It takes a special sort of creator(s) to make the player feel emotions for a game. Story is an easy way to make a player feel part of the game. Graphics seem to be pretty common too. But what if a game could give you a sense of adventure and accomplishment through gameplay alone? I think that's a special sort of achievement. 
Nintendo has done it before, as have many Indie and third party developers. The question is, does Wind Waker HD live up to this sense of adventure? Let's find out!

~Shiiiny~
When the original Wind Waker came out, it was controversial for a very simple reason: The graphics. Unlike any Zelda game before it, it went for a more cartoony cell-shaded style that turned many off and charmed others. 
While I found the graphics of the original amazing, does the remake do them justice?
For the most part, yes.
The models for enemies and NPCs alike are much smoother, the draw distance for islands is far better, but one of the greatest improvements is the lighting. My goodness, is it ever gorgeous!
The glow that bright things like lava and larvae give off is simply amazing to see, even for a WiiU game. 
Just like others for the system, Wind Waker makes sure to use colour absolutely everywhere. Even dark places like the Earth Temple use more of a grey-blue as opposed to the dark brown we get used to seeing. Despite all my praise for the graphics, there's one thing in this game that bugs me: Some of the more important characters look like they're made of clay at points, especially Link.
Something about character textures is a little bit off, so in certain lighting (Like, say, Link's classic 'You got a thing' pose) the model looks lifeless.
But considering that's my only real gripe, I'd say these graphics are still nice.

~Music to my Ears~
The soundtrack within this remake is extremely faithful to the original, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, thanks to the WiiU's superior power, I'd say it sounds better than ever. Very few songs hit a low note, and they are all varied just enough that you don't tire of the soundtrack easily.
One of the better songs is probably the mini boss theme. What makes this song so great is that it incorporates sound effects into it, so every time you hit the mini boss it becomes part of the song. It makes fighting the mini bosses in this game much more satisfying and makes the song overall better.
One thing I did notice however is that the orchestra didn't feel as full or powerful as songs from other games, like 3D World or Wonderful 101, and Wind Waker is a game that feels so adventurous that it seems weird for the sound to feel so small.

~Addicting as Chocolate~
Just like other zelda games, there is lots to do in the form of heart pieces. Plenty are found by doing side quests though you will need to do fair bit of treasure hunting in the water get all of them. Other
than getting rewarded for your good deeds with hearts pieces and rupees, there is also a matter of going to every island to explore, getting every bomb, arrow and wallet upgrade, filling in the whole sea chart, getting the Swift Sail, getting all (or at least most) of the treasure charts, and filling in the Nintendo Gallery (Good luck with THAT one). You can't really say that there isn't much to do.
A bit of a problem I have though, is that it takes a while before the game allows you to do any of this. It restricts your freedom until after Forbidden Forest, which bugs me. If you're going to give me a whole big ocean, I'm going to want to explore it right away. So don't force the player down a linear path at the beginning of the game.
It spoils the sense of adventure.

~Not quite as deep as the sea~
In terms of depth, Wind Waker HD is really pretty much the exact same as the original, which is a little disappointing. It would've been nice if the dungeons had gotten an upgrade similar to Ocarina of Time's Master Quest to give it more to separate itself from it's Gamecube origins. The gameplay is deeper than say, Super Mario 3D World but it still isn't anything that hasn't been seen in other Zelda games. Going off the Gamepad controls, the A button still lets you roll or do a spin attack, depending on Z-targeting. B is your standard attack, and X, Y and R are your equipped items. The D-pad is only used for the Wind Waker and ship controls. The only reason this set up could ever give you much trouble is if you're still getting used to the clunky gamepad.
What you do in the game is typical to any other Zelda game too. All you need to do is solve puzzles in dungeons to get through them, beat the boss and miniboss(es) and save the drowned world from disaster. Obviously, there is slightly more to it, especially when exploring, but this is it for the most part.

~Actions speak louder than words~
Toon Link's story is a simple tale. It's also completely and utterly 100% the same as the original. Yaaay....
I don't have many complaints with the story in the first place, and I know it's essentially a port, but it also makes any story related event feel sort of stale.
Alright, so the story starts off with young Toon Link. It's his birthday today, and his sister and grandma have gotten him gifts (Yes, this Link has family). His sister Aryll wakes him up before sending him to the house to get Grandma's present. He gets the present (The legendary hero's clothes) and Link leaves. He then gets his present from his sister, a (pretty useless) telescope that she loved. When he looks out it, he sees a mysterious girl kidnapped by a bird and learns swordsmanship to save her quickly. However, soon after the girl is save, poor Aryll is kidnapped! It's now up to our brave hero to save her and return safely to Grandma!
The story in and of itself is sweet, if not too complicated. If you played the original, you'll know what's going on.

~ Almost as easy as slashing your sword~
This game is far from difficult. Maybe you'll find some trouble in Hero Mode or in a three heart run, but bosses and the like are not difficult. Every boss follows the same formula of 'use the dungeon item !!1!' and even Darknuts really aren't too bad when using action commands. Some puzzles will probably have you using your noggin, but the story otherwise doesn't hold much challenge.
Sidequests are much more tricky though. Sometimes as a Guide Dang It! Sometimes because it's genuinely difficult. Either way, it's enough to at least give Wind Waker HD some credit, if not much.

~Extras~
+Speed sail makes sailing soo much more tolerable.
+Prettier UI than the original WW
+Triforce pieces are less time consuming to find
*Tingle Tuner is replaced with Tingle Bottle for Miiverse posts
+ SELFIES
And with that, I'll leave Wind Waker HD with a decent 7.5/10

Great job, sis! I agree with you on basically all the points here. I'm actually kinda glad someone else thinks Link looks like clay at times. ^.^' I never could get a GBA connector for the original game. But I think there was a big sidequest with that thing, so it may turn out to be even less than the original.

Great review, and the TvTropes reference made it greater-er.

Good work Gamin! This review was fun to read and you compared it to the original game every time since it's a remake, which is of course a great thing to do. I could understand it well even though I've never played it. Have you played the original game?
And it's interesting that Toon Link made much of an impact, because a lot of following Zelda games have Toon Link, even Super Smash Bros Brawl decided to switch young Link for Toon Link! :O

A user of this :  
The side quest is actually still there, it's just harder. If you know where the invisible chests were in the original, you can still get them in this version. In fact, Knuckle, a character you meet after you complete this sidequest, is actually required for the Nintendo Gallery now.
juuldude :  
I only got to play a demo of the original. It was fun, and I always wanted it, but only got the chance once this HD remake came out.
I think Toon Link was the better choice for Smash (May be some bias here) because he looks and feels more distinctive.

Gamin'Gal :

Okay.

1.- I have accepted that you and User like Tingle, whom I hate.

2.- A link to the past was the first cartoony Zelda game. Though Zelda II had traits of it as well.

3.- I am not really a Zelda fan, because I find the series stale anymore. Should try to be more like Sonic. You know, different. And not focus on Link and Gannondorf as the ONLY developed characters let alone ones who actually do anything combat wise. Hooray for Spirit Tracks for making Zelda playable, well, sortof.



Anyways, nice review. I really liked it, you have good character when writing it and I think you're fairly smart Gamin.


As for opinions on the game, you know me.

I don't like Tingle. Or the cell shaded graphics, you might say I look at this game as a kind of abomination in ways.

The sailing sounds boring to me on subsequent playthroughs.

The game I hear though, a lot of people liked, and I can respect that. I do wish Zelda hadn't gotten so segregated over the gamecube era though. I do have the Wii U version of this game at my house, And I did give it a try along with the GC demo on the Zelda Collection. (love that disk.)

It really isn't all bad though. Being able to pick up enemies weapons is cool.

Sword legion :