As with any console these days, the burden is on the console’s manufacturer to provide games that best display the capabilities of the system. As high as the bar had been set with previous first party efforts for the DS, Nintendo has since launched the bar into the stratosphere. Simply put, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is an exceptional game and the best showcase of the DS’s abilities to date.
Phantom Hourglass takes place after the events in Wind Waker with Link and Tetra sailing the high seas in search of adventure. During their travels they’re accosted by a phantom vessel known as the Ghost Ship and Tetra is knocked overboard into an ominous portal. Link follows only to wash up on shore of an unknown island, with only his wits, his sword and the clothes on his back. There he hooks up with Ciela, a fairy, and Linebeck, a ship captain more interested in treasure than trouble. Allies in tow, Link begins his search to find Tetra, rescue her from the Ghost Ship and restore the kingdom of the Ocean King.
As this tale takes place after Wind Waker, the game’s visual style is in line with Wind Waker’s cel shaded look, albeit toned down for the DS. Cut scene animations lean more towards the Nintendo 64 than the GameCube however when exploring dungeons and islands, the game takes on more of an animated feel. Whether it’s in the game’s cut scenes or in the thick of combat, the game showcases some impressive visuals for the DS. Link and crew are all animated perfectly with great expressions that mirror their personalities. Along the way Link will come across a nice selection of beasties to smack with his sword as well the cast of odd side characters and island inhabitants you would expect from a Zelda title.
While the visual design and the visuals themselves are impressive, the best thing about the game is its intuitive yet versatile control scheme. Everything in the game is done via the stylus and touchscreen. Tap an item and Link will pick it up. Tap again and he throws the item. Tap an enemy and Link hits it with his sword. Slashes are done via slash movements on the touchscreen and Link’s patented spin attack is performed by drawing a circle around Link. As Link progresses through the game and obtains more items, the use of the touchscreen becomes more varied and more fun.
With the boomerang, you draw a line of the boomerang’s path and then watch as the boomerang follows the path unerringly and return back to you. The grappling hook can be used by tapping your target to pull Link to the item, or by drawing a line between two items to create a tightrope for crossing gaps, or a slingshot for propelling Link up to higher platforms. Bombchus, little roving mouse-like bombs, are directed to hidden switches by drawing a path on the map. The hammer, held by Ciera in one of the game’s most charming bits of item usage, is implemented by tapping your target, lowering the hammer in a mighty blow to activate stuck switches or propel Link through the air via a teeter-totter like switch. By having all of the items usable via the touchscreen, the switch from item to item is seamless, and keeps the player focused on the task at hand. The best compliment to be given to the control scheme is that after 10 minutes of controlling Link, you stop noticing the control scheme and instead focus solely on the game play.
Link has his usual selection elemental dungeons to traverse. While the temples may not be on the order of difficulty of past Zelda outings, what they lack in difficulty they make up for in variety and an eye towards portability. After all, this is a handheld title, and as such, it doesn’t serve its audience well to provide dungeons that can’t be chopped up into 10 minute slices of gameplay. At this Phantom Hourglass excels. Taking further advantage of the touchscreen, the game allows players to write notes upon maps and sea charts so if you come across a marker at the bottom of the dungeon map that explains the order of switch flipping needed to progress, you don’t have to worry about remembering it later when you finally get to said switches. Also, while the various dungeons may take time to fully explore, they’re nicely divided up so that you’re constantly opening up new paths to help you get back to where you left should you need to stop playing.
Boss battles are similarly well done and all utilize the DS’s top screen, but to varying effect. Some battles may have your opponents at the top screen as you play the Zelda version of tennis, lobbing energy balls back and forth. One battle uses the top screen to show the viewpoint of your invisible nemesis so that you can position Link correctly to stick your opponent’s eye with an arrow. All of the boss battles are done extremely well and provide a nice, balanced amount of challenge. Veteran players may find these bosses a bit easy, however the novelty of their presentation more than makes up for the lowering of difficulty.
If there’s one area of combat and dungeon exploration that falters it’s the repeated visits to the Temple of the Ocean King. The Temple of the Ocean King consists of 13 levels with each level patrolled by Phantoms, unbeatable knights that must be avoided. On top of the Phantoms, Link has a set amount of time, held in the titular Phantom Hourglass to find whatever artifact he’s searching the Temple for.
Safe zones which render Link invisible to the Phantoms as well as stop the flow of time in the hourglass are liberally sprinkled throughout the levels to provide some relief; however it can still be difficult to make it in the time allowed, especially at the beginning when you’re figuring out the levels. Thankfully, midway through your journey through the Temple’s depths you gain the ability to open a portal and skip the first six levels, however as the portal takes away whatever time it took to get to the to it in the first place, you may find it easier to just start the Temple from scratch using your new items to make better time. It sounds tedious, however once you figure out the levels and start using your new items it provides a fair amount of fun and becomes less of a chore than it sounds. Still, it does affect the pacing of the game and younger players may get frustrated with the rules of the Temple.
As with Wind Waker, sailing takes up a good chunk of the game however this time you can sail and shoot at the same time, making it much easier to deal with the various enemies that accost you on your journey. Sailing is as easy as bringing up your sea chart, drawing your route and shoving off. Once Link obtains the salvage arm, you can travel to treasure sites on your sea chart, obtained by finding treasure maps throughout the game, and enter into the salvage mini-game. Players use the stylus to navigate the arm down to the ocean floor, avoiding mines until they grab the treasure chest. Chests may contain bits of treasure, more time for the Phantom Hourglass, or ship parts that can be used to customize your ship to your liking, sometimes increasing the ship’s health in the process. If you find yourself constantly picking up the same items, you can use the Nintendo WFC connection to trade ship parts and treasures with other players.
