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GameSpot's 2003 Game of the Year

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC)

Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
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We surprised ourselves when we realized that, of the five exceptional games we chose as the best on their respective platforms this year, the finest among them truly was The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Apart from Dark Cloud 2, Zelda is the oldest of the finalists--it was released back in March--and since most of us were eager to play the game the moment it came out, most of us have long since finished The Wind Waker and moved on. Additionally, since many of us fondly recall 1998's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time--one of just four games in the history of GameSpot to earn a perfect 10 on our rating scale--we were in some ways reluctant to even name the very similarly styled Wind Waker as the year's Best GameCube Game, when its competition included highly original offerings like Viewtiful Joe.

In fact, our protracted deliberations over this award category mostly focused on a bitter struggle between two games, neither of which was The Wind Waker. They were, on one side, the epic, ambitious, and outstanding achievement that is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for the Xbox, and, on the other side, the wonderfully creative, incredibly well put together, immensely appealing, and pleasantly surprising Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Compelling arguments were raised both for and against both of these games. But eventually, through our deliberations, we doubled back to Zelda.

And then--with surprising suddenness--we all concurred that The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker really is the most deserving of our 2003 Game of the Year award. Simply put, this is an incredibly polished and lovingly crafted video game from top to bottom, and it's a real pleasure to play. Put it in the hands of a young child or a grown adult, regardless of how much or how little previous gaming experience they have, whether with console games or any games, and you'll almost certainly have a new, lifelong fan of The Legend of Zelda there in front of you. That is to say, this is a transcendentally good game that anyone could enjoy. And if there's any criticism to be leveled against it, it's the aforementioned similarity to what's undeniably one of the greatest games of all time--not much of a problem when you stop to think about it. Apart from that, The Wind Waker's incredibly inspired artistic design, epic story, accessible and diverse gameplay, and lengthy quest all add up to an experience that really is one of a kind.

Our ideal choice for the winner of our annual Game of the Year award is just this sort of game--something that we can recommend wholeheartedly to anyone and everyone, gamer or nongamer, as the best, most recent proof that gaming, as a medium, is extraordinary. At GameSpot, we're gamers for life, and our twofold mission is to continually try to steer people toward the best games while at the same time helping to spread the word about those games so that more and more people can share in the incredibly fulfilling experiences that the best games provide. As such, we are honored to name Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker as GameSpot's 2003 Game of the Year.


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