"What do you mean it's not a GameCube game? Look at it, man!"

Phantom Hourglass. Finally, a Zelda game for the Nintendo DS. Not much story behind me getting it. I went to Wal-Mart, and using my hard-earned dough, (Okay, fine, it was my allowance) I bought it. I had no real expectations. In fact, I figured it wouldn't even be that good... Review time!

Graphics: 9/10

The graphics are... Just... Wow. It almost looks as good as Wind Waker for the GameCube. I'm not kidding around here. This has to be the finest-looking DS game yet. The character models are very detailed, faces show great emotion, most textures look quite nice, the ocean undulates and swells, your ship makes wisps of smoke (or billowing clouds of it, if you're about to explode). Everything looks fantastic!

Music: 5/10

Well, the music doesn't live up to Zelda standards. There are some memorable tunes. The sailing theme is epic and kind of triumphant, and the "item" fanfare lives strong. However, the dungeon music is just plain-old flat. Not very long, and it's the same in every last dungeon. Yep, that's right. Thanks a lot, Nintendo.

Sound: 7/10

The sound works. Sword clashes, swipes, scrapes, footsteps, glass breaking, cannon fire, enemy howls... All very fitting, but nothing stands out. Oh well. It could be worse, really. The sounds could suck!

Controls: 7/10

Alright, I've been pretty satisfied with stylus-only games. Star Fox Command is the best example, which was, and even after Phantom Hourglass, still is my favorite DS game. Other games like Trauma Center and Wario Ware aren't applicable to this situation, though, as this is an adventure.

"Gee, Crazee Boy, how does it play?" It plays pretty good, my fellow gamer. It's actually similar to, and don't laugh, Animal Crossing. To make Link run, you put the DS somewhere on the screen. He follows it. To control his speed, you keep it closer to him. For a flat-out run, though, just keep it on the screen edge. To select an item, you can either tap an icon on the bottom right, and then touch your item, or press right on the d-pad. (I believe left also works) The action does not freeze when you have your item menu open! Anyway. Swordplay is simple. You tap an enemy, and Link runs over to give it a slash. Or you can manually swipe to slash, or draw a circle around Link to do a spin attack. Do it too many times, and he gets dizzy, which is a cute touch. The control for attacks like this, however, are pretty unresponsive, and you're better off to just tap your enemies.

Item control is fun. You draw a path for the boomerang, for example, and it follows it, unless it nails a wall. To use the bow, just tap where you want to aim. It's simple stuff, and pretty intuitive.

When playing, you can tap the bottom left icon to open your map. You can draw on your map. For example, mark a spot where something lies, or write puzzle clues. Although, it does rely on this a bit much at times, and unless you can write very small text, you'll find your map quite cluttered.

When on the ocean, you don't directly control the ship. Also, there's no wind element anymore. Your ship (Well, actually, it belongs to Linebeck; more in the story section) is a steamboat. When you leave an island or ship, and are on the ocean, you draw a route on your sea chart. The captain, Linebeck, steers. You can stop and start the ship as you please, fire the cannon, and use the salvage arm, once you acquire those last two. Firing the cannon is simple. Touch a spot and you fire upon it. The salvage arm can be used anywhere, but only yields treasure in specific spots. Using it starts a fun little minigame, where you try to get the treasure.

I should point out that the "master" dungeon, the Ocean King's Temple, is a bit different than others. In this dungeon, the titular Phantom Hourglass comes into play. As long as it has sand in it, you're safe from the caustic temple. Inside a safe zone, it's time doesn't tick away. Of course, Phantoms can still slaughter you. However, being hit by a Phantom only sends you to that floor's beginning and removes 30 seconds of time. Getting more time is pretty straightforward. Killing a boss in a dungeon nets you two extra minutes, and every once in awhile, a treasure chart for the ocean will lead you to a minute. Anyway, this time limit adds good tension, and it's fun to see how fast you can clear the temple.

Gameplay: 8/10

So, the gameplay. Typical Zelda, really, with a small twist or two. You gather information, get to a dungeon, explore it, get the item inside, kill the boss, and repeat. However, in between dungeons, you go into the Ocean King's Temple, a corrupt place where you lose health unless you stand in safe areas. It's also roamed by Phantoms, invincible enemies which can kill you in one good wallop. Using your new item, you go deeper into this temple, and finally find a new sea chart, allowing you access to more islands, and, of course, a new dungeon. Rinse, lather, repeat.

The puzzles on the islands themselves can range from simple to wildly complex, most of them relying on the ability to draw on the map. Inside dungeons, it's laughably simple. It's a throwback to the old top-down Zelda games, but with even less complexity. No interesting dungeon-wide puzzles. Just "bomb this wall" or "shoot that switch and run for the door". It's disappointing. The boss battles, however, are very fun, though not at all challenging.

Sailing is fun for awhile, but gets pretty tedious. You draw your course and sail, shooting down traps and enemies, avoiding a crazy she-pirate out for Linebeck's blood, and occasionally boarding other ships.

Story: 6/10

The story is... Passable, I suppose. A direct sequel to Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass begins with Link and Tetra on her ship with her band of pirates. Before long, a mysterious Ghost Ship floats by, and Tetra is captured by it. The ever-valiant Link leaps after her, only to lose his grip and plummet into the sea. He washes up on an island (real nice of Tetra's pirates to just let him float like driftwood, eh?), and is awakened by a truly horrifying voice if you've played Ocarina Of Time.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!"

Humor aside, before long, you have your sword, and you meet with one jackass of a captain, Linebeck. While difficult to tolerate, he allows you to use his ship to sail across the seas, and, of course, your ultimate goal from the get-go is to save Tetra, though as most Zelda stories do, that mission evolves over the game. It's passable, like I said.

Replayability: 6/10

Unlike most Zelda games, Phantom Hourglass isn't really worth playing again, but as usual, it's fun to collect all the stuff. There's lots of ship parts, which are fun to mess with. While you're rewarded with extra ship stamina for matching parts, you can randomly customize like I did.

Multiplayer: N/A

I haven't played the multiplayer, but after reading about it, it sounds like a Wi-Fi disconnect fest.

Overall: 8/10

While hindered by a few problems such as your hands getting in the way of the screen as you play, and some flat music, Phantom Hourglass is an entertaining adventure, and a good Zelda game for the DS. Worth buying if you're a Zelda fan, worth a weekend's rental if you're just a casual gamer.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/19/07

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