The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
North American packaging artwork variant, depicting Link and the King of Red Lions[a]
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Eiji Aonuma
Producer(s)	Shigeru Miyamoto Takashi Tezuka
Programmer(s)	Toshio Iwawaki Kazuaki Morita
Artist(s)	Yoshiki Haruhana Satoru Takizawa Masanao Arimoto
Writer(s)	Mitsuhiro Takano Hajime Takahashi
Composer(s)	Kenta Nagata Hajime Wakai Toru Minegishi Koji Kondo
Series	The Legend of Zelda
Platform(s)	GameCube
Release	JP: December 13, 2002 NA: March 24, 2003 EU: May 2, 2003 AU: May 7, 2003
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker^[b] is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. An installment in The Legend of Zelda series, it was released in Japan on December 13, 2002, in North America on March 24, 2003, and in Europe on May 2, 2003.

The game is set on a group of islands in a vast sea, a departure for the series. The player controls series protagonist Link as he attempts to save his sister from the sorcerer Ganon and becomes embroiled in a struggle for the Triforce, a sacred wish-granting relic. Aided by allies including pirate captain Tetra – an incarnation of Princess Zelda – and a talking boat named the King of Red Lions, Link sails the ocean, explores islands, and traverses dungeons to acquire the power necessary to defeat Ganon. Wind, which facilitates sailing, plays a prominent role and can be controlled with a magic conductor's baton called the Wind Waker.

The Wind Waker was directed by Eiji Aonuma and produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Development began in 2000. It retains the basic 3D gameplay of its predecessors, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, but the team chose to avoid the realistic graphics of previous games. Instead, they implemented a distinctive cartoon-like art style created through cel shading.

At its release, The Wind Waker received critical acclaim for its visuals, gameplay, level design, music, and story. The art direction proved divisive among players and contributed to comparatively weak sales; the game sold 4.6 million copies, far below the 7.6 million sold by Ocarina of Time. As a result, Nintendo changed directions with the next major Zelda installment, the more realistically styled Twilight Princess. The Wind Waker's reputation improved over time, and with retrospective analyses, it is now considered one of the greatest video games ever made. The Wind Waker popularized the "Toon Link" character, and received two direct sequels for the Nintendo DS, Phantom Hourglass (2007) and Spirit Tracks (2009). A high-definition remaster, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, was released for the Wii U in September 2013.
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