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The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Platform : Nintendo DS

Publisher : Nintendo

Release date : 23 June 2007

Category : Adventure

Game description

This is the sequel to Windwaker, as you could probably tell by the graphic style that heavy use of water. It's light hearted and fun and isn't really meant to impress you.

The game controls well. Nevermind what detractors may say, the stylus controls work well. I've rarely blocked the screen with my hand and Link moves at a reasonable pace. The controls can get a little unpredictable sometimes and you might end up making Link slash at the air instead of rolling around or turning. You also don't need to use the stylus to bring up the menu- the face buttons do that for you (although it's the D-pad for the right handed scheme, so I can only guess how awkward that can be).

This game sounds a lot like Windwaker although it lacks some of the charm of its soundtrack. It's not like that's a bad thing, it's just underwhelming.

The graphics for this game feel like a watered down Windwaker. They're not bad, but they're very... I don't know, like the artists just pasted sprites on to Link to form his mouth and eyes. It's really not that impressive when you start nitpicking at it, but when you stand back and look at the whole, it's still very nice to look at at. You might not be able to shake the feeling that you're playing a more primitive version of Windwaker, though.

The story for this game is simple: The girl gets kidnapped by the bad guy and you have to go and save her. It's standard Zelda stuff and it doesn't really matter. It does have a few plot twists and it goes beyond merely "taking back the girl." It still ends very cheerful.

I recommend this game to fans of Windwaker. There also some nods to Link's Awakening. Adventure genre enthusiasts might enjoy this game a lot, too. Oddly enough, I've met a lot of women who've never played (but have watched) a Zelda game admit that they enjoy this one a lot. Despite that strange fact, the game still appeals to men.