Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker HD Is Getting The Port It Deserves

Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker HD Gets Beautiful New Port Thanks To Fans

Published Nov 6, 2026, 6:03 AM EST

Ewan is Deputy Editor for ScreenRant's gaming section. He still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase, and knows more about The Legend of Zelda and Doctor Who than is probably healthy.

Ewan oversees the content operation of ScreenRant's gaming output, working with a talented team of writers and editors to cover everything from the latest GTA 6 news to the indie games you need on your radar. 

Former Editor of GAMINGbible, Ewan also has words at Kotaku, Den of Geek, NME, and UNILAD. He's appeared on various podcasts, including VGC's and BBC's Let's Talk About Tech. 

The Legend of Zelda is a wonderful series for many reasons, but for me, the legendary Nintendo franchise is best represented by The Wind Waker. I understand that may be a fairly spicy take, but I think it's a delight. It was a beautiful, charming, heartfelt game in 2002, and the original GameCube version still holds up in 2026.

Still, as much as I enjoy revisiting the Nintendo GameCube version, 2013's Wind Waker HD for Nintendo Wii U is an infinitely improved experience. Whether or not the brighter visuals are better is definitely a matter of taste, but the ability to find a Swift Sail that makes traveling across the ocean much easier justifies the existence of the remaster all on its own. It also introduces a delightful message-in-a-bottle system that feels like a more lighthearted take on Dark Souls' messages.

While Nintendo has yet to officially release The Wind Waker HD outside of the Wii U (a baffling decision, if you ask me), a brand-new PC port is taking shape thanks to the hard work of dedicated fans. As first spotted by XDA, the ZeldaWWHDRecomp might just be the native port you've been waiting for. You know, assuming you've given up waiting on Nintendo.

The full list of supported features in the recomp include:

• Linux / Windows / macOS / Android
• Vulkan / Metal
• 60 FPS + experimental True 60
• Internal resolution up to 3x
• Ultrawide
• Save States
• Controller / GamePad support
• Cemu .wua archives supported
• SteamOS compatible

XDA was "pleasantly surprised by how solid it runs on the ROG Ally X20 I usually test stuff like this on. There's a bit of lag while the shaders are loading, but it improves the more you play, and 60fps through interpolation looks great," which is very encouraging to hear.

"It's a godsend, these decomp recomps, when you know the hassle, the fact that companies are incapable of preserving the source code," one comment read.

While another added: "A thousand times, yes, after all this time, I've wanted to play it again! Thanks for keeping watch for us."

In other Legend of Zelda news, the Ocarina of Time remake is finally available now on Nintendo Switch 2 and is already one of the best-reviewed games of the decade.

In our own 9/10 review, we admitted the game is gorgeous and remains a masterpiece, but that we wanted it to take a few more risks.

"The Switch 2 remake preserves its legacy, though it resists change in ways that occasionally clash. Remakes are always a sticky subject: many fans want the game to be completely different, while others want it to be basically the same, but on a modern platform with easy access. There's no real solution to making a remake that satisfies everyone, but Ocarina of Time comes close. With some additional content and replay value, it could easily have been the definitive version. But it will "just" have to settle for being an incredible remake that's worth playing at least once. Ocarina of Time is arguably worth playing in any iteration, including Switch 2."