28-03-2003 11:14									#91
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

I'm up to the forbidden forest right now as well, and I can say in all truth the game is truly amazing. I'm no big fan of cel shading in general, but this game is just so incredible, the art just draws you into the world.

Best part of the game so far? The squid game... "ka-boom!"

	28-03-2003 11:49									#92
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

quote: Best part of the game so far? The squid game... "ka-boom!"

That was hilarious...

	28-03-2003 18:28									#93
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

From the screenshots, not a real fan of the graphics.....

	28-03-2003 20:26									#94
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

You'll have to see the game in action to able to appreciate the graphics... it looks so much better in animation than it does in still shots.

	28-03-2003 20:34									#95
	Inflate your Upload Space

I agree. I wasn't very happy with the graphics from the stills, but I've downloaded several videos and loved what I saw.

Also, every review of it I've read mentions how good the game looks when it's running.

It's not going to be to everyone's tastes, of course, but then again nothing is...

	29-03-2003 02:04									#96
	Full PM-box? Change here!

quote: Originally posted by Drake Tungsten quote: yeah, Im' glad they won't let you go too far out of the way at the start. Really? I don't like it at all. I love the sailing so much that I'd rather spend my time charting islands than beating the next dungeon. Needless to say, I was a little bit miffed when I got done charting the 7 squares open to me and was forced to actually enter the Forbidden Forest. Luckily, I can explore some more once I beat this dungeon.

Yeah, i retract what I earlier said, after some practice, I wish I could open everything up. Too bad they can't just have that on for a beginner.

I'm working my way to the forbidden forest currently.

	29-03-2003 05:49									#97
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

quote: Originally posted by Ivellios You'll have to see the game in action to able to appreciate the graphics... it looks so much better in animation than it does in still shots.

Really, I've played the demos at the stores....The game operates the same, the graphics are definately a step down (I really dont care if links eyeballs can focus on an object. I'd rather NOT have that and have improved graphics).

The atmosphere wasn't good, but wasn't bad either.

But theres nothing compelling me to buy this, ESPECIALLY because of the graphics and because of Gamecubes reputation for short, easy games.

I'm back to my old PC, where I can have long, nice games with good graphics

	29-03-2003 06:25									#98
	Inflate your Upload Space

quote: I'm working my way to the forbidden forest currently.

I beat it this morning. A very cool dungeon.

Now I can explore some more! Hooray!

BTW, the graphics are the bomb biggity. So immersive...

	30-03-2003 09:14									#99
	Increase the size of your Attachments

so far the most impressive part is the cartoony graphics. i wasn't sure if i'd like them but they are great once you see them in action. the gameplay i'm not so sure about yet. some of it is pretty tedious considering how easy everything is so far. if the gameplay was actually challenging i would like it much more. the part in the fortress where you have to sneak around in the barrels is boring and very easy. i love the fact that as long as you are hidden under a barrel the ai won't notice you 95% of the time.

everyone praises nintendo's high level of polish but i don't agree so far. i've seen rats run over open vertical windows(maybe it had glass but i've never seen a rat run over a glass window either!), and the example some cite about world interactivity with breakable plates is an annoyance to me since they literally jump & break if you touch them. sure it's interesting at the first few times but there are random plates strewn everywhere.

my initial impression is wind waker is much more discombobulated game than the n64 zelda games. it seems as if they were shooting for a different type of game than they ended up with. i don't think people would be nearly as positive about this game without it's excellent graphics. i'm sure i am in the minority though as everyone loves every zelda game. i just feel zelda is moving away from interesting gameplay which is the reason i used to love it so much. it seems each new zelda is being more of a final fantasy type game which takes up your time but really doesn't offer any challenge. even the classic zelda gameplay started in n64 is getting old as i already mastered it long ago. i'm sure new players will be much enthused but for me it feels zelda is stagnating especially after playing master quest.

Last edited by pg on 30-03-2003 at 09:22

	30-03-2003 12:44									#100
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

The game is really easy, which is my only beef with it. Everything else is perfect...

	30-03-2003 21:01									#101
	Support Apolyton

Played for a few hours last night, just long enough to get through the Island Fortress thingy... boy, that was a blast. Loving this, absolutely loving this.

So far, better than Metroid Prime.

	30-03-2003 21:03									#102
	Inflate your Upload Space

quote: Originally posted by Guynemer So far, better than Metroid Prime.

That settles it. I must have this game.

	31-03-2003 00:17									#103
	Support Apolyton

I've been playing for a long time and I still haven't explored the whole ocean despite my concerted efforts. The overworld is massive...

	31-03-2003 14:58									#104
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

heh, it is very easy. i beat one of the dungeons in like 10mins(the dragon one) and another in 20(forbidden forest). i've managed to not die at all so far. even the ending bosses weren't any challenge as they reuse old zelda gameplay to some extent, and thus i already know what to do. you seem to spend quite a bit of time on your boat. i'm finding it fun mainly because of how immersive the graphics are. the black and orange spikey guys are cool!

there are lots of little tweaks i've found help the zelda experience(from the camera seeming a bit better, to the first person mode being much improved as it seems you have a bigger view). the boomerang is ridiculously easy to use even with multiple targets. the fact that there is no way to skip the wind waker cutscene is quite annoying as i've seen it too many times. i'm hoping it gets better as i get further into the game(it does seem to be).

Last edited by pg on 31-03-2003 at 15:07

	31-03-2003 15:14									#105
	Suffering from ads?

Ugh......This game sounds so appealing, but from the demo version I played......It just won't immerse me (I'm the type of person who if I find one flaw in the game that stays till the end, it completly ruins my experience)

	31-03-2003 18:58									#106
	Increase the size of your Attachments

quote: Originally posted by pg the fact that there is no way to skip the wind waker cutscene is quite annoying as i've seen it too many times.

Here here. ugh. I hate that thing now. I get the point, the wind song, do I need the bs everytime? annoying. it makes my travel much more inefficient because i don' want to hear it AGAIN.
other than that I love the game

	02-04-2003 10:09									#107
	Put an end to popups!

Okay, WTF.

I'm like 25 minutes into the game and I'm stuck. And I'm not sure it's my fault.

I'm at the point where the little sister gives you the telescope.

Every 3 seconds, it says "Hey, what's that? Are you looking at the RED POSTBOX"? When I'm not. So I think, perhaps this is a hint to look at it. So I do. And zoom in, all the way, and still look at it. The message keeps popping up.

And there appears to be NO WAY to get out of this blasted telescope view, I've mashed all the buttons possible and it seems to be stuck in a loop...

	02-04-2003 10:14									#108
	Support Apolyton

So it finally did it, when I zoomed in and kept mashing the controls, it noticed the weird postman...

	02-04-2003 10:56									#109
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

Luckily you won't be using the telescope much after that.

	02-04-2003 11:10									#110
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

I admit the graphical style is growing on me.

	04-04-2003 05:20									#111
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

I really wish that they would cross off the subs/platforms/big octos that you have already beaten on your special charts. I'm having a hell of a time remembering which ones I've already beat and I sure as hell don't want to sail to each one individually to check them out. I guess I could just forget about them and not get everything, but I'm cursed by anal retentive collecting urges...

	05-04-2003 02:50									#112
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

Shark Island is hella fun...

	05-04-2003 10:46									#113
	Support Apolyton

Looks like I was right about sales:

From IGN's N-query:

quote: In your article 'Zelda to top one million' today, you seemed skeptical of Nintendo's claim that it was nearing the 1.1 million mark in sales with Wind Waker. Do you have different numbers? Matt responds: Yes, actually. The numbers I have suggest that Wind Waker has sold through 650,000 units -- a far cry from the 1.1 million mark, which refers to the numbers of units Nintendo has actually shipped to retailers. The funny thing about the 650,000 figure, if true -- and I'm fairly certain it is -- is that it means only 50,000 or so people have bought the game in addition to pre-orders. A lot of pre-orders, yes. But will the sales rate drop off significantly now that the hardcore audience has swooped the game up? Guess we'll have to wait for TRST data to see how this one unfolds. It's going to be interesting.

	05-04-2003 12:37									#114
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

quote: Guess we'll have to wait for TRST data to see how this one unfolds.

I think you should follow that advice.

And just remember that I have a year before I'm wrong...

	05-04-2003 12:45									#115
	Suffering from ads?

Original article...

quote: April 04, 2003 - Nintendo of America in an official press release today patted itself on the back for massive sales of its third-person GameCube action-adventure Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. The company also said that sales of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire for Game Boy Advance have skyrocketed, only matched by the performance of its new handheld hardware Game Boy Advance SP. The company said it currently has the best-selling console game, the best-selling portable games, and the best-selling portable hardware system in the US. More than 600,000 consumers pre-ordered Nintendo's GameCube Zelda sequel Wind Waker, and Nintendo said that "retailers are quickly burning through the entire initial North American shipment of 1.1 million games." The publisher, though, did not release specific figures. As a result of demand for Zelda, Nintendo said, GameCube hardware sales have jumped 20 percent in America. The firm was similarly choosey about its wording for sales of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire on the home front. But it did say that the games have dominated the sales charts and that "more than 2.2 million [copies of the games] have now moved through to North American retailers, showing conclusively that Pokemon is back with an exclamation point." Again, no details on actual sell-through, but if demand for the titles in Japan -- where they have sold 4.4. million copies combined -- is any indication, the numbers should prove similarly phenomenal. Nintendo also said that it has moved more than 800,000 Game Boy Advance SPs in the US. "While no one will know the champion of this season's college basketball tournament until next week, the winner of this spring's video game tournament is Nintendo," says Peter MacDougall, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America. "Game Boy Advance SP, Zelda and Pokemon represent a three point play that players and retailers dream about." "At what is traditionally a slow time of the year for videogames, Nintendo has seized the sales initiative," says Richard Simone, video game buyer, Toys "R" Us. "With their blockbuster products Game Boy Advance SP, The Legend of Zelda and Pokemon, they're a big part of why videogames are one of the truly bright spots at retail." Look for an updated look at sales on both platforms as official TRST data becomes available.

http://cube.ign.com/articles/392/392301p1.html

quote: As a result of demand for Zelda, Nintendo said, GameCube hardware sales have jumped 20 percent in America.

That's good news for the Big N.

quote: "While no one will know the champion of this season's college basketball tournament until next week, the winner of this spring's video game tournament is Nintendo," says Peter MacDougall, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America. "Game Boy Advance SP, Zelda and Pokemon represent a three point play that players and retailers dream about."

What a gay statement...

	20-04-2003 01:21									#116
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

Finally found time to beat the game. It's a really great game, although not quite as good as Ocarina of Time; it suffers a bit from being too short and too easy. The ending was also a little confusing, but I guess that's a trademark of Zelda games.

Time to beat the second quest. I hope it's harder the second time through.

	05-05-2003 02:07									#117
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Anyone else beat the game yet? If so, what did you guys think of the ending?

	05-05-2003 02:32									#118
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

I haven't beaten it yet. I put it down for awhile. I thought the gameplay was great, but I wish that it had a little more depth.

So much of the game is redundant. Treasure chests in each square, playing the wind song a thousand times. I just got tired of it.

I wish there was more to do in this game. I wish they would remake link to the past using this engine, that would be incredible.


I do like the game, and will probably pick it back up soon