The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker's Artstyle 20 Years Later

Jon fondly remembers the cel-shaded Zelda

- Jon Wilson

Gamers are a complicated bunch. We use our voices and our words to voice concerns over the smallest issues, and then sometime later, that issue is lauded as an amazing feat that may never be replicated. We also buy games that maybe we shouldn’t have because we can’t resist the recycled technology and endless loot boxes that come with some of those titles. So, while we pretend we can do no wrong, we actually do and more often than you think. But one mistake might trump all those millions of Call of Duty copies sold and endless microtransactions purchased by your neighbour down the street. I’m talking about how, 20 years ago, gamers underestimated The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker’s art style, which would eventually become yet another issue, initially receiving a significant amount of hate before being lauded as something worth celebrating. This is what I’m here to talk about today, how stylised visuals create a sense of agelessness and why we, as gamers, might need to learn to look at the bigger picture more often.