Nicks Phantom Hourglass Impressions

Ok, so it finally arrived. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass released yesterday for the Nintendo DS and I am proud to say that Nintendo seems to have done it again. I have only played about an hour of the game so far but I am already pleased to see what they have done. There are a few minor complaints but as far as i'm concerned, this is a Zelda that is intended to hold us over until the next "next gen" Zelda will be unveiled. First of all, the game looks great for a DS game and it successfully holds onto that cartoony feel of it's predecessor, "Wind Waker". Since they, couldn't actually duplicate the cel shaded graphics from the GC, they went with a similar style that closely mimics that of Animal Crossing DS. Most of the environments have a very Animal Crossing feel to them but the character animations seem a little bit closer to those of the WInd Waker style. When it comes to story, i'm not sure what I think yet simply because i'm only an hour in and I haven't found the Phantom Hourglass yet but it does have another classic Zelda storyline and it's also nice to pick up where Wind Waker left off and see what Link and Tetra were up to. I was a little bit worried about how the controls would turn out considering that the entire game is controlled with a stylus but I'm happy to say that they really do work. I was under the impression that you would have to basically drag Link across the screen but all you have to do is touch the stylus to the screen where you want Link to go and he will walk or run towards that point. It actually makes for very fluid controls. Its also very easy to pick things up or open doors because it simply requires you to tap the object or door. The only minor complaint is that sometimes it can be a bit tricky attacking because if you are running and you want to attack, you have to quickly switch from the movement frame of mind and start thinking about attacking which can sometimes create a delay that might cause you to get hit first. The only other akward control is the rolling, which requires you to make fast cirles on the screen on the side of the screen that you want Link to roll towards but it only works about 50% of the time. Last but not least, the touch screen mechanics are pretty solid. You can make notes on your dungeon maps, draw boomerang paths, and even chart your course for your boat. So far the game is a lot of fun and I can't wait to see where it goes because I have been itching for a new Zelda ever since I finished Twilight Princess! Expect my full review in the coming weeks! Peace!

Nick