The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

"Link's first adventure for the DS proves to be excellent."

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, released for the Nintendo DS on October 1, 2007, may not be Link's first outing on a Nintendo handheld, as evidenced by the Link's Awakening, Minish Cap, and Oracle of Ages/Seasons games, but it is indeed the first true Zelda game for the DS. It turns out that the series handles this transition very well.

Graphics:
Though styled after the cell-shaded graphics of its predecessor, The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass's graphics are obviously not the crisp, smooth graphics seen in the Nintendo Gamecube title. That being said, the graphics are very nice for the DS itself and really show off its true potential, with its 3D graphics engine being on par with the likes of Mario Kart DS, Animal Crossing: Wild World, and Super Mario 64 DS. Although, some of the characters appear to be a bit “blocky,” especially Link himself, as well as his sidekick, Captain Linebeck. Also, the same textures and patterns for things like doors, barriers, floors, and the like are rehashed again and again in each dungeon…it would have been nice to see some variety in the dungeons like we did in Wind Waker. That being said, the graphics really stand out during the “zoomed-in” cutscenes, where character faces look relatively smooth and with varied expressions, much like in The Wind Waker. 8/10

Controls:
Probably one of the biggest changes that the handheld Zelda franchise has undergone during the transition between The Minish Cap and Phantom Hourglass is the addition of entirely touch screen, stylus based controls. For the most part, these controls fit very nicely into the game and are very easy to use. At first I was a little bit skeptical about how the controls would work, having been so used to the standard D-Pad + Buttons control scheme used in previous handheld Zelda games, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that they are very easy and also very comfortable as well. Players of Animal Crossing: Wild World (myself included) will be pleased to find that moving Link around is done exactly the same way as in Wild World- just point your stylus where you want Link to go, and he'll go there. This is a bit different though from Wild World though in the fact that you only have to tap the point where you want to go. In Wild World you had to hold the stylus on the spot you wanted your character to go. In Phantom Hourglass it is much easier. Phantom Hourglass also expands on this concept by making certain actions quite near “automatic,” such as picking up and throwing pots, opening doors, and reading signs. This is achieved by simply tapping the object you wish to interact with. And with pots, you just tap where you want to throw the pot, and you throw it. Simple! Basically Link can throw a pot anywhere you can touch on the screen whilst he is holding the pot.

Swordplay is another big factor of the control scheme, and also very easy. To use your sword, all you must do is just slash the stylus quickly across the screen. To make things even easier (remember, expanded audience) you can just tap the enemy you want to attack and Link will attack it. This isn't always the best strategy though, as some enemies require you to hit them from behind, or they have some sort of guard mechanism that must be disabled first, and Link only attacks from the front. This is an example of when you should use the non-tapping version of attacking (ie. the slashing method).

The only gripe I have about the controls is the rolling mechanism. Not only is it pretty much unnecessary, except for rolling into trees, but it is hard to pull off too. The game instructs you to draw small circles at the edge of the screen while Link is running to roll, but I can't seem to do that for the life of me. Other people I know have had the same complaints, and they have just skirted the issue by simply tapping twice at the edge of the screen or making small slashes instead of circles. I have tried this and it works much better than the default circle method. So this pretty much negates any gripe I had about the rolling. 10/10

Gameplay:
Easily the most important part of any game, the gameplay of a game is essentially the meat on the bones, so to speak. It is the core of the game, what you're actually doing. I am pleased to say that Phantom Hourglass offers a wide variety of gameplay scenarios. The gameplay is mainly divided into four parts: exploring islands, completing dungeons, sailing in your ship, and “dungeon crawling” through the Phantom Hourglass Temple. The exploring portions usually consist of finding a way to access the dungeon that is on the island you're on. This usually involves one of the most cleverly devised Zelda game concepts ever conceived: map drawing. With the advent of the touch screen + stylus duo that is the DS, you are now able to draw on (almost) any map you come across. And no more finding maps in treasure chests or bartering them from effeminate middle-aged men in tights- all maps are automatically displayed on the DS's top screen. The only instance where you will actually receive a tangible map is when you either find A.) a map of a portion of the ocean you sail on or B.) a treasure map, detailing the location of a treasure in the ocean (exactly like Wind Waker). Anyway, you can now draw on these maps, and this is very helpful if, say, you want to right down the right order to hit a certain number of switches in a dungeon, or mark the points of treasure chests, or just scribble all willy-nilly to your hearts content. So this mechanism is used prominently in the island exploring segments. During the island exploring segments you may also need to find a specific person, or do simple fetch quests for people.

The Dungeon portions of the game are essentially about the same as any other handheld Zelda dungeon you'd find, complete with keys, boss keys, bosses, multiple floors, and plenty of puzzles. Where Phantom Hourglass differs though is it has the entire capabilities of the DS at its disposal. Once you acquire a boomerang you'll draw the flight path for it (this can be very addicting and very fun all in itself…try drawing a spiral!), which is mainly used for hitting oddly placed switches or enemies in the rear, harkening back to the old days of Oracle of Seasons with its Magical Boomerang. Phantom Hourglass's boomerang is a little like that in the sense that you can control it, except now its about fifty times easier due to the touch screen. The DS's microphone is also used in some instances, such as an enemy that can only be defeated by shouting at it. Do not do this in public places, unless you want to look like an idiot. Then again, if said public place is loud enough, the loudness alone may kill the enemy! So dungeons mainly consist of finding keys for locked doors by defeating enemies or hitting/pulling switches, and defeating many enemies. At the end of each dungeon is a boss. Though rather short, each boss I have encountered has been very creative and has had a clever way to defeat it. In one boss battle, for instance, the boss will go invisible and there will be two perspectives: on the bottom screen, the regular top-down perspective on Link, but on the top screen will be a first person perspective- from the boss's point of view! I'll leave you to find out how to beat it. As with all other Zelda games, the boss battles always use the special weapon/item you find within the dungeon to defeat that specific boss.

Also returning from The Wind Waker this time around is sailing, so hated by many. In Phantom Hourglass though, sailing actually has some variety and will keep you on your toes unlike Wind Waker. There are plenty more marine enemies this time around, as well as obstacles that must be jumped over. What is cool about sailing though is that you actually plot your ship's course by drawing a course for it on your sea chart with your stylus! This is actually very useful and in some cases you will need to draw a specific path to follow in order to get around through certain areas. Most sailing involves you sailing to an island that a dungeon is suspected to be on. Also of note about your ship is that it is customizable. You can win parts for your ship from certain minigames or find them in treasure chests during your adventure. You can also trade these parts with other players through local wireless connections, but not the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. So far I have found no apparent use for these parts other than making your ship look cool, so these are not mandatory to your adventure.

Lastly, there is the Phantom Hourglass Temple. In this temple, you will have a set time limit (it increases by two minutes each time you defeat a dungeon boss) to traverse through a set number of floors to a specific floor to reach a new goal. These floors, however, are plagued by Phantoms, evil creatures that cannot be destroyed and will kill you instantly if they catch you. Therefore, this whole dungeon is a stealth dungeon, where you must avoid being seen by the Phantoms. There are ways to kill the Phantoms though…eventually. You'll just have to play the game to find out how ;) Anyway, this Temple requires an immense amount of backtracking, as you have to go through the same floors each time you venture into the Temple in search of the next lowest level. The key to this Temple is to plot out the quickest, easiest route through these repeating floors as to conserve time (and hearts!) Also of note is that there are “safe” zones- zones that when you stand on them, the Phantoms will not harm you. Also, your countdown timer will stop when you are on these spots, but will start up again when you are not on them. This is handy because it gives you time to calm yourself and prepare your next strategy. Though in past Zelda games I have utterly despised all segments requiring either a time limit or stealth (like the Gerudo Fortress in Ocarina of Time…ugh), this segment is slowly becoming what may be my favorite section of this game.

Aside from the four main gameplay elements, there are also some minigames to play. These minigames all have a high score, which you must beat to win the best prize. Lower scores will win less valuable prizes. Prizes usually range from rupees to ship parts. Other aspects of the game include salvaging treasure from the depths of the ocean. This in itself is a minigame, where you must use a salvaging arm (much like the grappling hook arm in Wind Waker) to venture into the ocean and avoid obstacles to reach the treasure. You can also find special trinkets in chests or won in minigames that can be sold for rupees at a special shop on the game's main island. Certain trinkets are rarer than others and therefore can be sold for more rupees. They have no other use than selling them for profit, though, so be sure to sell any you find. Gameplay gets a 10/10

Sound/Music:

The sounds of Phantom Hourglass are much the same to Wind Waker, with Link's standard shrieks and yells that have been used in nearly every Zelda game since the immortal, beloved Ocarina of Time. There's also the standard pot smashing sound, the “you solved a puzzle/secret” chime (doo doo doo doo dee dee doo!) and the “get item” sound (doo doo doo DOO!) Music, on the other hand is a bit disappointing. While the main island has its own distinctive, hummable theme song, all the other islands share their own general theme…no variety at all. The same goes for all the dungeons and the Phantom Hourglass Temple- they all have the same dungeon music, much like A Link to the Past, really. There is a really great sailing theme though that has its roots in the ocean theme from The Wind Waker. There's also an updated version of Zelda's Lullaby that's pretty nice. It's safe to say though that the music really does push the potential of the DS nicely. 8/10

Story/Characters:

I will not spoil the entire story, mind you, so don't skip over this section. I will give the short intro that happens at the beginning of the game. The game starts off where The Wind Waker left off, with Link and Tetra (really Princess Zelda, remember) sailing off into the horizon, happily ever after. One day during their travels, however, Link and Tetra discover a mysterious Ghost Ship (I don't know if it's the same one from The Wind Waker or not…it looks the same though. Think Flying Dutchman.) in a foggy section of the sea. Tetra goes to investigate, being the feisty little brat she is, and, like all Zelda women, gets captured by some unknown evil being. Link boards the ship to try and rescue her, but is knocked out. We then find Link washed up on some sort of island (this is the main island I've been talking about) and is discovered by a fairy (it looks- and sounds-like Navi…do I sense deja-vu?). From here Link must work together with this fairy and some other characters, such as the arrogant, selfish Captain Linebeck (who reminds me more and more of Jack Sparrow every day…), and mysterious elder Oshus, the fairy's grandfather to save Tetra from the Ghost Ship. But that's not all! Saving Tetra is only half of the game actually. But I won't spoil the rest of it. One little gripe I have about the overall story and characters is that there really isn't that many recurring characters from The Wind Waker, save Tetra and her crew, and of course our valiant hero Link. Nintendo did say this is a direct sequel to Wind Waker…so why am I not seeing much of it? The ocean isn't even the same. Oh well. That's a pretty minor complaint though when you've got such a great love-to-hate character like Captain Linebeck. And there's no Tingle, so that's always a plus. Story/Characters gets a 9/10

Multiplayer:

Like Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures before it, Phantom Hourglass also has a multiplayer mode, and it's online, a first for a Zelda game! In Phantom Hourglass's multiplayer mode, 2 players play against each other. One player controls Link, and the other controls three Phantoms (the same as in the Phantom Hourglass Temple). The game itself is a simple capture-the-flag style game. Link must gather Force Gems (golden triangles) and bring them back to his “safe” zone, all the while avoiding the opposing player's Phantoms. The opposing player controls the Phantoms by drawing paths for the Phantoms with the stylus directly on the gameplay map, in an attempt to corner Link and finish him off. Any attack on Link from a Phantom is an instant KO, and Link moves considerably slower when carrying Force Gems, so this game is all about strategy, much like the Phantom Hourglass Temple in the main game. You can play this multiplayer game three different ways: either locally wireless with a nearby friend who's friend code you have, a far away friend online who's friend code you have through the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection, or a far away stranger who's friend code you do not need over the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. I have played this mode before and I have found it very addicting, so watch out. Multiplayer gets a 9/10- only because there's not much variety in the game. The Nintendo Wi-Fi connection also tracks your wins and losses during for online matches you play, and the coolest part is you get special items in the main game for completing certain achievements in the multiplayer mode. Your special prizes will be delivered through the mailbox system in the main game.

All together, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is a DS game truly worthy of the Zelda name, and worthy of the DS game as well. It really does a great job at showing the DS's true potential, with its touch-screen and microphone elements, as well as its graphical and audio quality. This game is a must-have for any DS owner, and most definitely any fan of the Zelda franchise. In conclusion, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass gets a 9/10 in my book.

As a final side note, if you register your copy of Phantom Hourglass on Nintendo.com and answer a short survey, you will get a limited edition stylus that looks like the quill used in Phantom Hourglass to mark your maps! It comes in a special gift box, and the best part is, it's FREE! Remember, you have to be a member of Nintendo.com first. Fortunately, it's also free to become a member as well! The stylus takes approximately four to six weeks to ship, so be patient. And remember, it's only while supplies last, so if you want it you'd better get on it soon!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/15/07

Game Release: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (US, 10/01/07)