Miyamoto Hated Wind Waker's Graphics (Exclusive)

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In this video, Did You Know Gaming takes a look at many pieces of cut content and unused ideas from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for the Nintendo GameCube that impacted the game's mechanics, story, and presentation.
Special Thanks to Eurasia_M for the Tetra's Trackers footage, PushDustin for magazine scans, Jacob Newcomb for translations, WayneIsBoss for providing supplemental footage, and Daniel Romberger for making a theremin Wind Waker remix for us. Here's a link to his full theremin cover: • Zelda, The Wind Waker:...
Research/Writing by Dr lava
Video Editing by TheCartoonGamer
Voice Over by Remix
Sources/Further Reading:
Nintendo Dream magazine, issues 82, 83, 84, 112, & 165
The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia
The Legend of Zelda: Arts & Artifacts
www.4gamer.net...
www.1101.com/n...
archive.videoga...
www.usgamer.ne...

#Zelda #WindWaker #Buyee #Nintendo

[@DidYouKnowGamin]

This video has tons of new content, and took hundreds of hours to make. If you like what you see, we'd appeciate a like or a retweet. Cheers 👍

[@xXdarkdekuXx]

I am so excited, I am going to get really high first and grab a snack.

[@christopherjohnston1471]

"Chasm" isn't pronounced like "Chad."

[@Mankey619]

The one I liked is the concept of using a theremin to control the weather. Also I didn’t know that Japanese girls had a huge boy crush on teen Link back then.

[@2small4theMall]

@@christopherjohnston1471 yup, it has sm at the end

[@albertoromero5075]

is this the stanley parable channel?

[@JoshBusker]

I love the mental image of Miyamoto making alt accounts to talk shit on Wind Waker's art style back when that was the big gaming controversy.

[@pkmntrainermark8881]

Whoa, I've never seen you in a comment section before.

[@AzureRoxe]

That would explain the odd hate the style had.

[@RedactedcommentMan]

@@AzureRoxe it's not odd, it doesn't look like Zelda, that's why the hate

[@JoelJoel321]

@@RedactedcommentMan When it was made it represented 33% of all 3D Zelda games. So that's a big call...

[@toyinbode4368]

@@JoelJoel321 That's like saying there's nothing wrong with making Pikmin 2 a racing game starring Warhammer characters would be fine because at the time it represented 50% of Pikmin video games

[@Volair]

Miyamoto was actually the "young girls" that sent in all those letters for realistic Link.

[@Polychi1998]

Hey, a man is gotta keep his hyper realistic Link in tact.

[@elishaanderson9121]

ain't no girls rlly playin Zelda jus dudes 20 n up who ain't done bein kids yet🤣🤣🤣

[@raptorskilltor4554]

@@elishaanderson9121 well not to burst your bubble ,but….

[@steakwilliams4448]

​@elishaanderson9121 my sister n I played zelda since OoT. She was like 10 and I was 8.

[@elishaanderson9121]

@@steakwilliams4448 shut up

[@milliondollarmistake]

Holy shit. The guy who went insane from Tingle went on to produce the new Mario Party games? That makes perfect sense. Mario Party 10 was his revenge for making him work on all that Tingle content. Nintendo created the Japanese Joker.

[@deadcake4406]

Honestly, I actually prefer the world not being continuous. I always liked in Wind Waker how it felt like the world and the ocean was much larger than I was allowed to explore in game. On the one hand that can feel restrictive, but on the other, it gives a sense of scale to the world. There are characters in Wind Waker who claim they travelled from faraway lands, so to me, Wind Waker's "Great Sea" always felt like a small island community, within a giant world that'd be full of countries and the like. Like how Hyrule is just one kingdom in the world of Zelda.

[@roundninja]

Yeah, it's disappointing when a game world pretends to be an entire planet, but clearly isn't nearly that large. Better to just keep the game small and let you use your imagination for the rest of the world.

[@maxspecs]

I mean, it allowed Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks to come out.

[@JlBUNROCK]

@@maxspecs the underrated games

[@badladyami]

At least the Great Sea didn't seem as obvious a way to hide hardware limitations as all the corridors in Twilight Princess did.

[@scintillam_dei]

Eh. I prefer actually colossal realms to explore and conquer, which is why I did a map of half of earth with America in the center (Meso to be exact) in Age of Empires 2 HD in the biggest possible map size, which is 4X bigger than the one called "gigantic." It took me five months to create, and is very realistic. I wanted to see the Aztec Empire fight the Incan Empire in the proper context. :-) The real world will always have exceedingly more unfathomable depth than fantasy worlds, all of which are based on the real world anyway. "Only God creates. The rest of us just copy."

[@mrnoname98]

"Sorry about the crabs." -Eiji Aonuma

[@KenMasters.]

Pause...

[@Dreadjaws]

Man, I didn't even know the "moving in zig zag to go against the wind" was some sort of fact taught in schools. I tried it in the game because I felt it should work based on my very basic knowledge of standard videogame physics. I'm actually surprised it works in real life as well.

[@hyzmarie]

Yeah it’s called tacking

[@scythelord]

it actually is taught in school, but most people aren't going to remember it at all as it is typically taught in history when it is ever brought up and perhaps in some science/physics classes as well. Sailing is big in history, especially the discovery of the Americas and circumnavigation of the world.

[@astupidmonkeyygaming544]

That Zelda was one of my favorites because it was so different. Link had an actual sister and a real reason to go on a rescue instead of some big disaster. Also, taking an enemies weapon was one of my favorite things in the world. Taking a Dark Nuts weapon and beating them with it was so much fun or smashing the rats with the skull hammer and seeing them go flat was awesome!

[@ReboyGTR]

11:47 *Sue-Belle got me acting unwise.*

[@tenchimuyo69]

Interesting how Miyamoto and a lot of fans had the same negative impression of the artstyle. Miyamoto must have been in a mild panic at how people were talking about it before the game even released, but it somehow worked out in retrospect.

[@ChampionHero]

I actually liked the art style when I first saw it, and loved it in the HD Remake. It's aged so much better than anything before it, and even to some degree, better than some of the more realistic ones after it. BOTW is the exception as this has basically taken WW's art style and modernised it with a touch of realism. The perfect balance.

[@rlee1185]

I remember everyone being so excited after the GameCube teaser footage. Link looked realistic and bad*ss. And then this cartoon version was the very next game. Everybody was mad.

[@Kurry34]

The super realistic concept trailer was sick, then this came out. I was pissed too. Turned out to be my favorite Zelda game just under botw.

[@-iloveyou]

no, it didnt work. you sound like stockholm syndrome

[@tenchimuyo69]

@@-iloveyou kek

[@f0xxyb0xxes88]

This definitely makes me kinda sad because Wind Waker is my favorite. It’s sucks that the whole development did not seem to go well.

[@CamusHyuga]

On the flip side, you can tell how passionate the team was about making this game that they did everything in their power to make it happen, even if they knew people like Miyamoto wouldnt like it, to me that love for this game shows up in the end result, even if they wanted it to be better.

[@f0xxyb0xxes88]

@@CamusHyuga That is so true! Thank you for bringing up a great point :)

[@jamesrustle7536]

I imagine miyamoto put a rush on it especially after seeing what it was to get it over with. He did the same with majoras mask.

[@zacheray]

@@jamesrustle7536 it really doesn’t feel like a rushed game

[@KaminoKatie]

Both MM and WW are rushed

[@daniredux]

Fantastic work with this video! Hearing about how messy the development of Wind Waker got caught me by surprise. Wind Waker is great game, but it could have been even better and that's a shame. Also, "Tingle Specialist" is now on my list of worst possible jobs ever. Poor Mr. Suzuki.

[@sergeant_ozzy1037]

Actual information I’ve never heard before? THIS is why I’m subscribed to this channel.

[@mak_707]

I'm actually glad they made the boat zigzag, I used a few times to move a little bit, like with the tower of the gods first room.

[@BlinksAwakening]

I had no idea the theramin was introduced as far back as the 1920s, talk about an invention way ahead of its time. I always imagined it came out in the 70s or maybe even the 60s.

[@BeaglzRok1]

Ironically, while I didn't learn the zig-zag trick from school, I did figure it out from this game. So I think it was worth it.

[@danielalonso7478]

Thanks for this video! Wind Waker is one of my favorite games, even before knowing how much was cut. Learning more about this game is always a treat.

[@olanmills64]

Wow, I am surprised to hear that Miyamoto was not a fan of the style.or story. I loved Wind Waker's art style and the start to the story. I remember the uproar over the cell shading straight from the initial Space World reveal, but I loved it from the start. Liking a different style is fine, but what I couldn't stand was somehow pretending that Zelda was always some sort of grimdark franchise and that somehow WW was a big departure. I just couldn't at all understand where they were coming from.

[@zentendoxn8955]

21:26 You just mentioned that earlier in this very video!

[@the6ig6adwolf]

Favorite game in the series. Exploring the open ocean for the first time, truely felt exciting.

[@TheRealRidley12]

20:01 What's with the Game Boy Advance part? I don't remember the game having that. Lol, I'm not going crazy, right? Nope, I'm not going crazy. That's a legit feature, apparently. Man, there's definitely a few things I learned from this video. Also, what's up with the Tingle statues?

[@PutSirensOnMute]

please do this for every wave. All your content is so good because you are personable blue creature who is just as fascinated with Nintendos bizarre business decision and games. It’s a good placeholder for feeling like you are discussing with friends when you grow old and responsibilities make it so hard to get together as frequently as you wish you could. Thank you Arlo, I wish you the best!

[@mysweaterlooksweird943]

Y'all are awesome, keep up the good work!

[@That1Smug]

Tbh the theremin sounds like a cool concept for the instrument

[@johnoneil9188]

The experience developing this game sounds pretty unpleasant for the team as a whole but my special sympathy goes out to the Tingle Guy. Imagine having to just think about Tingle for months. Enough to drive a man insane.

[@The_Wandering_Nerd]

I'm surprised they never revisited the theremin concept during the entire Wii generation where pretty much every game was controlled by waving your hands around in the air.

[@Raven_Redacted]

Honestly, the guy who worked only on tingle seems to be having a worse fate then before if mario party 10 is anything to go by

[@Sam_T2000]

what if… the cut “Water Dungeon” was centered around Gorons! like, you’d think the Gorons, being made of stone, wouldn’t survive a flooded Hyrule, but what if they don’t actually need to breath, like in _Twilight Princess,_ so they just live underwater, with Death Mountain reduced to a tiny like mound above the surface… maybe the rest of Hyrule even thinks the Gorons are extinct, until Link discovered their new submarine civilization!

[@mrwho995]

It's a shame the game was so hugely rushed. Even with the rush it was great, but it could have been much better if given a more reasonable amount of dev time. Now Nintendo seems to have gone the exact opposite direction, with BoTW2 taking 7 years despite using the same engine, assets, and overworld.

[@markellhawthorne2921]

That just tells me that game will have a lot more to it than we think it does.

[@foxymetroid]

Wind Waker was likely the reason Twilight Princess and both Breath of the Wilds kept getting delayed. They were so disappointed with how much content had to be cut that they decided to take their time with subsequent Zelda games.

[@markellhawthorne2921]

@@foxymetroid They had so many crazy ideas for this game, like Toon Link slowly aging as you progress. That would've been so dope.

[@EdgeOfEnding]

That part with the fishermen is fucking adorable!

[@Sir_Loin_]

10:38 uhh not one more but three more, are you just gunna forget that four swords and minish cap aslo had toon link

[@SuperEffector]

With the way that intro was going I honestly thought you were about to say "Hey that's an interesting story, let's throw Link in the Gulag".

[@chuganoga1908]

Wind Waker doesn’t feel like Zelda.. it feels like Zelda PERFECTED. Replaying this game even now all these years later still feels like a breath of fresh air. It was just so different, unique.. ambitious. I wish Zelda would’ve continued in this direction moving forward. I love Phantom hour glass but that game never felt like a true sequel to this masterpiece. This game deserves a true sequel or spiritual successor.

[@Majorasword64]

I always felt like spirit tracks was a proper sequel. phantom hourglass is more of a 1.5 if anything.

[@nthgth]

I don't count handheld-only games. A Zelda game needs to feel cinematic, and tiny speakers and screen prevent that. Handheld gaming is a way to pass time on the bus or during break at work.

[@z39836]

@@nthgth so half the franchise doesnt count?

[@andreworders7305]

Nice therumin cover of the music

[@Kevin-jb2pv]

So, Windwaker wound up being a cult classic and widely loved and appreciated years after the fact because Aonuma basically hid everything that made it unique from Miyamoto until it was too late for him to change anything, which is part of what makes it stand out so much today. However, Miyamoto was also 150% correct with his prediction that the art style wasn't going to sell well and that the then-current audience was _not_ going to be into the styles and themes the game was rolling with.

[@TigirlakaLaserwolf6]

the sheer elation i felt seeing this in my notifs cannot be described. At this point I'm really just living my life to think about Wind Waker

[@BoydWillemsen]

Wind Waker is still my favorite Zelda game. The art style, the music, the humor, all the different island, even the sailing. It really is a better game than Ocarina of Time in many regards.

[@starhew2868]

Up guys are really doing some cool stuff, thanks so much for sharing everything you learn!

[@scythelord]

The team was enthusiastic about it, but the public largely wasn't. It's definitely unique but it is the most polarizing zelda style.

[@Mienshaos]

standing up against miyamoto is always such a cathartic feeling

[@ArcDeity]

Tingle man went so crazy he made 3 bad Mario party games

[@TheHangedMan]

I absolutely learned about tacking in high school. I was born in 1990.

[@igodreamer7096]

Great episode, guys! Such underrated game!

[@masterofdoom5000]

God what a rollercoaster of a development this game had, still not a fan of it but I'm always gonna be curious what it could have been had they the time and means.

[@gothnerd887]

12:20 *singing* "I'm just like you, you're just like me"

[@mandrag4286]

I did know some of these obscure facts like the theremin device from said interview I read long ago along with the emphasis of Link's eyes intending to have some gameplay functionality, as well as TWW originally being envisioned as the first game in the timeline, etc. Others I wasn't totally aware of like the Deku Leaf originally being a fan, the Golf mini-game being smuggled in, and the game originally being much more difficult among others. I've always known that TWW's development was expedited in the short years of its development cycle, which resulted into a lot of content being shelved, so its cool to see some of those scrapped ideas being brought to exposure.

[@mariorobotnik8090]

why would the king of red lions be alive and talking in tetra’s trackers when his soul left the boat at the end of windwaker?

[@Cybothron]

Yo this video was super interesting! more please!

[@ArcRay20]

18:31 i...have never heard anybody pronounce "chasm" that way in my life...

[@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668]

2:25 Why does he look like Bully MacGuire 21:25 Yes I did, you just told me like 10 minutes ago

[@Koobird784]

As torturous as the development of this game was, the fact that “Tingle Specialist” was a specific position makes it all worth it.

[@MaximumCarne]

Cool that even Miyamoto didn't like the art style

[@nickk3077]

Windwaker was a beautiful game and it’s very impressive what the team did under such pressures!

[@youareacoward8459]

And still it's graphics have not aged.

[@trentsticles6198]

Surprising that the sequel to windwaker that Ubisoft was going to made actually looked pretty good

[@Megrez-Alberich]

Very interesting. In an interview he gave to a French video game magazine (I think it was Joypad...), Shigeru Miyamoto defended tooth and nail the character design and the artistic direction of the game: "I know that a lot of people - especially Western fans - have been complaining about the visual style. They wish that Link were older and more 'realistic', like in Ocarina of Time. But when you think about it, in OoT his face was a triangle, and his hands were rectangles... he didn't even have fingers that move independently. That's not what I would call 'realistic'. Now, regarding his age in TWW, I've personally always seen Link as a brave 10-12 year old child".

[@Moonhack95]

6:10 "Black eyes made Europeans uncomfortable" bruh

[@BlarKedi3]

Now I know why Miyamoto looked so happy while presenting Twilight Princess.

[@GalaxyStandard77]

tbh that is what everyone expected since Majora's Mask.

[@ColoradoStreaming]

@@GalaxyStandard77 I remember being so pissed off when WW came out and it looked like a cartoon.

[@Healer0079a]

Ended up being the 3D Zelda that aged the best though. Ironic.

[@ferretappreciator]

@@ColoradoStreaming at least it didn't look like shit

[@otakulord9121]

Twilight is Miyamotos most hated Zelda actually he wishes they never made it

[@shazmosushi]

Smaller channels just starting out keep recycling the same old content from "The Cutting Room Floor" wiki, so I love that DYKG has grown to the point where they commission translations and digging through very obscure material to create more unique content otherwise not easily available in English. I hope the videos are successful enough to keep doing it, because it's a great thing.

[@cliffturbo2146]

"Let me talk about some new infos you've probably already heard of in 15 minutes."

[@Benjamillion]

Meanwhile I upload gameplay videos and barely get noticed 'cause shitty modern KZbin algorithm.

[@WilfredCthulu]

DID YOU KNOWS!? ISLE DELFINO LOOK DIFFERENT THAN IT DOES IN FINAL GAMES!?

[@andrewcoggins187]

I wish KZbin was transparent about how much money channels earn because it's gotta be astronomical

[@VashD15]

Tbf theyre only doing it after they've run out of shallow vids like that. I feel like there was half a decade where dyk gaming videos just felt like narrations of the Development section of a games wiki page

[@AlfredoAVA]

Underwater Hyrule was the BIGGEST tease I've ever experienced in any game, ever. It was legit the reason I bought an Action Replay for my GameCube, so I could moon-jump out there and finally explore it, haha! Still absolutely love the Wind Waker for what it is, but still would have loved to have seen what could have been with added development time. Guess I can hope in absolute vain for a "Director's Cut" version of the game that realizes it's original scope XD Amazing video!

[@qunt100]

I kind of picture it as like the master quest version of ocarina of time. Just a zelda wind waker with the deleted dungeons added back. Where as the dungeons in master quest were just revamped dungeons. I also, reading the part where they wanted to do a dual world system like a link to the past, that would have been pretty cool. 4 dungeons in the old hyrule, 4 dungeons on the ocean. I felt the same way in skyward sword. They could have had some dungeons in the sky, and some dungeons down below. It would have been pretty cool.

[@AlfredoAVA]

@@qunt100 I agree :) Spreading dungeons throughout both worlds like Link to the Past did would have been cool, in both Wind Waker and Skyward Sword. Especially with how in Wind Waker, the Earth and Wind Temples actually are in underwater Hyrule, but you only enter them via islands on the surface. Having their entrances be somewhere in Hyrule that you have to discover would have been cool.

[@davetheimpaler204]

What if the reason Nintendo hasn't released Wind Waker HD on Switch yet... is because they're working on a "director's cut" version of the game?

[@AlfredoAVA]

@@davetheimpaler204 Ooo! That'd be a treat, wouldn't it? Not gonna get my hopes up but, hey, crazier stuff has happened in the world of gaming :)

[@davetheimpaler204]

@@AlfredoAVA Yeah, it's certainly possible. Think of it this way: Instead of doing another full remake like Link's Awakening, Nintendo could put in 50% or less of the work for a director's cut of The Wind Waker and still sell it at full price.

[@jaggidfire]

I'm from Maryland, and they did actually teach us that sailing trick in elementary school. We all went home and tried it in the Wind Waker and were ecstatic that it actually worked.

[@JDG707]

@@Concon12316 Aw yes, the Legend of Zelda: the wind WIND 🧐

[@bobosmith101]

live in maryland and never heard of it, huh

[@jaggidfire]

@@bobosmith101 it was a private school I think

[@braydengraves4655]

I tried it as well, though only in the HD version. I never had the original, and even if I did, I learned that trick way later, from a Ranger's Apprentice novel of all things.

[@MemeScreen]

I learned this in High School as well. California.

[@Vulpas]

Wow, Miyamoto was right, people didn't like the Wind Waker's art style. He's objectively correct that it wouldn't sell or be well received, BUT, the one time he's right is the one time I'm glad he didn't get his way because I adore Wind Waker as it is.

[@Aceshot-uu7yx]

It feels odd to say I wish he was wrong.

[@KumiChan2004]

Looking back. The art style is fitting for the game. But I still enjoy it the least out of the art style the games have had.

[@kacperwoch4368]

Miyamoto was wrong on many things Zelda since Ocarina of Time came out, that's why ultimately Aonuma was put in charge of the series.

[@gummostump4217]

@@Aceshot-uu7yx I personally think he was. The entire gamecube paled in Playstation's shadow, and sold some 30% fewer units than the n64 before it, and 80% fewer than the Wii after it. Given those circumstances, i doubt a realistic artsyle would have saved it.

[@Ballowax]

Kinda wished he didn't get his way when he saw dinosaour planet on N64 or when he decided to cancel StarFox 2.

[@sehtuk3953]

"What if my purpose?" "You work on Tingle." "Oh my god." This and the golf island story are both completely absurd and utterly wild. In fact, this whole game's development sounds like it was a mess. It's kind of a wonder that this game turned out as well as it did.

[@braydengraves4655]

People in Japan actually like Tingle. I will never understand why.

[@SirDoggo-wr7it]

@@braydengraves4655 He’s so weird but I dig it, he’s funny

[@bluegum6438]

It's a bit of a shame it got stifled so badly, because it looks like most of its flaws (ocean too big, too easy, not enough dungeons, lacking content) are down to simply not being given the budget or development time it needed. It's still one of my favourites.

[@braydengraves4655]

@@bluegum6438 The ocean being too big was because of the GameCube's hardware, not anything the development team did. If the ocean had been any smaller, it would've had to pause everything to load on occasion, because the GameCube couldn't process the information fast enough.

[@mattwo7]

@@braydengraves4655 He's goofy, that's all there is to it. _I_ don't understand why people straight up _hate_ him. Indifference, ambivalence and/or healthy levels of unease and/or disgust I can understand but _hate_ is a pretty damn strong emotion. I also don't understand why Hestu was so much more divisive than Tingle. Hestu is basically just Tingle as a weird-looking, oddly large Korok, he even goes "HOO-HA!" after his dance in a way that sounds a _lot_ like how Tingle says "Kooloo-Limpah!" and particle effects pop out of his maracas after he shouts that just like Tingle's confetti.

[@calvinboucher5741]

This game REALLY could’ve benefited from an extra year or two of development. There are so many fascinating concepts and it’s a shame that we didn’t get to see them fully developed.

[@robraze]

Definitely, after seeing the Wind Waker cut content/early art in Hyrule Historia, I would’ve loved to see them adapted in Wind Waker :( Seeing how Hyrule underwater was suppose to be more explorable since the Earth/Wind Temples would’ve been accessed there except up above the Great Sea, having the Fire Mountain & Ice Ring Isles as full Dungeons rather than short ones, Water Boots would’ve been a item in a Great Fish Isle Dungeon, the Tingle/Zora sail, etc so many content omitted

[@ADreamingTraveler]

So many gamecube games got rushed due to poor sales. Super Mario Sunshine was the buggiest 3d Mario game ever because of how short and forced its development time and release were. They were desperate to release whatever they could to help ease dwindling sales

[@beegyoshi8401]

Couldve been a ten

[@Afreshio]

Same. Although I think SS needed those years more than WW. WW is a decent game, with one of the best stories of the franchise. And the artstyle is so original. But SS overworld is not redeemeable imo. The sky is empty. its just empty.

[@RealJeffTidwell]

If there was ever a Zelda game that could use an expansive remake, it’s Wind Waker. If TLOU can get one, I don’t see why Nintendo couldn’t go back and renovate/rework this game instead of just releasing another HD port. They wouldn’t even have to adjust the graphics that much, just add content. That’s the only way I’d buy the game again, after beating it only once in 2003.

[@DYKG_Clips]

That fact towards the end about the ocean... could have felt like a different game.

[@ZERO9098767]

The one about the map wrapping around like Skies of Arcadia's, or a lot of Final Fantasy games? Yea. That would've been nice. Probably would've cut down on sailing time. And to think, it was thrown out just for an insignificant bit of story that could've easily been done away with instead...

[@ZERO9098767]

@ofdevnipqkfvcedmqwjpo I didn't even notice the comment was left by their second channel. And then they went and gave it a like from the main channel. Lmfao

[@harshal1153]

@@ZERO9098767 It’s not insignificant and really ties the themes of the story together, so I think it was worth it

[@Paradox-xm9zq]

@@ZERO9098767 The problem with doing that is that it would imply that Hyrule is the entire planet

[@ZERO9098767]

@@Paradox-xm9zq Not if they don't include the line about going to find a new Hyrule.

[@MidniteAndBeyond]

20:58 I actually did a spit take on my second viewing of this video, when I saw my name in the corner! As far as I'm aware, this is the first time one of my LP's has been used for a DYKG video. Thank you so much for including it! Tomorrow is actually my 10 Year Anniversary of making Let's Plays, so this was a very heartwarming gift to receive. Wind Waker is a very special game to me and this video unveiled so many interesting development stories that I didn't know about, previously. I was always sad to know about how poorly the game was received upon its release, and its even more heartbreaking to know how rough it was for the development team, as well. I'm glad the game has garnered more praise and appreciation in more recent years. It remains as my favorite Zelda game and one of my favorite games of all time.

[@pampamtamtam4001]

That's pretty cool!

[@ryanhernandez1877]

That's _very_ cool!

[@RevolverLink]

The more I learn about game development, the more it feels like a miracle that any games turn out to be good, let alone great. Genuinely impressive that The Wind Waker turned out to be a classic despite an evidently brutal development cycle.

[@steel5897]

It's not a classic at all, basically everyone hated it before and when it came out, the game was considered a disappointment by Nintendo as well as critically. It's only a "classic" to young milennials and zoomers who grew up with the Gamecube and have a bad case of rose tinted glasses. No one currently over the age of 25 likes this game, it is the video game equivalent of the Star Wars prequels.

[@ProfKisuto]

​@@steel5897 wtf is this garbage take? WW holds up INCREDIBLY well. I put it right next to Majora's and BOTW. Also why would someone under 25 play this game unless someone made them play it? You need to have a GC or a WiiU...nor does it matter. The quality of something is not dictated by a particular group of people. You could technically say that literally everything popular when we are a certain age has 'rose-tinted glasses' because it's when we're our most impressionable.

[@Spacepirate77]

@@steel5897 Just delete your account if you're here on youtube to trash this classic for free. Wind Waker remains a fan favourite and a huge inspiration in video game development. It's art direction and charm are unmatched.

[@adribier]

@@steel5897 I didn't play it in it's day (I didn't have a GC), yet I still think it's a classic

[@CaseyJewels]

@@steel5897 I'm 31 and it's one of my favorite Zelda games. Tetra is also my favorite version of Zelda, though that might just be because I love pirates. :P I loved it when it came out and I still love it now. I wish they would release it on the Switch so I could play the updated version (never had a Wii U, so I missed out on the remake). Also, it's received much better now in part because the graphics aged fairly well because of the stylization. Another reason is because people have had time to get used to it, rather than thinking they were getting a realistic Zelda game just to feel cheated by a cartoon looking one.

[@Zinkolo]

I can't believe Myamoto was accused of choosing this art style all these years when this whole time he was the biggest one against it and cringed.

[@Omar_E11]

I mean you can't blame him. Nintendo was struggling financially at the time and sales were their priority. WW became one of the lowest selling main series Zelda games.

[@pakaman9101]

@@Omar_E11 what? U sure u replied to the right comment cuz ur comment is outta place

[@Omar_E11]

@@pakaman9101 naw im replying to the part where he mentioned he was against it

[@weregretohio7728]

Miyamoto was so out of touch well before people realized it. It's a shame the cringeworthy part of the fanbase was with him. God, I think about the whole "Cellda" thing and people crying over the reveal of TP and die a little inside. And then the failure of the Lunchbox lead us to modern Nintendo... ugh.

[@Omar_E11]

@@weregretohio7728 Bro hate to break your little bubble but if anything this little fact proves that he was IN TOUCH.

[@alexmott507]

1:20 hearing the Wind Waker theme being played on a Theremin in the background is one of the funniest things I've heard in a long time, love that you went the extra mile with that!

[@Civilian08]

I always thought the zig zagging boat thing was a bug. I had no idea it was specifically designed into the game, and reflects real world physics.

[@smactork]

Really hoping that this puts a spotlight on Tetra's Trackers for a fan translation. I don't think people would mind Japanese audio, as long as there are subtitles and English menus, like the Yakuza games

[@DJIVision]

Well I think the main issue's that with Tetra's Trackers, you spend most of the time looking down at the GBA, and you can't really keep looking up at the TV to read subtitles. That'd make a fan translation especially difficult -- you kinda have to have translate the audio.

[@medli20]

This was legit my favorite game for years and years (hell, my username has reflected it pretty much since the game was released in North America). It always saddened me that it wasn't as well-received as it could have been-- I think a lot of people kind of snubbed it for its aesthetic, but it's just such a fun, colorful, unique, gorgeous game that felt way ahead of its time. Thank you for taking the time to do the research and make this video-- seeing this appear in my subscriptions was an absolute delight! It makes me want to dig out my old copy and play it again. 🙏

[@64-96]

What's worse is having this game be your favourite game of all time as a kid, discovering the internet in the school library and thereby discovering that you're nearly alone in liking it. It was really saddening to my younger self discovering the game I loved so much wasn't accepted just because of the art style, which I happened to absolutely adore. It's even sadder seeing a lot of people in these comments hold onto this grudge and continue to trash on the game and use this video to vindicate their opinions and 'prove' the game was bad, because "Miyamoto hated it!", "It had the worst sales in Zelda history! (ignoring Majora's Mask and the general failure of the Gamecube and Wii U apparently)", etc.

[@awakenedcrowl]

"and nowadays he's producer on the mario party series" So he DID go crazy!

[@exie4678]

17:28 'they changed it into a squid game' I have been corrupted

[@asdfoifhvjbkaos]

AHHHHHH

[@dannykazari]

Really wish both this and Mario Sunshine got like an extra 6 months or so of development... cuts have to be made and deadlines need to be met, but as great as these games are, we'll forever have to wonder about what they could have been. The Gamecube sure was an interesting console.

[@youtuber6193]

Completely agree on both counts. I love Windwaker but it does feel like it’s a couple or dungeons short and some of the other missed elements would’ve really finished the game off. If Nintendo weren’t feeling the huge pressure from Sony and Microsoft I think they would’ve taken their time to finish the games off properly.

[@jongameaddict]

@@youtuber6193 I think 2 or 3 WW dungeons were put into Twilight Princess. One may have even made it into Skyward Sword I feel like I've heard once? But I'm not sure.

[@JKSmith-qs2ii]

We have already experienced what could have been Eiji Aonuma has said multiple times that ideas that get cut make their way in some form in another Zelda game.

[@Wendy_O._Koopa]

No amount of time could have saved Mario Sunshine... unless someone on the team secretly modeled all seven of Bowser's children for them after hours and also programmed different mechanics for us. "Look Miyamoto, now you don't have to throw seven teenagers out with the bathwater, only to replace them with Dad's mini-me."

[@Hysteria98]

@@jongameaddict If I had to guess, I would have said the Temple of Time and the Arbiter's Grounds, at least.

[@mendelevium2768]

My appreciation for Aonuma grows stronger each day

[@64-96]

He's the real MVP in the LoZ series if we're being honest.

[@dannymusic]

It is so fitting for the legacy of the theremin that the instrument was cut because it was too difficult and awkward to play. Thanks for having me on to contribute to this video; these revelations about the struggles in Wind Waker's development are super interesting.

[@DJIVision]

Thanks Danny :)

[@jokx4409]

Man each time I learn about cut content, it always reminds me how much of a masterpiece the game could've been had it simply had a year or two more in development. It would've been even more of a masterpiece than it already is.

[@aaronolson6736]

I'd be fine getting the Treasure Trackers game with just subtitles, those voices are perfect

[@NeroTP]

Ikr, japanese dubs rocks 🤩

[@koolkrafter5]

I feel like it could make gameplay more difficult. Based on what I understand, you're mostly looking at your gameboy, but you'd need to look up to read the subtitles rather than just hearing what they have to say while still looking down.

[@CralexKokiri]

I’ve seen several speedruns of this game, some of which use the extension “crowd control” to enable chat to influence the game. One such action sends Link to a creepy “Tingle” room. Now I finally know what’s up with that room. Thanks DYKG!

[@ReinBelmont]

0:45 i thought they were going to say "Hey! That's an interesting story, lets get Link thrown in the gulag"

[@i.l.l.l.l.]

This was a particularly good episode, very thorough and well-researched

[@OozoTheClown]

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, when you catch a Neon Tetra, your character says ""I caught a neon tetra! Wasn't hard to track." Since every caught fish includes some sort of pun, it seems like the localizers have included a reference to Tetra's Trackers here. This video describes how difficult it would be to localize the game, so I have to wonder if the ACNH localizers put some time into localizing Tetra's Trackers before being told to stop, and if so this reference may have been done in tribute to their work that never saw the light of day.

[@sion8]

🤷‍♂️

[@galegorgeous8857]

That’s quite a reach

[@OozoTheClown]

@@galegorgeous8857 Which part is the reach? That it's a reference to Tetra's Trackers at all, or that the reference was made in honor of localization work that never amounted to anything?

[@TopOfAllWorlds]

@@OozoTheClown why are you assuming they put time into localizing tetras trackers at all?

[@DarkLink1996.]

@@TopOfAllWorlds Because there's screenshots of a localization

[@AT7outof10]

Oh my god, Aonuma keeping the truth away from Miyamoto is such a chad move; if only the Paper Mario games could do the same. Ask for forgiveness, not permission.

[@nachocabo4221]

It`s such a shame this game didn`t sold well. It`s by far one of my favorite Zelda games, and the art style and personality it has a is a huge reason why. Definitely wanted to see more of this link, specially because aside from botw, is the only one I feel is a character and not just a tool for us to connect to the world

[@V-Jes]

Toon Link has plenty of games (including a direct sequel to WW on DS) as he became the Link for the low budget spin offs Nintendo knew aren't gonna sell well.

[@nachocabo4221]

@@V-Jes yeah I know, but the full blown sequel sounded cool

[@iamcll]

Oh you misunderstand stand it sold fine, Just not enough for the rich fucks at the top lol.

[@JazGalaxy]

Toon link is the best blonde link. My links of choice are toon link, original link, link to the past link, BOTW link, skyward link, twilight link and the ocarina link

[@JDG707]

@@JazGalaxy that’s a whole lotta links. Think it would’ve been faster to name the links you didn’t like lol

[@psyme-]

I had actually learned about the Zigzag technique on when I got to use a single person sail boat during a summer trip a year before, and was glad it worked in the game. It really helps for getting around a single island or reef.

[@ChairyCrasher]

Did it make you feel smart?

[@reach17-CH]

I always thought the Hyoi Pear was supposed to be kind of like that "Hoy!" shout that you always hear Aryll make, since Aryll and the pear both attract seagulls

[@Lucas-db2jq]

It's ok Aonuma. I forgive you about the crabs, I really like them. I even have a figurine in the Nintendo Gallery. And I will pour one out for Toshiaki Suzuki , and his much welcomed efforts on everything Tingle. Koloo-Limpah, my friend.

[@cheldardo]

Based curiomatic Lucas render pfp

[@djhero0071]

You guys deserve a lot of praise and respect for going the extra mile and translating the magazine interviews. It brings to light new facts and trivia people like myself would probably never know otherwise. That's a pretty deep dive and I love y'all for it.

[@NukeOTron]

From the footage you gathered, yes, Tetra's Trackers IS pretty much a Marvelous game, right down to the physics and animation. I'd recognize that diagonal run, hammer motion, and weird jumping style anywhere. ...also, you can zigzag to move a boat?

[@Dylan-ty1bo]

You mean the Marvelous games of the Satellaview?

[@NukeOTron]

@@Dylan-ty1bo Yes. ...and Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima, the straight-up cart release. I know it's common knowledge that Tetra's Trackers started off as a Marvelous game, but let's be honest, there's hardly an English-speaking person who's seen Tetra's Trackers in action (...well, there might be a few videos, but still...). At least Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima has a few translation patches.

[@Dylan-ty1bo]

@@NukeOTron Wow that's very interesting you know about that series. I thought I was the only one. I only know about it because I have a spreadsheet of all of Nintendo's franchises... I'm kinda a mega-fan haha

[@RichardHardslab]

I'd had the zig zagging described to me a while ago, I was told it's called 'tacking'

[@ooiiooiiooii]

“A human with red eyes is kinda creepy” Albinos: 😔

[@conc0n]

ah yes, the good ol zig zagging boat, the most important lesson i definitely learned in high school

[@tryinglyon]

The fact that angry fangirls mailed letters to Nintendo about Link not being hot anymore is hilarious

[@Sientir]

I didn't realize how crunched Wind Waker's development was. Edit: To clarify: I know the vast majority of video game development has involved crunch. What surprised me was the degree of crunch involved in Wind Waker's development, not that there was any crunch at all.

[@NoahNCopeland]

name any game. it was probably crunched.

[@Sientir]

@@NoahNCopeland Yes, I know. It's a problem that needs to be addressed. I just didn't realize Wind Waker was so crunched that developers were literally not going home for such extended periods of time. I've typically thought of Nintendo as being better than that extreme.

[@internetguy7319]

@@Sientir what an innocent soul

[@hyzmarie]

@@Sientir poor guy. Nintendo is a Japanese company and as such they have an unhealthy work ethic.

[@hyzmarie]

Not saying that all Japanese people are that way but the culture tends more in that direction

[@karldettmann7780]

Some of these facts are ridiculous enough that they could be made up, but DYKG is saying it so I believe it. They could say "Link had a snorkel in early development, and could dive into the sea," and i would believe it

[@songarakram]

It still blows my mind that the Tingle Tuner mode was axed for the Wii U version. The Wii U has a damn game boy advanced built into the controller.

[@Shoeboxcat7]

You've got a serious point. I never thought about that. It could've just been a button that appeared on the gamepad when using the Tingle Tuner...you can't even use the message bottles now since Miiverse is dead. So the replacement is a dud.

[@diegog1853]

The funny thing is, Miyamoto was kind of right at the time in saying that wind waker wouldn't sell, it underperformed, behind both ocarina of time and twilight princess. And at the time it was a fairly hated artstyle by a lot of people, including me as a kid, I thought they made link uncool. I think it is partially in retrospect that wind waker is so beloved now, both the gameplay and artstyle.

[@KamenRiderGumo]

Not in my book. Game looks and plays like garbage. I hate it only slightly less than Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks (the only Zelda game I have never bothered to finish).

[@Lightningstrike1220]

@@KamenRiderGumo well, welcome to being the minority then. Enjoy it, I guess.

[@alulim4968]

@@Lightningstrike1220 its not a minority, if fact, everybody knows the fans love WW for it's story and gameplay, but not the graphics, thats only nostalgia of the people who play it.

[@Lightningstrike1220]

@@alulim4968 that is an opinion based on nothing.

[@alulim4968]

@@Lightningstrike1220 if the opinon of the majority of fans means nothing...

[@JankisPitt]

Tetra's Trackers sounds cool as hell, it's a shame it never came to the west

[@maqaroon]

My entire life I always thought the Hyoi Pear was a play on Beedle's goofy greeting (H0i Pear) 🤡

[@ReplyIfImRight]

Hi sheep

[@StevenUlyssesPerhero]

I feel like it absolutely would have been possible to retain the Tingle Tuner in Wind Waker HD. The Wii U's default controller literally had a screen in it, and failing that, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate showed it was possible for a 3DS and Wii U to communicate, so why not make it available through Download Play?