My thoughts on Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

[Whiternoise]

So, i've been playing an American version of ZPH for the past couple of days and i thought i'd share my views with the community I've tried to keep it spoiler free as possible, so i'm not going to reveal any story line twists, i'll just hint at a few of the more novel features!

From the very beginning, it's clear that ZPH is a massive step up from previous handheld Zelda games. While we still follow the story of Link (rename as you will), the game is now in pretty much full 3D - the perspective is at about 20 degrees from vertical, so that it's almost top down, but not quite. The upshot of this is a fantastic looking world which can also provide a nice looking set for cutscenes. The textures are fairly basic, but what do you expect from a DS game - for all intents and purposes, the graphics are very very good. Nintendo have made full use of the DS capabilities, so there are lots of nifty little effects when you destroy monsters, blow up bombs and so forth.

Control is probably going to be a big factor in how people react to ZPH, personally i have had no problems getting used to it. Movement is solely touch screen based - the analogue buttons provide shortcuts to various menus and the shoulder buttons can be used for equippable items (like bombs, for instance). Moving Link is fairly easy, simply hold down the stylus on one side of the screen or another and he'll follow along, you can perform little tricks like rolls by making gestures at the edge of the touch screen. Attacking is also a fairly simple process, your sword is always available and tapping on an enemy will cause Link to perform a forward strike. Spin attacks and side swipes are coordinated on the touch screen. Attacking becomes second nature after about 10 minutes, even if it seems a bit unwieldy at first. I personally think this is great, it allows for a lot of freedom of movement without the need for an analogue stick (something criticised quite a lot in Super Mario 64 DS). The IGN review mentioned that it's not as accurate as a D-Pad - i find it hard to tell to be honest, and i suspect a lot of it is from being used to using the D-Pad for movement for the last ten-fifteen years!

So, you've watched the obligatory introduction to the game (i will say no more about this, spoilers, y'know) and you end up on an island. Immediately you're plunged into the game, speaking to the locals to find out about quests - most of whom will teach you about how to pick things up and so forth. I thought this was pretty good by tutorial standards, there is no inherent "hold your hand" feel towards the game - and this isn't a problem because most of the controls - at least to anyone who's played a game before - are intuitive. I for one hate games which waste your time telling you how to do every little thing individually - ZPH doesn't force you to learn, but it helps out if you can't work out how to do something. After you've completed the first island, you set off on your quest (naturally involving collecting a number of things from dungeons strewn about the game world).

It immediately became apparent to me just how clever the people who designed Zelda are, the same breed of people that developed Hotel Dusk Room 215. There are loads of little things that make use of all the features of the DS, monsters that require use of the microphone, doors that require symbols to be drawn on the touch pad before they open and most noticeably the ability to mark notes on your map. This is a fundamental part of the game, you can note down clues to puzzles for easy access later, treasure can be located by marking points down and finding the point where the connecting lines intersect, etc. Again, innovation is a major selling point for the Zelda series, and ZPH doesn't disappoint.

So, to exploring. Sailing is a lot of fun! I had a lot of misconceptions before i started playing and i'm glad that they weren't true. The visuals are very smooth and you can unlock things to do with your ship as time goes on - ie a cannon is obtained fairly early on. Control is again, via the touch screen, but in a slightly different way. You can plot your route on the touch screen and then the ship will follow that path, whilst the ship is moving, you can stop/start the ship (if you want to admire the view ) or fire your cannon (if you have it) by tapping the touch screen. This is nowhere near as limiting as it sounds by the way! Your ship can also be upgraded with a number of aesthetic and heart increasing enhancements, mostly found in treasure chests or given to you as rewards for questing.

The dungeons in ZPH are a lot of fun, more quirky puzzles to solve and again, much use of the touch screen and microphone. There are some extremely clever puzzles that i've come across so far - some of which have been simple but genius, others requiring a bit of thinking. Bosses are nicely balanced for their level, challenging, but not (as of yet) impossible. Just about all the dungeons are not immediately accessible - most require further puzzling to enter. One problem with the dungeons, however, is that the vast majority are fairly linear - most rooms have a set completion order, so you are almost led through the dungeon. They are also quite a bit shorter than some of the previous incarnations of Zelda games, including boss fights. While the bosses are certainly fun to battle, the battles are fairly short - requiring only 3 or 4 attack runs to defeat.

The Phantom Hourglass (without giving too much away) is an item that you recieve a little way into the game. It is required for entering a special dungeon, that you must explore in parts as you progress, the hourglass determines how long you can stay in the dungeon. Nintendo have taken a different approach to the series this time round. Instead of getting part of a set of items for each boss you defeat, you gain a little bit more sand in the hour glass. Some of the puzzles in this bit have genuinely been difficult, especially combined with a time limit and enemies that cannot be destroyed (as far as i know) that charge you on sight. Having to do the same repetitive stages again and again is relieved somewhat by obtaining new items - for instance bombing walls to reach keys that you had to sneak round enemies to get to saves a lot of time.

That just about covers it for the moment, there are lots of extra bits that make it a classic Zelda game, laugh out loud cutscenes, classic shooting minigames and a gripping storyline. As a quick summary:

Pros:
Graphics - outstanding!
Music - as always, fitting and full of grandeur
Innovation - i can't stress this enough, Nintendo have outdone themselves on this one
Storyline - pretty solid
Exploration - great fun!

Mehs:
Control - mostly great, but sometimes does things you don't expect
Cutscenes - again, mostly good, but can get a bit frequent - the ability to skip scenes is nice
Dungeons - while innovation is good, the dungeons are fairly short and so are the bosses

I don't think there are any proper "cons", just things that you might find a bit annoying - certainly i've been happy with the game so far and nothing has inherently "spoiled" the game. But be prepared that if you're not a fan of using the touch screen then you may not enjoy ZPH as much as you would have liked - it is pretty much touch only!

Any questions.. don't hesitate to ask..

Hope this helps!

[Digerati]

Good write up! I enjoyed reading that.

Definitley sounds like my kind of game. Should make the commute a lot of more fun!

[finlay666]

I got mine the other day from the Indie shop I normally buy stuff from, it's great except...

Rolling
I hate having to do a tiny circle at the corner of the screen, it's more difficult to control in my opinion

First dungeon I hit was too short I would say too


Multiplayer is hilarious, was the first thing me and my housemate did, we had NO idea how to do it and we were able to pick up how to do it after the first game

[Whiternoise]

Yeah me and a friend tried multiplayer and found it nigh on impossible

And then I won and we had no idea how! Good times..

[spazman]

Got this on import a few days ago, quite simply its superb. Only quibble i have is that if your a hardened zelda player it might be a little easy, but that dosnt detract from the quality. I have to finish it quickly as my sister is harrasing me constantly that she wants to play it.

[skuzgib]

Very good game this

It DOES seem slighlty dumbed down though:

*Finding rupees at the start is really easy, and there's no initial sensible limit on how much money you can carry like in other zelda games (different sized wallets).

*Dungeons seem shorter and easier than other zelda games.

*There seem to be fewer weapons/items than other games.

*Most of the tedium of the sailing that was in The Wind Waker has been removed, but it can still get a bit boring.

Yes, I am nitpicking

[doddsy]

I have to agree it's a fantastic game, main annoyance for me is how difficult it is to roll, not really a big deal though. I love how interactive it is with the DS itself, it's just brilliant.

[tonkei]

Agreed, a very nice spoiler free write up!

I'm three dungeons in now and my only real negative comment is that using the cannon isn't always precise, as I've found myself turning when I mean to shoot. It'd be great if Nintendo gives the option for a Master Quest style difficulty upon completion

[kreeeee]

I've got this game but still haven't played it

[tonkei]

Finished!

Damn that was a fine game

But now what to play? :s

[hanster]

I've got this game and played it for a few hours.

I found the control scheme really good and the game overall is one of the best ds games I've played so far.

[andy_nico]

Nice review - i am loving the new Zelda, must better than that pap Twilight Princess!!

[shiato storm]

I am still playing my Gameboy Color...yep, not a DS, advanced or what-not just the standard one with a colour screen. I also love the zelda games on the GBC (link to the past, seasons and ages), I'm thinking about splashing out on a DS lite and this is one of the games I'm interested in getting...
Not knowing much about the DS (never even played one) is it good/worth the near £100 for the system? I paid £35 for my GBC a few years ago £100 seems a lot though. might wait until after xmas...mind you could always treat m'self

I'd love a wii but they've been out of stock since they...um...became in stock!

[andy_nico]

You can buy my Wii if you want - never play the thing! hehe

[shiato storm]

i thought the wii was an almost unstoppable gaming machine?!

[shiato storm]

p.s. hows twilight princess on the wii by the way? being a zelda fan I am quite intrigued by this....and having seen mario galaxy, well, just 'wow'