8.9.2007

I have played and completed the legend of Zelda phantom hourglass in Japanese(I can read both English and Japanese) so I will give you an overall review of the whole game!Let me make this clear first, this is the best Zelda game ever! If you were one of those people who said "no" to the cel-shaded graphics, and I know that some of you reading this review were, then you wouldn't be saying that now. Link, the cool little guy, looks miles better in his childish cel-shaded form and makes the game play all the more funnier, speaking of funnier, this game is full of highly commercial moments, unlike twilight princess (I'm not saying it's a bad game or anything)which is why a lot more people will prefer this to the other titles.The missions, I love. There is one point in the game where you have to explore a giant stone island in the shape of a DS! Anyway, the main aim of the game is to venture deep, deep down into the Phantom Dungeon (I will not tell you why because I don't want to spoil the game for you.) The only problem with this though is that there is life-sapping evil in the dungeon that would kill link if he went in. Fortunately, by defeating the first boss in a smaller anti life sapping dungeon you receive the Phantom hourglass with ten minutes worth of sand. Now using the magic of the sand protects Link from the evil of the dungeon. Now having only ten minutes worth of sand means Link can only stay in the dungeon for ten minutes. The only way to get more sand is to defeat more bosses and the more sand you get, the further down you can go. Though if you die for whatever reason you have to start from the beginning of the dungeon. I know this sounds like a pain but at certain areas there are sort of like check points. So if you die you just come back to these spots, very handy! Of course, like in any other Zelda game there will loads of guards and ghosts and demons and so on so be prepared for a load of tough fights. Anyway, there are also heaps of side missions but we'll be hear for days I describe all of those!Yo Ho Yo Ho a pirates life for me! When you're not battling evil in one of the many dungeons you can be sailing around in your ship, battling pirates, fishing for fish and other creatures..., playing a whole host of mini games and pimpin your boat. Yep, that's right you can change and completely customise your boat from the cannon right down to the paint work. Its great fun to do and looks really good when completed.Making use of the famous DS touch screen are the abilities to:* Control link and interact with almost every object in the environment* Control your ship* Fight enemies and pick up items* Write notes on the map (a very helpful tool when sailing the great sea)* Set a course for your boomerang before letting it flyThe graphics, oh the sweet, sweet graphics. From Links hat gently bobbing in the breeze to the epic sword fights between you and a demon to the smoke filled explosions that emit from your cannon, the game just oozes detail and charm. This game has some of the best graphics on the DS and that's saying something because I have seen loads of great graphic games on the DS but this Zelda game puts most of them to shame!Multiplayer something this games does best! Up to 4 players can battle it out in a mini dungeon. The goal is to grab force pieces and bring them back to your base but these little blocks of beauty slow you down making it easier for your opponent/s or one of the many monsters to attack you. Just to let you know, whacking your opponent with your sword is equally as rewarding as scoring a force point! Another great thing is the ability to control guards and set them loose against your opponent. Just to let you know, this game uses WI-FI which will please many of you!Overall - This is truly the Best Zelda Game in the franchise by far so when it comes out in October/November most of you will have died and gone to gaming heaven! From shouting into the mic to get somebody's attention to completing that extra hard frozen snow dungeon, this game will seem all the more exciting when you revive it. Of course there are hundreds of more things to do and see in this game but I wouldn't want to spoil it for you now would I?

9.6.2009

Zelda games are usually good. And this time Nintendo has decided to put a spin on the series by making a game that is controlled entirely by the touch screen. The result is a game that's good, but not perfect. While it still has some pretty great elements, you can't help but wish you had a D-Pad option as well.Link and Tetra are hunting for a Ghost ship as the game begins. The ship appears and Tetra boards it. When something goes wrong, Link attempts to save her, but instead falls into the ocean. He washes up on the shore of an island where a fairy named Ciela agrees to help him find Tetra. He'll have to be prepared, though. He's about to go on a long journey.Phantom Hourglass is a great addition to the Zelda library.The story is a good one. Carried out, of course, by dialog boxes. Much like many of Nintendo's franchises, there isn't really any voice acting here. Not a problem. The presentation of the game is good enough. Actually, in terms of bringing out 3D effects, this is probably one of the DS's best looking games to date. There are moments where some things look a little pixilated, but it still looks good. It doesn't play like the 3D adventures, however. No matter how powerful the DS is, this game still plays similar to the other handheld games. That is to say you're not in a 3D environment. It's an overhead view of everything. So it's not an entirely 3D world.The control scheme is what makes Phantom Hourglass such a unique experience. The game is entirely touch screen oriented. You'll use the stylus to lead Link around. You can make him pick up pots and barrels by tapping on them and tapping on an empty section of the screen to throw them. By tracing a quick ring on the screen you can make Link roll.Even better is swordplay and using items. You'll tap on enemies to make Link stab them. You can perform a horizontal slash by drawing a straight line. You can perform a spinslash by drawing a quick circle around Link. Even using items is put to good use. You'll draw a path for the boomerang to follow when you throw it, for example. You can make Link toss bombs to certain locations. Using the bow and arrows has never been easier.A lot of the games challenge comes from the puzzles rather than the enemies, though. The touch screen controls make taking out most enemies, including bosses, relatively easy. The game may introduce a new mechanic but its entirely too easy to take advantage of. Along those lines, the controls are sometimes a bit touchy. It can be taxing to make Link roll, for example. It can also be annoying when you do something you don't mean to do at all. It's a pain when you want to make Link do one thing and he does something else. So while the controls are good, they can be a bit touchy at times.During play, the map is displayed at the top at all times. During play, you can bring it down and mark on it. Throughout your journey characters will constantly be telling you where to go and show you on the map. It helps to mark it. It also helps when solving certain puzzles as well.All these controls are tight and intuitive, but they're not for everyone. It's a shame Nintendo didn't put in the option to switch controls to the more traditional D-Pad and buttons. There are some gamers, without a doubt, who would've loved to have this option.Phantom Hourglass is a great game. The controls work well. They can be touchy at times, and its a shame Nintendo didn't put in an option to change them up, but at least the end product is one that many Zelda fans will enjoy.Pros:+Good storyline+Fantastic graphics+Good music+Intuitive controls+Great dungeon designsCons:-There's no option to switch to the more traditional D-Pad and button controls-Sometimes the controls are quite touchy

8.12.2007

So still perhaps my favourite Zelda game of all time is Ocarina by a long shot, but this game would come up second.The selling point for me was the control system. It becomes very natual to walk around and control link exactly how you want to - to the point where you can look at the top map screen whilst controlling link on the bottom.Fluidly lets you throw bombs exactly WHERE YOU WANT THEM, and also as a benefit I don't find myself accidently pressing a "use bomb" button which leaves me with a fizzing bomb in my hand, and I can also put it away again under the slim chance that this might happen. (A problem I find on other Zelda games). And not just the bombs,the arrows and other such items.But the gameplay does get broken down a bit more, and the big thing that was missing was battles with enemies. Where other Zelda games let you focused on jumping, dodging, making them loose their guard so you can go on a proper offsenive, this game really forces you into a counter attacking move against some creatures (and not link in Windwalker). Wait for them to say "haaaaa" lean back - that is your cue to move out of the way as they will then lunge for you, allowing you to stab them in the back. Certainly for early parts of the game at least. You can try and be quick with the boomerang, but it is not altogether straight forward. Later you will get a weapon which... well I won't ruin it - but it does make attacking some enemies a bit easy.The game is quite large, but I could not say this was a "taxing" game - I did the "advanced" of the puzzle level on my 2nd or 3rd attempt, where I was sort of expecting to be really scratching my head over on it for a while. But does this make it bad - I would say not, as it allows for a very fluid game you can get into.The game seems to be a bit more focused around money than others. You find treasure so you can sell it, allowing you to buy items. I believe you end up buying a bigger bomb bag, larger bow quiver, 2 hearts and most of your ship parts.Which brings me to another sub quest - the ship parts. A lot of them you can find in game, a lot of them you will buy - this is partly functional - more matching ship parts brings more stamina for your ship - but partly for aesthetics. Once you have the bow you should be able to find a path to the island NE of your home isle which takes you to a strange character who lets you put treasures and ship parts in boxes. You can swop these with friends, walk around with your DS in a special mode to swop with anyone else you may pass with this same mode on, or swop with people you play online. Also, the "awards" you get in the online play allow you to get more golden ship parts, so it encourages you to play online.A good way to describe the online game is it is like pac-man, where one person is pac-man aka Link, the other player is the ghosts aka phantoms - controlled by drawing their paths. It works - it is fun.For its good(!) use of the touch screen for control and making notes (very useful, esp. if you leave the game for a while) and overall fluid of play, I give this game 5 stars overall.For the fact the one on one enemy battles are a bit simplified, but the game was and is fun to play, it gets 4 stars for fun.

27.12.2007

I wouldn't often choose to play a handheld game over a full-scale console equivalent or similar, but of the recent Zelda games I think I would generally recommend the DS's Phantom Hourglass over the largely soulless Twilight Princess on the Wii and Gamecube. That's just my opinion though...Steering away from jibes at Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass is a highly entertaining addition to the Zelda, revisiting the charming (if controversial) art style used in The Wind Waker to create a bold and playful-looking title that looks perfectly at home on the DS. Link is wide-eyed and expressive again, and his sidekick - sea captain Linebeck - is arguably one of the most likeable Zelda characters to date,thanks to the excellent dialogue featured in the game.Graphics and characters aside, Phantom Hourglass plays like a cross between the old 2D Zeldas crossed with the more recent 3D iterations; 2.5D, if you will. Environments are 3D but the action is largely viewed from a top-down perspective, save for the boss battles which switch the camera to better frame the action. Solving puzzles and cleverly utilising Link's various tools is once again the order of the day, but it all feels inventive and new thanks to Nintendo's expert use of stylus control. From moving Link through swordplay to aiming a boomerang, everything is controlled with the stylus and polished to perfection, meaning what you might think would take a while to get used to quickly becomes second nature.The game is rather short for a Zelda title - about the same amount of dungeons as Wind Waker - although there's plenty of treasure to be found in the seafaring sections, which I personally found a bit tedious. Sure it's easier to control where you go than it was in Wind Waker, but the sea is still a little barren (save for the aforementioned treasure which needs to be retrieved via an unremarkable minigame where you guide a grapple hook to the bottom of the sea, dodging mines and such as you go, and ususally only turn out to be customisable bits for you ship).But the short number of dungeons are inventive and will constantly surprise, and there's some genuine head-scratchers in there when things threaten to get a little too easy. My only real gripe with the puzzles is the over-reliance to use one of the game's main features - the ability to annotate your map - to jot down a certain lever order or hidden location etc., which gets a little repetitive. Also, some people might object to being forced to revisit one of the dungeons repeatedly - as you progress, more floors become available, allowing you further in - but crafty shortcuts mean the observant player should be able to breeze through these repeat visits in next to no time.There's little to say against Phantom Hourglass - it looks great, has bags of charm and provides hours of inventive puzzle-solving. It even has a multiplayer, though I admit I never tried it. If you found Twilight Princess a little dry, give this a go. If not, give it a go anyway.

10.11.2008

I've grown up with video games- mario, sonic, golden axe, bomberman to name a few. People have always raved on about zelda but i didn't want to believe the hype as i've been disapointed before. However, after a bad day, i went into a shop and saw this for £13 and bought it, even though i couldn't really afford it. Well, even though i haven't finished the game, i absolutly love it! I like how the ds features are used, especially the fishing (very different from mysims bt love it all the same) as it is challenging. Linebeck is also one of my favourite characters because of the way he is and the humour he adds to the game. Each character has their own personality (unlike some other gmes of this type i can name)and the challenges they set are great to do if you're not ready to go onto the next place. I like how you had to think of things and the way they were used (not saying what as i'll spoil it!). The story is excellent and guaranteed to keep you hooked!As you can see, i've given it four stars- why? Because of a few minor things:1) The temple of the Ocean king- okay, people have complained of having to do it over and over again. Personally, i liked the challenge of trying to beat my time, and it's handy being able to teleport to the 6th floor, but later on, when you have to go further, it feels a little unfair that you have to repeat so much of it again, a closer portal point would have been better. Also, don't use the blue portals- i had the unfortunate experience of finding that when i went back to the temple opening, i couldn't get back down and had to do all of it again! Very unfair! It should have been made a lot clearer, but it may be because it is my first zelda game an these have featured in prevoius games.2) Save points- i am currently going after bellum 1 in the last part of the game, and although you can save, you won't go back to that point- it'll be in the opening of the temple, which again, is very unfair, but sort of adds to the addictiveness of this game.3) Age rating- although it says it suitable for 7+, it may be too difficult for them. On a few occasions, after trying everything i could think of, i had to resort to a walkthrough guide (which is unlike me) but this has been only a few times. Afterwards, i felt a little dull because the answers were simple, so you really have to think in this game.4) Jolene- how many times do you have to face her?! In the end, i thought "not again" because even though it was good to see a little of Linebeck's past, it became boring to face her over and over again. You can't outrun her so you have no choice but to face her. She's annoying!Overall, i think it's a fantastic game with some minor problems. I've had it for a week and still haven't finished it, which i think is great. If you're after a game which is good fun but also challenges you, this is it. Let's hope the next zelda game for the ds isn't long coming out.

30.12.2007

The Phantom Hourglass takes off where the Wind Waker left off, so anyone who has played the Wind Waker will feel at home straight away. Anyone who hasn't will get a brief story off what happened in the Wind Waker so everyone will know what the story is. It also takes a few ideas from Wind Waker; you will be sailing about in a ship going from island to island. And you can sort of play the pirate and go seeking for sunken treasure and haul it up with the salvage crane you get at one point in the game.Like the Wind Waker, the Phantom Hourglass goes for the cel-shaded look. There is no doubt a few people who don't like the look of Link in cel-shaded, but seeing as Phantom Hourglass follows on from Wind Waker,I think Nintendo made the right decision going for the cel-shaded look once again. I feel that it's perfect for the mood of the game. If they went for the realistic look, it still would have been a great game, but it would have lost something if it wasn't cel-shaded.It does take sometime to get used to the controls, you control Link by using the DS Stylus and using the Touch Screen. You use the touch screen for all actions; like moving Link, attacking enemies, aiming you bow or giving your boomerang a path to follow. Controlling the boat is very simple; you draw the route you wish it to take, and thats you. You even ahve the option of customising it when you get parts for it. I think that Nintendo made the right decision by not giving the game a control set for all the buttons on the DS. Otherwise anyone who didn't use the Touch Screen would have missed out on a unique experience and a great adventure.The boss battles are as big and brilliant as always. Not giving too much away, my favourite battles is where the top screen is used as the bosses point of view. And you have to figure out how to defeat it. And the battles do take up both screens the first boss battle used the top screen for the map while all the action was on the bottom screen. Other boss battles will use both screens.Both screens are used to the best of their abilities. The top screen is mainly for the map, while the bottom is where all the action takes place. You can also call the map to the bottom screen and write on it. So say if you get a piece of information you think might be useful; you just call down the map and make a note of it. Then send the map back to the top screen and your on your way again. Nintendo have made full use of this by having some puzzles that can only be solved if you write on the map.Anyone who has played Zelda will love this game. Anyone who hasn't but love adventure games will find themselves at home here. The learning curve is perfect for the game as well. It's never too easy or too hard. In my opinion, this is a great addition for the DS, and another great adventure for the Zelda series

20.11.2007

Let's get this out of the way first. Phantom hourglass is the best game available for the DS by a clear mile, and among the best Zelda games of all. Nothing else to my knowledge comes remotely close. It's also in a completely different league to any previous handheld Zelda game, so if you felt mildly underwhelmed by the likes of `Minish Cap' on the Game Boy Advance don't worry because this is a complete departure.Phantom hourglass is a direct sequel to Wind Waker on the Gamecube, though it isn't necessary to have played that game because the only things that really carry over are the characters and the art design. It really is amazing how faithfully the crisp,

4.1.2008

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass stands the model upon which all future DS RPGs should be. It has replaced Final Fantasy III as my new favorite DS RPG and it was no contest.The graphics are second-to-none for the system. I thought FFIII and Chocobo Tales were good, but this takes what the system can do to another level. It's colorful, bright, cute, and stylish. For a game on such a small screen, the detail is wonderful.And while some may pass off the stylus-only gameplay as gimmicky, I felt that the tight integration gave me a feeling of being more involved with the game, as opposed to simple button-mashing. The ability to control Link's speed with your stylus is a very clever take,

19.11.2007

If you're looking for Ocarina of Time then you're going to be disappointed. The Phantom Hourglass compliments the DS in much the same way that The Minish Cap complimented the GBA - it takes its most prominent features and plays to its strengths. Whilst it may not be the most engaging Zelda game ever, the control system takes elements of control innovation from games like Animal Crossing and fleshes them out, making Link a pleasure to control. Whilst I'm a fan of the 'grown-up' style in OOT, MM and TP, I'm no obsessive, and understood and appreciated Nintendo's experimentation of the cel-shaded effect. It's welcome here, with the DS's graphical presentation looking beautiful.

30.12.2007

If you tried to get hold of a game console this holiday season then you couldn't help but notice that while the Xbox's and Playstations were piled high to the ceiling the Wii and DS lite were hard to find. Zelda and the Legend of the Phantom Hour Glass on DS is a perfect example of why. While the other makers go for ever greater realism Nintendo has focused effort on game play design, believability and innovative forms of interaction.While other games reworked for the DS such as the classic MarioKarts make good use of the dual screen and minimal use of the touch screen, Zelda shows off just how the Nindento DS really makes new forms of game play possible.

20.12.2009

I got this game a few months ago, not knowing much about it. From the time I first put it in my DS, I was completely hooked. It has great cartoon graphics, easy, no-button controls, an exciting storyline and very involving gameplay.Basically, you are a boy (its hard to tell his age) called Link, who features in all the Zelda games. He has pointed ears, his trademark green clothes, a pointy hat that bobs when you run, and a fairy sidekick called Ciela. Ciela comes in very useful as Link is completely mute, so she does all your talking for you.The story is that your friend Tetra (Who is also princess Zelda) is kidnapped by the ghost ship whilst looking for treasure.

8.1.2008

The first Zelda title released on the DS has taken it's time to come out but it's been worth the wait. It fully utilises the touch screen capabilities of the handheld, as well as integrating the use of the microphone in certain parts of the game to give a great gaming experience. The level of difficulty builds very gradually and the controls are simple enough with the stylus.One of the best features of the gameplay on a DS is the use of the touch screen, you can do markings on maps as you work your way through dungeons and islands. This is particularly helpful remembering where treasure chests are and switches that have to be turned in a certain order. On top of that,

29.4.2008

When I realised that this was a stylus only controlled game, I thought it might be a bit gimmicky. But it works really well.The developers have ensured that the stylus control hasn't just been thrown in, they've re-worked the entire RPG genre to make sure that it feels natural and hasn't been done just for the sake of it. This allows for innovative control methods, such as writing onto maps to make notes, and the use of objects/weapons like the boomerang where you draw the path it will follow.Mini-games often ruin an RPG as they break the story up and instead of a nice flowing RPG you end up with a series of mini-games which don't feel as though they belong. There are some mini-games in this,

12.12.2007

In this episode of Zelda (my first one ever) Link has to save Zelda after yet another unfortunate encounter with a villain. This time she is kidnapped by a Ghost ship, Link falls from his ship and washes up on the shore of Mercay island, where he meets his companion for this trip: the fairy Ciela. Together they have to defeat a whole array of increasingly scarier monsters before they can truely free Zelda.I admit it: I'm 44 and new to gaming. This games is rated as 7+ in the Netherlands (even though there are very few 7 year olds than can already read English), so I was kind of anxious about the chilishness of the game, but, boy, did I have fun! Yes,

15.8.2010

As an avid Zelda fan, I recommend getting the sequel, Spirit Tracks. While good game overall, it lacks the edge that other Zeldas possess. But comparisons aside, this game also has several merits:- Stylus controls are fluid and natural- The game is long enough, and it has enough content- The pacing of the story works well enough- It has some very nice ways to alter teh main route of the game (eg. visiting the temples in other way than intended)However, it also has several shortcomings, most notably:- The sailing has lost all of the charm it had in Wind Waker, mostly because of the less-than-superb soundtrack- It is too easy overall. It lacks the difficulty of Spirit Tracks puzzles,

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) - Reviews

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