at will on the Great Sea, allowing him to complete his quest.

The plot then follows a similar trail to Ocarina of Time, and in reference, Link retrieves three orbs, which are similar to the Sacred Stones found by the Hero of Time. These stones open a gateway to the Gods, allowing Link to use the Triforce of Courage and the Master sword to defeat the evil conjurer kidnapping the young ladies. Inevitably, the evil is uncovered to be Ganondorf, who has been counting the days until he can once again attempt to find and use the Triforce for his own means. His reason for capturing so many young maidens is to find the one who’s secret identity is Princess Zelda. Finally, the one who Ganondorf is searching for turns out to be Tetra, the pirate captain, who is then taken by Ganondorf. Not even Tetra herself was aware of her heritage until she was informed by the King of Red Lions, who also reveals his secret identity to be the Ancient King of Hyrule, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule. From this point on, it is the quest of Link and the King of Red Lions to rescue Tetra (Princess Zelda) and stop Ganondorf from ruling the Triforce.

Timeline Placement
It is noteworthy that the Wind Waker, more than any other game in the series, attempts to establish a sense of temporal continuity. The Wind Waker directly references places and events from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and gives some indication of what happened between the two games. In Timeline Theory, Wind Waker can be placed just about anywhere. This is due to its content concerning the Great Sea and the flooding of Hyrule. During the game, the King of Hyrule tells Link and Tetra that the gods themselves sealed Ganon and all of Hyrule with him by flooding the kingdom with a torrential downpour, ordering those chosen to rebuild to take refuge on the mountaintops. This means that Wind Waker can sit logically in the middle or right at the end of the timeline. Most popularly, Wind Waker occupies fourth position in events, this is supported by the character Tetra's name being derived from the Latin for fourth, suggesting she could be the fourth Zelda in the family blood line, meaning Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess and A Link to the Past could all occur before hand (Majora's Mask also occurs prior to these events, but doesn't feature a new Zelda, only showing a flashback of the Princess featured in Ocarina of Time).

As well as this, the opening to Link's Awakening shows Link's travel by boat, its debatable whether or not this bares any significance to the Wind Waker storyline, as so few Zelda games feature a sea or shore location for a seperate Link to set out from. It is also debatable that all events in the cel-shaded style could take place in a different era to realistic Zeldas and that the two separate styles in fact split the series into two separate stories, connected only by Wind Waker to Ocarina of Time.

On Land

 * Grass, Bushes, and Trees
 * Holes
 * Postboxes
 * Signs
 * Stone Heads
 * Treasure Chests
 * Trees

In Dungeons

 * Baba Buds
 * Boko Sticks
 * Bomb Flowers
 * Blocks/Crates
 * Cracked Tiles/Rocks
 * Deku Nuts
 * Eye Switches
 * Gondolas
 * Grappling Posts
 * Lava
 * Lava Geysers
 * Leaf Piles
 * Light Beams
 * Light Statues/Sun Spots
 * Locked/Sealed Doors
 * Mirrors
 * Nasty Evil Fog
 * Pots
 * Rat Holes
 * Rope Bridges
 * Ropes/Lanterns
 * Sage Stones
 * Soil
 * Spikes
 * Springboard
 * Switches
 * Torches
 * Vined Flower
 * Warp Pots
 * Water Pots
 * Wind Crests
 * Wind Switches

At Sea

 * Light Rings
 * Merman
 * Minefields
 * Rafts
 * Reefs
 * Rupee Courses
 * Sea Platforms
 * Wall-Mounted Cannons
 * Whirlpools
 * Whirlwinds

Pick-Up Items

 * Arrows
 * Bottle Spoils
 * Boko Baba Seeds
 * Chu Jelly
 * Golden Feather
 * Joy Pendants
 * Knight's Crest
 * Skull Necklace
 * Bombs
 * Enemy Weapons
 * Boko Stick
 * Machete
 * Darknut Sword
 * Moblin Spear
 * Stalfos Club
 * Phantom Sword
 * Fairy
 * Heart
 * Magic Vial
 * Rupees
 * Treasure Sphere

Dungeon-Only Items

 * Boss Key
 * Chart
 * Compass
 * Dungeon Map
 * Heart Container
 * Piece of Heart
 * Small Key

Key Items

 * Telescope
 * Hero's Sword
 * Bait Bag
 * All-Purpose Bait
 * Hyoi Pear
 * Hero's Shield
 * Spoils Bag
 * Pirate's Charm
 * Sail
 * Tingle Tuner
 * Picto Box/Deluxe Picto Box
 * Wind Waker
 * Wind's Requiem
 * Song of Passing
 * Command Melody
 * Ballad of Gales
 * Earth God's Lyric
 * Wind God's Aria
 * Delivery Bag
 * Complimentary ID
 * Fill-Up Coupon
 * Empty Bottle
 * Bottled Water
 * Forest Water
 * Forest Firefly
 * Fairy
 * Red Potion
 * Green Potion
 * Blue Potion
 * Elixir Soup
 * Grappling Hook
 * Deku Leaf
 * Boomerang
 * Bombs
 * Hero's Bow