"An excellent sequel to a great game"

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is the first Zelda game to land on the DS. Nintendo promised the fans a Zelda game like they've never played before, and once it was revealed that the game would be controlled entirely using the touch screen of the DS, some people were skeptical about how good the controls could actually be given the variety of moves, abilities and weapons Link has at his disposal. You can rest assure, Nintendo kept its promise, and touching never felt so good...

Nintendo always found a way to push their hardware to its maximum capacity, something most game developers managed to outdo Nintendo at, and Phantom Hourglass is no different. Bringing back the art style from The Wind Waker for the Gamecube onto the DS, Nintendo have outdone themselves once again. Phantom Hourglass offers probably the best graphics on the DS so far. Even though most of the close ups during cut scenes in the game don't look all that good due to the lack of power on the DS, everything else is quite simply amazing for a DS game. From the water to the trees from the world map to the deepest dungeons, the amount of time and effort that was put into the design of this game shows as soon as you start your game.

Phantom Hourglass uses the full potential of the DS, not only by offering some of the best graphics on the DS, but also giving DS owners a game that's playable using only the touch screen. You simply have to touch the screen in the direction you want Link to move for him to walk or run depending on how far from him you touch the screen. To attack foes, you have various options. You can either tap on an enemy with your stylus, quickly draw a line with your stylus next to Link to make a slash or make a full circle around Link to use his famous spin attack. Add to that the ability to roll by quickly making a small circle at the edge of your screen with your stylus, and you're already all set for some action. While this may sound very easy, it's actually a bit challenging at first, especially if you've been playing Zelda titles for a while, but after spending some time to walk around and try your hands at fighting on weak enemies, you'll be good to go on a new adventure.

The game offers two different modes whenever you open your file or start a new game. You can choose between Adventure, which is basically the main game, or Battle, which is an online game mode allowing you to control both Link and Phantoms. I'll be coming back to this mode later on.

The main game offers you everything you would expect from a Zelda game, and it does it even better on many different levels. First, the controls are nearly perfect once you get used to them and Nintendo made sure we could switch weapons and access the map quickly by using the d-pad as shortcuts to the main menu, items and map. You can still access these menus by using the touch screen as the options are all available at the bottom of the screen, but using the d-pad makes it much faster when you need to quickly switch items. As in any Zelda games, Link will come across various items and weapons that will help him on his quest. You'll have to tap the item icon on the top left of your screen or simply hold the left shoulder button to use an equipped item.

The different items that will help you on your quest are all controlled with the touch screen, whether you want to use your boomerang or the bow and arrows, simply aim in the direction you want to throw or shoot and let go to perform your action. Some of the items have also been given new functions, such as the hookshot which can now be used to send a rope between two objects you can grab. Of course, you can get on that rope to travel across a wide hole on the floor, or use it as a slingshot to shoot Link across the room! These new elements and even more make for some very interesting and never-seen-before ways to get past the new traps and enemies standing in your way.

One of the things that does hurt the game is the length and difficulty. Since most gamers already find Zelda games to be relatively easy, this one is even easier than the others. While most of the puzzles are new and very interesting, they are not challenging at all through the entire game. The level design is excellent and original, and so are the enemies, but you'll be able to get past pretty much all of them without getting hurt as soon as you find their weakness and attack pattern. The boss battles are exciting and will make you use both screens particularly well at times, but for the most part, these boss battles, while feeling somewhat epic at times, aren't really that hard to beat. The game is also fairly short for a Zelda title. The main quest without bothering too much about the side quest would most likely take less than 10 hours to complete for an experienced gamer, making Phantom Hourglass probably the shortest and less challenging Zelda title to date.

One of the very interesting new features is the ability to write notes on your map. If someone tells you there is a treasure somewhere on your map, you better take a note if you don't want to forget about it. All you have to do is open your map and take all the notes you need to find the treasure or get past a tricky section of a dungeon.

Another one of the very nice new addition to the Zelda franchise is Wi-Fi play. In this Battle mode, you'll be handling both Link and the evil Phantoms against a friend online. In this mode, both players will be taking turns to try and grab Force gems as Link without the Phantoms, controlled by the other player, catching him. The player in control of the 3 Phantoms will have to do anything in his power to prevent Link from gathering Force gems and bringing them back in his zone. Some power ups, such as more or less time to grab the Force gems depending on what side you are playing during that turn are also available on the map, so you'll have to plan ahead whether you want to go for a power up or head straight for the Force gems. A game last 3 turns, and each turn will let the players control both Link and the Phantoms once. The player with the most points by the end of the 3 turns wins the game. This Battle mode is extremely fun to play with some friends for a while, but the lasting appeal of this mode remains to be seen.

The sound in the game is excellent for the most part, and the tracks, both new and old, are excellent throughout the game. Most of the sound effects were taken directly from previous Zelda games, but since pretty much all of them are excellent, changing this would only hurt the game. The soundtrack, while not particularly amazing, is still on par with some of the past Zelda titles.

The events take place directly after The Wind Waker, so you'll find yourself sailing with Tetra before she gets abducted by a mysterious Ghost Ship. From this point on, Link will have to do everything in his power to defeat the evil who took Tetra away. While the plot itself isn't a breakthrough in modern story telling, it will still have a few plot twist and some very nice events that will make you want to find out what happens next.

The replay value in the game is excellent. With a good amount of side quests to complete, this greatly helps the length of the game if you want to get every heart containers as well as the various parts for your ship. Add to that the ability to face your friends in an online battle and you've got a game that could easily keep you busy coming back for more even after 20 hours of game time, not bad at all for a handheld Zelda title.

Overall, Phantom Hourglass shines for the most part, and fans of the Zelda franchise will find a great, although relatively short adventure with this game. The addition of online play is definitely a big plus for the franchise, even though the lasting appeal remains to be seen. Phantom Hourglass is easily one of the best looking game currently available on the DS and features some of the best dungeon design and puzzle solving out of any Zelda titles to date. Fans of the series will most likely love the soundtrack, and the story, although somewhat cliche, is still somewhat refreshing for the franchise. In the end, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is a must buy for pretty much every DS owners, and it's even more true for the hardcore gamer fanbase.

Graphics: 9.5/10
Gameplay: 9.5/10
Sound: 9/10
Story: 8/10
Replay Value 9/10
Overall: 9.3/10

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

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