Review: The Legend Of Zelda - Phantom Hourglass.

Review: The Legend Of Zelda - Phantom Hourglass.

The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Review: (10th February 2007)

Introduction:
'Phantom Hourglass' (Nintendo DS) is a direct sequel to the events of 'Wind Waker' (Nintendo Gamecube), in which Link must once again save Tetra, and help restore the power of the Ocean King. Does the game stand up to the best of the Zelda Series?

Graphics:
Graphically, this is the best the DS has to offer. Nintendo did an amazing job transferring Gamecube graphics to the DS, and admittedly, it’s not a full conversion, not by a long shot, but it’s still incredible to see Wind Waker style graphics on the DS, and the game looks amazing because of it. Granted, the characters can look a little rough sometimes, and admittedly, they're not eye-poppingly amazing, but they are still incredible, considering they're on the DS, and when the game is in motion, the game looks even better. It just shows how much better games could look if developers actually put some effort into 3D games on the DS.
10/10.

Sound:
As always, the sound in Zelda games rarely makes massive steps in evolution, but, it still sounds amazing. Admittedly, the best tunes are the ones that are from older games, but some of the newer tunes still sound brilliant, and altogether, the sound helps make the game a lot more immersive than it would have been otherwise. One of the best examples for this is when you're sailing on the ocean, as the music makes the experience feel more immersive, and in a game, that’s important. However, some of the newer tunes aren't incredible, the older tunes reign supreme, and considering this game is supposed to be a different change for the Zelda series, this might not be the best thing, however, all the tunes are well done, and mostly memorable, and they help to make the game more immersive, and its rare music in games does that.
9/10.

Gameplay:
One of the biggest points about Phantom Hourglass was that the touch screen was supposed to radically change the way you played, and to give the Zelda series some evolution. For the most part, this idea is true, as the fact that the game can be played without ever touching any of the buttons is an indication as to how different the game is trying to be. However, the game isn't that much different at the core of it all. While the Touch-screen controls take a bit to get used to, eventually, you can do pretty much everything with ease after a while, which I guess is the point of the control scheme, and some of the ideas work amazingly well in theory. When it comes to things such as sailing, drawing the route is a great idea, but drawing straight lines is difficult, and while its normally not much of a problem, its makes the pacing slower. This is most obvious in the ocean sections, because until you learn how to warp across the ocean (and it’s entirely possible you can go through the game without ever learning how to), sailing still takes a long time. Luckily, not as long as Wind Waker, and there's even distractions such as randomly occurring enemies, and so forth, which works in theory, but sometimes, the sailing can still be too slow, especially if you're sailing a very long way, and the randomly occurring distractions don't help that.

There's less items this time around, and the result is mixed. For one, the items you get are used on a semi-regular basis, unlike a lot of previous Zelda games, where you'd get the item, use it in that dungeon, and then never use it again, except for the obligatory puzzle that cropped up later in the game that demanded you use it. So in this sense, its a really nice feeling to know that the items are used quite a lot, and while one or two items may be mostly rejected for others, they're all still used a lot, especially if you go for the side-quests, and so forth. However, the lack of items and weapons also makes you realise how much shorter the main part of the game actually is in comparison to the other Zelda games.

So that’s where the side-quests come in. While there are no heart pieces this time around (However, you can still get heart Containers, thankfully), no upgradeable wallets, and there are less weapon upgrades, there’s still an amazingly large amount of things to do in the game outside of the main quest, and the length of your game can depend on how much time you spend on the side quests. There are loads of ship parts you can find to upgrade your ship, and collecting matching ship parts can increase the amount of damage you take, and you can find these in a multitude of ways, mainly from treasure maps, or to get the elusive Golden Ship Parts, playing and achieving certain awards in the Multiplayer. However, Golden ship parts are still available without playing Multiplayer, and so it is still possible to get these without playing Online. There are also trading systems are well, but like the other side-quests it’s entirely possible to complete the game without using them. There are also 60 Spirit gems to collect, 20 for Courage, Wisdom, and Power, and collecting 10, then 20 of each will give you upgrades ranging from a more powerful fire-sword, increased defense, and shooting light out of your sword, and while they're not necessary, they can be helpful, especially against bosses.

Boss battles of course, are quite different from previous games, mainly because they normally require the use of both screens. While some of these bosses are interesting, the boss in the Temple of Courage is a particular stand-out as one of the better boss battles in the game, and the boss battles are normally clever and well thought out, sometimes, the Boss battles are disappointingly simple or easy to figure out, such as the boss in the Ice Temple. However, this criticism is one that basically rings true to most of the game.

One of the bigger criticisms you will find of the game is this: Its one of the easiest Zelda games around. The amount of puzzles is drastically reduced, and most of the main puzzles in the dungeon, apart from using your newly acquired item, will consist of "Defeat all the enemies in this room!" to "Quick, push this block!", to "Quick, read these clues, then write down the correct sequence using the map!". Admittedly, while the map is one of the best features of the game, and some of the initial puzzles involving it are clever, the puzzles involving it, like many other items in the game, go from clever and innovative to overused. If you're new to the series, you won't mind this too much, but if you're a Zelda veteran, then a lot of the puzzles will be very easy for you up until about the Ice Temple, which is the 5th out of 6 main dungeons in, not counting the main dungeon you keep going back to. After this point, some of the new puzzles are quite clever, but mostly, the game won't make any massive steps up in difficulty, and in fact, I only ever had to use a potion on the final iteration of the final boss in the game. A lot of the game is easy, and if you're a Zelda Veteran, it’s a massive cakewalk. Fun, but easy.

The other main problem is the massive shortness of the main story. It starts out with a lot of promise, but as you get towards the end, you realise how short it is. Dungeons typically would last over an hour in the older Zeldas, but in Phantom Hourglass, you can complete the first few dungeons in less than an hour, and the other ones barely over an hour, partially because of the shortness of each temple, and also bundled with its difficulty. Then, you find out there’s 6 of these dungeons, plus another one you have to keep coming back to, which is the Temple of the Ocean King. The story point is that you need to collect sands of time for your Phantom Hourglass so that you can last longer in the dungeon, and if you run out, then you start running out of health, and eventually die, and that’s if you don't get caught by the Phantom Guards who can kill you in one swipe if they catch you. This is normally okay, but when bundled with a time limit, it can get annoying, and makes it harder to experiment until later on in the game, when you have much more time to spend. Its okay at first, and it also makes me ponder how fun an Metal Gear game on the DS could be (Hint Hint, Mr Kojima), the fact you have to keep coming back to the dungeon actually makes it come off as a repetitive attempt to artificially lengthen the game.

The Multiplayer is a fun experience as well. One player controls Link, and has to get as many force gems as possible, while the other player controls the Phantom Guards, and tries to stop him. It’s a fun distraction, and can take up a lot of your time, but after a while, it can get boring. However, playing online and fulfilling certain achievements unlock Golden ship parts for you in the main game, which is an added incentive to play the Multiplayer, which is fun regardless of that fact.

9/10.

Value:
The Value of this game depends entirely on how much time you will end up investing in the side-quests, and in the Multiplayer. While the main quest does not last as long as it ultimately should, its still more than worth your time, and the side quests make the game last much, much longer, and make the game much more satisfying to play. If you just play through the main quest, you'll have fun, but you won't get much value out of the game, but if you spend a lot of time with the side quests, and on the multiplayer, then you'll find yourself playing this for a long time to come.
8-10/10.

Conclusion:
Overall, the game is immensely fun, but the easy difficulty and the shortness of the main quest make the game slightly disappointing, and the game is mostly more of the same Zelda goodness, with new elements added in, and Online Multiplayer, among other things. However, while the game is fun, and you'll enjoy it while it lasts, the game serves to prove how desperately in need the Zelda series is in need of a rehaul. While I love the Zelda formula, and the Zelda series is my favourite by far, Phantom Hourglass mainly showed me how much Nintendo needs to change the Zelda formula, while keeping it the amazing series we know and love, and if anyone can do it, it’s Nintendo.
However, there's no doubt that you need to get this game, as this is one of the many essential purchases for your DS. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Yes:
-Amazing fun while it lasts.
-Unexpectedly brilliant graphics for a DS game.
-Innovative control scheme.
-Some Memorable boss fights.
-Mostly memorable music.
-Fun Multiplayer.
-Side quests will keep you playing for much longer.

No:
-Main Quest is too short.
-A lot of the game is easy.
-Sailing can get boring.
-Temple of the Ocean King.
-Shows How Desperately Nintendo Needs To Change The Zelda Formula.
-Makes You Think Nintendo Needs To Change The Zelda Formula.

Overall Score: 91%