The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (PG)

The Game
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is the first GameCube Zelda title. Before its release, the game's graphics caused much controversy among the series's fans. The controversy dissipated upon release of the game, as major reviewers rated the game highly.

Graphics Style
The game uses a mix of cel-shading and realistic effects to create a unique look. While the standard cartoon-like lighting is used, the developers did not include the black outlines found in other cel-shaded games. Effects found in non-cartoony games are used, most notably bump-mapping. Unlike most cel-shaded games, The Wind Waker utilizes different shaders for different objects. For example, characters like Link are shaded with a standard cel-shader, while buildings and landforms are shaded with a more subtle, almost realistic-type shader, helping to smooth out blocky models while also keeping the style seamless.