Review: Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

By Stephen Munn | August 8, 2008

What is it?

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourlass is the first handheld game in the Zelda franchise for Nintendo’s ludicrously successful Nintendo DS platform, and the first handheld Zelda to be developed internally at Nintendo. That is to say there was no apparent involvement here from Capcom’s Flagship studio, who built The Minish Cap on GBA, Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons on GBC, and Link’s Awakening on GB.

Zelda games tend to follow a specific formula that was set in the first episode. A young boy, usually in a green tunic, sets out to intervene in something much larger than himself when that threat causes a problem in his life in some way, whether it’s through the disappearance of a family member or a friend whose name often tends to be Zelda. While there are Zelda games that don’t follow this formula, most do, but where Phantom Hourglass stands apart is not so much in its construction, but its execution. The game is controlled entirely with the stylus, with the exception of parts that use the microphone. More on that in a bit.

How does it look and sound?

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is one of the three original Zelda Gamecube titles, and it’s the prequel to this game. The games share a unique art style that Nintendo referred to as “toon shading” when Wind Waker was in development. It’s basically a cell-shaded style, but taken to a greater extreme than most titles. While Okami went for a gritty yet beautiful Japanese painting look, Wind Waker strives to look like an animated feature. Phantom Hourglass follows in this style, and while the limitations of the platform create some moments of painful ugliness, overall the presentation is brilliant and remarkable. I loved Wind Waker’s look and was thrilled to see it was making a return in this game.

The sound and music in the game are also sharp, but Link’s ever-present grunts and shrieks can be very irritating, particularly if you’re not the one playing the game. I got several comments on these noises while playing the game. The music is excellent. I expected a lot of rehashes from Wind Waker, but didn’t notice a single one. In fact, the themes that tend to pervade all Zelda games were almost completely absent in this one, and unlike in Twilight Princess, the new music was actually good.

How does it play?

One might expect stylus control to be difficult and forced, but I found it quite the opposite. In fact, while standard enemies and bosses did not feel inherently easier than in earlier Zeldas, I found the precise, direct control over Link’s arsenal so fluid and effective that dispatching enemies became easier. This is great play control, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it.

In Wind Waker, sailing was entirely dependent upon the wind. The baton in that game gave you control over which way the wind blew, then you opened your sail and followed that where it took you. Lots of time was spent sailing between the islands in Wind Waker, and it had its moments of being unbearably boring. Sailing around the sea is done in a tactical way in Phantom Hourglass, and the difference is shocking. Sailing actually became one of my favorite things to do in the game. You pop open the sea chart, plot the course by drawing right on the map, and the ship sails itself to the destination. Along the way, you man the cannon and the jump button to deal with small enemies and obstacles. It’s a lot of fun, and I found myself taking the long way from one place to the next on more than one occasion.

Weapons are controlled in a very unique way. The grappling hook is used by pointing where you want it to go. You can even use it to run a line between points, then walk across. The boomerang’s path can be traced right onto the screen, for incredible precision. The shovel and bombs are used by tapping at the target. The bow, perhaps my favorite, can be drawn back, aimed at any target, and then released, so wasted arrows are rare. Bombchus are probably the most impressive, as you can draw their path right onto the map and they will follow it to the target while you’re off doing something else. While none of these items are new, their use in the game is so different, that they all feel fresh.

There are puzzles in the game that require blowing into the microphone. Sometimes you need to blow out a torch, sometimes you’re yelling to convince someone you want something badly, but of course we know better than to yell at our DSes in public, so just blow in the mic for the same effect. Fortunately, these are brief and far apart, so they don’t get in the way. They do tend to break the immersion pretty solidly, though, which is something we should be used to from these games where characters tell you how to do things by telling you exactly what button to press.

The structure of the game is a little unorthodox. There is a key dungeon in the game called the Ocean King’s Palace. This is a multi-floor dungeon with poisonous air that’s packed with challenging puzzles and enemies that are invincible for nearly all of the game. The Phantom Hourglass in the game is a device that is used to let you enter the dungeon without dying for a limited amount of time. More sand is obtained throughout the game to increase this time. Each time you enter the dungeon you’re expected to complete a handful of floors and then obtain an item, then leave and go somewhere else in the game to get something else which will let you progress further in the Palace. Each time you return to the dungeon everything within it resets, and you have to solve all the puzzles again. Fortunately, the solutions don’t change.

Unfortunately, the basic premise behind this dungeon is completely contradictory to what good game design is really all about. You’re given a time limit in a complicated dungeon filled with puzzles and invincible enemies. You need to run around a lot to beat the puzzles, and you need to hide on the few safe spots in the place and avoid being spotted by the enemies. There are floors that ring like a bell when you run on them, drawing attention. Every time an enemy hits you, you lose a significant amount of time and have to start the floor over. Every time you return to the dungeon, and this is something like a half dozen times, you need to start over at the beginning and do it all again. Basically, the designers take one of the most critically derided aspects of Wind Waker, the stealth component which was rarely used in the first game, and shove it down your throat to brutal effect. Nothing in the dungeon is particularly hard, exactly, but the combination of things is really, really troubling and not fun at all. Many players, including Yahtzee Croshaw, never finished the game because of this.

Fortunately for Phantom Hourglass, this is only part of the game. If you do well, you won’t be in the dungeon for more than two hours or so total throughout the game. What’s more, the final trip through the dungeon, if you can stomach making it to that point, is such a pleasure that it almost fixes the problem. The story is great and filled with surprises, something that hasn’t really happened in a Zelda game in a long time. I can’t say much more without spoiling the game completely for those who haven’t played it.

How’s the replay value?

Beyond the initial adventure, which is surprisingly lengthy, there is a multiplayer “battle” mode. One of the types of puzzle you will encounted in the Palace involves carrying force gems to pedestals while avoiding sight by wandering phantoms. The force gems will be familiar to those who played Four Swords Adventures, they were the triangular objects that erupt out of everything that Tingle is constantly stealing. In this multiplayer mode, one person plays as Link, carrying force gems around, while the other plays as a phantom, who tries to catch him. It’s kind of a slow, frustrating game of Pac-Man, and clearly is not the draw of a purchase of this game, but I would call it added value.

Beyond that, the Zelda games have always been strong on replay value for me, and that is why I’ve kept most of them and replayed them over the years. The original Legend of Zelda is something I, like many gamers, come back to time and again, and Phantom Hourglass has a lot to enjoy on repeat plays. In fact, the second playthrough of the Ocean King’s Palace might be better than the first, simply because one knows what to expect and knows how to solve the puzzles quickly.

Is it worth it?

I want to say yes, but I simply can’t. Not unconditionally. Phantom Hourglass is a great game with a critical flaw that is likely to prevent most people from ever completing it. The Ocean King’s Palace is an exercise in frustration unlike anything I’ve experienced in gaming, and I’m one of those people who loves dying on the second stage every time I play Ikaruga. The dungeon doesn’t fail for its challenge, it’s for its frustration factor. As someone who is a huge fan of the series, I desperately wanted to complete the game for its virtues, and I’m glad I did, but there were times when I looked at my DS and considered stopping and never going back. If you’re OK with the game’s serious troubles, more power to you. It’s worth the effort if you can stomach it.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass gets three and a half out of five. That dungeon sucks.