Platform: Nintendo DS
Developer: Nintendo

Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass was generally well received when it was released back in 2007, but it was not without its flaws. Criticized for its low difficulty level as well as the infamous Temple of the Ocean King- a dungeon which had to be replayed several times in order to complete the story- the game was considered to be a slightly disappointing experience by some hardcore fans of the series. Now comes Spirit Tracks, an indirect sequel to Phantom Hourglass, with enough new to keep long-time fans happy and enough old to serve as a steady introduction into the franchise.

PLOT

Being a Zelda title, you will of course be a young man in a green skirt rescuing a princess from the clutches of a large scary monster. This time around, however, things are slightly different. Spirit Tracks is an indirect sequel to Phantom Hourglass because the two games are set 100 years apart. The story goes that after discovering a new land for themselves dubbed ‘New Hyrule’, the new settlers were faced with a new enemy, the Demon King Malladus. After a long battle the spirits of the land defeated Malladus, but were too exhausted to do anything but imprison him below the surface of the earth. They created a tower and tracks that serve as a giant lock and chains to hold him captive. These tracks are later used to introduce a new method of travel to the Zelda series- the train. The game itself starts with a young Link preparing to graduate from an Apprentice Engineer to a Royal Engineer; the ceremony is performed by Princess Zelda herself. During the ceremony Zelda tells Link to come meet her in her quarters. There she reveals that the spirit tracks are vanishing. She fears Malladus’ return is imminent. Her prediction is soon revealed to be true, and shortly after Zelda is reduced to a spirit; a form she spends the rest of the game in. The idea of resurrecting an ancient evil is by no means a first for the series, but having the princess murdered within the first half hour is definitely fresh. It’s a shame this is the only genuinely shocking twist in the story, as the rest follows a rather predictable path.

The distance between the games chronologically also makes for some interesting crossovers. One of your sidekicks in Phantom makes an unconventional (yet enjoyable) appearance here, as does his grandson. A character that was barely breaching puberty in both 2003s The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass is now an old man, and reminisces about adventures you shared when playing as the previous protagonist. Aside from being an excuse to reuse character models, instances like these really give you a sense that time has indeed passed from game to game, more so than the 500 year gap between Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker.

GAMEPLAY

Once again, all gameplay is controlled by the DS stylus. The core combat and movement controls remain the same from Phantom, with really the only difference being the method for getting Link to roll. Rather than drawing little circles at the edge of the screen, you now double tap, sometimes resulting in frustration when furiously trying to attack an enemy, also controlled by tapping. The two major additions to gameplay, however, are the phantoms and the train. Many players found the Temple of the Ocean King in Phantom to be extremely tedious. They will be glad to hear that, although a multi-leveled hub dungeon does appear, players no longer have to return to previously-conquered floors to proceed. Known as the Tower of Spirits, Link and Zelda must take control of the once-invincible phantom creatures in order to solve puzzles and get past certain obstacles, like boiling hot lava or two switches that need to be hit simultaneously. Puzzles start out simple but ramp up considerably towards the end of the game, making for some real brain teasers. The temples themselves are not as challenging as the Tower, but still may stump some players for a while. Along with the temples come new items, my favourite of which being the whip, used to swing across gaps in the floor and attack enemies from a distance. Combat is again fun and relatively easy, with boss fights - as always - the highlights. While still not as difficult as some of the earlier bosses in the Zelda series, these battles still pose some challenge and are still enjoyable to play.

The other change here is the train. Rather than riding around in a boat like you did in Phantom Hourglass, you now move between each location by locomotive, with the options to go in reverse, forward, forward faster and to stop. While the Overworld is massive, some of the magic of exploration is lost when you are literally on-rails. This makes travel even more restricted than the boat, and with the overall structure of the game almost identical to Phantom Hourglass, there really isn’t as much innovation as is to be expected from a new Zelda title. As enjoyable as sounding your horn and slamming on the breaks initially is, the novelty soon wears off and travelling becomes a chore.

VISUALS/AUDIO

As a series known for its high standards of music and art styles, Spirit Tracks does not disappoint when trying to please both your ears and your eyes. The graphics and art styles are carried over from both The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass, and are still highly imaginative and vibrant. While a lot of enemies and allies carry over from the original, there are plenty of new sights and places.

The music has been given more of an overhaul, with plenty of new songs to hear. The title theme in particular is exciting and, just like in Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker, Link has an instrument on which to learn musical pieces, most of which are simple but still impressive. The instrument in question is a pan flute known as the Spirit Pipes, which is operated with the DS microphone and stylus . For a casual observer it may look daunting, but each major performance allows the player to practice. This is certainly a handy feature, as these scenes may frustrate some less musically-gifted players such as myself.

Hits

• Provides more challenges for hardcore fans
• New items are fun to play with, and old ones are used in new and interesting ways
• Boss fights are still imaginative, fun and challenging
• A surprisingly large amount of optional quests and additional areas to explore once the main quest is over
• Having Zelda along for the ride mixes the established formula up quite a bit
• Finally, the evil of the Temple of the Ocean King is undone

Misses

• Short development cycle means corners had to be cut
• Overworld travel becomes monotonous
• Not too much innovation
• Ending is rather lackluster
• Zelda comes across as self-centered

THE VERDICT

Being one of the most celebrated and revered franchises in all of gaming, it would be fairly difficult for a Legend of Zelda title to disappoint. Spirits Tracks succeeds in improving and building on what was established in Phantom Hourglass, but unfortunately doesn’t go all the way to provide a completely fresh experience. I would recommend it to fans of action-adventure and puzzle fans, fans of the Zelda franchise, DS owners and people looking for an engaging way to fill in 20 or so hours. While it’s not really one of the greatest Zelda titles, it’s still a unique and compelling DS game that will keep fans happy and newcomers entertained.