The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: copyrighted property of Nintendo

There are game franchises acclaimed by most of the gamers around the world. During all their existence, they are able to deliver great gaming experiences, regardless the video-game model.

And the game type doesn’t matter, because the best ones are defined by a key word: design. These games have a special care on the design of important characteristics for it, as graphics, sounds, gameplay, and story, among others. Thus, the best franchises delight us making everything in the game amazing, even if it’s small details. If it’s important in the game, a carefully design is dedicated to it.

Everybody have a favorite game franchise. Many are not loved by all the gamers, but some of them are respected by the major part of the public. Probably, one of the most important is the epic The Legend of Zelda. Along the years, the Nintendo Company was capable to create fantastic Zelda games for different platforms.

Among the many different titles, I will write about one of my favorite ones, where the design is present, mostly, in the gameplay and the story. The game is The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

Link's debut in the Nintendo DS

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass was the first franchise game to be produced to the Nintendo DS console. Aiming to use the video-game specifications, the title used a very unusual gameplay: all the actions must use the DS touch-screen, with no need for the D-Pad or the others physicals buttons. As the Zelda games are (normally) based on exploration, puzzles and strategy fights, the touch control could be a major difficult for the players.

I was skeptical in the beginning, and the first playing minutes were, indeed, somewhat confusing. However, as you play the game, and interact with the touch controller, you discover that the Stylus isn’t that bad for a Zelda game. Moreover, Phantom Hourglass was thought for this gameplay, making every action being funny inside the game.

The story follows after the Wind Waker (GC) game, as tells what happened to Link (or “insert your name here”) and Tetra/Zelda after that. The world map is a great ocean chart, where, with the help of a customizable ship, you navigate in many different islands to collect sacred items.

Navigate with the S.S. Linebeck

Link has the help of Linebeck, the captain of the ship, and Ciela, a smart and helpful (and not annoying) fairy. Along the story, new characters and challenges are discovered, creating a very interesting game world. There are many side-quests, increasing the game time (and fun). As usual, Link may use different weapons, as a bow and bombs. The touch-screen control turns every item in the inventory very funny to be used.

Many things to discover and upgrade

Another important part of the game is the maps of the scenarios. The upper screen shows the map, and the lower the game itself. You can change the screens positions to write notes, as door positions or puzzles tips. This “note to remember later” may look boring in the beginning, but after you get used to it, turns to a very useful resource, allowing you to organize your steps and register important information.

The island map shows Link's current postion

Probably the only problem of the game is the difficulty level. There are fill moments where you face great difficulties, requiring high fighting or puzzle-solving abilities. Obviously, this game has a large age public, and hardcore challenges wouldn’t be indicated. In order to compensate this fact, the game offers many side-quests, and even time trials challenges.

For me, it one of the best qualities of the game, but for others it was one of the worst. The touch gameplay, for those who hate alternatives control styles, may prove to be very challenging. As everything needs a “scratch”, a “tap”, or a “sketch” with the stylus, it’s important to have imagination when drawing and a good whist. If you accept the idea, you will have a lot of fun playing Zelda in a new form (if not, well… I’m sorry for you).

Although not being famous as some other franchise brothers, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is able to deliver the best of the series: a very interesting story, a solid gameplay, a lot of exploration, puzzles and fights. And everything was created with a great design, as expected from the Nintendo world’s best seller (along with Pokémon and Mario, of course…).