The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Nintendo DS
Keeping the wind in the sails for the Zelda franchise
As a series, the Legend of Zelda has grown massively, from the small sprite adventure on the NES to a great library of critically acclaimed titles such as the Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess. We have also seen Link, the courageous elfish hero, embark on 2D and 3D quests on handheld and home game consoles alike, in the sprite, realistic and even cel-shaded forms. In the Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Link makes his first foray onto the DS with a cel-shaded look, taking a leaf straight out of the GameCube’s Wind Waker game.
The game doesn’t just graphically resemble the Wind Waker – the story is a direct sequel and continuation of the events from that game. Of course, a Zelda title would not be complete without some kind of rescue mission: pirate captain Tetra finds herself trapped onboard the mysterious Ghost Ship, a mighty scary vessel that has spirited away many who are never seen again. Like the Nintendo 64’s classic Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, you are joined once more with a fairy, though this time it is the no-nonsense, straight-talking Ciela. In addition your fairy, you have hapless foil Captain Linebeck, who acts as an unconventional sidekick for your adventure. His greedy and cowardly nature, to the point of stupidity, will doubtlessly raise a chuckle or two throughout. This merry band must voyage between many islands, similar to that of The Wind Waker, by plotting your itinerary through drawing paths with your stylus. This helps make the journey much shorter, particularly when compared to the constant vigilance of steering the ship in the GameCube title.
The textures of the game look great on the DS, with sharp and bright visuals. Do not let the cel-shading make you think this is any less of a game – viewing the 3D walking characters on a drop down camera makes it look truly inspirational. The music has a good range too; some people may note the classics from Link to the Past making an appearance, along with a great collection of fresh new tunes.
The tour de force of the title is most definitely the use of DS control. The game is played primarily with a stylus – this is not a game that uses the touch screen as a side-feature. Link runs, slashes and fires projectiles with the paths you make: it may seem a little daunting at first, but it is a skill that is easily picked up. To lock on to the enemies, you simply tap them and watch Link go. His favourite spin attack makes a return feature, new control system or not: simply draw a circle around him and watch the sparks fly! The boomerang will be your best companion in the game alongside your fairy, who will delightfully play the role of your cursor and keep you on the right track during the game. With the boomerang, you can draw paths for the weapon to light switches that would normally be impossible to reach, much like an old-fashioned guided missile! Phantom Hourglass cleverly utilises the DS control to think quite laterally in order to solve the puzzles.
The microphone is not neglected either – blowing on it can reveal all sorts of undiscovered mysteries, such as old treasure map secrets or extinguishing candles. As well as this, remember having to write down codes or places to go when navigating mazes or levels in games? Now the map screen can be your personalised notepad, as you can write and mark places where you need to go. It gives an element of authenticity to the whole treasure hunting malarkey, rather than just bashing a button or jabbing at a joystick.
As for its namesake, there are also timed elements to the game that add a refreshing and challenging bonus for the player, as long as you do not mind going back to the same dungeon seven times. If that was not enough, there is also a multiplayer version, something that the Zelda series has been crying out for for a very long time. Using the Wi-Fi system, you can be treated to a battle mode where one player takes the offensive side (dragging force gems to the base) while the other player defends with phantom guardians by drawing set paths. The premise is simple enough, but with so many tactics and safe zones available where Link is invisible, it can become quite addictive and frustrating!
The only drawback is that the game is not all that long: it feels condensed into one block of adventure and exploration. All in all, a great title to the Zelda compendium.
