I will ask you a simple question: What did you think the Wind Waker was about? Take a moment and think this through, then write it down. Nothing too elaborate, of course, I do not expect an essay, treatise or tractate (working on that, myself). Just a paragraph of whatever comes to mind. Note that this is by no means a timeline/chronology discussion, so don't worry about that.

Done yet? Good, then we can proceed.

So, I'm guessing at least some of you thought about my question in terms of plot, and some thought of it in terms of mechanics. Nothing about that is wrong. The game certainly is about combat, and about a particular art style, and about adventure, and the pushing of a button. But that's not all there is to the Wind Waker. While there is as of yet no well developed academic school or standard for video game critique, it is reasonable to suppose that games communicate meaning though both interactive and non interactive elements, and that the non interactive elements are not by any means superficial or inconsequential to the game at large.

Using the plot as an example, could we say that the game is about a young man's quest to save a princess from an evil warlock? Yes, on one level, that's exactly what it is about. But to say this is all it is about is a grave and incongruous misinterpretation; one that is, unfortunately, quite common. I intend to dispel that notion to the best of my abilities, offering my own take on one of the defining video game experiences of the last decade. In doing so, I will discuss an oft neglected aspect of game design, namely theme.

Then, getting to the heart of the matter, what would I say the Wind Waker was about?

I think essence of the game is captured quite well in the intro; the wide blue seas with its somber waves, a lone island sparsely populated with a simple village, Link, standing at the edge of the world, stoically gazing out across the ocean, drafts of wind playing in the air, a Celtic motif yet unheard, all of it speaking with forbearance of new adventures. Of change, you might say. Yet the past is not left behind; the foreboding tale of a lost kingdom echoes in this world, and through it, the past is made to be the present.

For me, this speaks of the essence of Zelda, but not entirely on its own terms. The Wind Waker takes a new direction, but does not forget its roots. The conflict between the past and the present, and what this means for the future, is at the heart of the Wind Waker's tale. Even the shard hunt and parry move play into this.

The Wind Waker is not about good versus evil. Ganondorf is a tragic antagonist, selfish and cunning, but not evil. His struggle in this game is profound, and that's what makes him such a sympathetic character. Who is he fighting? Not Link. Link himself does not originally play any part in the events that transpire; like in Ocarina of Time he grows into a Hero, but unlike Ocarina, he was never destined to fight from the beginning. One of the themes of the game is man's struggle against fate.

Who guides the events of the game? Ultimately, Ganondorf and the King of Hyrule, both of whom are puppets of the gods. Tetra, Medli and Makar are all forced to give up their freedom, their lives, because of their designs. Link is the lone exception of all the main characters. This is mentioned early in the game when the King of Red Lions and the Guardians speak of the missing Hero of Time, but it is metaphorically represented in Link's ability to control the Wind.

Why is the Triforce important? Because it represents man's relation to the gods. Through it, a man can seize control of his own fate.  Ganondorf wants  power because of the injustices he has suffered in the past; so does the King. The difference between them is that the King has seen something in the new world that is worth living for, whereas Ganondorf lives only for himself.

The King's wish represents the end of the Zelda legend; the eternal struggle ordained by the gods is broken. Twilight Princess builds upon this. Did you ever think about what it meant when Zelda said 'I know now why the goddesses left the mirror in this world... They left it because it was their design that we should meet.' given what Midna had to do in the scene following that? That is why the Wind Waker is significant.

That's a short summary of my thesis. Certainly, it is not all-encompassing. With regards to the subjects I did cover, I did not explain my stance because that would make this far too long to handle. I am sure there are many of you that have questions or criticisms. I will be happy to oblige you. I ask only that you offer something in return.

...Well then, get to it.

i think that the main theme of wind waker is "what kind of world are we leaving to our children?" and it's pretty much synthetized by the character of the king of red lions. it's a very "japanese" theme, since i believe much of the modern japanese culture is influenced by the enormous shock of beeing attacked by a nuclear weapon, some sort of armageddon on a lesser scale. it's a common theme on a lot of anime and manga.

the drowned hyrule is a metaphor for a post-holocaust word. the king and ganondorf are the ones guilty for that distruction, but while ganon lives in the past and still wants to rule hyrule, even if it is an empty, ruined, ded world, the king, full of regret for what happened, wants to give the children another chanche, a seed of hope.

Spoilers to follow, but i'm not blacking these out. If you're in this topic, it's at your own peril.

To present my own idea before I address yours:

Wind Waker is about renewal. More specifically it is about life after death, about moving on after endings. You touch on this to some degree when tlaking about the King of Hyrule ending the cycle of conflict by destroying Hyrule forever, and I think that makes good sense.

The King of Red Lions and Ganondorf are both fathers - one fights for his children, one fights for the memory of his children (and his sisters, cousins, aunts). Neither mean any harm, not really, but both are willing to do grand and terrible things to honor their children: one destroys a kingdom, and the other goes mad when his monument is taken away. Ganondorf is a man who acts primarily out of grief, and his grief has colored him and the way he acts. He treats Zelda with tenderness, and though he lays Link out he levels no more force than absolutely necessary to keep the boy from interfering. He never speaks about it very much, but I think that all of his actions are driven by the memory of his people, who were lost as a result of his own actions. There's no concrete reason to think this, but I have two reasons for htinking so: in the first, he only speaks of his past as it pertains to his home and his people. In the second, he exists in opposite to the King of Hyrule.

The King of Hyrule is Ganondorf's opposite number in more ways than one. I think this is the only game where Ganondorf is not a primarily destructive force. The King of Hyrule has moved on from his grieving, has set aside his old life and all the things that were once precious to him, finding new love in the children of a new world. Ganondorf seeks to preserve the status quo, to return Hyrule to what it was before - under his fist or no. The King of Hyrule, and by extension Link, becomes the destroyer. He expels the past mentally and literally, putting sorrow out of his mind and plunging Hyrule into oblivion so that the children of his children would be able to make a new world for themselves. Ganondorf is not able to let go of his people, can find no reflection of himself or his own values in this new world, and clings desperately to the things that he once loved. He dies in the attempt.

The world is not a ruinous place - rather, it is a world that has experienced ruin and then began to grow beyond it. Ganondorf claimed there were no fish to eat, nothing in the sea that could support life, but it was not so; the people lived. His values were reduced, crumpled, discarded, and the world flourished away from the things that it had once been. Link and Zelda seeking out a new land to call home while the King of Hyrule - the last remnant of a dead age - remains at the bottom of the sea is proof enough that the intent of the narrative is a story of renewal where fathers sacrifice everything for their children, where familial duty is a paternal and maternal sacrifice (this latter best shown in Grandma when she recovers from sickness). Parents work and die so their children can have beautiful lives. The only possible difference is whether they die willingly (like the King of Hyrule) or die fighting the inevitable (like Ganondorf). No matter how it happens, the world changes, and old values are gone, and new ones spring up.

Twilight Princess, I think, was a game about death. The feeling it gave was that of going to a loved one's funeral and then returning home, happier for the catharsis but still sad.

Wind Waker is a graveyard covered in flowers and vines that wrench headstones into dust. All sorrow is forgotten; pinks and yellows and purples replace grey.

As to your thesis:

You mention Ganondorf as a puppet of the gods. Do you think that his own agency is negated by his obtaining the Triforce?

Paragraphs have been used rather generously, here

@DarkCronos: I see. I cover this in my response to Khuutra. I think you may well be correct.

@Khuutra: I don't see anything I really disagree with in that exegesis. It is another way of putting what I wrote, though the the question of family ties was not something I had considered.

I think your take on Ganondorf is perhaps a little too lenient; Ganondorf is not a true altruist, by my reading. I have no doubt he does care for his people and believes that what he is doing is for the best of all, but he places the blame of his/their/the world's fate squarely at the goddesses feet, and the motive for his actions was always greed; he coveted the land of the Hylians, their 'wind' (blessing). When it comes down to it, it is HE that should rule Hyrule, and if he can't have his way, then no one may.

Indeed, the King and Link are the destructive forces of this game. I was struck by this the first time I finished the game. To be honest, part of me did not want to go through with it. That is what it takes to 'end the legend', though, and I feel it was worth it.

Yes, I can see the familial theme, now. The Deku Tree's seeds, Medli and Komali's story, even Tetra's mother. It's one of the things I did not cover, though I do not believe it is exclusive of my own ideas.

As to your question regarding my thesis:

In a way, yes. What I really mean by that is simply that he plays his role as the King of Evil. The concepts of free will and personal agency clearly exist within the Zelda mythos. Evil can win, and that is what the 'test of the gods' is all about. When the people failed to stop Ganondorf, their land was taken from them. Ganondorf's own struggle is partially with himself, partially with the goddesses; his goal is to change the fate they had bestowed upon the world. Nothing was stopping him from making that wish, but the King's rejection of the god-given land of yore is a metaphor for man's ability to create his own future; the antithesis of the opening, where the people surrendered their fate to the gods.

I have to carefully consider how to word my response, because I'm dancing on the edge of attributing things to Ganondorf that may not be there. This may take a while, but hte relationship between Ganon and the gods is something I've spent a lot of time ruminating on since Wind Waker and Twilight Princess (his face being emblematic of all evil in Spirit Tracks was interesting too).

For the record, though, I don't mean to paint him in a positive light: the world's ruination found its genesis in his violence, and even if loss softened his exterior he was still batshit lunatic crazy in the end, lashing out to destroy that which he could not claim.

Man, you guys are sure taking this far... I don't think Nintendo ever intended WW's story to go so deep, or to have such hidden meanings. Miyamoto himself has stated on numerous occasions that they develop the gameplay first, then the levels, and that story is one of the very final things put into any Zelda game, molding it as they see fit around the gameplay and levels that are already in place by that time. That's also why there's no overlapping chronological timeline and why so many things in Zelda games don't make sense when compared to other games in the series.

Still, it's a fun and good analysis, kudos to you guys for taking the trouble  to do so.

I'm pretty sure that in English, no matter what country you live in, you never add an unecessary "the" when talking about something. Correct me if I'm wrong.

It's Wind Waker. Not the Wind Waker. Sorry for pointing this out, but I noticed you took a bit of effort to make your post seem rather sophisticated.

That being said, because you kept adding "the" in front of "Wind Waker," I thought you were talking about the actual Baton, not the game. Funnily enough it's the one thing you didn't talk about!

EDIT: Scratch that, "The" is part of the name! Since it is the first word in the name, wouldn't it automatically be capitalized then?

I interpreted it to be primarily about Ganondorf trying to get back what he was cheated out of. He won, legitimately, and had it taken away by natural calamity. That's why his rage was directed not primarily at Link and Zelda, given that they were merely tools. The ones that screwed him over were the Gods themselves, and it was his mission to force them to give back what they had stolen away

The King, meanwhile, was determined to cheat Ganondorf of his victory utterly. The only point when the King actually got selfless was at the end, when he resolved to die with his completed mission