Uncover the secrets of Treasure Charts and Sunken Treasure in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Find hidden riches and valuable items across the Great Sea.
This article is about the game. For the item, see Wind Waker (Item)) "Wind Waker (Item)"). For other uses, see The Wind Waker (Disambiguation)) "The Wind Waker (Disambiguation)").
_The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker_ is the tenth main installment of _The Legend of Zelda_ series "The Legend of Zelda (Series)"). It is the first _Zelda_ game for the [Nintendo GameCube](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Nintendo_GameCube "Nintendo GameCube") & the sixth game in the series to be released on a Home console. It was released in Japan on December 13, 2002, in North America on March 24, 2003, in Korea on April 16, 2003, in Europe on May 2, 2003 and in Australia on May 7, 2003.
_The Wind Waker_ is notable for being the first game in the series to employ [cel-shading](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cel-shading "wikipedia:cel-shading"), a lighting and texturing technique that results in the game having a cartoon-like appearance. It also differentiates itself from other _Zelda_ games with its massive [Overworld](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Overworld "Overworld"), the [Great Sea](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Great_Sea "Great Sea"), which must be explored using a boat, the [King of Red Lions](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/King_of_Red_Lions "King of Red Lions"). It is an indirect sequel to _[Ocarina of Time](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Ocarina_of_Time "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time")_,\#6 taking place over a hundred years after the events of the previous games.\#7
Although the seafaring gameplay and cartoon-like graphics were a point of critique for some, _The Wind Waker_ was, in the end, the fourth best-selling GameCube game of all time.\#8 However, it should be noted that pre-orders of the game were significantly boosted by the inclusion of a pre-order bonus disc, which features _Ocarina of Time_ and _[Master Quest](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Ocarina_of_Time_Master_Quest "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest")_. _Master Quest_ is an altered port of the original _Ocarina of Time_, with partially re-designed, more difficult dungeons.
In 2007, a direct sequel to _The Wind Waker_, entitled _[Phantom Hourglass](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Phantom_Hourglass "The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass")_, was released on the [Nintendo DS](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Nintendo_DS "Nintendo DS").
During a Nintendo Direct on January 23, 2013, an enhanced remaster of the game was announced for the [Wii U](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Wii_U "Wii U") console, called _[The Wind Waker HD](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_The_Wind_Waker_HD "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD")_, and was released during the Fall of that year.
Contents
- 1Story
- 1.1Synopsis
- 1.2The Sinking of Hyrule
- 1.3Link's Quest
- 2Gameplay
- 2.1Sea Exploration
- 2.2GBA interaction
- 2.3Wind control and new item usage
- 2.4Second Quest
- 2.5Game Style
- 3Game Information
- 3.1Graphics
- 3.2Audio
- 3.3Japanese Version
- 3.4Setting
- 3.5Timeline Placement
- 3.6Limited Editions
- 3.7Speedrun Records
- 4Audience Reception
- 4.1Sales
- 4.2Reviews
- 4.3Fan Reception
- 4.4Awards
- 5Listings
- 5.1Bosses
- 5.2Characters
- 5.3Dungeons
- 5.4Enemies
- 5.5Items
- 5.6Locations
- 5.7Objects
- 5.8Other Listings
- 6Ports and Remakes
- 6.1HD Remaster
- 7Legacy
- 8Trivia
- 9Nomenclature
- 10Gallery
- 11External Links
- 12References
Story
Synopsis
! The title screen.
Set hundreds of years after the events of _Ocarina of Time_, _The Wind Waker_ finds the hero [Link](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Link "Link") in a sea scattered with 49 islands, which necessitates frequent sailing and naval combat. Link lives with his grandmother and younger sister Aryll on [Outset Island](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Outset_Island "Outset Island"), one of the few inhabited islands in the Great Sea. The people of the Great Sea pass down a legend of a prosperous kingdom with a hidden golden power.\#9 An [evil man](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Ganon "Ganon") found and stole this power, using it to spread darkness until a [young boy dressed in green](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Link "Link") sealed the evil with the [Blade of Evil's Bane](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Blade_of_Evil%27s_Bane "Blade of Evil's Bane").\#10 The boy became known as the [Hero of Time](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Hero_of_Time "Hero of Time") and passed into legend.\#11 It is clear that this legend is the story of _Ocarina of Time_, wherein the Hero of Time, Link, fought [Ganondorf](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Ganondorf "Ganondorf"). When boys on Outset Island come of age, they are customarily dressed in green to pay reverence to the Hero of Time.
The [Sinking of Hyrule](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Sinking_of_Hyrule "Sinking of Hyrule")
! The memory of the kingdom vanished, but its legend survived on the wind's breath
Ganondorf, the great evil that all still thought to be sealed away in the [Sacred Realm](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Sacred_Realm "Sacred Realm") of Hyrule, crept forth, eager to resume his dark designs.[\#12](https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_The_Wind_Wa
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