The Zelda franchise has been living strong since the 80's, and it's
evolution over the years as far as console systems go has been an
ever-changing process. To think how far the console Zelda games have
gone, from their classic 2D top-down perspective, to a more fluently
rendered 3D counterpart. As the consoles evolve from generation to
generation, Zelda evolves along with it, and the differences are always
immense. However, this hasn't always been the case when you consider
handheld Zeldas.
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| Attacking enemies with the stylus is truly a snap, and it's quite addicting |
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Your boomerang is controlled by drawing it's path and then releasing, making the completion of puzzles like this possible |
From the original Gameboy, to the Gameboy
Advance, Zelda truly hasn't changed that much, at least not enough to
leave a lasting impression on me as "an incredible Zelda game".
Nintendo definitely switched it up on me though with The Legend of
Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. In fact, they switched up a lot of things
that we've grown to know on handheld Zelda games. Clearly, it's obvious
that Nintendo's efforts were definitely intentional, as they not only
wanted to find a way to appeal to a wider audience of gamers (as
opposed to your typical cast of hardcore Zelda fanatics), but they also
wanted to properly utilize any and every feature the Nintendo DS has to
offer. Every general area in the game from gameplay to graphics takes
full advantage of the DS' various lineaments.
First of all, I
think it's very important to note that this is an entirely touch screen
based game. Moving around, attacking monsters, talking to NPCs,
collecting items - it's all touch screen. Whether
you're comfortable with touch screen gameplay or not, there is no
alternate control scheme available. If you're a d-pad kind of guy/gal,
you'll be disappointed to hear that the d-pad's only function is to
operate through various parts of your inventory menu more effectively.
If you don't consider yourself to be a fan of touch screen gameplay
though, don't knock it until you take at least an hour or so in to get
used to its feel. Trust me, once you get the hang of it, moving around
and thrusting that sword of yours feels completely natural, and after
your first boss or two, you won't want it any other way.
How
about the game's storyline? In case you didn't know, Phantom Hourglass
is in fact a direct sequel to "Wind Waker" on the GameCube. The story
transitions smoothly from Wind Waker when Link and Tetra were sailing
off into the horizon together after their epic adventure, and picks up
in Phantom Hourglass with them sailing around, looking for the
mysterious ghost ship that is said to plague the seas with it's
presence. In the opening cinematic (which is brilliantly done by the
way), Tetra gets kidnapped from the boat, and surprise - it's up to Link to save her. Obviously,
if you're looking for a Zelda that's completely new and edgy with their
story telling, you're not going to find it; there's nothing drastically
new here. But really, keeping true to the roots of the Nintendo systems
is what Legend of Zelda is all about, right? Anyway, after the opening
cutscene, you're introduced to your partners in crime. There's Ciela, a
very chatty fairy that can't quite seem to remember anything about her
past, and then there's LineBeck, or shall I say, Jack Sparrow - a
cowardly sea bound pirate destined for the spoils of treasure. I was a
little annoyed at first at how much the storyline seemed like a rip-off
of Pirates of the Carribean (Treasure hunting pirates? Ghost ships?),
but the more I delved into the game, the less it bothered me. The
gameplay alone was enough to keep me interested, though while addicting
and very intuitive, it still has it's flaws that are worth pointing out.
The
game is played in a top down 3D format, and moving Link around is as
simple touching the stylus on the screen in the direction you want him
to run. I found it really clever that Link's fairy, Ciela, serves as
your "pointer" on screen when you're touching your stylus somewhere,
and Link simply follows the fairy as you move her around. If you pull
the fairy towards the edge of the screen far from Link, he'll run
faster, and the closer you bring the fairy to him, the more he slows
down. Slashing your sword is done by simply making a quick slash with
your stylus in front of link, or you can effectively defeat the
majority of your enemies by simply tapping the stylus repeatedly on
them to perform "pounce-like" attacks. The infamous spin attack is
performed by drawing a quick circle around Link, and you can perform
the dodge roll by making a very small quick circle on the edge of the
screen in the direction you want to roll. These are hard to get used to
at first, and you might find yourself slashing the air instead of
performing the roll you had intended, or rolling off a cliff when you
meant to just turn around and walk the other direction. Another slight
qualm I had with the touch screen is you'll occasionally block your
view of an incoming enemy with your hand on accident as you try to move
Link around, but getting used to that is really just a matter of
technique. The oddities might throw you off a bit at first, but I got
used to it with due practice.
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| Making notes on your map is vital to planning a particular route, marking treasure, or remembering where you have to go next |
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Sailing around in your boat is made possible by drawing the boat's route on your touch screen, and then simply hitting 'go' |
Before you start getting
intimidated by the touch screen though, it's time to have a mention at
all the pros, and believe me the pros strongly outweigh the cons. As
mentioned earlier, this game utilizes every feature the DS carries, and
the touch screen is no exception. Everything ranging from taking puzzle
notes on your various maps, charting your sailing course, using items,
throwing your boomerang, firing/aiming your bow fishing, and even
salvaging for treasure is all mapped out wonderfully on the touch
screen, and just when you think they've thrown all the features in your
court, they'll introduce another!
The well known "themed
temples" formula takes stride here, as it does in every other Zelda.
Every temple you visit has a theme, and you're typically introduced
with a new item/weapon that's essential to that temple's puzzles - but
what disappointed me slightly, was that the temples don't seem quite as
long and epic as you'd expect from a game like Ocarina or Twilight
Princess, for example. Not to mention, the boss battles are fairly
short and easy for the most part, but of course the touch screen
innovation takes form in these battles like you'd expect. Each boss
battle requires you to solve some kind of unique touch screen riddle,
and while you'll get a kick out of the riddles they've come up with,
unfortunately you'll probably figure them out in a matter of 30 seconds
at the most.
If you're wondering how long this game is, it
weighs in with most other DS games at a good 15 hours of gameplay if
you run straight through (it took me about 20 hours, but I was really
taking my time with it). Not to mention, the game has loads of side
quests and other "adventure inspiring" goodies that will keep you busy
for hours on end. The various sections of the oceans contain several
uncharted islands that are there for you to find, map out yourself, and
explore. You're also able to collect treasure maps that are used to
salvage treasure from the bottom of the sea, and you can literally keep
a stable income far after retirement just by collecting loot, and
peddling it off to your friendly neighborhood treasure hunters.
It's
also worth mentioning that the game includes an amazing online Wi-Fi
feature, which lets you go into a one on one battle mode, where you
essentially fight for the possession of triad crystals in a turn-based
manner. When the battle starts, one player will be on offense, and the
other defense. The Link on offense runs around a maze-like battlefield
map searching for the crystals, while the Link on the defensive
controls these invincible monsters that play a vital role in the single
player game called "Phantoms" (I'd tell you all about them, but I'd
rather you discover their role for yourself). The defensive Link has
three of these Phantoms in his possession, and he draws routes on his
touch screen map for them to follow. The goal is to stop the offensive
Link from gathering crystals and bringing them back to his base. Once
one of the Phantom's takes Link down, then it switches sides, and
whoever has the most points after the set amount of rounds wins. If
that's not involving enough, the online feature includes a lightweight
version of the X-Box 360's "achievements system", urging you to
complete a long list of achievements in the online world which will
ultimately help unlock new items in the single player game. Even if you
fly through the single player adventure, I think it's safe to say just
the online world alone will keep you busy for at least another 15 hours
or so.
Controls and gameplay aside, the game looks amazing
visually (amazing for DS standards, anyhow). The animation is of course
cartoony and cel-shaded (a la Wind Waker), but the detailed cinematics
might have been even more impressive to me than some of Squaresoft's
previous DS hits (IE, Final Fantasy III). The action is creatively
mixed up on both DS screens, and at times you might be fooled that
you're playing a portable Gamecube, which is really impressive for the
DS. The musical score is also very moving, and while it doesn't beat
out the compositions of the console Zelda's, it's still compelling all
the same.
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| Zeldas opening cinematic sequence brilliantly uses both DS screens to fully emerge the player in the action at hand |
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The occasional theatrical camera sequences make it feel like you're actually playing a mini Gamecube |
That's my overall stance with the game as a whole
really - if you're expecting a game that's going to blow Ocarina of
Time out of the water, you'll be disappointed, but as far as handheld
video games go, this is a must have if you're a DS owner. Top of the
line DS graphics, a captivating musical score, and enough gameplay
features to keep you entertained until the release of Mario Party DS.
Plus, with a price tag of only $35? Come on now, who can argue with
that?
Top Game Moment: Linking up with other players worldwide
via Wi-Fi, and pawning them with my l33t Tri-Force l00ting skills.
What, doesn't everyone talk like this online these days?
