Positive: - fun, reliable touch control scheme - great graphics - lots of stuff to collect - makes use of (literally) every DS function imaginable - dungeons are pretty fun - boss battles make clever use of both screens - writing on the map is a great feature - multiplayer and online features are nice -
Negative: - the adventure is short and pretty easy - going through The Temple of the Ocean King several times throughout the game can be pretty repetitive -The Legend of Zelda is a series famous for its consistency in great games, whether it be the revolutionary Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64 or the Wii launch title Twilight Princess. Zelda's 3-D games aren't the only ones that have been praised, however: fans still rave about SNES classic A Link to the Past and 2005's Minish Cap on the GBA was also well-liked. Now, the series takes a natural move onto the DS. Phantom Hourglass is a real winner in the series and on the system, making use of every DS function imaginable and delivering that same old Zelda experience we've all come to love.
Phantom Hourglass is a follow up to The Wind Waker, and the story takes place pretty soon after its predecessor. Link, Tetra/Zelda, and the pirate crew are on an adventure to find new lands when they encounter the ghost ship, and Tetra is taken aboard. Link tries to jump onto the ship to save her, but falls into the water and wakes up on Mercay Island, where he meets a fairy, Ciela. Link soon finds out what he must do to save his friend and later becomes involved in an even more important adventure to stop the evil monster Bellum. The story is pretty good, and many memorable characters such as Linebeck make the dialogue interesting.
Phantom Hourglass is played in the style of the 2-D Zelda games with a bird's eye view, but everything is in 3-D. Essentially, it's a new definition of 2.5-D. You move Link by directing him with the stylus, which works very well and is almost as reliable as a regular control stick or D-pad. You attack by touching an enemy or swiping the touch screen, and you roll by drawing circles on the edge of the screen. All the action is there on the bottom screen, but the map on the top screen is incredibly handy and useful, and you can even write notes on it! There are also a handful of nifty button shortcuts that make equipping items and bringing down the map all the quicker, and they're nice to use when you figure them out.
The regular Zelda gameplay is evident in the game as you go through a dungeon and find your way to the next, but the game's huge world is traversed on a boat, and that's where Linebeck comes in. Although your reluctant helper can prove annoying on the journey for the hero, he provides transportation, which is essential to getting anything done. When you set sail, you draw your route on the touch screen and the boat proceeds to move along your set path. As you go along, you can shoot bombs with your cannon or salvage for treasure.
Of course, the bulk of Phantom Hourglass is, like in all other Zelda games, the dungeons. This time around, the dungeons are really fun but almost disappointing at the same time. Of course, going through a dungeon has always been great fun, but in Phantom Hourglass, most of the dungeons present little to no challenge. They're generally really easy. I hardly broke a sweat getting through the first five dungeons or the game and I normally am in need of a guide right off the bat in a Zelda game. While the lack of challenge is a bit disappointing, the puzzles are still great and extremely clever. Of course, you also have your arsenal of items to help you, and the touch screen is put to good use when you're using these items, like drawing a path for your boomberang or bombchu and aiming your bow or grappling hook.
The biggest challenge the game presents is in one dungeon you constantly revisit throughout your adventure: The Temple of the Ocean King. After almost every sub dungeon, you go through a little more of this one big dungeon to get a sea chart leading you to the next area of the sea or getting some information that'll help you get to the next place you need to go to. The main concept of this dungeon is the Phantom Hourglass, the game's namesake. While in the Temple, your hearts will be constantly drained when outside of safe zones, but only if your hourglass is out of time. As long as the hourglass has some sand of hours left in it, your life won't be sucked out of you. The sand can be charged up by going outside the Temple.
The dungeon is also home to Link's most formidable enemies: the phantoms. They roam the corridors of the Temple and chase Link when they see him. If they hit you, you'll lost a minute's worth of sand and start back at the beginning of the floor. Unfortunately, you will have to go through the same floors several time before the game is over, and you'll get pretty tired of doing them over and over. This is the game's biggest issue, and there isn't anything else that really hurts the game aside from the mild difficulty.
Phantom Hourglass displays some very nice DS graphics. They're viewed from above, but they're 100% 3-D. While you play they look very nice, but when you go up close in the main story parts, they don't look quite as good. Still, the cel-shaded graphical style is a winner yet again. The sound is also great with nice effects and good music.
There is also a nice multiplayer feature available. You can use local wireless or Wi-Fi. One player plays as Link, and the other commands three phantoms. The Link player moves around the dungeon floor bringing force gems back to his area while the phantom player draws paths for the phantoms with a map and tries to catch Link. It's pretty fun to do, and it involves quite a lot of strategy to succeed. There is also a ranking system for this as well as achievements.
Aside from the main adventure, there's quite a lot to do. There are the gems to collect that power you up, there are heart pieces, bomb bags, arrow quivers, treasures, sea charts, and... well, more. If you want to get all the stuff, you'll take quite a long time to do it, but have fun as you go just because of how enjoyable the game already is.
To sum it all up, Phantom Hourglass is an excellent game. It provides a great Zelda experience, albeit an easy one, and shows us even more of what the DS is capable of. It's easily one of the top games for the system and is worth a spot in any Zelda fan's collection.
Gameplay: 9
Graphics: 9
Sound: 9
Value: 9