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The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass | 
| From: Nintendo
Category: Video Games
List Price: $34.99
Buy Used: $21.00
You Save: $13.99 (40%)
New (29) Used (17) Collectible (1) from $21.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 115
Platform: Nintendo Ds
ESRB: Everyone
Media: Video Game
Batteries Included: No
Age: 5 - 20 years
Operating System: Nintendo DS
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.7 x 0.5
MPN: DS-NTRPAZEE
UPC: 045496737788
EAN: 0045496737788
ASIN: B000FRV2UK
Release Date: October 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | The stylus makes controlling Link easier than ever. Tap on the screen to make Link move, or sweep the stylus around him to swing the sword. | | • | Players can even draw a path for his boomerang and send it flying into hard-to-reach targets. | | • | Players can stash the map on the top screen for quick reference or drop it to the touch screen to make notes, study enemies, or chart a path for their boat to follow while they man the cannons. | | • | Compete with a friend over a local wireless connection - Guide Link through special dungeons to capture the Triforce or command the forces that oppose him. |
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Product Description
The epic story of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker continues as Link finds himself lost in a new adventure. Link and Tetra, the leader of a band of pirates, discover a ghost ship in dense fog. Link falls into the ocean when Tetra gets into trouble, and he wakes up alone on the shore of a mysterious island. Throughout the game, Link collects sand for his Phantom Hourglass, which allows him to explore deeper and deeper into a time-limited dungeon in his quest to find Tetra. Featuring intuitive touch-screen controls and innovative puzzles, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass offers new challenges for fans of the series and an easy-to-grasp introduction for gamers new to The Legend of Zelda. The robust single-player adventure will have Zelda veterans and newcomers alike engrossed by the story as they move through the game with the stylus. A special two-player battle mode lets players connect locally or via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. One player controls Link as he tries to gather as many Force Gems as possible, while the other player manages the enemies who pursue Link. The replayability of these winner-take-all matches is virtually endless.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 fun and challenging July 8, 2008
This is a good game, But has a a lot of challenges that would make some people angry. Little kids wouldn't be able to keep up with this game. I am fifteen years old and I needed help at times. But if a little kid can beat this game without help, that kid must be really smart... or just lucky. I find this game to be sort of an IQ test with swords and monsters.
Granddaughter loves it! July 7, 2008
My 13 year old granddaughter asked for this game because she had played a friends game and liked it. She was so excited when I gave it to her - sat right down and played for a long time.
 An after-thought to a real Zelda game October 15, 2007
9 out of 55 found this review helpful
I love the Zelda series and have all the games. I played Twilight Princess and thoroughly enjoyed the difficulty, the characters and the graphics. After many release date setbacks, I finally bought my copy of Phantom Hourglass the day it came out. And completed it the day it came out. Fully. All side quests complete. A lot of times, on other Zelda games, I was stumped and have to think on the puzzle for a while. Not so with this one. I figured them all out. I even tried to make it harder than it was! I kept trying to put complex solutions on simple problems. I was so vastly disappointed with this game. Also, I am SO over the stylus. Seriously. Your hand gets in the way and there were a few times I missed seeing a monster come up behind me because my stupid hand was in the way. Then there was when you slash, versus running. Sometimes I would try to slash something, and lo and behold, I would sedately walk up to the monster, and wait to be killed. Also... I like the play between the right hand and the left hand. You have to be good with both hands, it makes it just a little bit tougher. This was all one handed, with your other hand just sitting there. Limply. It was very frustrating, and I truly wish they had made the stylus optional. They were just trying for a new gimmick, and for me, it didn't work. I had hoped for better.
 Tons of fun! October 12, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I have a confession: I've never been much of a Zelda fan. I prefer my games with experience points and lots of dialog, and for some reason I had sort of pigeon-holed LoZ into a lame puzzle game. Now I'm gonna go back to the series and see what I've been missing.
Other reviewers here have already covered the graphics, plotline, and atmosphere of the game, so I'd like to focus on the gameplay itself. The touch-screen controls are nearly flawless on this. I love my DS but it really feels like the touch-screen is a useless accessory to most games. In Phantom Hourglass, though, they implemented it so well that I can't shut up about it. In a lot of other games it feels awkward letting go of the buttons and grabbing the stylus just to click a few things before putting it back. In this game, EVERYTHING you do is done using the stylus so there's no awkward transitions, and more importantly, it's done very well.
This game had me hooked within minutes of turning it on, based on the feel of the controls alone. Combat is fast paced and responsive, like it should be. The gameplay is so intuitive that the manual is pretty much unnecessary. Want to grab something? Click it. Want to talk to someone? Tap them. Aiming your bow? Just tap the target. Animal Crossing had similar controls but they always felt sluggish to me, whereas Phantom Hourglass has the sort of immersive controls that really put you inside the game.
The rest of the game feels balanced to me: the boss fights are tough until you figure out the trick, and the puzzles require just enough thought and strategy to make you really think but not so much that you become frustrated. I really like how the puzzles are so well-integrated into the world. It isn't like you reach a dead end in a dungeon and have to solve some brain-twister. It's more like the whole dungeon is one big gradual puzzle that you are unlocking.
Overall, this game is tons of fun. Real fun, not "a challenge" or "something to kill time," but the kind of game that will engage you and make you smile to yourself while playing it. Go pick it up now!
Great game for the DS, while a bit short, overall a good bye. October 8, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
First off, this game utilizes the DS capabilities quite well. At the start the lack of ability to use the arrows was irksome, but I quickly got used to the touch screen. It allows lots of versatility so you can switch between weapons and items quickly.
The Phantom Hourglass is like much of its Zelda predecessors, especialy Windwaker. While it has boat sailing as the primary mode of transportation,it is not as time consuming as Windwaker's sailing voyages, and feels much more enjoyable. As in Windwaker there are warp points that you can discover later in the game, and also the ability to search for treasure on the ocean floor. Searching the ocean floor for treasure, or "Salvaging" as it is called is a fun little mini game were you drag a crane down through the water, avoiding mine like enemies. Usually you will find either ship parts(another new idea) or sand for your Phantom Hourglass. Besides salvaging there are several other mini games like the other Zelda games(such as archery practice, cannon accuracy practice, etc).
The main difference I found in Phantom Hourglass was a dungeon you enter several times throughout the coarse of the game called the Temple of the Ocean King. The Temple of the Ocean King is basically a dungeon in which you have a certain amount of time(the time in your Phantom Hourglass) to reach your goal(which gets progressivly lower in level). Inside there are safe spots, in which your hourglass does not lose time, and you cannot be attacked by the phantoms that patrol the corridors. Phantoms are armored knight like guys who are invincible until the end of the game(Accept in certain instances were you can lure them into traps or roll boulders onto them). You must sneak past phantoms or shoot them in the back with an arrow(which momentarily stuns them). Since phantoms will drain 30 seconds off your hourglass and send you to the start of the level, stealth is extremly important. Not only must you deal with the phantoms, but you must also find the way to go down to the next level(usually involving hitting a series of switches and collecting a key to open a locked door.). Over time, from defeating boss battles or finding sand in a sunken chest, you can venture deaper into the Ocean King's Temple.
There are numerous side quests in Phantom Hourglass, mainly the collection of ship parts(which can increase your ship's stamina.), the collection of spirit gems which provide buffs such as, damage reduction, extra sword damage, and the ability to shoot beams out of your sword. Then there is also the classic trading sequence that has been used in earlier Zelda games. You find X item which you trade to Y guy for Z item to trade to Another guy and so on and so on.
There is also a fun mini game you can play either with friends(who don't need a Phantom Hourglass game3 pack) or over wifi. The game is very simple, one player plays as Link, while the other plays as 3 phantoms. Link must run around grabbing Triforce triangles to carry back to his base, while the 3 phantoms are controlled by drawing lines that they will follow, and must stop Link(by running into him) getting the Triforce triangles. Once Link is caught, the sides switch and the other player tries to get Triforce triangles.
The main problems I had with Phantom Hourglass was the short life of the game. There are only 6 dungeons in the entire game, which are much shorter than most zelda games. This game cannot have taken me more than 20 hours to complete, and I found 15 of the 16 heart containers, and 41 of the 60 spirit gems. However, I feel that those 20 hours are well worth the money to buy this game.
Pros
- Same, fun, Zelda game we all expect
- Fun mini games
- Temple of the Ocean King provides a more fast passed stealth side to the game
- Well adapted to DS, with lots of inventive mini games and ways to solve puzzles
- No more long sailing trips like Windwaker
- Nice pleasing cell shaded graphics, the game has a good feel.
- Fun multiplayer(wifi and DS connect with just one game)
Cons
- No more heart pieces ;_; (just heart containers)
- Short (about 20 hours for an experienced Zelda player)
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