Wind Waker's Sprawling Ocean Is Still The Best Open World Ever Made
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker was the first time a game felt truly endless to me. The reality is far more manageable once I cut through the nostalgic fog, but as a child it felt like this vision of Hyrule went on forever. In a generation where open world games were only just finding their feet, Nintendo managed to achieve something that even today still floors me.
Link befriends the King of the Red Lions and embarks on a journey to rescue his sister from the clutches of Ganon, and despite this epic quest our hero has the world at his fingertips. A sky blue expanse of unpredictable waves and raucous winds that dictate the direction our vessel happens to move in. Yet we have power over that elemental destiny, able to chart a course fueled by little more than our own curiosity. Few Zelda games have managed to satisfy this thirst, and the setting of Wind Waker still makes it such a unique experience.
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Wind Waker begins in isolation. Outset Island is a dense landmass filled with familiar faces and only a handful of potential places to seek out. Link has never left this place, dedicated to his small family and tending the land to keep them fed and satisfied. He doesn’t know he’s a Hero of Time, and that a vast responsibility awaits him in the days to come. This opening is peerless because it draws us in so perfectly. Link awakens, and it’s his birthday, tasked with meeting his sister atop the lookout tower to receive a present and get the ball rolling.
Small conversations with locals and optional side quests add a layer of complexity, with the added benefit of combat and exploration only coming when our protagonist is ready to take the
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