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Published by: Nintendo
Developed by: Nintendo
Genre: Action Adventure
Players: 1-2
Rated: E (Everyone)
Release Date: October 1, 2007
Screenshots: Link
Amazon: Buy Now!
Written By: Daniel Sims

The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass is probably the most cleverly-designed game on the Nintendo DS. Nintendo has taken a franchise geared specifically towards hardcore gamers and on the DS, turned it into a textbook example of what a casual handheld game should be.

Basically a sequel to the 2003 seafaring adventure The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass has players explore a vast island chain to track down a mysterious ghost ship. From there the game pretty much follows the classic formula that Zelda has followed since Link to the Past on the Super NES. Nintendo�s superb design around the DS hardware however has made probably the most innovative Zelda game in a while, and probably the best use of the DS�s stylus since Kirby�s Canvas Curse.

Phantom Hourglass� biggest point is that it�s controlled entirely via the DS�s touch screen. The start button for pausing is the only button you�ll use throughout the whole game. Some may take a minute to get used to the new controls, but they work almost perfectly, condensing the entire control scheme of Zelda into a single input device. There is no option for more conventional button-based controls either, and I never found myself wishing for one. The new stylus-based scheme offers a whole lot more control in just about everything than I�ve had in any other Zelda game.

In the game all action occurs on the bottom screen. The stylus controls the position of a fairy, which Link will follow for movement, the distance between him and the fairy determining the speed of his movement. Players can simply tap objects to have link run over and interact with them, and all items are selected through a pop-up menu. Most of the time in combat players can simply tap on an enemy to attack it, but sword slashes will also follow the direction player�s swipe on the screen with the stylus.

The stylus controls afford players an amazing amount of control with all of Link�s tools. Throwing or aiming anything is just a matter of tapping exactly where you�re aiming for; the boomerang in particular can be guided with precision by simply drawing a line for its path. Where using the alternate screen in other DS games as a map has been considered a cop-out, in Phantom Hourglass it proves more useful than a map has in possibly any other game I�ve played. Notes can be drawn on it to remember important information and sailing is done by simply drawing a path which your ship will automatically follow.

What makes the stylus controls shine is the game that�s designed around them. In some ways, Phantom Hourglass drives the series towards a new attitude with its challenges while retaining the basic Zelda framework. Simply put, this is Zelda for the casual gamer.

When looked at through traditionalist eyes, Phantom Hourglass appears the easiest Zelda game ever. Its dungeons play out like simplified versions of the ones from Link to the Past and Link�s Awakening. Signs and hints are also written to be much more direct. The only outlier of this game�s difficulty is the Temple of the Ocean King, a large, timed stealth mission that must be traversed and re-traversed between every traditional dungeon.

Many hardcore players though will probably forgive Phantom Hourglass� low difficulty simply because of how fresh its puzzles feel. The new stylus-based controls lend themselves to some challenges that are simply ingenious; not only in how they utilize the controls, but in how they force players to think in completely different directions than they have in any other Zelda game.

The puzzles in Phantom Hourglass make sense in that they don�t necessarily require previous knowledge of Zelda games or really games in general, just plain common sense. Many puzzles and riddles may simply ask for some clever interpretation of the map for instance. While many hardcore gamers may be smacking themselves on the head throughout the adventure, people a lot less experienced with videogames will probably have a much easier time getting through Phantom Hourglass than a lot of other adventure games.

Phantom Hourglass� innovative controls and the nature of the challenges designed around them make it pretty much the perfect adventure game to play casually on the go. Playing it with the stylus doesn�t require much physical commitment, and the entire scheme of the game itself is probably the most accessible of any Zelda game in a while. What drives the game home as one of the best games on the DS though is how it maximizes the hardware�s strengths and makes its weaknesses seem like a non-issue in its visual and audio presentation.

Stylized graphics have lent themselves well to the DS before, but Phantom Hourglass amazes in how it�s able to take the cel-shaded art style of The Wind Waker and uphold basically all of its integrity on the handled. Despite lower polygon counts, characters and environments retain all of the personality they had in the 2003 GameCube game, and the cutscenes here are some of the most impressive I�ve seen on a small screen. The sound design also seems to have a strange sort of charm to it. It�s not high-fidelity by any means, but in its simplicity it seems to achieve just the right feeling of impact in every action given the portability of the game.

Phantom Hourglass also features an online multiplayer mode that involves the stealth elements of the Ocean King dungeon. Due to time constraints however I was not able to play it.

The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass is a perfect example of the kind of gaming Nintendo wants to bring with the DS. It takes a deep game design and makes it both fresh and accessible to the casual player without destroying its appeal to more dedicated players.

9/10

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