Now, in Phantom Hourglass, Tetra (Zelda) is again looking for trouble, and is abducted by the famed Ghost ship. Link, man that he is, makes the brash decision to try to board the ship as it sails away, sadly failing and ending up on an unfamiliar island. There he meets a fairy, Ciela, who agrees to help him find the Princess while unlocking the mysteries of her own past.
One would expect that a game with such a history as Zelda would be innovative and push the Nintendo DS to the limit in terms of form and function. Never have the exclusive features of a system been utilized as frequently and as effectively than in Phantom Hourglass.
Every control except for the short-cuts uses the touch screen. Link walks, rolls, picks up objects, swings his sword, uses weapons, and speaks with people using the stylus to point or draw a path for him. The dual-screen is used to display a map on top and control Link on the bottom. Notes can be made on maps by switching to the map screen and writing. Ever wanted to remember where a particular item was but just couldn’t drag yourself to get a piece of paper and pen? Now use the provided map as your chicken-scratch pad!
Don’t get the misconception that this Zelda is easier than any other because it uses the touch-screen and you can write notes, really, it is as mentally challenging as any other. Sure, the tried and true Zelda formulas still exist (find a fissure, use a bomb; hit the orb, open the door), but new ones are left to be figured out, and the dungeons are certainly different.
Some types of Phantom Hourglass dungeons are similar to those of a Final Fantasy: progress through to get to the other side of the mountain, etc. But Phantom Hourglass has a new idea: make time spent in the dungeon harmful to Link, except for safe-zones. Also, add baddies that are impossible to escape from once they’ve seen you (and 100% of the time kill you), adding some stealth the formula. Zelda dungeons have become a new kind of tag.
As for the over-sea travel – there is plenty to be had. Now though, you will not spend endless minutes crossing the ocean in search for deserted islands. You will simply draw a line on the map indicating where you would like to go. From there, pay attention! There are rocks that Link’s boat can crash on, and you need to jump over them! Also, like Windwaker, you can look around the boat as it is traveling, just in case you see something interesting to pick up or somewhere else to go.
