Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
October 5,2007 - The Legend of Zelda is highly regarded as one of the most quality-driven franchises in all of gaming. But when The Wind Waker was released on the GameCube platform it drew skepticism due to its toon-shaded graphics, making Link look "kiddy.” Even with all the skeptics, Nintendo was still able to make one hell of a game. Twilight Princess, the game's follow-up, didn't use the same visual system Wind Waker did, and that somehow left fans of Wind Waker empty inside. Would they ever get a true sequel to one of the best games in 2003? The answer is yes. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, a direct sequel to The Wind Waker, is now available for the Nintendo DS.

The game begins with a few images that summarize the events that happened in Wind Waker. After the story, it's revealed that it was actually being told by one of Tetra's pirates. Link, the Hero of the Winds, was being his lazy self, sleeping during the pirate's story. Later, Tetra comes storming in complaining about how the two aren't doing anything on the ship until a huge fog rolls in. The only visible thing is a ghost ship that docks right next to Tetra's ship, and Tetra--being the pirate that she is, jumps on board in search of treasure. Eventually, more fog engulfs the area, and Tetra yells for help. Courageously, Link attempts to jump into the moving ghost ship but doesn't make it as he holds on for dear life onto the edge of the ship. As luck may have it, he falls out. He then gets washed up on Mercay Island with no weapons, and he meets an annoying fairy named Ciela, who sounds just like Navi from Ocarina of Time. So now it's up to the hero to save the princess with his annoyingly trusty fairy. Fantastic.

All of Phantom Hourglass is played using the stylus and touch screen. The buttons do nothing, except you can access certain menus a lot more quickly than you would with the stylus. Ciela is actually your cursor on the screen, and wherever Ciela goes, Link follows. So if you drag the fairy farther away from Link, Link will walk faster or just plain run. When running, you can draw little circles on the edge of the screen quickly to perform Link's signature rolling maneuver.

Swordplay in Phantom Hourglass is not unlike the way it was in previous games. Link can still perform his horizontal and vertical slices, as well as the stab, in addition to the spin attack. All you need to do is swipe the stylus the way you want the sword to be swiped. For the spin attack, simply move the stylus in a circular motion around Link to do it. It's nice and all, but you have to be careful because Link can get dizzy doing it. To make combat easier, most of the earlier enemies only require you to simply tap at them. When tapping at the bad guys repeatedly, Link will perform a melee of strikes and actually jump and pound them with his sword, which is pretty cool looking.

While the specifics with the controls may sound complicated, you can rest easy knowing that it's actually quite simple once you get your hands on the game. The game's tight and initiative controls are actually one of the most impressive nuances with Phantom Hourglass. What's quite amazing is the way the game uses the DS' capabilities. Any Zelda fan can appreciate the challenging dungeons featured in about every title and while the dungeons in Phantom Hourglass aren't as hard as the ones in Majora's Mask, for example, Nintendo seems to have taken a bold, if not revolutionary, step with the game's design. For instance, nothing in the game really gives a hint as to how you enter the first dungeon. All that surrounds the dungeon are two candles. What's there to do? Do you put the flames out? If so, how? Link doesn't have a water gun. But that's the thing. You're playing the game on the DS. The DS has a microphone. All you need to do to blow out the candles is simply blow out the candles. "Duh" instances like these are exactly what make this kind of game unique.

Another interesting turn taken with the game's dungeons is that you no longer need to seek a dungeon map or compass. The top screen is now your permanent map. As for the compass' replacement, that's where things get interesting. To find out where the treasure chests are hidden, you have to hit a given Gossip Stone in the area, pay 20 rupees, and it'll reveal how many there are and where they are hidden; however, they won't stay on your map. And because you're playing on the DS, you can draw and make notes on your map. While it probably isn't needed, it's actually quite useful, especially if you're the type of person who really doesn't know where to go or where you are. Making cross outs, sketches, and taking note of other important information really makes the option useful and reduces annoying backtracking. The other pretty significant changes made to dungeons are with the small keys and the big boss key. Nothing is really new with the small key, but it's worth noting that there's a cutscene to show Link open the door. The Big Key changes some of the gameplay. When opening the chest that contains that key, Link has to hold it above his head and walk around with it until he opens the big boss door.

The Zelda series hasn't been a slouch when it comes to bosses at the end of every dungeon and Phantom Hourglass is no exception. If you're familiar with the Zelda formula, you should quickly know how to defeat every boss easily. If you're not, it's like Mega Man. In every area you're in, you'll unlock an essential weapon that is usually your most prized possession when fighting that area's boss. Be that as it may, some of these bosses actually require some thinking to beat. Your fairy guide doesn’t help too much, though.

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