The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Review

By Oli Welsh Published 14 August, 2007

For those who can't wait...

Version tested: DS

Don't buy this game. Which is to say, don't buy the game called Zelda no Densetsu: Mugen no Sunadokei. The game we've struggled through in Japanese, with the aid of a dog-eared printout from GameFAQs, in order to bring you this import review.

In fact, it's quite playable. By Zelda standards, the first DS entry in the series is all action and no talk: a lean, fighting-fit, fast-paced, dungeon-crawling, puzzle-solving adventure that's relatively light on towns, side-quests and social duties. But the myth-making will go over your head, you'll have to cheat your way through the riddles, you won't get the jokes, and subtleties of story, mood and character will completely pass you by. And Phantom Hourglass is far, far, far too good to miss out on a single moment.

Since we're buried under brilliant DS software as diverse as Slitherlink, Ouendan, Animal Crossing and Phoenix Wright, odds are you weren't waiting for the DS's defining masterpiece. But here it is anyway. Here's the game, were it any other console, we'd have been dying to play for years; the one that happens when brilliant minds squeeze every last drop out of a piece of hardware, the one that makes the competition look like idiots within minutes of play.

'The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass' Screenshot 1

This foppish individual is Link's companion, and the captain of his ship. We can't wait to find out what he was saying.

The first thing that stuns you is the control interface. It's so staggeringly intuitive, simple and slick that you can't quite believe third-person DS adventures haven't been made this way since day one, and you're certain they all will be from now on. The game, which is in 3D but viewed top-down in a classic Zelda style, can be controlled entirely with the stylus (although there are some useful button shortcuts). Just point in the direction you want Link to go and he'll go there, running faster the further away your fairy/cursor/stylus tip is. Tap on a chest you want him to open, a person you want him to speak to, a key you want him to pick up, and he'll do it. Slash, tap, circle and wiggle to perform sword attacks and rolls.

Like so much of Phantom Hourglass, the items on offer follow the well-worn path of Zelda tradition, but are transformed by the DS. Bombs land exactly where you want them, volleys of arrows are launched with astonishing accuracy and speed, the boomerang curls round any path you draw for it. The ease, precision and total tactile enjoyment of playing with Link and his toys is devastating. God help the competition if Nintendo ever achieves the same feat with a Wii game.

The second thing that stuns you - and yes, the controls are so good that it does take a while to get to it, a couple of paragraphs to be preicse - is the graphics. Phantom Hourglass follows the events of the GameCube's Wind Waker, and does an unbelievably successful job of aping its visual style too, wisely focusing on creating expressive and beautifully-animated characters rather than effects, or environmental detail. As happy as most fans were to see Twilight Princess revive Ocarina's epic mood, the immense charm and polish of Wind Waker's art deserved better than the scrap heap, and so it's a delight to see it continued here.

'The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass' Screenshot 2

Guess how you do a spin attack - go on. Phantom Hourglass' controls make Wii Twilight Princess look clumsy and complicated.

And then there's the map. It's no exaggeration, nor is it irrelevant, to say that Phantom Hourglass has the best map system in any game, ever. The fact that you can annotate your map by just pulling it down and drawing on it isn't just an enormous boon when it comes to keeping track of mysteries, remembering warp symbols, plotting routes and solving the beautiful puzzles and treasure-hunts designed specifically around this feature. It captures a spirit of adventure as successfully as any of the 3D games' grand gestures or sweeping vistas, putting you in Link's boots as he scribbles away, cutely, on the top screen, turning a gamey convenience into a whole new way to appreciate, interact with and understand the game's world.

The map and controls are only the most important of the many ways that producer Eiji Aonuma and his team have found to exploit the DS hardware for fun and involvment. Transfer a stamp from screen to screen by closing the DS, snuff out candles by blowing into the mic, guide your treasure-seeking winch with a steady hand on the lever, sign for a letter, transcribe symbols and clues from signs, battle towering bosses in full 3D by propelling yourself into the top screen. There are countless moments like this, exquisite little throwaway ideas that make you grin like an idiot all the way to the next one, and they just keep coming.

But what, you might reasonably ask, about the game itself? You know - the actual business end of a Zelda, the dungeons, the overworld, the puzzles?

At this point we almost have to rein in our frothing praise - almost. Phantom Hourglass is short (though still pretty weighty by DS standards), and easy. None of the six regular dungeons will trouble you for more than a couple of hours, and most of your time outside them is spent sailing the high seas, or exploring islands and caves that might as well be tiny outdoor dungeons. Towns are small, and side-quests and collectable treasure are minimal and completely optional.

It's inevitably a little disappointing, but also a relief. This is a compact, manageable game that quietly drops some of Zelda's more cumbersome traditions. And though the dungeons may not be hard, they're still superb experiences - heavy on puzzles and new ideas, light on repetition and back-tracking. In this case it really isn't damning the game with faint praise to say that it feels like it's over too soon.

Many who played Wind Waker will regard sailing around the overworld with trepidation, but that's mostly misplaced. It's much smaller and the winds don't matter - you plot your paddle steamer's course on your chart - leaving you with more freedom to explore and less distance to cover. The rest of the game is so very densely packed that you're grateful of a chance just to watch the world go by (or batter it with cannon fire), and the ability to customise your ship with parts salvaged from the sea bed is a compelling, if totally pointless, distraction. You'll end up taking circuitous sea voyages just for the sake of it, just to spin your time in this lovely miniature world out a little longer.

'The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass' Screenshot 3

I would write what I reckon Ellie will draw all over her sea charts, but then the site would get shut down.

One last, and rather important, thing. The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed we wrote "six regular dungeons" up there. The seventh, the castle of the Sea King, is a sort of uber-dungeon in a style quite new to the Zelda series. You return to it between each other temple, each time getting a little further thanks to the treasures you find, and the increasing power of the Phantom Hourglass itself, which keeps you alive in its poisoned air. Effectively this gives you a time limit - and that's not all. The castle is patrolled by invincible guards who take not just health but time when they hit, so you need to watch their movements on the map and stay out of the way, Metal Gear-style. Thankfully there are 'safe zones' where the guards can't see you and the clock doesn't tick.

The castle's against-the-clock stealth can be frustrating, as can its insistence on repetition, but without it, Phantom Hourglass would be half the game it is. (Well alright, three quarters.) It joins the controls in making this a breath of fresh air in a series which - especially in its top-down variant - is in danger of getting stale. And it is designed with the combination of brutal ingenuity and light touch that only the very best Zelda dungeons are. Once you get into its rhythm, you'll consider coming back to it after finishing the game to do speed runs, squeezing every trick and secret out of it to shave seconds off your total time.

'The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass' Screenshot 4

Typical treasure-chest moments like this are exploited for a couple of brilliant sight gags. This Zelda is quite happy to make fun of itself.

The castle is also responsible for Phantom Hourglass' fine multiplayer mode, a game of hide-and-seek where one player controls Link, trying to steal treasure, and the other plots paths around the maze for three guards, trying to stop him. It's feather-light but very clever and ruthlessly addictive, and you can play it online, ad hoc or by download play. In any other game it would be a standout feature; as it stands, it's just another example of how Phantom Hourglass is the DS game that has everything.

But despite all we've said - despite the fact that, if you're anything like us, you've already typed the URL of your favourite import site into the address bar up there - do not buy this game. Be strong. It's less than two months until Phantom Hourglass is released in English, in the US, on 1st October. You can wait that long, and it will be worth it, because then you'll be able to fully appreciate every last line, surprise, puzzle and pixel of the freshest Zelda in years, and the most complete game on the DS.

9 / 10

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass will be released in Europe by Nintendo on 19th October.

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
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About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (92) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Carrybagma #1 5 years ago

    \o/

    Yay!

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #2 5 years ago

    Blowing into the mic. Sigh.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #3 5 years ago

    Want!

  • RedPanda #4 5 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • espy #5 5 years ago

    I'm selling my PSP.

    Maybe.

    Arrrgh.

    They're both so good! \o/

  • Arkanite #6 5 years ago

    Hyper magazine in Aust, gave it 97%.

    Sooo importing this from the US!

  • Cloudane #7 5 years ago

    Nintendo please, please, please bundle this game with the DS lite for £99-109 and you will have another happy customer.

  • jonnyreb #8 5 years ago

    /imagines blowing into the mic on the train to work

    /fails

    Still going to buy this :)

  • krudster #9 5 years ago

    Sighing into the mic? Yes, yes, I suppose that would work too.

  • twinbee #10 5 years ago

    I need this game!

  • Dizzy #11 5 years ago

    YES!!!!

    Sounds awesome!

  • mkreku #12 5 years ago

    The review sounded like a 10/10, but it got a 9/10. Is it too short to get the perfect mark?

  • richardiox #13 5 years ago

    Can knee wait for this.

  • sport #14 5 years ago

    linklol

  • faux_carnation #15 5 years ago

    Edit: fixed!
    Edited by 1 at 14/08/07 @ 14:25

  • oldmanbag #16 5 years ago

    @mkreku Due to it being in Japanes i guess.

    This is what i bought a DS for many many months ago. I have been entertained in the meantime but this sounds like the wait will have been worth it!

    edit - idiocy
    Edited by 1 at 14/08/07 @ 14:18

  • Salaman #17 5 years ago

    Many who played Wind Waker will regard sailing around the overworld with trepidation, but that's mostly miplaced


    Edit: fixed, ta.
    Edited by 1 at 14/08/07 @ 14:27

  • Tonka #18 5 years ago

    \o/

    Yay!

  • Tiiti #19 5 years ago

    Dusting off my DS for this bad boy!

  • Murbal #20 5 years ago

    Can't wait. Must wait. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to read the review.

  • gamingdave #21 5 years ago

    Not even going to read the review, was always a must have obvious purchase anyway.

  • WinstonChurchill #22 5 years ago

    Good review for a game I'm looking forward to a lot.

    But didn't Animal Crossing have stylus movement that is almost exactly the same as this? Edge praised Zelda for the intuitive control scheme but I believe I've been using this for a long time now.

  • JohnnyWashnGo #23 5 years ago

    I just cannot wait for this.

    A think a Zelda DS Lite pack would be the way forward in the same way that Minish Cap was packaged with the Gold GBA... woah that would rock, a gold DS Lite with the triforce on the top ;)

    I need to upgrade my DS Phat and if a package like this comes along, I am sold.

  • Genji #24 5 years ago

    I've played it and finished it. I'd give it about a high 8 or 9.

    One thing that is absolutely killer in this game is the sense of humour.l I've never laughed out loud at a Zelda game before.

    "Blowing into the mic. Sigh."

    Wait until you've tried it. It only gets used a couple of times in the game, but it's always in the context of those tricky lateral thinking puzzles that Zelda does so well. It's not like you have to blow into the mic in the middle of a battle.
    Edited by 1 at 14/08/07 @ 14:34

  • itamae #25 5 years ago

    So, is finding treasure completely pointless in this game, too? And does this game also deem it necessary to tell me that a 10 rupee rupee is, in fact, a 10 rupee rupee every single time I start the game?

  • Charroux #26 5 years ago

    @mkreku "The review sounded like a 10/10, but it got a 9/10. Is it too short to get the perfect mark?"

    That would be my question too. An absolutely gushing review, and it still sounds like a solid 10 hours of gameplay (plus side quests). Short for a Zelda title, but long for a handheld one.

  • david78 #27 5 years ago

    w00tages!

  • Genji #28 5 years ago

    "So, is finding treasure completely pointless in this game, too? And does this game also deem it necessary to tell me that a 10 rupee rupee is, in fact, a 10 rupee rupee every single time I start the game?"

    Only if you find it in a chest. I haven't had any problems with that in my game. You only get a message if you get one of the big rupees.

    Oh, and finding treasure isn't completely pointless. You can sell the stuff you find in the sea. In contrast to other Zelda games, you can hold many thousands of rupees in your wallet at one time. Which is good, because some of the fancier boat parts cost many thousands of rupees.
    Edited by 3 at 14/08/07 @ 14:45

  • CitizenGeek #29 5 years ago

    Oooh, can't wait. And I usually don't like Zelda at all.

  • jmctavish #30 5 years ago

    I'll be waiting for the Euro release. It's not as though the planet will stop turning if I don't import it. Plus, I've got a shitload of games to complete first.

  • Sebo #31 5 years ago

    Better than Twilight Princess?

  • Genji #32 5 years ago

    "Better than Twilight Princess?"

    It's a 2D Zelda. I've always found the 3D ones to be quite a bit different.

    I liked it a little more. Still love Twilight Princess, though.

  • Xensor #33 5 years ago

    Ya know i've never played a Zelda game, most because i've never had a Ninty on which to play them :) I finally succumbed to the charms of the DS (Elite Beat Agents ftw!) and now have an opportunity to play a Zelda game and by the sounds of it, its the most creatively realised version yet :) However one question i do have is in the review it said that this is a follow on from Wind Walker. Is a knowledge of what happended in Wind Walker (and all other Zelda games for that matter) a requisite to play this or can it be completed as an entirely stand alone product?

  • Genji #34 5 years ago

    "Is a knowledge of what happended in Wind Walker (and all other Zelda games for that matter) a requisite to play this or can it be completed as an entirely stand alone product?"

    No. It begins with a storybook recap of Wind Waker, but otherwise there's no narrative connection between the two, apart from a couple of recurring characters.

    Knowledge of other Zelda games is not important, either.
    Edited by 1 at 14/08/07 @ 15:06

  • dsmx #35 5 years ago

    I don't mean to be cynical about this but why do we need a second screen again? It's being used for the truely innovative purpose of a map again.....

  • Santino #36 5 years ago

    i play my DS at work and on the toilet, and on the occasions i do travel. i want this game quite badly

    edit: what the hell? this comment was originally under darrens, wondering where people play their consoles in case anyone was wondering about the randomness :/
    Edited by 1 at 14/08/07 @ 15:29

  • Darren #37 5 years ago

    This game almost, almost makes me want to buy a DS but I know that I wouldn't use it once I'd finished the game. I own three consoles already and don't do enough travelling to warrant owning a handheld really. I suppose I could play it in the bath or something but when I'm at home I prefer to play games on a large screen not a small one so I've just never felt compelled to buy one. I did own a GameBoy Colour years ago though but never really used it all that much except for the odd bus journey. I've always wondered if people with DSs and PSPs actually play them on the move or do they play them at home as they would a normal console?

  • Genji #38 5 years ago

    "I don't mean to be cynical about this but why do we need a second screen again? It's being used for the truely innovative purpose of a map again....."

    ...what's wrong with that? Don't you ever get tired of having to switch to the map every two seconds in other games to find your way? And the ability to draw notes on it makes it even better.

    If that wasn't enough, the top screen gets used in other ways, too. I'm not one to spoil things, though.

  • Killerbee #39 5 years ago

    Sounds absolutely brilliant, though I will be waiting for the Euro release. Got to finish Mario & Luigi first, amongst other things.

    I'm pleased they saw fit to return to the Wind Waker worold - I for one didn't find the sailing too dull at all. I just hope they've addressed some of the problems Twilight Princess had, mainly the shedload of rupees available with nothing to spend them on.

  • varsas #40 5 years ago

    I don't mean to be cynical about this but why do we need a second screen again? It's being used for the truely innovative purpose of a map again.....

    The dual screen has been used to good effect in a good number of DS games. The map in this Zelda is one you can interact with so it's much more useful and innovative.

    I've always wondered if people with DSs and PSPs actually play them on the move or do they play them at home as they would a normal console?

    I play mine on the move and at home; I go online with them at home too for multiplayer games.

  • Genji #41 5 years ago

    "I just hope they've addressed some of the problems Twilight Princess had, mainly the shedload of rupees available with nothing to spend them on."

    Well... you can pimp up your boat! :-D :-D

  • JYM60 #42 5 years ago

    Soooo pretty.

    \o/

    want

  • Triggerhappytel #43 5 years ago

    I prefer the 2D Zeldas over the 3D versions, but I don't generally like the dungeon crawling and the side quests and village sections are usually what make the game for me. No that it matters all that much anyway, as I don't have a DS and have no intention of getting one anyway.

    Having played them all up to TP (excepting MM), I still think A Link to the Past is the best in the series.

  • The_Inquisitor #44 5 years ago

    Is there any stopping the DS from global domination? Not likely if they continue the way they're going.

  • Sid-Nice #45 5 years ago

    This game is a 10; even Blerk is buying a DS Lite and this game.

  • Sebo #46 5 years ago

    Got to agree, Link to the Past is my favourite too.

  • Genji #47 5 years ago

    "This game is a 10; even Blerk is buying a DS Lite and this game."

    Ahahaha. Seriously?

  • kincaide #48 5 years ago

    FUCKING BOOM

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #49 5 years ago

    I'm so happy this is coming.

    My new job means I've got a long commute and no time to play my home consoles, so I've been looking for a chunky game to get my teeth into. This sounds perfect.

  • darc #50 5 years ago

    My PSP is hanging its head in shame...

  • Der_tolle_Emil #51 5 years ago

    "I don't mean to be cynical about this but why do we need a second screen again? It's being used for the truely innovative purpose of a map again....."

    I am playing the GBA Castlevanias right now after playing the two DS ones and I swear I would kill to get a second screen if only for the map.

    Edit: It's a fair point for some other games though that don't really depend on a map. Still better having a solid game without useless gimmicks just to fill the second screen I guess.
    Edited by 1 at 14/08/07 @ 16:27

  • Telepathic.Geometry #52 5 years ago

    :D Blerk will never buy this game. It's not even a JRPG FFS!

  • skybluesam86 #53 5 years ago

    Can't wait for this. I want it so much.
    I may actually import the US release, and I never bother with imports.

    This and Mario Galaxy are definitely my most wanted games in ages.

  • Nikanoru #54 5 years ago

    The review sounded like a 10/10, but it got a 9/10. Is it too short to get the perfect mark?

    Yeah, to get a 10 you need at least three hours of the same stone wall in each of the hundred dungeons, and outside areas that have the same tiny bit of space copypasted at least fifty times without anything to do inbetween, except watch your characters automatically kill at least five million monsters that are all clones of monsters you've seen earlier in the game. Promise a so called revolutionary battle system that's supposed to be fast and fun, deliver a lame MMORPG (without the MMO) and offset the speed of your battle system with countless hours of mindnumbing level grinding. Also, girly boys. Even the ones that have beards should look like girls. Character development is a complete taboo.

    OR you need a game full of millions of square miles that all look the same, inhabited by NPC's that all have slight variations of the same weird undead looking expressionless face and are all saying the same lines over and over, and also you need to have two different dungeons that you copy three hundred times and place them randomly across the map. Also, any monster designs should be the most basic carbon copies of crap you've seen at least a million times in games, comics and cartoons from 1987. No, wait. Even then people had some design sense, nevermind. Lastly, your battle system must be the same simple click-attack-until-dead crap that everybody's sick of, but you just have to dress it up nicely so people will buy it.


    In short, if the player is not completely dead inside by the end of your 2000+ hour game (which mostly consists of copypaste filler), then it's just not worth that 10/10.

  • krudster #55 5 years ago

    bdaggers: errr, what?

  • gerald #56 5 years ago

    We are not debating, that a 9 is too low as a score, are we?

  • darc #57 5 years ago

    "Also, girly boys. Even the ones that have beards should look like girls."

    LOL great stuff. And I agree 100% with what I take to be your meaning - short and consistently enjoyable beats long and drawn out. That's one thing I like about Twilight Princess - it doesn't pretend button-mashing is fun. You get into a battle, things die quickly, you move on.

  • lemonfist #58 5 years ago

    "Can anybody point me in the direction of a decent DS game for the casual DS gamer?"

    Picross DS.

  • Mike83 #59 5 years ago

    Can't wait to get this bad boy

  • quantumsheep #60 5 years ago

    \o/

    So, did the reviewer 'get' the jokes etc even in Japanese? Or will that extra atmosphere/story/humour move this up to a 10 when it gets an English translation? ;)

  • captain-future #61 5 years ago

    Meh, who wants to buy a 9/10 Zelda?

    Just kidding... can't wait until it's here in English.

  • Tonka #62 5 years ago

    I just pre orderd this. I love the regionfreeness of the DS.

  • citizenHUNTER #63 5 years ago

    Funny how I could get a DS, plus a Wii, plus even a PSP for less than a PS3, not including games though of course. Oh and I have a 360 which, not to stir things up, but I'm very very happy with for the HD full on next gen blah blah gaming.

    It's tempting. And to be honest I DO want a PS3 one day, but for now I want to broaden my gaming options, with both handhelds (PSP for Wipeout and movies/tv on the go and the DS for great little games) Having a Wii for fun bigger games just tops it off along with my 360 :p

    This has not much to do with anything, but thanks for listening ;)

  • yagisencho #64 5 years ago

    Yagisencho can read Japanese.

    (Muahahahaha)

    I'll still wait.

  • mcmothercruncher #65 5 years ago

    Shitting YES!

  • Carlo #66 5 years ago

    OMFG. *SO* getting this on import!

  • Khab #67 5 years ago

    Will you PLEASE stop taunting me!

    I NEED this. Now.

  • asphaltcowboy #68 5 years ago

    I loved Minish Cap, but it was very difficult and waay too long... this sounds perfect! :D

  • siro #69 5 years ago

    This is the best game on the DS (no I haven't been a Zelda fan by any means). But I seldomly played a game that screamed 10/10 so much. I also can't agree on the 10-15 hours, I certainly have passed that mark and still have to play a bit more. Doing all the mini games and such tho.

    Oh, and it's incredibly funny. Laughed my ass off several times.
    Edited by 1 at 14/08/07 @ 23:40

  • Kazzahdrane #70 5 years ago

    Does no one else realise that we are getting the game NINETEEN days after the USA? Hardly worth importing IMO unless you are going to save money or something.

    I'm assuming the game hasn't been delayed past October 19th otherwise I'm wrong and I apologise.

  • RedPanda #71 5 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • NegativeZero #72 5 years ago

    So is it actually cel-shaded? I didn't think the DS's graphics hardware was powerful enough for that...

  • zendragon #73 5 years ago

    All that and a 9, not a 10?! Unless it's just because it's the Japanese version.

  • Dirtie #74 5 years ago

    "So is it actually cel-shaded? I didn't think the DS's graphics hardware was powerful enough for that..."

    Not really :p

  • AOFanboi #75 5 years ago

    <em>Picross DS.</em>

    Yeah, but apart from being on the DS and the cute animations, playing the Javascript implementations on http://www.puzzle-no nograms.com/ is better - plus you get other puzzle games at related sites.

    Now, a collection of all those puzzle games woukd have been keen on the DS.

    Hm. Is Elite Beat Agents and the Ouendan series casual enough? There's always Puzzle Quest too.

  • asphaltcowboy #76 5 years ago

    @disc: dunno, but it felt long compared to the games I normally play. Perhaps that was 'cause I kept getting stuck so often ;)

  • varsas #77 5 years ago

    Does no one else realise that we are getting the game NINETEEN days after the USA? Hardly worth importing IMO unless you are going to save money or something. Won't it be over the import limit i.e. there's a chance that VAT might have to be paid if bought on import from the States?

  • Nikanoru #78 5 years ago

    LOL great stuff. And I agree 100% with what I take to be your meaning - short and consistently enjoyable beats long and drawn out. That's one thing I like about Twilight Princess - it doesn't pretend button-mashing is fun. You get into a battle, things die quickly, you move on.

    Well I was aiming at two separate well-known RPG's that have received a 10 in recent times, have you figured out which ones? ;D

    Actually, I don't mind long games. In fact, I thought even Twilight Princess didn't have enough dungeons, less than Ocarina in fact. I mean WTF ;_;. The thing is that Zelda games have always consistently filled every inch, every minute, with unique and interesting stuff to do. You can play for an hour and still feel like you have seen and done a whole lot, and had fun. The same can't be said for certain other high profile (highly overrated) games that fill up most of their hundred or so hour gameplay with braindead grinding of monster clones and trekking through event-less, repetitive temples and landscapes, yet still receive the maximum score for some reason.

    Yeah. Next time I make a game I'll focus on twenty square meters of game with awesome graphics, six teenage jpop stars with no story, and a really cool monster or two, then copypaste that about five thousand times and call it epic. 10/10 guaranteed!

  • Kniteshade #79 5 years ago

    Um. WTF @ review?

    "It's so staggeringly intuitive, simple and slick that you can't quite believe third-person DS adventures haven't been made this way since day one, and you're certain they all will be from now on. The game, which is in 3D but viewed top-down in a classic Zelda style, can be controlled entirely with the stylus. Just point in the direction you want Link to go and he'll go there"

    ...why does the reviewer make it sound like Phantom Hourglass was the first to use stylus-based movements? (FFIII, Another Code, etc?)

    "The map and controls are only the most important of the many ways that producer Eiji Aonuma and his team have found to exploit the DS hardware for fun and involvment. Transfer a stamp from screen to screen by closing the DS"

    ...Another Code? Why does the reviewer make PH look like it's the first to pioneer these things?? o_O

    Do not like the review. The game, on the other hand, is awesome. I managed to get a play off a mate for a hands-on feel.

  • siro #80 5 years ago

    Yeah, the Screen closing puzzle has been encountered in at least two other games already. First time I approached this I needed ages to solve the puzzle (did it by accident in the end).
    Edited by 1 at 15/08/07 @ 12:27

  • sgeddes #81 5 years ago

    Just had a quick decko at the Ninty Europe site: according to that, this baby's release date here in Europe is set at 19th October.
    Here's the URL:
    [link url=http://www.nintendo-europe.com/NOE/en/GB /games/gamelist.jsp?sysId=tflO6IuRPNGGQn8P02jtI_zNtt592_p9&c atId=&sort=4&howMany=10&x=25&y=8
    ]http://ww w.nintendo-europe.com/NOE/en/GB...[/link]
    I do hope that's a reliable source :D

  • MDL199 #82 5 years ago

    DAMAGE.INC.
    14-Aug-07 22:17:21 My PSP is hanging its head in shame...

    In reality its been dead for a while :( never mind cheer up, another top DS game!


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    Oh shut up the PSP has way better games than the DS but hating the system and sony seems to be the in thing right now.

    I'm currently playing MGS Portable Op's and it's a cracker and we've got God Of War and the follow up to the greatest action game on a handheld ever Syphon Filter Dark Mirror to look forward too.

    And of course we've still got football manager and pro evo to keep playing which never ever gets boring.

    The PSP is a technical marvel and in my opinion the most impressive piece of gaming hardware ever released so far.

    If as little as 5 years ago you told people that it would be possible to play home console quality games on a tiny handheld nobody would have believed you.

    I love the PSP but if you wanna be a sad sheep and go along with the crowd because it's cool then it's up to you but you're missing out on some great games!

  • darc #83 5 years ago

    So am I missing something or is the "screen-closing puzzle" now doubly - er now triply - spoiled, between the review and the subsequent comments?

    Nikanaru, I'm guessing one of the games being lampooned is FFXII? Actually, the first console RPG I ever played (I'm a recovering PC-gamer). Impressive production, but I agree with your assessment overall, and much prefer Zelda's pacing and mechanics.

    MDL, I'm inclined to agree with your enthusiasm for the PSP from a hardware point of view, but I'm generally unenthused about the games. Granted, a lot of this has to do with my being disinterested in many of the genres you mention. Is there a single decent RPG for PSP at this time??

    Something tells me I'll be "borrowing" the wife's DS come October...
    Edited by 1 at 15/08/07 @ 16:50

  • Nikanoru #84 5 years ago

    MDL199:

    Haha! Way better games, right.

    I'm sorry but the PSP is a boring piece of crap. A friend of mine has one (merely because there was some obscure japanese RPG he just had to get... he doesn't play any other PSP games, even though he owns a few), and I've had it in my hands a few times.

    The initial "wow" of the bigger screen lasts about two seconds. Then you realise that you're playing the same console crap you've been playing for the past ten years... except with extremely shitty analogue controls. And because it feels like you're gaming on a console, the graphics don't feel impressive, but merely "uglier than PS2".

    It's underwhelming because you suddenly lose a lot of the DS features and you realise how much they really added to the games. It's like reverting back to an older generation of technology, except without the nostalgia. PSP games make you wonder, what's the point?

    Also, it doesn't have enough 2D games, which is also a big draw of handheld consoles, to me. And I mean proper ones, not the fugly sidescrolling polygon crap.


    Oh, and is it just me or does the PSP's screen suffer a LOT more from ghosting than the DS's screens do?

  • darc #85 5 years ago

    There is one defense for the PSP: Loco Roco. It really ought to be burned in right alongside the OS/ firmware. It's the only game I've tried so far that quite *fits* with the device itself.

  • paulagmiller #86 5 years ago

    'I'm currently playing MGS Portable Op's and it's a cracker and we've got God Of War and the follow up to the greatest action game on a handheld ever Syphon Filter Dark Mirror to look forward too.

    And of course we've still got football manager and pro evo to keep playing which never ever gets boring.'

    Me: 40, wife:37, weans m 8 f 10. No one in our house wants to play any of these. They are good, I am sure, but not our thing for time, energy, concentration, expense, chill out factor. And the machine looks so fragile for all those £££...

    I have 3 people wanting Zelda Hourglass here tho'. f @ 10 not into it. But she is far, far from being into your recommends either.

    'The PSP is a technical marvel and in my opinion the most impressive piece of gaming hardware ever released so far.'

    Looks a great gadget. Not got one tho'. No games I want, part from maybe loco. TV on my IPAQ or laptop. Wifi / 3G on my fone. Games on my DS. FPS on my PC tho :-)

    dammit, 3 copies of this I need to get. still could be xmas sorted ;)

    If I ever, ever finish Contact...fiendish. wtf is going on?

  • smelly #87 5 years ago

    @MDL199

    (wonders if all the fangirls will be crying as much as this if the wii outsells the other two by a considerable margin in much the same way)

  • MDL199 #88 5 years ago

    smelly
    16-Aug-07 23:48:54

    @MDL199

    (wonders if all the fangirls will be crying as much as this if the wii outsells the other two by a considerable margin in much the same way)

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    Quite possibly as some of us find a gaming future of shallow, simplistic, low tech, gimmicky and mass market pick up and play titles quite scary and not very appealing.

    The continued success of the DS and Wii could quite easilly mean the death of epic games like Metal Gear Solid, Halo and God of War etc as why would developers spend millions and years on in depth, high spec epic titles when they can knock out a brain training clone for the masses in a matter of months and at a fraction of the price of a proper game.

  • Nikanoru #89 5 years ago

    MLD199 in "not having any real argument and just pulling the worn old gimmick card instead of actually replying to any posts" shocker!

    Your PSP is nothing special, get over it.

  • smurphs #90 5 years ago

    I'd get this like a shot but I have problems seeing the touchscreen on my (original) DS in the daytime. Is the DS lite much better?

  • MDL199 #91 5 years ago

    Nikanoru
    17-Aug-07 09:15:15 MLD199 in "not having any real argument and just pulling the worn old gimmick card instead of actually replying to any posts" shocker!

    Your PSP is nothing special, get over it.

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    I did reply but maybe you're too thick to understand!

    Oh and you'd know the PSP is nothing special because you've held your friends in your hands a few times of course.

    Just saw the DS most wanted games for 2007 and apart from Zelda (a series that has gone rapidly down hill anyway) there is little of interest.

    By contrast there's some cracking games coming to PSP.

  • varsas #92 5 years ago

    Just saw the DS most wanted games for 2007 and apart from Zelda (a series that has gone rapidly down hill anyway) there is little of interest.

    By contrast there's some cracking games coming to PSP.


    Equally a lot of people, including me, would say the opposite and that the PSP line up is of little interest, for the most part, and the DS has some cracking games coming up. As they say, horses for courses...
    Edited by 1 at 17/08/07 @ 22:40