DS Review: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Some time after the release of the Nintendo DS back in November of 2004, we learned that Nintendo was working on a Zelda title for the system. Every scrap of information available pointed to a Four Swords Zelda title, focusing on multiplayer and skipping an epic quest. That was the idea, but after experimenting with touch screen controls the team behind the title realized that the game had a great amount of potential, and therefore decided to postpone the Four Swords project and announce Zelda: Phantom Hourglass at last year’s GDC in March. The game would be a direct sequel to the GameCube’s Wind Waker and would feature 100% touch screen controls. Many fans wondered if this was the right way to go for Link’s first DS adventure, and a year and a half later we can see that it actually was.

For those not familiar with the franchise, Zelda titles put you in control of Link, the Hero of Time, destined to rescue a beautiful princess and save the world from the clutches of evil. To do so, you must explore dungeons, collect items and weapons, and defeat enemies, bosses, and ultimately the malevolent fiend behind the plot. So is the case in Phantom Hourglass. Picking up just moments after the end of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Link and Tetra decide to travel the seas in search for treasure. Shortly thereafter, an eerie ghost ship appears; Tetra goes on board to investigate, but instead she is captured. Link tries but fails to keep up, and ends up washed away to an island. Woken up by Ciela, a friendly fairy and Link’s companion throughout the game, the hero in green must rescue Tetra once again and put an end to the mystery of the ghost ship.

So far so good, but this is when the game truly starts to shine. Absolutely everything you do in the game is performed with the stylus, and it all works brilliantly. Moving Link by dragging, sword-swinging by slashing and investigating by tapping on objects is easily done and feels intuitive and precise after the first few minutes of experimentation. Not only that, but many of the classic Zelda items have been given touch controls. You can freely point and shoot arrows using your bow, or draw a precise path for your boomerang; everything is incredibly well handled with the stylus, and it gives the classic Zelda gameplay a fresh new feel that was much needed. You will travel the game’s vast seas, explore many islands, and travel the game’s dungeons, everything without using a single button; Nintendo has done a fantastic job with the game’s touch screen controls and we now realize that worrying about their efficiency wasn’t necessary.

As a good Wind Waker sequel, Phantom Hourglass features sea travel via sailing, and it improves on the previous game’s mechanics quite a bit. Going from island to island is simply done by tracing a sailing path over a sea chart with your stylus; as the ship follows the path, you take control of it to avoid obstacles and blast away enemies (or sneaky seagulls getting in the way). Camera movement is well handled with the stylus, sailing is a bit faster this time, and the game’s reduced area filled with sea monsters and obstacles to avoid make sailing much more enjoyable this time around. You can still find treasure charts along your quest to snag some items under the sea; now, however, you actually maneuver the salvage arm as it avoids underwater enemies and hopefully drags the treasure safely to the surface. There’s even a mini-game in which you blast targets as you sail. Indeed, sea travel feels much less like a chore and is far more entertaining.

Just like in Wind Waker, you will travel the sea from island to island as you move along your quest. Occasionally you will find caves and dungeons to explore, filled with puzzles, enemies, and a boss fight at the end. Phantom Hourglass features the Zelda gameplay fans know and love; the game’s dungeons are a blast to explore, and boss fights are amazing and are easily the game’s best moments. Sure, many fans will get the ‘been there, done that’ feel throughout the game, but the touch screen controls still manage to make it all feel great and enjoyable, especially with the ability to write notes on the dungeon map to solve some creative puzzles. However, Phantom Hourglass evidently shows its Zelda identity by offering little challenge. Energy-filling hearts can be found on every other jar, and some doors are as easy to open as simply pressing a switch right in front of them, making the majority of the game’s dungeons quite simple, with only a handful of challenging puzzles. Boos fights, although great, are also on the easy side. Casual gamers and anyone new to the franchise will benefit from the game’s lack of a worthy challenge, but fans of the series will be left wanting more once again.

The game’s story, although nothing out of the ordinary, flows nicely and features a few twists here and there. Most gamers will finish the game in between 15 to 20 hours, which is a bit short but fits well with the standard handheld Zelda length. Side-quests can extend playtime to the 30-hour range, or even more if you really get into the game. The ability to collect sea treasure, special items and new parts for your ship are some of the side-quests, which can also act as a diversion from the game’s main quest if you feel like exploring. The game’s dialogue is quite good, including some sparks of funny moments and lots of personality. A new but not-so-great feature has been added to the first DS Zelda title. Using Tag Mode, you can play or close your DS, and if a nearby Zelda player is also on Tag Mode you will swap items and treasure. A neat feature, but not very efficient or useful.

Zelda: Phantom Hourglass uses its prequel’s cel-shaded art style, producing some of the DS’s best and most attractive graphics to date. The colorful world comes to live and the freedom and beauty of sailing is very well presented. The game features well-made cut-scenes with impressive (and sometimes quite funny) animations and sleek graphical effects. Simply put, the game is a pleasure to look at. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the game’s audio. Many islands, caves and dungeons feature the same music, which itself is boring and repetitive, and much of the game’s music has a very low volume. The game’s soundtrack features a bunch of excellent pieces, but we expected much more, and we shouldn’t need to use headphones to get the most out of it.

Not happy with a great Zelda adventure, Nintendo included a nice multiplayer experience in Phantom Hourglass. One of the game’s dungeons has Link moving around while avoiding invincible enemies known as Phantoms, and this is the premise of the game’s multiplayer aspect. Players take turns playing as Link or three Phantoms. Link must run around the dungeon collecting Force Gems, taking them to his base, and if need be stealing the other player’s gems. On the other hand, the player controlling the Phantoms draws a path for each of the three to walk around in search for Link. If you can keep track of the sneaky little guy, one of your Phantoms will hit him and players will switch sides. The game offers a great tutorial on how to play, and although it might not seem like much, this ‘big mini-game’ is quite complex and entertaining, complete with items, a variety of stages, and single card, multicard, and online play with and without friend codes. No voice chat, but a neat multiplayer experience nonetheless.

Phantom Hourglass is your classic Zelda title with a twist. The game is short and somewhat easy, but also extremely fun and a great adventure that fans of the series and any DS gamer should experience. The twist is provided by the game’s touch controls, which work perfectly and make the Zelda experience feel fresh and innovative. The game is not perfect, but the intuitive control method, gorgeous graphics, and superb gameplay easily make it one of the best titles available for the system and a must-have for DS players, hardcore or casual.

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