The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is the tenth installment of The Legend of Zelda series. It was first released on the Nintendo GameCube in 2002 in Japan and the following year in North America, Europe, and Australia. In 2013, the game was remastered and re-released for the Wii U with the title, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD.

As suggested from the box art, much of the game involves Link traveling across the Great Sea to other islands, by riding a talking boat, the King of Red Lions. Similar to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which features the titular Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is also named after instrument, in this case, the Wind Waker.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is noted for its distinctive cartoon-like visuals, a departure from that of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. As a result, fans were divisive over the art style, and while The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was one of the best-selling titles for the GameCube, it had significantly fewer sales than The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In response to this, the realistic visuals were added into the next home console game, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker received two direct sequels for the Nintendo DS, both of which have a similar art style, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. In the Super Smash Bros. series, the Link from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and its sequels is named Toon Link, to discern from normal Link and Young Link.

Other characters
The list does not include the Golden Goddesses, whose story was retold during a flashback.