The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is the tenth installment of the series. It is the first Zelda game for the GameCube, and was released in Japan on December 13, 2002, in Canada and the United States on March 24, 2003, in Europe on May 3, 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, 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, the Great Sea, which must be explored using a boat, the King of Red Lions. It is an indirect sequel to Ocarina of Time, taking place several hundred years after the events of the previous games.

Although the sea-faring 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. 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. Master Quest is an enhanced remake of the original Ocarina game, but features partially re-designed dungeons.

In 2007, a direct sequel to The Wind Waker was released on the Nintendo DS, and was entitled Phantom Hourglass.