Customer Reviews

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Prima's Official Strategy Guide)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

First, let me state that this review should be considered only by those who play games for FUN.. This means, NOT those who play first person shooters online for 16 hours at a time, but those who play video games as a hobby, not a lifestyle; i.e. a few hours a week. Second, don't even consider this book if you're looking for help on the Ocarina of Time, because it won't help. Someone stated previously that it looks like a review out of a video game magazine, and their absolutely right. I've used an Ocarina book I got right here from Amazon for that game, and it was perfect..

On to the review: The game is GREAT, and the book certainly compliments that. I know the first thing potential buyers are looking for is PROBLEMS, so instead of pretending there aren't any, I'll hit those first.

The main problem here (as previously mentioned) is the organization of the book, and it all comes down to your playing style.. If you want to play the game yourself and only have the book as a reference for when you get stuck or for finding little extras, than it's perfect. However, if you want to have everything spelled out for you and not play the game at all without first consulting the book, than this probably isn't the right one for you.. It walks you through the quests for the first 3/4 of the book, and has little footnotes at the bottom of each page, referring you to the side-quests which are detailed towards the end of the book..

If you've played the game, then you know that it's a HUGE ocean, broken up into 49 different squares, with 49 different islands, and once you've passed a few preliminary tasks, the entire world is open to you to explore on your own.. In my experience with the game, this book worked PERFECTLY, because the best part was sailing around the map and stumbling upon new islands and landmarks on your own, without someone or something telling you where to go.. The book complimented this, because it has an entire section showing what you can do on each island, and how far into the game you need to be in order to accomplish each task. This is separate from the walkthrough, which details the actual quests, and not the hidden items and extra goodies available on each island. Again, the organization of the book may be a problem for some, but it will be perfect for others..

Otherwise, the problems are VERY minimal.. There are a few instances where the book will tell you something is worth 100 rupees (dollars) when in fact it's worth 200, or vice versa, but these are few and far between.. I'm 4/5 of the way through the game and I could count those mistakes on less than one hand..

The pictures are clear and crisp, and plenty large enough to see if you have the ability of sight, and the walkthrough itself is well written, inclusive, and comprehensive. It's gotten me through all of those spots where your just scratching your head wondering what to do next, but at the same time the game is simple enough that you should be able to get through the majority of it without help.. Besides, exploring the vast world they created is the best part of the game!

This guide is wonderful. I've bought many Zelda guides, and this is by far one of the best. It's a complete walkthrough with all sidequests. The guide is very clear and uses screenshots along the way to help you out. There's are beautifully drawn maps for each area (dungeons, town, ect.)

Pros
+Great maps
+Thorough walkthrough, includes hidden items (I.E. Heart pieces, treasure maps, ect.)
+Huge 35 page sidequest guide, titled Island of the Great Sea
+Checklist
+Missing Links Sidebar that tells you when you can partake in which sidequest if you want
+Bestiary
+Move Guide
+Character Guide
+Good Boss strategies
+No holes
+Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time guide included

Cons
-Minor spoilers (Only if you read too far ahead)
-This sidequest guide is more in order as when you can do them, I would have preferred it if they had organized it into sections, I.E. Heart Pieces, Treasure Charts, Other, ect.
-The Ocarina of Time guide is too concise, it's just a light overview

Overall: Great guide! It's a must have if you pick up the game, you shouldn't get lost or stuck if you have it.

This book is not fabulous. I like it, but I had to figure most of the stuff out myself. It doesn't explain every little detail, but it did help me a little bit. Without it, I probably couldn't have finished the game, but it was a little hard to figure it out.

My husband and I (yes, we are grown-ups) have been using strategy guides in the Zelda series for many years. This one is, by far, the worst of the bunch. Those of us who buy strategy guides want (and often, need) a walk-through that actually walks you through what to do and/or how to do it. This one seems to think that some screen shots 1 inch x 1 inch will suffice. The sidequests are very poorly described, and the order in which to pursue the sidequests is not apparent. My husband says it reads like stereo instructions. I will try the other official strategy guide and maybe it will be better.

This guide was great it was helpfull in all the dungeaons and MOST of the ftriforce(More on this later). It helped me from Dragon roost to all the mini games. The one thing i found to my displeasure was that they messed up on the triforce pieces. When it shows you were to find them, it is messed up and i had to work for like a half an hour to match them. Also it is missing one ALL together. Again this one the best strategy guide i have used but I would not be so quick to buy it if you are nt great with the maps.

I had been using free internet guides from various websites, and they were working for me just fine. I just really wanted an official guide with pictures and a professional name to it. So I began strategy guides with Versus Books' The Ocarina of Time Guide by Casey Loe. It was AMAZING, so I followed it up with the Versus Books' Majora's Mask Guide by Casey Loe yet another success. Then I bought this guide...It is horrible. There are typos, and art repeats. Most annoying, you have to flip through three or four sections to get everything. Let's see, there was the main guide which covered nothing but the story line. Then there was an Island guide in the back that covered the mini quests on each island. So you'd have to flip to the back and read what you could do apart from the main quest. Then there was also a Piece of Heart section in the back. So you'd have to flip back while going through dungeons and sailing to ensure you weren't going to miss it. Then there was the items section. You'd have to look there to see where all the items were. Not to mention the various other sections in the guide. This could've been so much better if they only compiled all that info into one guide. As Versus Books' did. I meant would it have killed the writers to take one extra second to tell the player to go left and grab the Piece of Heart? Why make them retrack the dungeon two or three times to get everything? I am very unhappy with this book, and would highly recommending that you save your money for a different guide!!!

This strategy guide by prima is top notch. It has great details and superb art work (although a little repetitive). It is a great companion reference for playing this game, and kids will love it. The giant sea chart poster is also a plus, saves a lot of time of page browsing.
Different sections are available for your particular interests, even if some plot spoiling is inevitable.
Missing, however, are details on the Gamecube - Gameboy Advance connectivity (don't look here if you want all five Tingle statues), but it is just a minor flaw, and most people won't use these features anyway.
It's available online too at primagames.com. A well invested 10 dollars.

I'll agree with everyone at this is a fantastic, through guide. Everything you need to know is easy to find, and you can learn EVERYTHING about the game... and there in is the problem. The Prima Guide not only serves as a walk through but GIVES AWAY all the story and the ending!!! What's the point of even playing the game when you already know the WHOLE story and outcome? Prima's been publishing for YEARS, they SHOULD know better.

If you don't care about spoilers, get this guide. If you want to play the game through and be able to progress though the story w/o having it ruined for you, look else where.

The best ever,Prima's done it again...
Prima made winners of all us gamers with this guide.

Okay Wind Waker is a fun game and doesn't really need a guide so I got this for the Ocarine of Time guide because being the best Zelda game ever Ocarina can stil make you want to pull your hair out sometimes. The guide for Ocarina have [bad] maps and doesn't give you any info on how to find heart pieces or anything it's just a waist of 12 pages, yup it's that small 12 pages. Don't waste the money if you want Ocarina hints, and if you don't mind story spoilers for Wind Waker then go for it.