The Phantom HourglassThe Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Year: 2007
Rating: E
Time Played: 19.78 hours

Just like Ocarina of Time influenced the style and lore of the Oracle games, the Zelda series’ first foray into the DS system took its cues from The Wind Waker—perhaps even too much. Additionally, as there were plenty of new features in the Nintendo DS that were not present in previous Nintendo systems, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass decided to take advantage of almost all of them. Again, perhaps to its detriment. Still, for the limited graphics and repetitive sections of the story, Phantom Hourglass is a fairly good Zelda game.

Even if it took a little bit to get used to the stylus-based combat system, I did eventually find it to be a neat alternative to the standard button configuration for a Zelda title, even if it didn’t behave as I wanted all the time. There were also limitations to how accurate the stylus inputs were when I needed to draw specific shapes to progress. In fact, there were plenty of times where I was stuck, only to realize that I needed to close the lid of the system or blow on the microphone. These actions thoroughly used the hardware’s capabilities and were quite ingenious, but at the cost of breaking the fourth wall a little bit.

Phantom Hourglass still plays like your standard Zelda title for all its innovations (much like how Ocarina of Time 3D was a tech demo for the stereoscopic technology). Granted, the upgrades via items or enhancing the Master Sword were the better parts of the game, even with the need to go to the same temple every time I wanted to progress. Still, for its unique playstyle, I’d suggest that others at least give it a try to experience what the DS has to offer.

A great DS tech demo and fairly OK Zelda game, I give The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass 3.0 stars out of 5.

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