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Great Game with minor Stylus Issues!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The anticipation for this game has been huge, it's Nintendo's own Halo 3. The graphics are as good as 3D gets on the DS, which isn't amazing but it does the job. There are some issues of consistancy when performing certain attacks but for the most part the control is good considering it's done solely with the use of the stylus. What really makes this game shine is the level of involvement it gives the gamer. Whether you're marking secret locations on your map, blowing out flames with the mic, or plotting the course of your ship, this game takes involvement to the next level.

Recommendation: If you're a Zelda fanboy then you already have this, for everyone else it's a great way to ease into the series. This game isn't hard but it's fun and that's reason enough to pick it up.

[...]

Best portable Zelda yet.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Phantom Hourglass is, by far, the best Zelda title yet to be released on a handheld. A direct sequel to Windwaker, Phantom picks up almost immediately where the former left off, with Link and Tetra sailing the unknown seas of the world, seeking adventure. During their travels, they encounter an ominous ghost ship, simply known as the Ghost Ship, and in typical video game fashion, this encounter drags them in to a series of misadventures in which Link must battle evil forces.

Like Windwaker, this game is set on the sea and a number of islands, and most of your travel is done via ship. Sailing in this game is vastle improved over Windwaker, as you use the stylus to plot a predetermined course that the ship will follow. The world of Phantom is considerably smaller than the one of Windwaker, which means sailing from one location to another doesn't take nearly as long as it did in the previous game. You can also customize your ship with different parts, and essentially build an entirely new ship. A number of irritating aspects associated with the sailing in Windwaker ware gone or improved upon. When you defeat enemies at sea, money or items are automatically added to your inventory, meaning you do not have to jump from the ship and try to get the money or hearts before they vanish. You cannot disembark from the ship in this title, meaning you never get knocked in to the wayer by enemies. The ship has its own life meter, and will sink when it is depleted, ending the game. Treasure hunting at sea works differntly as well. While maps with X's indicating the presence of treasure are still used, crane mechanics work quite differently in this title. Rather than simply deploying the crane over an X and pulling upa chest, you must control the crane, called the 'salvage arm' in this title, lowering it in to the water in a minigame in which you can grab extra money while you try to avoid exploding fish. The salvage arm has it's own life meter as well, and if it hits too many fish, it must be repaired before you can use it again.

Controling Link with the stylus is amazingly fluid and easy, especially in combat. Simply tapping an enemy results in an attack, and Link can leap most any distance to reach his target. The best aspect of stylus control, by far, is the boomerang, which adds an entire new dimension to using that item and opens up many new possibilities for puzzle solving. There are fewer usable items in this title than in past Zelda games, but they make more use of the items given to you than they do in some of the other titles.

The timed Temple of the Ocean King is a fascinating concept that is used to it's full potential, and the addition of the near invincible Phantoms moves the game away from a typical hack and slash and adds a stealth aspect to things.

One curious aspect of this title that sets it apart from other Zelda games is that there are no pieces of heart or glass bottles. You have two bottles in your inventory for potions, and nothing more. While glass jars and pieces of heart have been a staple in every title since Link to The Past, their absence here is actually refreshing, as it makes treasure hunting slightly more exciting. In past Zelda games, the more difficult a sidequest, the more certain you could be that the reward was a piece of heart or a glass jar. With these absent, it's often less predicitble what a sidequest will yield, at least for a while.

Another new feature is the ability to upgrade your skills with the three spirits you release early in the game. One adds flames to your sword, another increases your defense, and the final allows you to shoot beams from your sword, making this the first "3D" Zelda in which the Sword beam has been utilized.

There are, however, a few drawbacks to this title. There don't seem to be nearly enough minigames or sidequests, which is probably due to storage issues. It may also be a result of how much smaller the explorable area is compared to Windwaker, which had vast, albeit empty, areas.

All in all, his title is great, and will probably remain unchallenged as the best DS title of 2007.

Absolutely Beautiful!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

OMG!!! Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass is a complete masterpiece for those Zelda fans and those who have the ds. I have not played any Zelda games in my life and I was like, "Why not give it a chance?" since a lot of people give the Zelda saga a lot of hype. And wow was I amazed!!!!! The graphisc are completely top-notch, the story line of link trying to save his young friend, "Tetra," from the evil forces is quite exciting, and I think that the use of the stylus is not hard. Anyone with a DS should buy this game because you wont regret it, especially if you're looking for a game which will take a lot of time cause it's worthwhile!!! :)

a great Zelda game for ADDled adults

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I've played almost every Zelda game made (with the exception of Mask of Majora), and this is right up there with A Link to the Past, in my opinion. It takes the cute, cartoony style of The Wind Waker and condenses most of what was fun about that game down into a more compact package: the game has a faster pace than The Wind Waker, is shorter, and gets rid of some of the more problematic elements (most notably the endless traveling). There is nothing in here that will shock anyone who's ever played a Zelda game before, but that's not such a bad thing when everything's pulled together as well as it is here.

The game shares a lot in common with Link's Awakening, another portable version (for the Game Boy). It takes place in a pocket dimension away from Hyrule, and Link's quest, while worthy and significant, is somewhat less cosmic in scope than in the main console versions of the game. Unlike Link's Awakening (and just about every other Zelda game), this is a direct sequel to The Wind Waker, and many of the characters are familiar. About the only complaint I have about the writing of the game is that the characters are stock and drawn with a broad brush; the story itself is charming, though, and the writing of characters like the Goron is filled with charm.

Gameplay is fast-paced and never frustrating, and makes very effective use of the stylus and touch screen. The ability to annotate the map is a lifesaver, and not forcing Link to find the dungeon map for each encounter area speeds things up considerably without appreciably reducing the challenge level of each dungeon. The dungeons are presented from overhead (like Link to the Past) but are in 3D (sort of like a cross between The Wind Waker and Ocarina of Time). Each dungeon will force you to use every item you've gotten so far in the game, and while the puzzles are never too tough, there are definitely more than a couple occasions where players will have to stop and think for a few moments to figure out what's next. Like all Zelda games, the game is pretty much completely linear, and while there's side quests (for fish, for salvage, to deal with the local pirates and pirate cosplayers (!)), none of them are essential to complete the game.

The designers didn't pad the game's length too much; while there is one central dungeon you visit many times over the course of the game, that's pretty much it for obligatory backtracking, and they've simplified the mechanics of traveling the seas of the archipelago where the game is set such that getting around doesn't feel as maddeningly poky as it did in The Wind Waker. Some players may feel a little let down at the relative briefness of the game, but I actually really liked the length and level of challenge presented by the game. It took me a week or so to play through, I never got bored, and I was left wanting more without feeling cheated. Probably the best portable Zelda yet!

The best!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I absolutely love this game. It is so much fun to play, and very interactive. The oooooonly issue I had with this game is that you have to keep on beating the main temple over and over and over. But it gets easier every time. I bought a Nintendo DS just to get this game, and in my opinion it was definitely worth it!

Zelda review

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 30, 2007
Author: Amazon User

this game is very good :) the navigations of link through the pen works really well and the game is fun to play. altough it is not that hard to defeat all the monsters and end bnosses

A great little Zelda game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 30, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game has a lot of great little puzzles and very innovative interface and use of gear like the grappling hook which can be used as a catapult, tightrope, or a grapple. The only thing that gets annoying is having to repeat some of the levels over and over in the main Sea King Temple you have to go through in order to collect maps and progress the story. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the timer, but it becomes increasingly difficult the deeper you go.

That being said, I still wouldn't pass this one up.

Great Transition to the DS

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 03, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Didn't know how successful the migration of the Zelda series to the DS would be, but I'm glad to say, it's a runaway success! Very little not to like for Zelda fans, maybe the maps can be a little confusing, but overall a must buy.

Very fun, but kind of easy

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 03, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Overall I enjoyed this game a great deal. It did a very good job of integrating the unique features of the DS with classic "Zelda style" puzzles. The stylus was a bit awkward at first, but the levels seemed to be designed with this in mind, so you had plenty of time to get comfortable before needing to do anything with a great deal of efficiency. Combat is the only area where adjusting to the stylus seems like a gimick, or just a hassle to make it a "DS game", everything else the stylus does (navigating the ship, drawing on maps, making notes for yourself, drawing paths for boomerangs, grappling hooks and bombchus) is a MAJOR convenience. I felt ridiculous having to take pen and paper notes while playing Wind Waker, just so that I could remember where things were on that absurdly large map. If I want to remember a special feature of an island in Phantom Hourglass though, all I have to do is write on the map!

The dialogue is much funnier than most Zelda games (which is saying something, because there is usually a pretty sharp wit written into at least a couple of characters), the graphics are nice for the DS. The music is pretty bland in the context of other Zelda titles, but this doesn't detract from the game at all so it's no big deal. All of the usual suspects are there as far as items go (boomerang, bow, hookshot/grapple, hammer, shovel) but the stylus control gives a few of them (especially the boomerang) a make over that expands their usefulness. The lack of bottles and heart pieces was kind of weird, but not a deal breaker by any means.

Not everything about this game is great though. It is pretty easy, which wouldn't be a negative, but there are times when your helper fairy (there has been some version of this in every Zelda game since Ocarina of Time) literally walks you through puzzles. I don't know if it is because they expect a younger audience on a handheld (minish cap was really bad about this as well), but I do not like this, it takes away from my favorite part of the game (ie getting that euphoric jolt of accomplishment when I solve a puzzle all on my own!).

Then there is the combat. Wow, talk about a step back! It started with Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, and continued in Wind Waker, where it felt like the designers had put a lot of thought into making the combat exciting and chaotic. It was special because for the first time ever it felt like there was an element of skill involved with Zelda combat. If you knew a few moves and how to use your items effectively, you could take on dozens of enemies at once... and you were given several opportunities to do so! This was exciting! Twilight Princess altered things slightly, going from a 'take on the world' combat ideology, to more of a stealthy/duel based ideology. So while you didn't have the chaos of the aforementioned titles, there was still plenty of intensity and skill in the combat sequences. But in the Phantom Hourglass, you hardly fight at all! I understand that part of this has to do with the physical limitations inherent with the stylus control scheme (ie no targetting, only 1 item equipped at a time etc.), but it is still disappointing.

And I guess the only problem I have with the weak combat system is that in the few instances where you are put into a challenging fight, you have to use gimicks and tricks instead of making creative use of items and showing off well polished sword skills. And that is in the best case, in some instances (such as the final boss battle in the game) it simply boils down to a mind numbing test of patience.

That wasn't enough to bring down my overall enjoyment of the game though. Despite being easy the puzzles were very creative, which is nice since the whole "light the torch, flip the switch, push the block" thing gets kind of old. The DS specific features (drawing on the maps etc.) went over very well, and the game as a whole was very funny. A little more depth/length would have been nice, but you can't ask for everything.

I still need to try out the multiplayer, it looks like it will be a blast, but I haven't had a chance to get online with it yet, so I can't comment there. I do know that the last Zelda title to have a multiplayer option (Four Swords) was easily the best non-PC multiplayer experience I have ever had.

Entertaining and different

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 03, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is a really nice addition to the Zelda collection. Technically, it implements the DS touchpad as it should be. It's a bit hard to get used to at first, but when you get used to it, it becomes easier. The rest of the features and buttons are also used in a very subtle yet well-done way. In short, it takes advantage of what the DS itself has to offer and it's really only a few games do this to this extent.

As for gameplay, it's a very interesting and good continuation to the Windwaker. It's just the right length for a game meant to be portable and is also fun and entertaining. It brings back memories of older games if you have played them and at the same time it's new. Some characters are a bit ugly at times, but it's all forgiven as you play.

The game also includes a very good multiplayer option. It gives you many different options to connect. DS-DS, with friends, over WiFi, etc. and then you also get to choose if you want to play with rivals, friends, or just about anyone. As you play you get scores and you can even get small rewards that appear in-game. It works beautifully and is also very stable.

If you like the Zelda series and adventure games, this would be something worth trying out.

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