Surprisingly well! Most people I know level the Wii controls as one of the bigger issues but if you are able to find a gamecube copy, the controls are perfectly fine and fluid, or as much as any Zelda game. The combat is a far more refined and complex version of the Ocarina of Time style, with multiple moves you can perform, and a lot of nifty combos you can learn, but staggered throughout enough of the game so that you are not overloaded. As I said, the biggest complaint is that throughout the game there are not enough chances to use it, but there are several mini-bosses throughout the game which give you plenty of chance to engage in fancy swordplay, and although I don't think I ever completed it, there is a version of the Wind Wakers Savage Labyrinth, which is much harder and more fulfilling.
The dungeons are a bit hit and miss, but largely I'd give them a positive review. Open, often sprawling and confusing dungeons with multiple paths and some occasionally rather challenging puzzles or sections, often graphically pleasing and with unified aesthetic. Some are better then others; the second dungeon was good but was one of the less enjoyable for me, being rather more linear then the others, and the Sky dungeon was absolutely terrible, arguably one of the worst non wind waker dungeons in any zelda, despite the nice aesthetic and mini-boss. One of the nice things however is that there are a lot of dungeons, a good 8 or 9 if I remember correctly, and some of them are amazing. Items are nice and imaginative, albeit sometimes a little superfluous later in the game (The Spinner thingy is nice, fun, and imaginative, but rarely has much use in any puzzles or combat after the dungeon you get it in).
Graphically the game is perfectly fine. Not amazing by todays standards but more then good enough to play with. What is markedly different from any previous game is the aesthetic, which is often very dark, gloomy, and overall quite depressing. This is completely intentional however, and blends very well with the overall tone of the game. Unlike any previous game in the series you can tell that the developers sat down and tried to think about how they wanted to their game to be appreciated visually, and the way in which they would do this.
The game isn't perfect though. It may not be bloated in the same sense as the Wind Waker, as you usually feel like you're progressing towards a specific goal and usually in a somewhat interesting manner, but I'll be damned if the thing doesn't drag on a little. The starting section in particular is excrutiatingly boring and over-long, and there are certain sections of bloat. But most of it is presented far too well for it to be a huge problem, and it does a fairly good job of keeping you engaged. There are a few minor complaints; an infuriatingly small wallet that takes a long time to expand, the wolf sections vary between being kind of awesome and over-long and boring, and the world is quite large, which results in a little more running around the place then some people enjoy, although I do remember there being a form of fast travelling after a point. My largest complaint would be certain aspects of the story/characters (don't read on if you don't want very minor spoilers), but the game does at times bring up some fascinating suggestions, as well as bringing in the possibility of a genuinely dark link (if you played Super Smash Bros Brawl you should've run across the model, pretty awesome), although unfortunately this never manifests into anything or is followed up. The sidekick is actually one of the more interesting in the Zeldas, but still manages to be annoying at times, and my biggest issue is that a main villian is set up to be terrifying and scary, and for the first half of the game practically exhumes sheer badassery out of every pore, along with a fairly unique design, but he totally phones it in and turns into a fucking clown that is impossible to take seriously and when the time finally comes to fight him it feels more like a fight versus a retarded clown with anger issues than the evil deity of death and terror he originally pretends to be. And of course this is followed up by the same old bad guy being drawn out at the last second, and you know the rest.
I would certainly recomend it though, one of the stronger Zelda's with more then enough strong positives to outweigh the negatives. And it's certainly worth the money, because it is a lengthy game.
What's 'Dolphin' by the way?
"English doesn't so much borrow words from other languages as follows them into a dark alley, hits them over the head and goes through their pockets for loose vocabulary."
Isnt dolphin only 'illegal' if you dont own the game and console. Anyway, is there an emulator in the works for wii u yet? :P.
"English doesn't so much borrow words from other languages as follows them into a dark alley, hits them over the head and goes through their pockets for loose vocabulary."
Well if you own the game I'll be happy to inform you that it runs perfectly fine (granted you have the specs to run it) it looks amazing, however the only real problems it that the GC version does NOT support widescreen and the game will grow progressively slower (only Hyrule Field) as you discover new areas, but if your computer is really good it should be fine.
I thought this was pretty cool, http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu/downloads/virtual-console/
yep its an awesome promo, watchdogs also got officially announced for wii u too.