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The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass Review
Written by Chris Goldberg on Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Excellent touchscreen controls; clever use of the many DS functions
Damaging linearity; complete lack of challenge; sailing
I don't envy the task Nintendo has when it comes to pleasing the fans of their most storied games. In a way, it's a fruitless task because it's impossible to be able to meet the needs of every fanboy who has these idealized representations of these franchises born from their youth. Zelda is no different a title. It has this quality that has to be met, and if it isn't to their exact specifications the fury of a million angry nerds goes to work on forums worldwide. If Twilight Princess was the game where Eiji Aonuma and company tirelessly worked to satisfy all aspects of the hardcore fans requests, then Phantom Hourglass is the one where they give up trying to please the hardcore and just try their best to open up the game to everyone. It is with this basic idea that it's clear most of the decisions behind the product came forth, and it is the very definition of a double edged sword.
There's no doubt that this game is the most unique Zelda game since Majora's Mask, but it's also arguable that in many ways it's the most unique Zelda game since The Adventures of Link. After a short introduction to the world, where Tetra goes missing due to a mysterious Ghost ship, control is handed over to you. One of the most immediate changes you'll notice is that almost every action is controlled by touch screen. Attacks, all movement and tools... it's all activated via some very simple touch screen movements, and surprisingly it works pretty damn well.
You'll be guiding Link around the screen effortlessly, and you'll be able to take out enemies nearly blindfolded. In regards to the ease of swordfighting, whether it's an improvement or not will largely be a matter of preference. Some feel it's almost distractingly skill-less, as Link will literally leap across the screen at his targets now with a mere tap. Most enemies put up only the most basic of defenses. But in the end, it's fast and you'll never be fighting with the combat controls. If there is any inarguable criticism with the touchscreen controls, it's with rolling... it never seems to activate on a consistent basis, and you'll find yourself constantly performing other abilities if you attempt to. Thankfully, the developers seemed to know this as you almost never have to use this move at any point.
Use of tools is also much better for the most part. Shooting and throwing are now shockingly precise actions, and specific items like the boomerang will literally never be the same again. It's integrated so well, that it almost seems like this tool was waiting for these controls all along. Bombchu's also take a significant leap forward, having you utilize the touchscreen to draw a path to its intended target. This is not only fun, but it eliminates the tedium of having the adjust your trajectory each time you launch one.
The controls work great, but that's not the only thing that has been significantly altered from the other incarnations of Zelda. So much of the "bloat" has been cut that it feels like an amazingly streamlined experience. You will no longer worry that you don't have a large enough wallet to carry rupees, as the game provides you a nearly bottomless purse. And this carries over the dungeon design as well, which we'll discuss in more detail later on.
It's clear, then, that the basics are in place for a truly classic Zelda game. So why am I less than fully pleased? Am I just one of those perpetually critical fanboys who will nitpick at anything less than his idealized standard for the franchise? It's when we start digging into the real meat of any Zelda game, the dungeons and overworld exploration, that things started to really fall apart for me.
As a direct sequel to Wind Waker, one of the returning features is sailing. One of the biggest criticisms from Phantom Hourglass' predecessor was that the constant need to shift wind directions ruined any enjoyment that could be gleamed from this activity. I agreed with that. But Zelda: Phantom Hourglass goes the opposite extreme, and turns sailing into a boring and utterly joyless exercise in line drawing. Basically, instead of controlling the ship directly, you'll merely draw your route on the touchscreen and watch your ship travel to that destination.
The bad thing is that since you still have to watch your ship sail that whole distance, now you'll be sitting back with a glazed look on your eyes only participating when you have to tap the screen to fire a cannon at some ridiculously easy obstacle or enemy. It is equally as unfun as the solution they had in the original game, and it sucked most of the desire I had to explore the world... a critical draw for me in these games. On the upside, the world map itself is considerably smaller than the one found in Zelda: Wind Waker, and the warp points are conveniently located exactly where you'd want them to be.
posted November 7, 2007