Overview
In Wind Walker, players take control of a young boy, Kata, as he confronts his fears within a dream world. Presented as a 2D sidescroller, Kata journeys through a variety of dream realms, confronting beasts based on several different elements. Water, Fire, Earth, and Storm are just a few of the several different areas that Kata progresses through.
Core Mechanics
The core mechanic in Wind Walker is Kata's ability to manipulate the wind. The wind provides a number of different abilities to Kata, allowing him to blow enemies around the screen, as well as push objects and pieces of scenery around as well. This allows Kata to activate switches by moving terrain objects onto them, or enemies as well. The core mechanic is further adjusted depending on the elements that Kata has conquered so far. Water and Kata's wind powers can create waterspouts, lifting him to new places and areas that he could otherwise be unable to access. Combinations of these powers are made necessary as Kata progresses through the levels, requiring more problem solving and logic as the game continues. Kata is also able to gather collectibles that increase his powers, granting new effects on top of the combinations that have already been acquired. Because Wind Walker is about Kata confronting his fears, the creatures that represent his fears each represent a different type of fear. As such, these different fears require different tactics to defeat. Some require pure attacking to defeat, while others require use of Kata's unique powers in combinations to whisk them around the level before disposing of them.
Environment
Wind Walker utilizes a hand-drawn art style, attempting to recreate and animated painting of a fantasy realm. The different realms reflect the types of elements they focus on, with a central theme throughout. The fire realm, for instance, is permanently covered in a red sunset, while the Water levels feature a clear blue sky and loud music. The music is as much a part of the environment, and the changing and shifting music between the different elements further differentiates them from each other.Wind Walker uses a japanese-inspired art style.
