The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo DS, 2007)

Long time Zelda fans and newcomers alike will not be disappointed.

Pros: The Phantom Hourglass is a nostalgic game on the DS with a story and gameplay that matches. There is so much to do and the new puzzle elements make it so much fun. The music and sound will take you back to every Zelda game you have ever played. Wear headphones to get the full experience.

Cons: The only con I can think of is the DS itself. The screen is small which can make it difficult to see where Link is going sometimes. I'm having to relearn how to use and hold the stylus because my hand covers the screen half the time.

The legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

The good: Good Graphics, Better story than Wind Waker, Not having to deal with wind when sailing, Great top down action, Good controls once you get used to them, As always, great musical score, you can make the exact path for your boomerang with the touch screen and extremely fun gameplay.

The Okay: The controls are all touch screen and hard to get used to. I wish they would've given users a choice between touch and analog controls, it takes around 30 mins to get used to the controls. Some of the side characters are quite annoying. Too much reading. At times it's hard to know where to go (as was the same with wind wakers).

The bad: A little too short for a Zelda game. IT took me around 23 hours to beat it.

Overall, this game is excellent. My only real grip is the exclusivly touch screen controls, a choice would've been nice! But they do work pretty well after you get used to it. If you didn't like Wind Waker for the GC, you probably won't care for this either, although it is a liitle more fun now that you don't have to deal with wind direction etc...when sailing. I really love the top down view; it makes me long for the days of old. The story is definitly it's strong point and it never feels tiresome when running around.

This game isn't "Twilight Princess" to be sure; but is a definite must buy for Zelda fans and DS owners alike!

My 10 year old son was not so sure about the whole Zelda thing, but my wife bought the game for herself because of the puzzle elements. My wife started playing, and shortly my son got interested. Now the two of them fight over the game.

The graphics are perfect for the DS. The music is comical.

This is a thinking game. Often it takes both my wife and son to figure things out. In that way, this may be the most engaging DS game yet.

My son really enjoys the online, wifi multiplayer.

Cons: My wife does not like that there aren't more save points, especially in the cave. Often you'll have to go back and restart an entire level. Frustration levels can get high.

Pros: a fully engaging storyline, with fun gameplay; good use of wifi and multiplayer

Should be in everyone's top five of all-time DS games. A must have!!

Zelda for the DS has incredible graphics and gameplay.
It's challenging even for an adult and that's the great thing about it.
All the other DS games are really designed with the children in mind - and an adult could easily manage to finish in about a day or two; this took me weeks! And it was awesome! Even the storyline was entertaining!

Once again, Nintendo banks on one of their other famous mascots to bring in the sales, please the fans, and tie up any loose ends that they might have created. It’s hard to believe that you can take the graphics, game play, game length and everything else that would be packed into a huge disc that’s GB’s worth of information and somehow squeeze it all into a small rectangular cartridge and play it on a portable system that doesn’t even come close to the processing power of a console and still play and display par to a console system. My hat goes off to Nintendo for striving for excellence out of their gaming divisions.


Story – 5/5
Wind Waker ends and this picks up from there. Link, Tetra, and the pirate crew are all on the ship sailing the seas. Events of the Wind Waker, are shown, cue the random fog that engulfs the ship and the mysterious and famous but never seen Ghost Ship appears. Tetra leaps on the ship to see what all the commotion is about, but right after she does so, there’s a loud girly scream, Link jumps to go save her, but falls into the water and washes away. Links wakes up on a random island (Link's Awakening anyone?) Well, eventually, you’ll meet this Leinback character who helps you with the ship you get to use. In the end, to sum things up you find out Bellum has kidnapped Terra and in typical Mario fashion, your off to save your princess… whoops wrong game.

Game Play – 4/5
Call me biased, call me whatever, but I’d like to maybe even give this section a 3/5(reasons will be given later). This has nothing to do with the cel shading or the appearance of the graphics and lighting, both great for the DS. The touch screen capabilities with the dual screens are both big points, very additive features, among the lines of using the weapons with the touch screen, marking things on the maps, ect. The boss battles at times are over the top and brilliantly done. The 3/5 I would like to give this lies in the puzzles, overall difficulty of the controls and using the touch screen to use some of the weapons.

Music – 5/5
In typical Zelda style, Koji Kondo does wonders. Everything from the main menu to the deepest dungeon will have impressive music. Nothing too offbeat, some old toons along with some new make the music top notch.


Replay and Overall Value
Graphics and sound are among the best on the DS. Gameplay that's traditional Zelda in every scene. Main game is about 30 hours with side quests and even mini games to boot. Now if Nintendo would do more of these type of game “sequels” or add-on storylines to the rest of the Zelda games, I can see a lot of great things coming from Nintendo.

The most fun to be had with a DS and the best DS Game.

The Good :
* Gorgeous visuals
* Touch-screen controls work wonderfully
* Lots of nifty puzzles to solve
* Great boss fights.
The Bad :
* A few pacing problems make certain sections of the game a bit of a drag
* Some experienced players might find the game a touch easy.

See it all reviews from : http://www.gamespot.com/ds/adventure/thelegendofzeldads/index.html

Pros
+ Best graphics on the DS. Beautiful cartooning.
+ Big world to explore and addictive gameplay.
+ IT's LEGEND OF ZELDA on my DS!!!

Cons
- A little on the kiddish side, especially for those of us who have played 'Twilight Princess'
- Feels shorter than usual.
- If you've played any other 'Legend of Zelda' game, you already know exactly how the whole game goes.

Comments
Any Legend of Zelda is a must have game. This DS gem is no exception. This is probably the best game on the DS now although 'New Super Mario Bros' is a really close call. There were moments in this game though that you almost think you are playing 'Wind Waker'. Now that's impressive.

Verdict
Must own.

Easy to understand rules and navigation make this one of the better DS games. Interesting story line in one player mode and easy set-up and play in two-player mode. Both my children now how Zelda chips obtained through eBay.

i decided to buy it because i wanted to try it and i like the zelda series. it is neat to play because of the stylus. you can also play two players as well. i really like this game

The item was a gift because my mom knew I liked the series. Excellent use of the DS features, like the microphone & the touch screen. As always, there are lots of new characters. Great graphics! I've been through the game almost twice; but still semi-difficult. Compared to previous Legend of Zelda Gameboy Advance Games, this game has more dungeons & much more fun.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass may be one of the most hyped up Nintendo DS games of this year. It is the first portable Zelda in a very long time. It is just a re-released zelda game with a similar plot to previous zelda games. Link saves Princess. There are some core changes made to the way the game is played, but the gameplay remains exactly the same as it was 20 years ago. The game is very interactive and you will do multiple interactive tasks such as spinning the stylus pen in circles to use your sword, draw maps to locate items and remember important locations, blow into the system for certain tasks, go fishing, and more...There are loads of surprises that come along with this game. It is fun for all ages, but recommended for adults. There is a lot of thinking involved, so it will be difficult for younger children around 5 or 6 years old to play this.

PROS
Cute cell shaded cartoon graphics
Great sounds quality and effects!
Decent Game controls with stylus and other methods of moving and playing

Dislikes:
Generic dungeon design
Story did not change much from previous zeldas

I decided to buy this game because I'm a huge fan of the Zelda series. As expected the game didn't dissapoint me at all, at the beginning it can be kind of weird doing everything with the stylus but as you get used to it the game experience becomes that much better!, the items you can get are some of the usual ones and some new ones, but using them with the stylus is something different. The dungeons are ok not "Twilight princess" but still Zelda. The animation its really cool since you don't get to see it to often specially in DS games, in all honesty I would recommend it to anyone!.

At first hearing about how The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass would be controlled completely with touch control I thought it might of been a bad idea. I thought touch control would get in the way of the action. I thought it would be difficult to pull of the moves Link could do in previous games. Boy I was dead wrong. All touch control is almost a stroke of genius. It's all very simple to control Link, anyone can do it. While controlling Link may be easy you deftdently can't say the same for the mind-boggling puzzles, fiendish enemies, and awe-inspiring bosses. There are a few things in Phantom Hourglass that are brand new to the world of Zelda. Number 1 is obviously touch control. Second is the inclusion of a multiplayer! Finally you can beat up on your friends, siblings, and people you don't even know in pitched sword to sword combat! Third is Wi-fi. Now people in Norway, Grenada, Bolivia, and even Canada will be able to get some butt-kicking from you. Fourth and finally is a sort of master dungeon called the Temple of the Ocean King has been added. At first you can only go down so many floors. But if you comeback inbetween every dungeon or two you will able to travel father into the temple. This temple however has a curse on it. So every second you lose a quarter of a heart, uh-oh, thats not good. That's where the Phantom Hourglass comes in handy. This hourglass starts out having only ten minutes of sand in it when you first get it. Every second your in the Ocean King's temple the sand slowly runs out, but while it still has sand in it you are immune to the temples curse. You can get more sand for you Hourglass throughout the game. So you want to get The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass for your DS believe me. Don't have DS? Phantom Hourglass is a perfect excuse to get one. This game is filled with dozens of cool wacky characters. All cartoony like. Some cool new things are a wallet that hold not 999 rupees (Zelda currency) but 9999 rupees! There's also a cool new sword brand new to the Zelda series. A lot of the game is spent on water just like Wind Waker. Only the way you sail has been much improved. You can even customize you own ship so it looks cooler and has more hearts. Your boat has a heart meter of it's own. Captain Linebeck your ships' navigator drives the boat. All you have to do is tell him where to go and fire you cannon that has infinite ammo. The story is strong too. So overall The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass is unbelievably great. I hope my review helped you.

Excellent game. Keeps everything a classic Zelda fan loves about the series and also is noob friendly. Hope they keep making them.

The Phantom Hourglass is Nintendo's first installment of The Zelda Series for the Nintendo DS and they did an absolutely amazing job. It pushes the system to it's graphical limits with incredible animation and design which mimics Nintendo Gamecube's The Wind Waker (another amazing Zelda game) flawlessly and fully utilizes the capabilities of the Nintendo DS. I loved the creativity of only being able to use the stylus to control Link and although I do wish the story was a little bit longer, it's still a great plot. Everything about this game is definitely above par and I would highly recommend it to any DS owner regardless of age!

my daughter love this game she is constantly playing i'm glad we bought it for her she love any kind of zelda

I bought Legend of Zelda:Phantom Hourglass(Nintendo DS) for my grandson on his birthday. He said the game was just what he wanted. The game was in perfect condition and he still plays the game.

very fast shipping, reasonable price, perfect condition. I would definatly recomend this ebay-er to anyone who is thinking about buying through them!

Prompt shipping and honest merchandise description. The DS game was purchased on Sunday7/5/08. It was shipped immediately Monday early morning and arrive at my son's hands on Friday 7/11/08.

This one pretty much follows the Wind Waker game. But there are good parts to that no LONG vast travels with nothing happening or paying really close attention to the wind directions. This one offers good additions and twist thanks to the DS game play, such as touch screen does movements and combat without a hitch, and makes puzzles and more even better than before. Do not get me wrong this game is not simple like most DS games, this Zelda offers the MOST frustrating dungeon I have ever tried in Zelda and it all has to do with the "Phantom Hourglass". This dungeon is timed and tricky as you go through this dungeon the sands of the glass trickle down and if you do not complete it in time you have to start at the first floor again and again but as you unlock the 2nd and 3rd and 4th Hourglass challenges. Hopefully the ending doesnot keep you away from this game all in all this game is a good challenge.

I bought the game because I'm a fan of the Zelda series. For the most part, it's a good game, but having to use the stylus to move everywhere makes it not as good as it could be.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the DS is a great game for hardcore Hyrule fans and for newcomers to the Zelda series alike. I am writing this review from the perspective of a 20 something guy who bought a new game for his wife for her DS. What gives Hourglass an edge on many of the other action/adventure games for the DS is how well it uses the dual screen touch features. All actions and control in this game are based on the stylus, making it a great chance for those who are not trained in the way of video games to pick up and play. The stylus actions work very much like a computer mouse does and it makes tasks like using the sword or the bow simple point and touch methods rather than the elaborate controls that are predominant in so many games. My wife really enjoyed this game due to the fact it is not based on fast twitch play like most Mario games are, but is more based on problem solving and exploration. If you are looking for a good game for the Link fan in your home, or you are just looking for a good title to get someone into gaming this is a good choice for you.

BigDemarest

To all the Zelda fans such as myself, I absolutely loved the nostolgic feel of playing a game that was straight from Windwaker. The old moves with a completely new way to initiate them was intimidating at first, but became second nature in less than an hour. It follows the basic Zelda story formula, Zelda is taken captive, by a strange NEW evil, Link must go and save her! The graphics on the DS were Amazingly gorgeous and very fluid! The puzzles are new and some actually get you to think, even if your a veteran Zelda fan. The game is a great addition for anyone, the only problem is, that you can beat the game in about 15-25 hours.... its a little short for my tastes. Even if you did the side quests it only adds an extra 3-5 hours on. Compared to even the older GB and GBA games that blew way over 30 hours to play, this game is STILL A MUST BUY FOR ANYONE WHO HAS A NINTENDO DS!