2. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

2002’s The Wind Waker reminds me of that scene in Back to the Future after Marty McFly plays that insane guitar riff to an audience of 1950s-era dorks and says “I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet…”

It took a long time for people to realize how beautiful The Wind Waker looked. Sales didn’t meet Nintendo’s expectations, causing a course correction that ultimately relegated this aesthetic to underpowered handheld experiences. This is a shame, because once Wind Waker’s Wii U HD remaster came out in 2013, many finally saw its true potential.

Nintendo’s goal was to create an interactive cartoon using an art style known as cel shading (or toon shading). The basic concept behind this style of graphics is to give everything in the game a “flat” shape with shadows that lend a hand-drawn aesthetic to both character and environment.

One of the most beautiful and atmospheric games in the series, The Wind Waker frees itself from the shackles of “realistic” graphics trends, giving it every opportunity to be stylistic. Monsters and explosions leave behind curly, cartoon clouds. Link’s giant cartoon eyes are expressive and look toward player objectives. Wind Waker feels like your favorite animated film brought to life, and it is one of Link’s prettiest adventures.