"Makes me wish I had an hourglass to slow down my time with it!"

The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass is one of the better handheld LoZ games available, I'm not going to lie to you. This game falls right into line with other classic titles like Oracle of Ages and Link's Awakening for its pure creativity, ingenuity, and downright fun-ability. The graphics are solid, the gameplay is intriguingly complex yet at the same time childishly simple, and the sound effects and music for the game are top notch. I'll go into more detail about each of those later, though.

Introduction:

The game takes place immediately after Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, with Tetra and Link sailing off into the high seas together in search of adventure (Oddly enough, though, Link no longer uses the King of Red Lions, but instead hops aboard with Tetra. What happened to my boat???).

Soon after reaching new seas, however, Link and the gang are sidetracked by the Ghost Ship from LoZ: WW, and Tetra is captured aboard the ship after she boards it. Link chases after her, but instead falls into the ocean and washes up on the beaches of a nearby island. This is where the game begins: With Link, no sword or shield in hand, on a remote island in the middle of nowhere.

From here the game picks up quickly, with Link meeting new friends, getting a new sword, even stumbling upon a brand new ship, and even visiting his first Temple -- All in the span of around 15 minutes! Now you know why I want an hourglass of my own -- to slow this game DOWN! Thankfully, this is the fastest part of the game; everything else plays out slowly and surely, which is a big plus.


Story: 9/10

The story falls smack-dab into the "Highly Original" Category, in terms of Zelda games. That is, overlooking the captured princess, the collecting of sacred items, and the forging of a powerful sword. Beyond that, however, there is a lot of brand spanking new content in the story that'll make die-hard Zelda fans happy.

For starters, GANON(DORF) IS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND! HOORAY! Yep, for once in a long while, Ganondorf has absolutely nothing to do with the main boss of the game. This game takes place in an entirely separate area with an entirely separate boss, meaning that there is definitely a fresh feeling to the story.

On top of that, new characters are thrown left and right, along with the classic ones that everybody enjoys (like Beedle :D) Unfortunately, these characters aren't really introduced all that well in some cases, and other time they barely develop on them at all. This hardly takes away from the overall experience, though. The characters are still fun and quirky, and you'll feel at home almost immediately.


Gameplay: 10/10

The gameplay in Phantom Hourglass blew my mind the first time I used it: Everything was so orderly and simple, yet there was a layer of complexity underneath it all.

Take, for instance, the boomerang: A simple tool, and you just draw the path you want it to go. But, with the boomerang, you can also use its path as a sort of look-out so you can look farther around on your map without having to leave your space. The same can be said with the Bombchu, which is available later on in the game.

This is especially helpful in the later levels of The Temple of the Ocean King, a large stealth-based dungeon. I know, I know, stealth in Zelda games generally sucks, but this time they managed to pull it off. Instead of only being able to dodge the baddies, you can "defeat" them in a sense in earlier playthroughs, and even kill them as you travel farther into the game! This makes the levels much more enjoyable.

The stylus control, while awkward at first, becomes comfortable and even impossible NOT to use later on. I actually tried to play The Legend of Zelda; The Minish Cap after I finished PH, and I found it difficult to adjust to the D-pad controls again. I even found my self swearing and looking for my stylus a few times before realizing that I was playing a GBA game ;).

The controls are as follows: You put the stylus at the edge of the touch screen for Link to move that way. You tap enemies for Link to do controlled slashes and combos, and you swipe the screen for Link to use his sword. You can make small circles at the edges of the screen for Link to roll that way, and making a circle around Link will have him do a spin attack.

There are also complex combinations of controls you can use: By pressing RIGHT on the D-pad, you can open the Item menu on the fly, allowing you to continue to fight without having to stop and switch items. Then you can just tap the item you want, and either tap its icon in the Top-right corner of the screen, or press the L-button to choose it. The controls are also south-paw friendly, so if you hold the stylus in your left hand, the ABXY buttons and R button will do exactly the same as the controls listed above.

Overall, the controls are both simple for newbies and complex for hardcore Zelda veterans, and will definitely appeal to all audiences.


Sound Effects: 9/10

Phantom Hourglass sports some great music and sound effects, which blow away other handheld Zelda game's content. The DS, with its actual-music support, blares out music that sounds like it came fresh from Wind Waker. There are a lot of new songs too, though most are simply redone songs from past titles. There are a few fresh ones that add to the drama, though, so make sure to turn your sound up when you play.

The sound effects are also good here, with YOU making a few of them yourself. Occasionally you'll have to talk into your DS in order to solve a puzzle or complete an objective, but you can always cheat if you're in public and don't want to embarrass yourself by tapping the stylus on the microphone.

Best of all, sound plays a role in stealth missions. If Link makes a noise, then the guards will hear it and snoop it out. Make sure to be quiet as you play!

Criticisms:
Overall, the game is a solid play. There is really little wrong with it. The only improvements I could suggest would be...
* a couple of more side-islands that aren't just contests
* more places to customize your ship (not just on one island!)
* A wider variety of enemies
* More character development.

Praises:
* Stupendous gameplay! The stylus is much more comfortable than the D-pad controls.
* Great music. The tunes are memorable and instantly recognizable.
* A lot of content. There are at least 4 large sidequests in this game that will take quite a while to finish.
* Memorable characters. While they may not have been heavily developed, they'll still stick with you.

Beyond everything else, this is an excellent game. The music is great, the characters are quirky and fun, and it's almost guaranteed that you'll laugh out loud more than once while you play. If you're a Zelda fan, or even just a DS owner, you should DEFINITELY pick up this game. You will not regret it.

~Dyajin (Overall score is not Rounded)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/22/07

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