Both The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild pushed the envelope for what an open-world game could be as the first truly open-world games in the series. However, prior to these entries, Nintendo dabbled in open-world game design for the Zelda series with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. While not as much of a true open world as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom or Breath of the Wild, Wind Waker helped shape what those games would become, and now has the chance to come full circle with a Wind Waker remake.

Originally released on the GameCube in 2003, Wind Waker was a somewhat controversial entry in the series as it was the first Zelda title to adopt a cel-shaded art style, leading many fans of the series to dismiss the game as too cartoony compared to past entries. Despite this initial criticism, Wind Waker has become a beloved entry in the franchise due to its emphasis on exploration, giving players the first real taste of open-world freedom in a Zelda game. With how far the series has come in this regard with titles like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, a Wind Waker remake could further flesh out the game's original vision.

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Wind Waker Deserves a True Open-World Remake After Tears of the Kingdom

After receiving a remaster on the Wii U in the form of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD, many fans assumed Nintendo would port it and the remaster of Twilight Princess to the Switch. While that has yet to happen, an even better outcome would be a full-blown remake of Wind Waker that utilizes the design elements that made Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild so popular. There are some aspects of Wind Waker that can be seen as prototypes for more fully realized features in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom that a remake could expand on.

The main draw of Wind Waker is the ability to explore the Great Sea while riding on the King of Red Lions with minimal restrictions on where the player can and can't go. Although the main quest dungeons have to be completed in somewhat of a defined order, the Great Sea boasts many side areas and hidden secrets that player can discover just by sailing around the map. Tears of the Kingdom ups the ante with an even bigger map and tons of hidden activities that utilize the game's main mechanics, and a Wind Waker remake could similarly expand its map and rework some of its puzzles accordingly.

One of the main criticisms of the original Wind Waker aside from its visual design was its Triforce Shard collection quest that forced players to collect and decipher maps that pointed to the pieces of the Triforce hidden through the Great Sea. While this mission was improved in the Wii U remaster of the game, an even better approach to the quest could be to treat it like a main quest from Tears of the Kingdom where the player can acquire it early on and naturally discover pieces simply by exploring and utilizing hints given throughout the environment. This approach would remove some of the pacing issues of the original game by leaning on a successful design from Tears of the Kingdom.

While the original and remastered versions of Wind Waker hold up surprisingly well, a remake that incorporates design elements from the series' recent open-world outings would take it to the next level. Going this route would help iron out some of the flaws in original Wind Waker while also giving fans a new way to play. Given the ways in which Wind Waker set the stage for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom to shine, it only seems natural that a remake like this would bring the series full-circle.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available for Nintendo Switch.

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