Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Oct 2, 2007
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Nintendo's boy in green is back, and once again he's got a boat. Don't worry, this isn't the sailing ship from Wind Waker, which gave some gamers fits for sailing whichever way the wind blows. Instead, this is a little paddle-wheeled steamer that comes with its own captain. You get to be the navigator/gunner. Simply plot a course (using the stylus, natch) and man the guns along the way. With this customizable little ship as your home base, Phantom Hourglass sends you on a grand/mini high-seas adventure, with plenty of Zelda-styled questing, treasure hunting, exploration, and puzzles.
To its credit, Phantom Hourglass is a very very DS game. You use the stylus to drag Link around by moving his fairy companion, and he trots along obligingly, following your stylus like a cat after a laser pointer. At first, it feels a bit weird that you're luring Link with a will o' the wisp, but it turns out to be a great way to alternate his speed and carefully move him around obstacles and precipices.
Attacks are simple taps for jumping strikes, stylus sweeps for slashes, and a big circle for a spin attack. Holding down the shoulder button brings up one of Link's special weapons, many of which also use the stylus. For instance, the boomerang follows whatever path you draw, letting you smack monsters, grab distant objects, or even light flames by passing the boomerang through fire.
But Phantom Hourglass doesn't stop there. It encourages you to write on the map screen, which can be pulled down with a simple press of the D-pad. Your penmanship is stored for later reference. This is partly to track locations and landmarks (neglect careful note-taking at your own risk!), but also to solve puzzles. Phantom Hourglass features brain teasers that wouldn't work on any other system. After Twilight Princess, which felt like a quick obligatory port to the Wii, it's refreshing to see a Zelda completely designed around some of Nintendo's boldest hardware. There are even microphone tricks, such as yelling at a merchant so he'll lower his price, blowing the dust off a map, or startling monsters with sensitive hearing.
For the most part, this is a conventional Zelda game, following the usual beats you'd expect in a Zelda game. There's a lot of optional collecting, which will pad your play time considerably. But be warned that the adventure is built around a central hub. The Temple of the Ocean King is a set of increasingly difficult (and frustrating!) timed puzzles, and you have to push deeper and deeper as the game progresses. Again, don't forget to take notes! You'll be back and you'll need reminders about where to go and what to do.
This is where the eponymous phantom hourglass comes in. As soon as your time runs out, Link loses life until he dies, at which point you'll have to start over. Later in the game, there are mid-point saves, but this will still be a point of potential aggravation in a game with an otherwise forgiving difficulty level. Boss battles? No sweat. They're simple and entertaining. But the Temple of the Ocean King is mildly sadistic.
The graphics are mostly good, but they're also very DS: occasionally rough, but consistently colorful and imaginative. For some reason, Link has gone from "cute little boy" to "vaguely Ren and Stempy". His cartoon eyes are weirdly psycho and his wayward eyebrows climb up onto his skull, crawling around on the outside of his hair like bugs. Visually, this is a modest Zelda. But Phantom Hourglass really pulls out the stops during a handful of gorgeous cutscenes featuring paper cutout artwork. These are cinematics well worth the wait, and they give Phantom Hourglass a satisfying emotional and aesthetic punch.
To take advantage of the DS' wireless multiplayer, you can fight inventive puzzle-battles in back-and-forth rounds where players alternate controlling Link and a handful of phantoms who follow whatever path you draw. This pits Link's agility and power-ups against the lumbering phantom's superior numbers. It's a great diversion for how it's unique, in a sort of Bomberman meets Pac-Man meets Counter-Strike way.
But the real reason to get Phantom Hourglass is for its charming, DS-centric high-seas adventure. This is a top-notch Zelda game that just further reinforces why this is one of Nintendo's best-loved franchises.