The Wind Waker's Story Puts a Twist on the Zelda Template
In The Wind Waker, the land of Hyrule has been subsumed for generations beneath the Great Sea and forgotten. The game begins as Link, the young hero, determines to rescue his sister and other children, who have been kidnapped by monsters. Helped by Tetra, a girl pirate captain, and the King of Red Lions, a talking boat, Link sets sail to the island of the Forsaken Fortress, where the children are being held captive.
Soon Link discovers that Hyrule had been flooded in order to trap the evil Ganon, defeated at the end of the Nintendo 64's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Ganon is preparing to return, and he is the one behind the monster attacks. But Link is the reincarnation of the "Hero of Time," the only one who can defeat Ganon, and Link must journey throughout the Great Sea to develop his powers for their final confrontation.
Since what was the "overworld" in previous Zelda games is now a series of islands, Link must travel among them by boat in his quest. Link finds the "Wind Waker," a kind of magical baton, allowing the player to "conduct" (by manipulating the controller) different melodies that command the winds and allow Link to sail. This continues the strong musical element of Zelda gameplay that was introduced in Ocarina of Time and continued in the series through to Twilight Princess on the Wii console.
The maritime environment allowed another gameplay innovation – familiar Zelda items serve double duty at sea. The Grappling Hook, for instance, turns into a crane to recover sunken treasure (complete with treasure charts), while bombs are used as cannon balls in battles with pirate ships. The contrast between sea-going exploration and land-based swordfighting allowed for some of the most varied play yet seen in the Zelda series.