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<b>Last week IGN traveled up to Seattle, Washington for Nintendo's Zelda Gamers Junket. The event, centered on The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, consisted of a video teleconference with game producer and director Shigeru Miyamoto and Eiji Aonuma, as well as a demonstration and hands-on time with the new epic adventure. Regarding the latter, we've been quietly biting our lip, as we have been under embargo until this evening (Dec. 13) at midnight ships in Japan. Our Japanese correspondent picked up the game last night, and delivered you first details . However, with only a short amount of playtime under his belt (at that time), what our overseas friend didn't know is we've actually seen much more of The Wind Waker. Following, we deliver you our hands-on impressions that are mostly spoiler-free. Sans for a few minor story developments, we won't be ruining the how-to element that every Zelda fan obviously adores.

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Set on the backdrop of the Pacific in the comfort of a seaside hotel, we enjoyed roughly four hours of this beautiful and refined Zelda for GameCube. Despite its departure towards a more cartoon-inspired atmosphere, The Wind Waker seems to be just as serious and detailed as The Ocarina of Time was. In fact, according to producer Eiji Aonuma, it actually features a much more complex story. As the game opens, you get a glimpse of things to come. Set 100 years in the future from Ocarina, Wind Waker's storyline tells of a past hero, legendary, dressed in green. It talks about his great battles with Ganon, his quest for the Triforce, Death Mountain, and much more. As explained in the aforementioned interview, Nintendo says there is always a new Link when evil arises. Basically, it seems the company constantly represents the eternal struggle between good and evil with Link and Ganon. Sure, it's not the most accurate way to evolve the series, but it seems to give them plenty of flexibility as well as the option to reuse the characters at any age without hesitation.

As Wind Waker opens, we get a glimpse of the tired and frazzled Link in his ‘jammies. You may be in your hometown, but there’s much trouble brewing. Your sister Arilla is stolen by a huge bird, your grandmother gives you some fancy green clothes, and you must begin training if you hope to save your beloved sister. That's the abbreviated synopsis. We'll expand on the training part. To earn your sword you have to head to the local dojo and learn all of your moves from a master trainer. This was actually available at E3. Comically, the trainer is extremely harsh on Link and will send you flying on your rear-end if you make an error during the sessions. You learn to jump attack, roll, dodge, and use the all-new evasive attack, which is a huge addition to the fighting mechanics. Here's how it works: as enemies approach Link's sword will glow bright green when he can use an evasive attack. Pressing the attack button at that time performs a number of different attacks depending on the enemy; it's context sensitive. On the usual Moblin-type characters Link will roll around the backside of the character and hit them from there. For other enemies like the Stalfos Knights (yes, they've returned!), Link will leap into the air and lop off their helmets by slicing through the laces binding them together. The fighting is amazingly well executed, and we'll talk more about it in detail shortly.

In the midst of all this, a blonde-haired girl is dropped into the nearby forest. Once you go and find her, it is revealed that she's a member of a pirate guild. Her crew comes to the island to save her with the intention to hit the open seas to capture this bird-like fiend. Naturally, Link has to be a part of the quest, but without a shield they don't think he'll be ready for the trials head. At this point it's up to the player to recall their previous exploits in town and find the shield. Once that's out of the way, it's bon voyage for Link. As you may have seen in the Japanese commercial spots, Link's departure from the island is a melancholy one. You are treated to a cut-scene overlaid with touching music, and you really get a sense for how developed Wind Waker is. There are highly animated cut-scenes to complement every key moment. The expression conveyed from each character is leaps and bounds ahead of what we saw in Ocarina of Time, and it feels natural instead of synthetic. At this particular moment you actually get a sense of Link's subtle apprehension to leave the island, but also excitement. Just as when you leave Kokiri Forest in Ocarina of Time, this is where the adventure truly begins.

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The Pirate Ship
As you hit the open seas, you are not treated to some brief cut-scene that suddenly places you on another island somewhere. Instead, taking into consideration the time that must pass, you are able to walk around the boat and talk to people to learn more about what's going on. You must also take part in some more training. In the gully of the ship, you meet a boy named Niko who teaches you the auto-jump maneuver, a returning mechanic, as well as how to swing on ropes. It's basic, and might seem trite, but it's a perfect example of the intelligent, well-balanced design you have always found in the Zelda franchise. It's something you need to learn at one point, so why use the time on the seas to let you do it at your own pace? As expected, it works perfectly.

Shortly after, as you approach an island fortress where you believe the bird and Arilla to be, you are placed in a barrel shot out of a cannon. It's not exactly the easiest way to break into a guard-ridden fortress, but it beats hauling in a giant boat or swimming. We saw this scene at E3, as well, and it's just another way that Nintendo is trying to breath some personality into Zelda. The animators go all out to show Link's frightened state of being, and watching the poor kid crash land is pretty amusing.

The Fortress
Again, this is all stuff that was shown at E3. You find a glowing stone in your pocket that acts much like Navi did in Ocarina of Time – the perfect device to give you game hints. A level based almost entirely on stealth, it has you sneak through dark halls under the cover of wooden barrels. The AI has seemingly been cleaned up slightly, which made it a little easier to carve a path through the halls and past the giant guards. One new thing we did notice is that while the guards would walk by your barrel if motionless, the rats that infested the prison had a keener sense of smell. The little buggers would actually jump into you if you got in there way, which actually moved you around a bit. To make matter worse, if you got hit by them too repeatedly they would break the barrel and expose you. Few things in life are that enraging. It happened to us, and we vowed to have our revenge on those rats eventually.

While playing this level, we did experience our first bit of camera trouble. It works almost entirely like the Ocarina of Time did, only there is a free mode. Basically, at any time you have the power to move the camera around with the C-stick Meanwhile, you can recenter it with the tap of the L-trigger, whereupon it locks behind you and follows you. The issue we had was that while hugging closely to the walls in our barrels, we couldn't quite position the camera in the right spot to keep track of the guards. It was only a minor distraction, however, and Nintendo actually implemented a nice solution to offset it. When a guard spots you the camera quickly, and heart-poundingly switches its angle to reveal their newfound caution. It will get you jumping out of your seat, and it also clues you in on how close to being caught you are.

With persistence, of course, making our way through the fortress was challenging, but not overly difficult. After all, it's not a temple, and it's more a test of the basic fighting and sneaking skills you have learned to that point. To avoid spoiling the story, we won't tell you what happens after you finish this level, but needless to say Link is left lying face-up on a beach the next morning. He has visions of dark foe with fiery red hair. The story starts to develop, and it's absolutely as dark and mysterious as the previous Zeldas.

Goodbye Epona, Hello Sailboat
As Link blurrily arises from his near-death state on the sunny beachside, he is greeted by a talking sailboat. He wants to help you out on your quest, but without a sail on his back there's nothing he can do. So, it's up to you to help him out, and, after all, how can sailing not be amazingly fun? Walking up the beachside, you notice that you're on a whole new island with a whole new town. It's pretty amazing that without any load times whatsoever you've moved from your peaceful village to this completely new destination. It's populated with totally new faces and that means you have a lot of people to talk to. There's plenty of sidequest material, but because we were on a time budget we rushed to find the sail. Sure enough, it was just a matter of purchasing one from a local fellow and returning it to the sailboat.

Upon doing that, you could hop right into the boat and hit the open waters. At this point our suspicions were confirmed: your horse Epona has been replaced by this sailboat; where your previous hub world was Hyrule Field, it is now the vast open sea. At this point we couldn't help but grin uncontrollably and pull ourselves to the edge of our seat. You could only sail in the direction of the wind, and slightly diagonally, but the map and open waters in Wind Waker are absolutely massive. This is no weak attempt, no frail concept that was poorly executed. In Wind Waker you will be able to explore the seemingly endless waters how you see fit. There are islands, outposts, and secrets littered everywhere.

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Sure riding through the fields on horseback and cutting you way through the thicket of forests is fun, but the totally free sailing in Wind Waker is just about the best thing since sliced bread. You're going to absolutely love it. This is where the day/night cycle takes place, and likewise you'll see changing weather patterns and waves of varying heights. There is much that is to be seen on the sea.

The controls are simply tied to the main analog stick for steering, the A-button for hopping slightly upward, and the X-button or Y-button for raising your sail. Since your sail is an equip-able item, you choose the button. You also carry it with you at all times.

For now, though, we could only go one direction, which led us to an ominous volcanic island. With ash and smoke swirling around the top, we feared it may already be Death Mountain, but that was not the case at all.

Volcanic Temple
Arriving on yet another island, we carved our way around the mountainside to find a village embedded in the face of it. Inside we found an interesting group of bird-people that were also baffled by the smoke and ash that swirled around their once peaceful mountain. We temporarily ignored that and headed for what appeared to be a post office. And sure enough it was a station for mail sorting. Looking for cool mini-games and a way to earn some rupees? This is the place to do it. Letters in this town are labeled with six different symbols, and you have to toss them as quickly as possible into the correct mail slots. It's simple in concept, but an extremely fun diversion and a test of dexterity that will probably addict people on contact. You'll want to be the fastest, rootin-tootin-est mail sorter in the land.

So, we digressed a little, but it wasn't long before we talked to some more townsfolk and found our way into the heart of the mountain. The visuals in this particular region are jaw-dropping. Hot embers, ash, and smoke swirl – thick and almost touchable – through the air. Not only is it extremely pretty, but it also denotes the direction the wind is blowing. As you might guess, many of the puzzles and the entire theme of the game is based around wind. For example, a young girl from the village attempts to aid you on your quest. And in a very Ico (PS2) fashion, you have to pick up the girl and toss her onto a nearby ledge. The trick is, she has to glide over to it. So, it's up to you to watch the thick soup of ash and embers and throw her at the proper time.

This got us into what we could safely call the first temple. This was the very same area demonstrated at E3 2002. Paths were bound with hot lava and bridges and stone walkways lined the entire temple. The pacing moved like any Zelda title would. You moved from room to room, finding your keys, opening treasure chests – revealing them by defeating enemies, and solved basic puzzles. Giant pots of water could be tossed into the lava, anywhere, to form platforms as the water cooled. In some areas, you actually had to position it so that these platforms sat atop lava geysers, which could give Link access to new areas.

Without giving away too much, we will tell you the first major item you earn: the hookshot. We know you've seen this in action at E3 or in the Cube Club demos, so it should come as no surprise. Combining these new skills with the rest you've learned, you are able to come face to face with the boss. The giant, multi-limbed beast is very similar to Ghoma in style, but it takes a bit more wit to defeat it. It's a wonderful first boss, but will leave you drooling for much more.

The Wind Waker
Naturally you have to earn something for your efforts of defeating gigantic lava beast. That just happens to be a heart container and, eventually, The Wind Waker. This baton-like item can control the wind, and just as you learned songs on your Ocarina, you will be learning songs with your Wind Waker. Controlled with the C-stick, you have to keep in time and conjure up the spirit of the wind, pressing in the correct directions at the right time. You are treated to a brief cut-scene where Link shows some connection to the song and magical force he creates, and then you can choose the direction of the wind. This is just one song, but we're sure there are others that serve different purposes.

As a replacement for the Ocarina, it works beautifully.

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Battle System Demo
We didn't have time to experience much past earning our Wind Waker, but fortunately the Nintendo staff was kind enough to demonstrate more beyond our playtime. In one scene, they were inside of a very large, almost Grecian themed room that was packed with what we believed to be Stalfos Knights. Plated in full body armor, including helmet, they had to be taken on from behind. The fighting demonstrated was more refined and entertaining than what the previously Zeldas have shown. It still uses the lock-on mechanic with the L-trigger, but new additions such as vastly improved AI and the evasive maneuver mix things up greatly.

The evasive attack allowed Link to leap into the air and knock the helmets off of their heads. After that, you could roll around behind them and slash through the threads that held the armor together. This would fully expose them, letting you take them on with more fairness.

Now, there are a few interesting things that happened during fights. First off, all the enemies interact with each other. If they swipe at you and hit another enemy, that enemy will feel the pain. So, you can use that to your advantage at times and cause true mayhem. Secondly, the foes drop their weapons when roughed up enough. This allows you to use the weapon for yourself, but often the much larger size is not worth the increased power because you swing slower. In the case of the Stalfos Knights, you could pick up their giant broad swords. The last and most interesting thing is how the AI evolves. Creatures will often revert to Kung Fu like tactics, and frantically look around the rooms for their weapons. Sometimes they'll even pick up other enemy's weapons – it's very cool stuff, and the new dynamics make battles downright addictive.

It's encouraging to see that Nintendo was not content with the already great system it conjured up for the Nintendo 64. It's still pushing the boundaries and expanding.

Deku Gliding
The Nintendo staff also took the time to give us a glimpse of Deku Gliding. It works pretty much as you would think it does in the screenshots. Similarly to how you could be spit out and into the air as the Deku in Majora's Mask, you can use the Deku Leaf to glide all around once you are spit up into the air or jump off a ledge. This is yet another item that diversifies the gameplay, and we don't imagine we'd like to see another Zelda title without it.

Visuals: Brought to Life
When Nintendo said it was going to use the cel-shading technology to give Zelda: Wind Waker a highly animated look, it wasn't kidding. While much that was shown at E3 2002 and in the Cube Clubs is pretty fantastic, we can assure you that you've seen nothing yet. Wind Waker is incredibly gorgeous. Yes it runs at 30 frames per second and uses depth of field tricks extensively, but the vibrance and attention to detail, the liveliness of the worlds, is fairly unmatched. We spoke of the thick lava and ash previously, but what we didn't tell you is that Nintendo thought through the visuals so much that these particles when they come into contact with the water, turn from the glowing orange to black, wet ash. It's subtle, but it's there and hard not to be impressed by.

Above all, the animation is awesomely detailed and the physics that complement this process are rarely seen. For example, four vines held up a platform in the center of one forest-temple type room. As you lopped off each of the vines, you could watch the platform gracefully react to the lacking support. Even more shocking is that the vines would grow back together, perfectly animated and almost believably alive.

It's all these subtle details – the animation, the physics, the particle effects – that make Wind Waker a rare gem in the graphics department. If you are discounting liking the title because of the new direction in visuals, you are missing out on a totally new, and jaw-dropping experience.

Sound Design
In an interview, Nintendo admitted that it has put more sound designers on Zelda than previously before. Koji Kondo is back and he's drawing on themes from Link to the Past and, of course, Ocarina of Time as it takes place just 100 years ahead of it. You'll hear little hints at the Sun Song and, naturally, the treasure box fanfare that's always been there. There is a ton of new composition, too. The opening sequence features almost Braveheart-quality tones to it with the use of an Irish Harp, and later on when Link departs his village for the first time the music really pulls at your heart strings. We're very excited to hear more.

Nintendo chose to use MIDI instead of orchestral pieces, but it seems to be paying off from what we've heard. The composition is solid in the first place, but hearing it change and alter as you move through the quest is great. A new element is that while you fight instruments will complement your attacks. So, as you connect with an enemy you'll hear a spike in the stringed instruments, for instance. It's a great idea, and has been executed nicely.

Tingle-vision: The GBA Link
The representatives in Seattle also took the time to show us exactly how the GBA link-up works. Essentially it has been designed to give a second player something to do. An on-screen curser can be controlled on the TV via the GBA. Meanwhile, on the GBA the player holding it will get hints and tips on what to do next. Not only can this person verbally communicate these tips to the person playing the game, but they can also use the on screen cursor to direct them. It will briefly blink and make a sound to alarm you.

Beyond this, however, there are some unique things you can do. The idea behind this is that you are Tingle, the clown-like fellow from the previous games, helping Link as you float around on your balloon. The player controlling Tingle can use the rupees that Link earns to buy special things. Occasionally you can purchase Tingle-bombs and use them to access secret areas, where treasure chests filled with goodies often hide. Nintendo didn't stop there, though. The beholder of the GBA can also purchase high jinks tools. That is, lets say you want to toss a water balloon on Link's head and have a good laugh. Yea, it's amusing for sure, but using up rupees and being a general jackass will probably earn you a good bruising in real life.

Outlook
The four hours we spent playing Wind Waker left us wanting more – much more. Where the Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask delivered something totally new and thrilling, Wind Waker expands, refines, and polishes everything we've come to love for a completely captivating experience. We must admit, we were worried that the cartoon style and the new focus on animating Link to sometimes-laughable extremes might ruin the presentation of the Zelda franchise. However, we've come to realize that Zelda may actually be more charming with all this new character. There's a lot more warmth, and subsequently a lot more emotion. This works both ways, we might add. Sure, you may laugh at more things than you have in the past Zeldas, but there have always been funny moments. Conversely, there will also be far more dramatic and heart-twisting scenes. There just seems to be room for more emotion; the visual detail combined with the brilliant music is enough to jerk a few tears if Nintendo tries hard enough.

That's it for now Zelda lovers, but stay tuned as we dig deeper into the Japanese version of the next few months.</b>



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