"A Phantom that Should Definitely Appear in your DS Collection"

Let me begin by saying this: handheld games are never as good as console games. Just wanted to make that clear, as it will save me the trouble of re-stating it throughout this review. Can't say this is much of an intro, but anyway….

As you and pirate friend Tetra are sailing along, a mysterious ship pulls up alongside you. Tetra, being rash and impulsive, jumps on board to explore, only to have the ship sail away with her on it. Link jumps after her in a desperate attempt to save his friend, but falls into the sea. After he regains consciousness, he finds himself on an unfamiliar shoreline, stripped of all his equipment. After a tedious series of events involving an old man, a fairy, and a middle-aged pirate, you learn that it is his destiny to save the sea from the evil that is Bellum, and restore power to the Ocean King. In other words, it's just the same old thing for Link.

What's really interesting about The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is that it's the first ever Zelda sequel (in this case, sequel to Wind Waker for the Game Cube). Playing Wind Waker isn't necessary for story comprehension (Phantom Hourglass does an excellent job of summarizing), but new players may feel a bit… confused at times. That aside, Phantom Hourglass has the same feel as any other Zelda game.

The gameplay of Phantom Hourglass is really something. The entire game is played on the touch screen, with very few chances for deviance. Where there may be some cries of protest (but I LIKE using the control pad!), trust me, you'll learn to love it in time. Zelda functions on basic RPG style, but without experience points, levels, and random encounters. You gain health points every time you clear a dungeon, and the only weapon upgrade comes near the end of the game. Monsters are very easy to kill (usually requiring only one hit), and while this may seem disappointing, the sheer number and unpredictability of CPUs should keep you on your toes.

Now, what caught my attention right away when I bought Phantom Hourglass was the Wi-Fi icon. I thought, “How can Nintendo possibly make Zelda playable online?” Well they did, and it's great. It's basically Capture the Flag and chess combined. The game plays like this: you play against your opponent, taking turns playing as Link to try and put Force Gems in your respective base and get points. When you're not playing as the charming hero, you're the Phantoms. As the Phantoms, you must draw lines on your touch screen to chase Link and slash him, ending his turn. But there's a lot more strategy involved than that. Link can grab Gems from his opponent's base to make him lose points, so the Phantoms must not only guard Gems on the field, but in their base as well. The whole thing's really strategic, but really enjoyable.

One thing that Nintendo definitely did right when making Hourglass is including plenty of minigames. While there aren't too many available in the early stages of your adventure, they pop up rather quickly later on. The Salvage game that comes with your ship is very entertaining and an easy way to score treasure, and there are several hidden islands on your map that exist solely for your gaming pleasure.

Now for the hits and misses of this game: more item usage; fewer sidequests; smaller dungeons. To start, older Zelda fans will remember dungeons in past games; you find your new item, and it's used exclusively, right? For example, the Bow and Arrow is the only item required to get through the Goron Mines (Twilight Princess). To me, this was annoying and really seemed to undermine the value of all the dungeons I had beaten. Well, not in Phantom Hourglass. Throughout the game, you will be taking full advantage of everything obtained in your travels. I found the Boomerang in the game's first dungeon, and it saw use until the very end. This innovation adds a whole new level of strategy to the game, and really is a breath of fresh air.

But now for the bad news. Being a handheld game, Phantom Hourglass lost a lot of the charm customary to Zelda. Included in the cuts was the sheer number of sidequests. Heart pieces are a thing of the past. Being a sequel, Link has already achieved maximum wallet size, so there's no more excitement of seeing an awesome item you can't buy. There are no more charming little girls asking you to save their dog or whatnot. Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of ways to build your health and get some powerful new weapons. And still, this isn't so much of a hit, as the main storyline will keep you plenty entertained, and there is still plenty to do. But if you play the games for the fun of running through fields looking for hidden holes or golden bugs, forget it.

Also lost is the complexity of dungeons. Remembering past handhelds (the Oracles or Link to the Past), dungeons could stump the poo out of you for days on end. Phantom Hourglass has a bit of that feeling, but most puzzles can be solved with just a bit of thought and a quick check of your surroundings. Minibosses don't exist in this game. A redeeming factor is the sheer length of time it takes to fully clear a dungeon, but most of that is just running from room to room and backtracking to clear paths. Bosses also lose a bit of difficulty, but not a whole lot. I had to rely on potions a few times myself.

But possibly the best thing overall about Phantom Hourglass are the graphics. They are fantastic. Think of MarioKart DS, multiply that picture quality by four, and you'll have Hourglass. Of course, they don't even come close to console games (like Twilight Princess), but how could they? At the very least, the graphics redeem the average dungeon quality, and then some. Music tracks can get old though. The adventure taking place in a sea community, you'll be spending a lot of time sailing around. The sea track never changes, so if you were really moved by the Hyrule Field theme of games past, I'm sorry. However, don't think for a second this game deserves to be muted while you listen to iTunes.

In terms of bang for your buck, Phantom Hourglass is easily replayable, and logs about 30 hours if you want to find, play, and do everything. I personally beat the game in about 20, but I'm not even halfway done with it yet. Unlike Wind Waker, you don't get any special items or easter eggs if you start over in a saved file. But after beating the game, I now think of how much I don't remember. Starting over, it'd basically be like playing the game for the first time. If you're looking for a distraction you can commit to, definitely pick up Hourglass.

Final Recommendations

While Phantom Hourglass may not have all the frills of past Zelda games, it is still phenomenal. The fact that it is easily a full day's play with fantastic graphics should speak for itself, but it also has likable characters and an interesting storyline (with an amazing ending) to boot.

If you want a game with a lot of depth and many quests to perform when you're bored of the main storyline, sorry, Hourglass isn't for you. But if you want to play a great game with an equally great storyline, an unheard of gameplay style, and the name Zelda in the title, then make sure you buy The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. You won't be sorry….

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/15/07

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