Wind Waker is a polarizing Zelda title. I personally feel it's the worst 3D Zelda by miles, but a coworker of mine believes it's the best 3D Zelda. When we talk about it, both of us get pretty frustrated.
The main thing about Wind Waker, is that it's not a game made for the original core Zelda audience. Which was infuriating to the fanbase when it first released, but ultimately helped open up the series to more people. I think Wind Waker was particularly effective in recruiting new young players, and certain female players.
- On the flipside, I think it helped drive many of the original Zelda fans to better appreciate games like the Elder's Scrolls series.
Wind Waker is a good introduction to Zelda games for it's target audience. It's easier enemies and more linear dungeons make sense, if you consider that the game is intended to be accessible to younger players. The characters are simple, but they're colorful, and pretty expressive (especially for the time). Tetra the Pirate was a pretty good hit with the young female target audience.
I personally HATE this type of practice though. I feel that if you build a brand, like Zelda, on a certain fanbase, that there's something not right about using the brand to try to recruit a new fanbase, when it's to the detriment of the original fans. I think a series should prioritize the fans that helped make it successful to begin with!
- I think the new Tomb Raider is a great game, but have the same beef with it as I do with Wind Waker. I think it's a good game for a new audience, but a horrible game for much of the original audience...
For some, Wind Waker represents the point in history when Nintendo abandoned most of the core gamer audience, and decided that they were going to concentrate on games for children and more casual players. Which is why I personally feel it was a HORRIBLE choice in a remake, to try to bring players back to the Wii U with nostalgia.