Well, I've beaten it... got all the treasure charts, all the pieces of the hearts, all the figures...

Man, what a let down overall. I mean, it's an excellent game, but it's too short, too easy, and it's the first game I ever played that when I realized I was almost to the end, I tried to delay it as long as possible.

I mean, come on Nintendo, what is up with your obsession with making short games? Luigi's Masion, Pikmin... the only games that got it right were Metroid Prime (which was just the right length) and Mario Sunshine. But Wind Waker? There were only eight *true* dungeons. For a game as big as Wind Waker, eight is not enough. And although I dug the storyline, I still felt that the scope of the game was just not big enough.

I'll give Wind Waker credit for making me realize what a true masterpiece Link to the Past is. Save Zelda, fight in three Dungeons, fight a big boss, fight in eight more dungeons, fight in Ganon's tower, fight Ganon. The scope was incredible. And it's not because Link to the Past was 2-D and Wind Waker was 3-D, because Wind Waker was excellent. But the scope of Link to the Past was much better.

Additionally, I must say that some of the side missions in Wind Waker were terminally boring. For example, to get a piece of the heart in Outset Island, you have to hit the old swordsman 500 times without taking more then three hits. I mean, it wasn't hard or anything, but it's so long and boring (and painful for those with Carpel-Tunnel like myself) that it makes you question if it's worth it to have EVERY piece of the heart. Link to the Past didn't do that to you.

So my verdict is Wind Waker is good, but it's not the five-star title I thought it was... ****1/4 stars. Good effort, too fucking short.