Memorable Gaming Moment 2003: The Wind Waker

I know it’s hard to look at anything besides the amazing N-Gage in 2003, but surprisingly, I have a different memorable moment (obvious sarcasm is obvious). I was a huge Zelda fan as a wee lad, but due to the fact that I’ve never owned a SNES or Nintendo 64 (recently bought one), I lost touch with the series; I did own a Gameboy, but I somehow never played any of the handheld games. If you can’t already tell, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is my most memorable gaming moment of 2003.

I will admit that I was a member of the cel-shaded haters club at first – Link just looked way too kiddish to moi – but I soon let my balls drop, grew up, and quickly fell in love with the visuals. When I first got the game I thought it looked absolutely gorgeous (even better than all the screenshots) and it still looks beautiful to this day; I think it’s become a fact that cel-shading ages much better than “realistic” graphics. Wind Waker was colorful, full of style, and had such a wonderfully inviting charm that could draw in even the hairiest of manly men.

Wind Waker was more than just a pretty game, which is more than I can say for some of young ladies I’ve met during my short lifespan. The game had great dungeons, fun combat, and a terrific soundtrack. These things may have been in a million Zelda games before Wind Waker, but everything felt so new to moi thanks to my long absence with the series. I can still remember aspects of the game as if I had just played it yesterday, but the truth is I haven’t played it in years. Did I mention that the game was gorgeous?

The game wasn’t all good however; sailing got a bit annoying later in the game, but at least you didn’t have to blow into a small hole in the middle of crowded bus. Other than that, I really loved Wind Waker and it is probably my favorite Zelda game of all time. That statement is a tad deceitful as it’s the only Zelda game I’ve finished (or even really played) since The Adventure of Link, but I honestly think that only A Link to the Past may even have a chance of taking the top spot. I am by no means the biggest Zelda fan, but Wind Waker is by far my greatest gaming memory of 2003.