The Great Sea

*This is not a review of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. This is just about me and why I cried out all the water in my body when I finished the game...yeah.

You know where the ocean in Phantom Hourglass came from? It's the collected tears of all who cried in the ending of Wind Waker, and that includes me (and I'm proud of it!!!).

I just finished The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker a few minutes ago and right now I'm still letting that ending sink in. Long before I played Wind Waker I already read about the story, the characters, what the gameplay is like, the cel-shaded art style that caused an uproar (way back in 2002), and the ending. But what I read about was still just a part of Wind Waker and there were plenty more to discover and to experience on my own. Even the ending, where Link defeats Ganon by stabbing him in the head, caught me by surprise. 

It was already my third try fighting Ganon. I've already used my bottled fairy, and I was down to two and a half hearts. Suddenly Zelda shoots an arrow and I raised my shield reflecting the light towards Ganon stunning him. I tried to attack but the counter prompt appeared on the screen so I pressed A out of impulse then suddenly Link jumped and stabbed Ganon on the head. I knew that was how the battle would end but I didn't expect it to happen right at that very moment. It all happened so fast that I just sat still processing, comprehending what just happened. It's moments like those, when you know and expect what is going to happen but it still surprises you is why I really love Zelda (both the series and the princess), and gaming in general. It sent chills running down my spine and the middle of my back felt really cold. I don't know if that's supposed to be good or bad, but that was what I felt as Ganon uttered his final words before turning into stone.

The scenes at the end with Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, as Farewell Hyrule King played in the background, really destroyed my emotional threshold. I cried. I really bawled like a baby out there. I cried because Ganon has been defeated, because the King of Hyrule is such a tragic character yet he fought until the end, he gave hope to Link and Zelda, and to the new generation, and he chose to stay in the Hyrule where he belonged.

I also cried when Link left Outset Island and his family again, this time to join Tetra's Pirate Crew and discover a new land to call Hyrule. But most of all I cried because I finished the game. It's still not really over since Phantom Hourglass immediately picks off where Wind Waker left, and Spirit Tracks is the outcome of their adventures in the Great Sea, and their Great Voyage after a hundred years. Plus I still have to go on a completionist round for Wind Waker since there's plenty more to obtain from Heart Pieces to all the bottles, ect. The adventure never really ends in Zelda, but for now I'm still a little uneasy because of all the epicness I had to absorb on one sitting.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker gave me, and did to me what any of the Zelda titles I've played thus far have not. And most likely my adventure in the Great Sea will stay with me until I probably get amnesia or perish into the life stream.

Well, I still have another Zelda title to finish but I'm going back to Zuellni on Sunday so I guess that's out of the question. Besides, I'm still letting the remnants of that ending sink in. I can't even touch the box of Skyward Sword right now...I guess that's an adventure for another time.

I'm thirteen years late but really, a big thank you to Mr. Miyamoto, Mr. Aonuma, Mr. Iwata and everyone involved in this masterpiece, and in Nintendo for bringing us Wind Waker. 

But right now, all I can say that is conclusive is The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is the best Zelda game I have played thus far (and that is saying a lot since I've already played Ocarina of Time).