This first game I have decided to review is The Phantom Hourglass for the DS.
This is a great game for any true Zelda fan. I disliked Windwaker with a passion for its endless oceans and its non existent dungeons, but I decided to give this first Zelda to the DS a chance. I am glad I did. Not only is the game extremely fun to play, but most of what made Windwaker boring or annoying is non existent in this game.
Firstly, the graphics which is what most people talk about when they first open any game are really impressive for a handheld Zelda game. The cut scenes are well done and the isometric view of Link is the best I have seen for a handheld Zelda game. When Sailing the ocean the way the islands just jump out you when you get close makes you really say "WoW". I was really impressed by the graphics and hope future Zelda games look as good as The Phantom Hourglass looks on the DS.
Secondly, comes the sound which like any Zelda game has some of the best music. Now I wish there was more of the classic music, but for what is in the game it is real good. Now the only fault I could find with the audio (and this just might be my DS) is that sometimes the sound would be real loud and I would have to lower it or it would be real low and I would have to raise it. This kind of got annoying as I was traversing the open seas, but I got used to it and kept the volume below max.
Lastly, and most importantly is the gameplay The Phantom Hourglass provides some of the most fun gameplay I have had since Twilight Princess. The whole touch screen makes for a real interactive experience. This Zelda just like previous Zeldas has same type of gameplay, where you go to a dungeon find an upgrade and use that upgrade on a boss. I found it easy to control link with the stylus and making him attack by just clicking on an enemy was even easier. The boss fights were probably the most fun because its the one part of the game where they took real advantage of both screens. One more real nice thing is that sailing is no longer the 10 minute boring experience it used to be. Though there is a lot of ocean, with Hourglass you just draw your route and it will take you there. Though you might encounter enemies along the way, your trusty cannon will make short work of any of them. I found this to be much better than the way they handled sailing in Windwaker.
Though the game was extremely fun, I did find some drawbacks in my Hourglass experience. One thing was the dungeons were more linear than ever. There is no longer a map or compass for dungeons, just keys to open doors. Most of the time you are just defeating enemies to open the next door in the area. Secondly when drawing with the stylus you have to be extra careful not to mess up. There are certain points in the game where you draw various signs on the touch screen, and if you get a minor thing wrong it screws it up. The last thing that I found to be a bit annoying even though it was not the worst thing in the world. When you open a new door you have to keep going through the cut scenes of the door opening, which gets annoying after the 5th time. Now I understand that this "cut scene" was probably put in for the beginner who might not know where to go or what to do. Still if there was some way to turn the shorter cut scenes off, it would have made my experience more enjoyable.
Its an extremely fun game and I recommend it to any DS owner or Zelda fan.
