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DS Fanboy Review: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
For a franchise as lengthy and storied as that of The Legend of Zelda, we're honestly surprised that Nintendo has managed to keep things fresh and engaging throughout each of the titles. Take Wind Waker, for example, which was quickly met with cries of "Cel-da!" and "This looks like utter crap!" by many internet-faring folks following its unveiling, but managed to be one of the best entries to date (it was our favorite before Twilight Princess hit the scene, to be honest). But, for as much as Nintendo has tried to keep the franchise alive and well, The Legend of Zelda games have always maintained a set of core features and values, becoming a bit formulaic lately. Hey, don't get us wrong, we love the games, but you have to admit that it's becoming old hat in the way that they are doing things, always sidetracking you with another task when all you want is entry into one area of the game (see: where you need to go). This "gopher" way of doing things (go for this, then you can go for this) is kind of becoming a problem with the franchise.One of the ways Wind Waker was better than its predecessors and tried to nip this in the bud a bit was the inclusion of its open seas, allowing the player to go wherever they wanted from the get-go. Sure, the fields and other locales that made up Hyrule proper in these titles (even in Twilight Princess, which released several years after Wind Waker) were accessible and presented an illusion of a game world that was freely navigable from the outset. The reality was, in fact, different.So, what does this have to do with Phantom Hourglass? Everything.%Gallery-4748%
Today's most stylistic video: DS Zelda controls
With Zelda: Phantom Hourglass nearly released--well, for Japanese gamers, that is--GameTrailers has posted a few brief gameplay clips that show the touchscreen controls. Gamers outside of Japan will have to wait until later this year to play the DS RPG/adventure. (Make the wait even longer by watching Japanese commercials for the game.)Start forming opinions on the controls. After the break, watch demos of movement, swordplay, and curved boomerang throws, all handled with the stylus.
Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Video and screens
It might be the same stuff we have seen since E3 but it doesn't hurt to get another look at it. It is Zelda afterall. Plus we get to see some sweet boomerang action. That's worth a post right? On top of this video we have some more screens for you as well. It is difficult to see the video and screens knowing that it will be almost forever until we get to play the game ourselves. Hopefully we will see it early 2007. Then again, probably not. See the link for the screens below. Zelda: Phantom Hourglass screens from Advanced Media Network [Via Go Nintendo]
Sum-up of Phantom Hourglass
How long have we waited to hear more about Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass? Too damn long if you ask us. We finally got a little more info to share with you. The plot! Here you go: Many months have passed since the events of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and Link, Tetra and Tetra's band of pirates have set sail in search of new lands. They come across a patch of ocean covered in dense fog, in which they discover an abandoned ship. Tetra falls into danger when she explores the ship alone, and Link falls into the ocean when he attempts to rescue her. When he washes up unconscious on the shores of a mysterious island, he is awakened by the sound of a fairy's voice. With the aid of this fair, he sets off to find Tetra - and his way back to the seas he once knew. You remember Tetra right? She was the blond mouthy pirate that threw Link out of a barrel into the Forbidden Fortress and talked to you through the stone she gave you. Yeah, her! Now, we get to save her. How much longer do we have to wait? Oh, yeah... forever.
