The Legend of Zelda Part 3

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!! THIS POST IS RIPE WITH SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first true "Zelda" game on the list (my opinion).

14. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo DS 2007)

Phantom Hourglass was the first Zelda game to be released on the Nintendo DS, making it the first Zelda game to utilize touch controls.  The game utilizes cell-shaded style graphics to great effect, although honestly I feel as though there are certain areas where it should look a bit more polished.  

The player, for the first time in the Zelda series, does not use a control stick to control Link.  Instead, the player moves the stylus across the screen to move Link in a particular direction.  Every command in the game utilizes unique touch screen controls, from deciding where to place bombs to drawing pictures on the screen to open doors.

This image is a typical scene from the game.  Using the stylus the player could swipe to swing the sword, spin it to do a spin attack, do a moving forward spin to roll,  or (as you can see the boomerang is equipped) draw a path for the boomerang to fly.  I do very much enjoy a good deal of the touch controls in this game.  Despite my initial trepidation, I came to find that I actually really enjoyed the stylus controls.

Phantom Hourglass itself is a direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker and had a lot of hype to live up to.  Set some time after the events of Windwaker, the scene opens with Link and Tetra in pursuit of a ghostly pirate ship.  Tetra goes aboard and disappears.  Link tries to follow but through a crazy turn of events ends up washed up on a beach.  Later, he is rescued by the fairy Ciela and an old man named Oshus.  These two become your main guides throughout the game offering advice and crucial information.  After first talking to Oshus, you learn that you have to enlist the serviced of a man named Linebeck.  Not only does he have a boat, but he can be found in the Temple of the Ocean King.

  As you first go through the temple, you will find that going in certain areas of the temple diminishes your health.  After you rescue Linebeck, you recover the Phantom Hourglass  from inside the temple and learn that you need to get the spirits of Courage, Wisdom, and Power in order to get more time in the Phantom Hourglass (more time in hourglass = time not getting hurt while inside the temple).  

As the player journeys through the game, Link will return to this temple after each area has been defeated, going further and further into the temple each time.  This game mechanic, while slightly interesting, gets relatively tedious after a while because each time you come back you have to do go through the earlier floors of the temple as well.  It's not a complete deal breaker, but it does slow the pacing of the game a little.

During the bulk of gameplay, the player has access to Linebeck's ship (the S.S. Linebeck).  Using the world map, the player draws a path for the boat to take (pictured on the upper portion of the screenshot), moves the switch to go, and then sets off across the ocean.  There are several islands that the player can visit, making the world appear to be very large at first.  However, after a few minutes of "driving" the boat around the ocean, you discover that drawing where you want to go is extremely difficult when it comes to precision.  Sometimes you will find that you have just overshot where you wanted to go, but found that turning the boat around and getting to where you wanted to go are kind of a pain in the ass; the boat would control so much better if it was a sailing ship (cough Wind Waker cough).

There are several features of the overworld map that I do enjoy very much.  As you can see, the person who drew the path for the boat was also able to mark on the map where he was supposed to be going, where some treasure was located, and mark off where he believes some treasure might be in the north.  This mechanic comes in handy during the temples and in fact, there are several sections where you actually have to draw on the map in order to continue.  Bring up the map is extremely easy as it normally sits on the top screen (the non-touch screen) and all you have to do to bring it down is push down on the d-pad.  I like how easy it is to use a tool that the developers clearly wanted to be used all the time.

I find the dungeons in this game to be very hit or miss with me.  The usage of each main item feels a bit lazy at times and yet innovative at others.  I do very much enjoy drawing the path that the boomerang goes but I also very much dislike how the bow and arrow in this game works .  You are supposed to be able to just tap and pull back on the bottom screen (much like drawing back an actual arrow).  I have found though that when you pull beyond the maximum length, it becomes difficult to aim with the precision accuracy sometimes required in this game.  It can also be very easy to waste arrows if you accidentally tap the bottom screen with the arrows equipped.  To this game's credit, I do find that the temples in the second half of the game are much better than the temples in the first half.  Maybe that sentiment speaks to this whole game though?  Despite the fact that this game has a pretty large number of collectibles (sea scrolls, treasure scrolls, a cool trading sequence, fish, gems, and customizable boat party), seven unique dungeons, and twenty islands to visit I somehow do not get that sense of adventure when I play this game.  I do not feel as connected to the characters or the narrative that the developers were trying to create.  Instead, I find myself a bit bored by the collectibles, despite the fact that they are very similar in nature to other Zelda games that I enjoy.

What is it then about this Zelda game that doesn't do it for me?  I think it really comes down to laziness on Nintendo's part.  I find the Temple of the Ocean King to be an idea gone wrong, I find most of the bosses to be mostly boring, I find the world itself to be pretty bland, and the characters themselves quite forgettable.  I also find the story itself to be quite forgettable and in fact, I had to look it up online despite having played the game twice before.

Despite the problems this game has, it does have several excellent bright spots.  I do very much enjoy most of the touch screen controls, the game is worth experiencing just to try them out in my opinion.  I enjoy searching for hidden treasure at sea, and I very much enjoy certain dungeons and bosses.

I particularly enjoy the boss of the final dungeon, Eox (A link to the battle if you want to see it).  His body takes up both the top and bottom screen and the battle itself is intense, making excellent use of the touch screen controls and several of the items the player gets during the game.  I enjoy the large number of enemies in the game, 58 different ones to be exact.  I also very much enjoy one or two of the characters very much.  Linebeck provides a great amount of comic relief, playing the loud mouthed but scared shitless anti-hero role.  I also enjoy any Zelda game has Beedle in it.  I don't really know why, but I am a sucker for that peddler of wares.  He can be in any video game for all I care, just give me more of him!  I also have to give some credit to Nintendo, they created a new major evil guy for this game, Bellum, that I actually enjoy quite a bit.  I really do hope we see more of him in the future.

Overall, Phantom Hourglass is a decent game that is definitely worth your time if you have never played it before, especially if you are a fan of the Zelda series.  Be warned though, parts of it will feel like a bit of a grind while parts of it will remind you why you like Zelda games so much.  Not at all a terrible game, but not even close to the top level Zelda games and certainly not good enough for the top ten.


Thanks for reading!  Can't wait to get to #13!