Sweet Aryll drives Link to action and keeps him moving forward through the power of their sibling bond. These two women - girls, really - serve as foils to each other. Aryll is the delicate, helpless princess that Tetra will never be - Tetra, who even after her awakening as aВ descendantВ of Zelda, retains the same air of brazen strength about her. AryllвЂ™s kidnapping is the impetus for Link to venture out with Tetra, and TetraвЂ™s allure as the tomboyish, charming pirate captain is hard to ignore.

The mysterious, unattainable woman that hasВ traditionallyВ beenВ PrincessВ Zelda is replaced by not one but two very real women - Aryll and Tetra. ZeldaвЂ™s hold on the game is tenuous at best until her reveal much later on, but there is still a young lady in the middle of the action. Link changes internally as he leaves his mark on the world around him, developing a sense of hisВ responsibilitiesВ in this fantasy hyperbole of maturation. This spins a thread of the old coming-of-age trope through TheВ Wind Waker. This method of introducing LinkвЂ™s classic green tunic with a history and purpose behind it - echoed in the knighting ceremony of Skyward SwordВ - is a heart-warming sign that the player is controlling a boy who isВ justВ beginning to grow up. In tradition with this legend, the boys of Outset Island dress in green when they come of age. GanonвЂ™s presence creeps back into the world, and while none on LinkвЂ™s homeland of Outset Island know what became of the fabled Kingdom of Hyrule, they do know that the boy in green, the Hero of Time, did not appear to save them once more. The legend passed down is the story of Ocarina of Time: a boy in green defeats Ganon, and the world becomes the Great Sea. This becomes crystal clear when Aryll is kidnapped within the first thirty minutes of the game. While he has his family as a reason to fight the good fight, his grandmother and sister also present a terribleВ liabilityВ for our hero - jeopardizing their safety is an emotional weakness for Link, who must ultimately save them. Unlike previous Links who have abandoned friends and bachelor households for the sake of his quest, this Link has a base that is both a personal strength and liability. Link has a home to come back to, a home filled with people. The presence of LinkвЂ™s grandmother and little sister, Aryll, raises the stakes. LinkвЂ™s trips across the waters are frequent and mastering long-range weapons for naval combat is a necessity.ДЇor the first time since A Link to the Past, LinkВ has a family. Players spend an amount of time bordering on inordinate (but still fun) sailing between islands, tendrils of cartoon-drawn wind pushing at your sail.

The story is not your typical ZeldaВ fare - probably because the gameвЂ™s aesthetic is one of wind and water rather than the elements at large.

Zelda wind waker randomizer with story