I bought a gamecube in order to play LOZ:The Windwaker and I must say I am disappointed in it.
While the graphics are great the gameplay is tiresome and the camera angles are horrid. The puzzles in the game are tedious not challenging.
I feel like all the good nintendo brand games now require a GBA and/or strategy guide.
I was sure I would like the game but I seem to shudder at the thought of booting up the GC and playing. Is this because I grew up playing NES and SNES Zelda games which provided instant entertainment?
I'm just wondering if anyone else feels like this game doesn't live up to their Zelda expectations.
(I only own a gamecube so I assure you i'm not trying to stir up any anti-nintendo crud)

This was a bit of a different Zelda for the series, I found it to be alot of fun. It ranks up there right with OoT, I too also grew up on the old NES and SNES creations of Zelda, so with that background - yeah this game is different. At first I felt probably like how you are now - once I progressed further I really started enjoying the story more.
This is more of a laid back Zelda, collecting the triforce pieces gets to be old and the dungeons could have been more plentiful - in the end the whole experience for me was and is positive.
I never had any camera view problems, seems to me that it's pretty much the same system used in Ocarina.
This is all IMO

I know exactly how you feel, JO59. I too bought a GameCube with the sole purpose of playing Windwaker and Metroid Prime. I’m old school gaming as well and both of those games didn’t meet my expectations.

The best console game ever is still Ocarina of Time, in my opinion, and probably will continue to be in my foreseeable future.

You raise an interesting issue with the games of old providing more instant gratifaction. However, the games that seem to fall short of our expectations are typically the famous ones. Eventually, the developer becomes so engrossed in the world the game has created that they forget to focus on the game itself. Is sailing around for hours, with no land in site, looking for little pieces of a larger puzzle at the bottom of the ocean fun? Not really, but it probably sounded pretty good as a story element to help support the world of Zelda and the idea that a lost artifact could be assembled to restore power to the good people of the land. Same goes for Metroid Prime. Is scanning random locations, in first person mode, piecing together a cryptic story fun? Not as much as the developer thought it would be, but it does support the premise that you are alone and you must find clues as to what killed the crew of the ship and so forth.

The same tragic concept can be seen in movies as well. The first Matrix movie was amazing, but I found that the second two fell flat. I think the Wachowski brothers took the story world they had created too seriously and forgot how to make a quality movie. Perhaps the same could be said for Lucas’ recent Star Wars endeavors.

I’ve looked at the new screens for Zelda: Twilight Princess (or whatever the next Zelda will be called) and even though the idea of a new Zelda game gets me excited, these awesome screenshots don’t really do anything for me. I don’t think the art style and childishness had anything to do with my disappointment in Windwaker… I think it had to do with game mechanics that forced a player to explore for hours with hardly any memorable encounters… and sometimes no encounters at all. New screenshots can’t convey any answers to my main concern, but I’d like to think that when developers sit down to plan out a sequel to a successful game that they start from the ground up again and identify the basics of success; fun game play. I hope the next Zelda goes back to its roots… instead of falling prey to its own bloated ego.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Echolocating,

When I saw the graphic style I wasnt a fan of it , but my love for the Zelda series made it up. I finished the game and had fun so its alright. And the new Zelda is gonna be awsome so no prob for me.