Phantom Hourglass

[n0wak]

Breaking the system's tradition of DS acronym subtitles (PH?), Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is out now and most are saying it's fantastic and awesome (and some are saying it's the best Zelda ever, but let's ignore those loons.) Anyone playing it?

I bought it today but I've yet to play it as I'm still working my way through the ho-hum Halo 3 campaign since I was away last week and missed the giant nerd rush (thank god).

[Noyb]

I think I'll wait until later. Some of the reviews said that it was easier than the Minish Cap, which was already ridiculously easy, being the only Zelda game where I never died and never got stuck. This games season is really crowded, forcing me to make some really tough calls. I'm almost positive I'll enjoy it, but I guess this just falls by the wayswide for me for now.

[miffy495]

Just bought it today and have played through the first (fire-themed) dungeon. The controls are really tight, and as the running around with the stylus was the main thing that I was worried about this comes as a huge relief. I managed to run myself off a cliff a couple of times early on, but after about 5 minutes of adjustment it gets really easy to control Link. My only gripe is that the sword is back to being an automatic thing rather than a button press, as there are no button presses unless you're bringing up the map. I kind of miss that extra level of control over my fighting tactics, and this way I'm always worried a bit that I'm not at the perfect angle to deflect whatever is coming at me. The last bit on control is the very welcome option to use the shoulder buttons to bring out your secondary weapon rather than tapping the icon for it in the corner. Going up and activating the boomerang and then going back to draw a path is a bit of a pain compared to just holding L and drawing where you want to throw. A very good move on Nintendo's part.

As for ease, well, it's only the first dungeon so far so I won't make any judgement calls. I didn't take a hit from the first boss, but then when I play Ocarina the boss of the Deku Tree doesn't even get to move before she's dead so I'm not going to take that as an indicator.

Graphics and music are great. Wind Waker mini sort of stuff. The characters are a little pixely when brought up close and hands and feet are essentially just circles, but the fact that they've squeezed as much as they did out of the DS is simply amazing. I'm hoping for some sort of huge and splendid moment like the coming to life of Hyrule segment from WW later in the game, but have no idea if it's coming or not.

Story picks up within what seems like a couple of months of the end of WW and is the most direct continuation I've seen from Zelda. Great for me, as I desperately wanted some more of that universe.

So yeah, what else can be said after one dungeon? It's not very different from older Zeldas, especially Minish Cap. The game season is pretty damn full, as Noyb said, but this, Mass Effect, and Rock Band were the three that I was completely sold on, so now I get to play and wait for the next release.

[Roderick]

This is a must-buy regardless of what reviews say.

Actually, I already read that it was awesome, so I'm lying through my teeth. Seriously, if I heard it was shit I wouldn't buy it.

[lobotomy42]

Dammit, I need free time again so I can play this. I'm still waiting for my Wii to get fixed so I can play Metroid again. And then there's still Okami, Dragon Quest, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Castlevania, Viewtiful Joe, and BioShock that I'm working on, and Phoenix Wright 3 comes out soon, and Chibi Robo and Mass Effect and Zelda and Mario....ARGH!!!

I hate having a job. Not because I dislike the job at all, but because there's so little time for gaming!

But yeah, to stay on topic here....I should get this. And I should play it.

[Aussie Ben]

I'm up to the third dungeon excluding the Ocean King one, and overall I'm having a great time with the game. (I'll get to my one big gripe later.) I love that everything has been simplified to just touch screen controls and (AND!) that one of the first things the game does is ask you if you are left or right handed. THANK YOU.

Using weapons and objects has never been easier, because you now know exactly where things are going to go. A bomb will be placed where you point. The boomerang follows your precise path unless it hits an obstacle. You'll hit the enemy you pointed at, and so on.

My biggest hate of Wind Waker, the dull as ditchwater tiresome sailing bits (and boy WEREN'T THERE A LOT OF THOSE!) are completely gone, and I couldn't be happier. We've entered the Steam Age, thankfully, meaning that you can just plot your course, and instead be concerned with more fun things like looking around the entire view in 360 degrees, shooting cannons, fishing and treasure salvage. It's a huge improvement over "time to switch to picture-in-picture mode" sailing of the previous game.

Luckily, there's an all NEW tiresome artificial busywork inflationfest. This one is called the "Temple of the Ocean King" or some such. Oooh, it's cursed, meaning your life gets drained as you progress through it unless you're in a safe spot. Sounds interesting. There's enemies that you can't kill and need to avoid instead. A bit of a twist, okay. You have to revisit through this dungeon, needlessly repeating the existing sections of the dungeon again even though you've already solved them! Okay, fair enou-WHAT? No. That's just shit. All it would take to fix this would be teleporters that unlock which take you back to particular floors of the dungeon (and you could do it without breaking this dungeon's big 'hook', either, for those who have gotten up to it and know what it is).

Aside from this one thing, I'm enjoying the game. Wonderful presentation, great controls, a little over-crazy on the collecting of trinkets and doodads, but I don't really mind that. The whole "wow you can draw on your map" thing which I initially thought was just going to be a novelty has been emphasized, well thought out, and used for some clever situations. Great work, guys.