Windwaker HD Help appreciated!

[SwfcDan]

Hi guys, I've just signed up here. I recently bought a wii U and one of the games I've since bought is Windwaker HD. I'd never played it before, so thought this was an obvious one to play being a Zelda fan. I wanted some help on the game as it's a few years old now and other games forums aren't talking about it as much, so I looked at Zelda forums to join and this one seemed nice and active so chose here!

I've just finished the Forbidden Woods temple which was enjoyable, the game seems fun in parts but I'm struggling a bit with what to do/where to go in the overworld, especially as islands are so far apart. So if I can get some help with some questions that would be great:

1. Sea travel takes a long time initially (I know you can get a swift sail at some point later), and I tend to find I'm aimlessly sailing around right now not able to find many islands or things to do (especially at night) and find it's getting a bit boring. The ship (Red Lion?)'s help for places you can go is non-existent, Is there a good way to go about exploring early on?, And when accidentally sailing past places or wanting to turn around briefly, it's annoying to have to keep playing the wind's requiem, I hope there will be a song which keeps the wind behind you at all times...

2. I'm struggling with side-quests, knowing which I should/can do now. I found the Deku leaf sidequest which involves watering the Deku Trees around, but I then found I couldn't find the island to bring it to on the map when returning. Is there any way these side-quest locations can be marked on the gamepad map?

3. Tingle bottles are a nice idea, so do the bottles go in the exact location thrown for every single person and this is presumably only in the sea (though I've found I can throw them on land)? I've just found the Nintendo Gallery which seems interesting but daunting, I've read that people used Tingle Bottles a lot to pass around photos of rare people/enemies, but I haven't found any myself yet. I'm trying to decide if it's worth committing all the time for it, and if you still get rewards even if you complete a lot but not all of them, it seems the community isn't as active now so will be harder to get photos passed around by Tingle bottles.

4. The camera angles seem a bit strange for a Zelda game. The camera doesn't pan around behind Link at all so so need to use L button or the R stick at all times, I'm sure other Zelda titles the camera follows behind Link? Also the camera can be very zoomed in and I know R stick down zooms out but it seems to revert back just by pressing L to centre views etc. I can't see a way to change camera settings, so is this different for Windwaker or just me not used to a Wii U?

5. Finally I've filled my wallet already so if anyone knows where I can spend some of it on something other than Pears or Bait that would be much appreciated!

Sorry for the length but my friends don't play WW either so I needed to get some questions off my chest . Hope you guys can help, thanks!

 

[Doc]

To help with the sailing and money problem, you definitely should get the Swift Sail. Iirc, you can obtain it after you complete the Forbidden Woods, and will not only increase speed but also change the wind's direction automatically (so no more Wind's Requiem!) To get the Swift Sail, you just need to go to Windfall Island at night and enter the rich house where auctions are held. It is not guaranteed to show up and may take a few tries before it is the item being auctioned.

As for sidequests, most islands are small little puzzles you can go to, and some are minigames. You need to be observant when sailing, though because you can really see most islands from a far distance. Many of them are super small so that may be why you're missing them. You can also find a number of sidequests on the main story islands (Outset Island, Windfall Island, Dragon Roost Island, Forest Haven).

 

[VikzeLink]

One great way to explore is to use the map (aka seachart). On it there are usually marks on where you're supposed to go for the story. Also, at every island there is a fish jumping around, if you throw some bait at him, he will fill in the map for you of the island he is at.

I would personally say that you are still a bit too early in the game to do sidequests, I would recommend completing at least one more dungeon first, since it will let you roam more freely after that.

As for you wallet issues, there are 2 upgrades for it. One in the forest of your home island, Outset Island (fly across the broken bridge with the Deku Leaf) and one on one of the Great Fairy Islands. With both upgrades you'll be able to hold up to 5000 rupees ^^

 

[SwfcDan]

Thanks guys have got the swift sail now after a lot of bidding and collecting extra rupees, phew! Makes sailing a lot easier. I figured out the camera angle thing too, if you change it using the r analogue stick it goes into manual controls and won't pan around Link! The way to get it back to normal camera view is to press L and it locks behind him and follows behind him, that's never been part of a Zelda game before so why they didn't explain that I've no idea...mass frustration finally over.

Can anyone tell me more about how Tingle bottles exactly work then? And is there no way to mark locations on your map? I've noticed I can't seem to find an option to put the typical map outline on the main screen either, I can cope with it just on the gamepad but it would be easier if it's possible?

6. What the heck is the deal with the treasure charts in the game? They seem a fun idea, and I've finally found one I can locate on the map. But when I get there (it's the five-eyes reef one), I am still unable to find it. The boat isn't easy to control precise movements and it's hard to find an exact spot comparing the charts anyway, do you have to be dead precise to find the treasure? I was happy when I finally managed to pinpoint a location, but now I'm moving small amounts back and forth trying to find it and it's quickly not becoming fun anymore. There was no help whatsoever about locating it either.

7. Oh and I gotta ask will there be a song to learn soon which calls the Red Lion nearer to you (like eponas song)? Sometimes I find the boat's over on the other side of the island, or if I accidentally fall somewhere I can't always even get back to him in time before drowning...

 

[VikzeLink]

Can't help you with the Tingle Bottles, I don't have the Wii U version.

The Treasure Charts are mostly for rupees, but there is also a few Pieces of Heart from them too. If you want to be more precise with the boat, hold the R-button while in the boat with no sail up, then you can go around really slowly, makes it much easier.

And nope, there is no song like that

Have fun ^^

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

if you check the treasure chart map itself while you're around the spot,you should see yourself on there and go off on that,yeah looking for sea treasure isn't the most seamless thing but its manageable

and yeah,there's no song to call the boat itself to you,if you're far,gonna have to start rolling

 

[magnann]

Tingle bottles are basically Miiverse posts from other players that appear in your game. You can add pictures to the tingle bottles and can save pictures received from tingle bottles. These pictures, along with your own, can be used to make the figures in the gallery, making hard to obtain pictures much easier to get.

You can pull up the treasure charts on the gamepad and it'll show your location in real time. Once your boat makes it into the square map of the chart you'll see yourself marked with an arrow, allowing you to stop directly on the X. It also makes a chiming sound when you get near a treasure chest and a little circle of light appears letting you know where to use the grappling hook.

I would wait to do the Deku Tree sidequest (and most others) until later in the game once you have your map filled out more.