The Video Game Critic

So now that the new HD remake has come out for the Wii U I'm seeing nothing but gushing praise being heaped upon Wind Waker.  I'm not talking about critically.  Most critics were pleased with WW, but I remember lots of fans skewering it.  

There were the silly 'Celda" jokes and people that absolutely detested the look of the game.  Not to mention that many people hated the game's open world ocean environments/sailing.  With more powerful graphics being available people were aggravated Nintendo went with such a stylistic cartoony look.  They saw the PS2 and the Xbox...systems with more "mature" games being released and couldn't stand this 'Saturday morning cartoon' kiddie style of their favorite franchise.  In terms of Zelda games...many fans deemed it a failed experiment and wanted something similar to Ocarina of Time.  Even Nintendo seemed to agree and shifted the WW style of games over to the DS and went in another direction for their console releases.

All that hate seems to be gone now.  People are coming out of the woodwork claiming how WW is a masterpiece and how it stands the test of time.  I've been reading folks comments on the web stating how it's arguably considered the best Zelda game ever.  It's weird to see this 'revisionist' view on this misunderstood game.  People going back and changing their minds on a videogame isn't something that happens too often.  It's usually reserved for the film industry that dismisses a great movie like John Carpenter's "The Thing".  

I could be wrong, but this is just my impression from the few websites that I've seen cover the recent re-release.  I'm not complaining, I just find it really odd.  Typically, once gamers pan something it's rare that they turn around and all embrace it again.  I've always loved WW and I'm glad it is finally being recognized for it's timeless design...but man.  Where was all this love back in the day?!?!  The Zelda series might have been drastically different if people fully embraced the whimsical WW.  

Thoughts?  Am I nuts and need to remove the tinfoil hat?

You're not wrong at all.  People saw those first screen shots of the ridiculously fan-named "Zelda 128" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjaP1jg1QR8) and everyone wanted that game.  It made sense, I guess.  It was the natural progression after the more mature look and themes of Ocarina and Majora's Mask.  But at the official E3 reveal of Wind Waker, fans nerd raged and people shut themselves off from the game, just because it used cel-shading (like that's a bad thing).

While it irritates me that so many have "come around," it's one of the most deserving games ever to be the subject of positive revisionist history.  It was one of the best games of the decade, but fans derided it.  It's just nice that the game is finally being given its due.

I don't own a Wii U yet, but I will soon.  WWHD will be the first game I purchase and play.  I love Wind Waker and I've always LOVED the art style.  They even through the style into Four Swords and I loved it there, too!

I agree with you 100% JLH.

It blows my mind, to be honest. All lot of the intitial hate was stupid, but the love fest is really out of no where. Suddenly this is one of the most beloved Zelda's? Since why????

I really loved the art style back in the day, and I am sure the remake looks great, especially because I remember the original got very 'fuzzy' in the not too far distance. But the game does have some pretty boring dungeons (not all of them!) and of course everyone can rag on the sailing. I would not fault the sailing if you could multitask while doing it, but I do not believe the remake addressed that.

It is a nice 3D Zelda. No more, no less.

Funny thing is, the game is still aesthetically pleasing with the Cel shading ... much more so that if they would have tried realistic at that point. 

I tried Wind Waker out and didn't have a problem with the graphics, but I wasn't impressed by the gameplay very much(those sailing sections just dragged on for way too long).

It's because the people who grew up in the GameCube days are more vocal now than they were when they were kids. You see, people who are around my age grew up in the 6th generation of gaming, and a lot of us were Nintendo kids. It was mostly teenagers and adults who bashed Wind Waker, but us kids loved it. Nowadays, people in my age group are starting to come out of the woodwork, and us kids who appreciated Wind Waker for how good it is, well, now we're expressing our opinions about it on the internet. Thus, that's why Wind Waker has a better reception today than it did ten years ago.

I see the same thing with Majora's Mask. Now, MM did generally get a good reception, but it was still a polarizing games, and I remember people would call it the worst Zelda game. It was truly the black sheep of the Zelda family, at least of the 3D Zeldas. And yet, nowadays, people are finally starting to appreciate this game for the masterpiece that it truly is. I mean, it did a complete 180. I remember when no one thought MM was superior to Ocarina Of Time. Now I see people arguing all the time that Majora's Mask is, indeed, the superior game. Yes, many people are now admitting that they prefer Majora's Mask over Ocarina Of Time. That would have been considered blasphemy just ten short years ago. Hell, I've seen MANY people argue that Majora's Mask is the best game in the series period. And you know what? I couldn't be happier. The game is a true masterpiece, and I'm glad to see it finally get the respect it deserves.

Interesting. I'm working on ocarina (finally!), and am trying to decide to go after MM, WW, or TP next (on gamecube).

Nerds just like to fuss, and a radical change in art style was a super easy target.

My biggest beef with the series is just the traveling sections and back & forth between various areas, which is probably due to the fact that I tend to struggle with non-linear games.