The Wind Waker: Second Opinion

Thoughts, continued:

• When the Moblins and Darknuts woke up in Hyrule Castle, I had trouble at first getting them isolated enough that I was comfortable fighting. Once the numbers started to thin out a bit it got easier, but those first few were more exciting than I wanted.
• For the trading sequence, this time I sat down with a chart of who gives what to work out a path to get all 12 items unlocked. Most of those deals were with the merchant at Greatfish Isle, who’s always critical of the item Link gives him, even if it’s the same exact item he handed Link seconds beforehand. On the other hand, he’s the one who gives the heart piece reward, so keep him happy. And I don’t think there’s any real call for money afterward aside from paying the extortionist.
• I took the time to explore the Forsaken Fortress the second time around. It’s a lot of fun getting to fight the Moblins who Link had to hide from his first run through. There’s a Floormaster in there, which was a shock.
• The fight with the Helmaroc King may be my favorite boss fight in the series to date. As Tetra, Aryll, and Gonzo were leaving, I was excited about getting to smash a giant bird in the face with a hammer again. Some things are just satisfying.
• The most tedious part of the game is getting the treasure charts from the Eye Reefs. It occupies that annoying position of being less useful the more you know about the game, but still required to get all the treasure charts. (Even the completionist in me says “screw that” looking at the sliding tile puzzle in the cabana.) It’s all naval combat where the boomerang is useless, perhaps the only part of the game I truly dislike.
• Yep, that giant pig will attack Link. And it hurts.
• I liked the Earth Temple so much better on second run. I sometimes hit the release button with Medli because that’s the shield button that Link uses to bounce light in a particular direction, but all my other frustrations that I remembered from before were gone. I could appreciate the puzzles and enemies (Floormasters: supremely annoying, but I don’t think there’s any enemy in the game that makes my heart race as much to fight). As for Jalhalla, now that I have a better understanding of how to fight him, he’s a lot more fun. (The Great Spin Attack makes wiping up the component Poes maybe a little too easy.) And his death scene is second only to Twinrova’s for humor value.
• One annoyance I found in the Wind Temple that didn’t hit me on my first trip: For some reason I left Makar behind when I went in the room in the deep basement with a Wizzrobe, some Stalfos, and a few Bokoblins hiding behind wall fixtures, and per convention, he returned to where I entered the giant central room: way back up at the top.
• The Triforce charts are a nice mix of aspects from the game – minidungeons, tough fights, naval combat, even using Hyoi Pears to fly seagulls where you want them to go. I had to track down the ghost ship this time – not so lucky to have it be near the same island where the map is.
• The Savage Labyrinth: The enemies don’t drop anything, but Link can still steal stuff using the Grappling Hook. ReDeads are particularly nice for this: They sit there and let Link steal all their stuff without waking up to come eat him. I got through the whole thing without needing potions/fairies, getting by entirely on stolen hearts. (I turned on the Magic Armor for the very end – down to the last Darknut with enough hearts left not to worry – just to see what it does.)
• The first time through, I hunted just enough Blue Chu Jellies to unlock Blue Potions on Windfall. This time, even though I got blue potions from Hollo, I decided I was going to hunt down every Blue ChuChu and harvest their jelly. Most of them are easy, but some are pretty well hidden, and some are completely nonintuitive like having to backflip onto a rock on Pawprint Isle to get one to spawn.
• Rematch!Molgera’s music has a different percussion line, meaning no chickachickachicka. This makes me sad.
• Oddly, the Puppet Ganon phase I had the least trouble with the second time around was the one I cursed repeatedly the first time. Now, that’s because I found a strategy that, while unorthodox, works: run into Puppet Moldorm Ganon’s face with a bomb, and it’ll be stunned long enough for Link to run to the tail and shoot it. Link takes some damage this way, but it works, it’s fast, and there are hearts and a fairy available before going against Ganon.
• When Link and Tetra resurface after Ganon’s defeat, not only is Tetra back to herself, but Link’s wearing the green tunic. Hrm.

Ultimately, my second opinion is much like my first. The Wind Waker is a great game. The art is gorgeous. The challenges are fun. It’s probably got the best story of any Zelda game I’ve played so far. It does a great job combining open-world exploration with the series' typical item-based progression. Sailing the sea is fun. But... I admire the game more than love it.