The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is a 2002  action-adventure game  developed and published by  Nintendo  for the  GameCube . An installment in  The Legend of Zelda  series , it was released in Japan in December 2002, in North America in March 2003, and in Europe in May 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 . However,  The Wind Waker 's reputation improved over time, and it is now widely 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.