Final Thoughts: Phantom Hourglass
I am a Zelda nut. I have owned every game in the series since it began, and have beaten most of them multiple times. That said, I can honestly say that I was not really even looking forward to this game at all. I mean, I knew it was coming... but it wasn't the biggest blip on my radar. I think this is mostly due to my feeling lately that the series is getting too stale and predictable. I figured the game would be more of the same, and not particularly engaging. Was I right? Yes and no.
One one hand, Phantom Hourglass is exactly the same Zelda we've been playing for years. On the other hand, they really did try to mix things up a little bit this time. However, the results were mixed in my opinion. Let's break things down a bit...
The Good:
- The game works great as a side-story/continuation of Wind Waker. It's not the same find-triforce/objects-kill-ganon-save-zelda formula we've been subjected to in the main games. I have an affection towards these types of side-story games like Majora's Mask and Link's Awakening.
- The story was actually much better than I expected. And by story, I don't mean ONLY the story, per se... I am referring to the combination of story, characters (most notably Linebeck), and direction. In particular, I was very impressed by the cut scenes, plot progression, and especially the entire ending sequence.
- The sailing sections were great. Many people complained about the sailing aspect of Wind Waker. I am not one of them. I absolutely loved the feeling of sailing and exploration in that game. The sailing sections in Phantom Hourglass are done in a completely different way, but they are still fun. The only downside is the limited size of the world map. There just weren't many places to discover as compared to Wind Waker. I'm sure this is purely because of the limited design scope of the handheld platform, so I can't really call this a fault.
- The touch screen mechanics were spot-on. Like most people, I was a little skeptical of the choice to force players to use the touch screen exclusively. Thankfully, those reservations did not last more than a few minutes. It would have been a horrible experience playing this game if the controls were not responsive or did not function intuitively. I was very pleased with how well they made the controls work.
- The boss battles were particularly impressive.
- Rupees weren't pointless! Anybody who played Twilight Princess knows where I'm coming from here. Right from the bat, you can hold 9999 rupees (none of this "purse" bulls@#t). Secondly, you're not constantly finding rupees anywhere and everywhere (the ship parts side-quest was a breath of fresh air). And thirdly, there were actually things you could spend all of your rupees on (ship parts, etc.), which actually gives a reason to have so many rupees. Future Zelda games, please take note!
The Not-So-Good:
- Difficulty. This is not so much a complaint with Phantom Hourglass as it is with every Zelda game lately. How hard is it to include a difficulty option?
if (difficulty == easy) {
damage = NormalDamage / 2
}
else {
damage = NormalDamage
}
WOW. That was tough... and it took me all of 10 seconds to write. I don't understand why developers can't implement such elementary options in games. I understand that this title is aimed as casuals as well, but at least give options to more seasoned players.
- Dungeon linearity. Aside from being far too easy, the dungeons are also far too linear. There's almost no need for any higher-brain function to solve these puzzles. You basically just keep walking through, flipping switches, writing down answers on your map, and then implementing those answers two seconds later. I can't recall any puzzle in this game that I really had to think about. It just seems like a wasted opportunity, especially since the map-writing feature is a cool feature. It's not so much puzzle-solving if the things you have to write down are just the answers to the puzzle. It would have been nice to have a little more thought required in between the writing and solving parts of any given puzzle. That being said, I do freely admit that some of the puzzles they did come up with were fresh and clever, but it's also not much of a puzzle when all you need to do is copy down the answer.
- And the last (but most certainly not least) "not-so-good" aspect of this game is... oh, I'm quite sure you know what it is... let's all say it together: The Temple of the Ocean King. It's so bad, I'm going to break out of this list format and devote multiple paragraphs to it...
Yikes. Where do I even begin with this aberration? OK, OK... so perhaps it's not quite as bad as I'm making it out to be, but it sure as hell was a major annoyance. In fact, it almost made me stop playing the game altogether.
But first things first... for those of you who don't know, Temple of the Ocean King is a dungeon that you need to visit at least 5 or 6 times through the course of the game. The dungeon also has a time-limit constraint imposed on it. Basically, each time you beat a new dungeon, you receive more time for your hourglass, which in turn allows you to go deeper into the Ocean King temple. Perhaps this mechanic would not have been so bad if not for the fact that you have to go through all the exact same rooms/enemies/puzzles over and over again every time you go back to the temple. Oh, and did I mention the kicker? The floors of this dungeon also require stealth elements.
Hoo boy... so we've got 1) a time limit, 2) stealth gameplay, and 3) a completely pointless mechanic forcing you to play through the same thing you've already done 6 times through the course of a game. A better recipe for pure annoyance could not possibly be conceived, I assure you. Now, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that there are some ways to slightly shorten repeated trips through the temple (as you acquire more items, etc.), but it just wasn't enough. There is no excuse for how annoying this dungeon was.
I was literally, right at the end of the game, and all I had to do was go through this dungeon one more time... yet I didn't want to. I honestly did not want to go through this temple again. There are limits to my patience these days. This could have been the first Zelda game I never finished. I don't know how or why it happened, but after letting the game sit around for about a week, I finally picked it up again and just decided to finish it. I'm glad I did, because I really loved the whole ending sequence, but man, getting there was not fun.
In the end, it pretty much comes down to the fact that I want my game playing time to be fun, not tedious. I have very limited time for games these days, so when I actually do have time to play, I want that time to be something I look forward to - not dread. For the first time in 20 years of playing Zelda games, I actually felt dread rather than excitement. I just want to be clear, though: these negative thoughts are purely a result of the Temple of the Ocean King. My experience with the rest of the game was very enjoyable. I just hope the developers never go down that road again. Believe me, I'm all for freshening up the series, but adding time limits, stealth, and pointless repetition (perhaps three of, if not THE three most universally hated gameplay mechanics of all time) is NOT the way to go.
All in all, Phantom Hourglass is a respectable entry in the Zelda series (and one of the best DS games, period), but it also has some major flaws that keep it from being a timeless classic.
One one hand, Phantom Hourglass is exactly the same Zelda we've been playing for years. On the other hand, they really did try to mix things up a little bit this time. However, the results were mixed in my opinion. Let's break things down a bit...
The Good:
- The game works great as a side-story/continuation of Wind Waker. It's not the same find-triforce/objects-kill-ganon-save-zelda formula we've been subjected to in the main games. I have an affection towards these types of side-story games like Majora's Mask and Link's Awakening.
- The story was actually much better than I expected. And by story, I don't mean ONLY the story, per se... I am referring to the combination of story, characters (most notably Linebeck), and direction. In particular, I was very impressed by the cut scenes, plot progression, and especially the entire ending sequence.
- The sailing sections were great. Many people complained about the sailing aspect of Wind Waker. I am not one of them. I absolutely loved the feeling of sailing and exploration in that game. The sailing sections in Phantom Hourglass are done in a completely different way, but they are still fun. The only downside is the limited size of the world map. There just weren't many places to discover as compared to Wind Waker. I'm sure this is purely because of the limited design scope of the handheld platform, so I can't really call this a fault.
- The touch screen mechanics were spot-on. Like most people, I was a little skeptical of the choice to force players to use the touch screen exclusively. Thankfully, those reservations did not last more than a few minutes. It would have been a horrible experience playing this game if the controls were not responsive or did not function intuitively. I was very pleased with how well they made the controls work.
- The boss battles were particularly impressive.
- Rupees weren't pointless! Anybody who played Twilight Princess knows where I'm coming from here. Right from the bat, you can hold 9999 rupees (none of this "purse" bulls@#t). Secondly, you're not constantly finding rupees anywhere and everywhere (the ship parts side-quest was a breath of fresh air). And thirdly, there were actually things you could spend all of your rupees on (ship parts, etc.), which actually gives a reason to have so many rupees. Future Zelda games, please take note!
The Not-So-Good:
- Difficulty. This is not so much a complaint with Phantom Hourglass as it is with every Zelda game lately. How hard is it to include a difficulty option?
if (difficulty == easy) {
damage = NormalDamage / 2
}
else {
damage = NormalDamage
}
WOW. That was tough... and it took me all of 10 seconds to write. I don't understand why developers can't implement such elementary options in games. I understand that this title is aimed as casuals as well, but at least give options to more seasoned players.
- Dungeon linearity. Aside from being far too easy, the dungeons are also far too linear. There's almost no need for any higher-brain function to solve these puzzles. You basically just keep walking through, flipping switches, writing down answers on your map, and then implementing those answers two seconds later. I can't recall any puzzle in this game that I really had to think about. It just seems like a wasted opportunity, especially since the map-writing feature is a cool feature. It's not so much puzzle-solving if the things you have to write down are just the answers to the puzzle. It would have been nice to have a little more thought required in between the writing and solving parts of any given puzzle. That being said, I do freely admit that some of the puzzles they did come up with were fresh and clever, but it's also not much of a puzzle when all you need to do is copy down the answer.
- And the last (but most certainly not least) "not-so-good" aspect of this game is... oh, I'm quite sure you know what it is... let's all say it together: The Temple of the Ocean King. It's so bad, I'm going to break out of this list format and devote multiple paragraphs to it...
Yikes. Where do I even begin with this aberration? OK, OK... so perhaps it's not quite as bad as I'm making it out to be, but it sure as hell was a major annoyance. In fact, it almost made me stop playing the game altogether.
But first things first... for those of you who don't know, Temple of the Ocean King is a dungeon that you need to visit at least 5 or 6 times through the course of the game. The dungeon also has a time-limit constraint imposed on it. Basically, each time you beat a new dungeon, you receive more time for your hourglass, which in turn allows you to go deeper into the Ocean King temple. Perhaps this mechanic would not have been so bad if not for the fact that you have to go through all the exact same rooms/enemies/puzzles over and over again every time you go back to the temple. Oh, and did I mention the kicker? The floors of this dungeon also require stealth elements.
Hoo boy... so we've got 1) a time limit, 2) stealth gameplay, and 3) a completely pointless mechanic forcing you to play through the same thing you've already done 6 times through the course of a game. A better recipe for pure annoyance could not possibly be conceived, I assure you. Now, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that there are some ways to slightly shorten repeated trips through the temple (as you acquire more items, etc.), but it just wasn't enough. There is no excuse for how annoying this dungeon was.
I was literally, right at the end of the game, and all I had to do was go through this dungeon one more time... yet I didn't want to. I honestly did not want to go through this temple again. There are limits to my patience these days. This could have been the first Zelda game I never finished. I don't know how or why it happened, but after letting the game sit around for about a week, I finally picked it up again and just decided to finish it. I'm glad I did, because I really loved the whole ending sequence, but man, getting there was not fun.
In the end, it pretty much comes down to the fact that I want my game playing time to be fun, not tedious. I have very limited time for games these days, so when I actually do have time to play, I want that time to be something I look forward to - not dread. For the first time in 20 years of playing Zelda games, I actually felt dread rather than excitement. I just want to be clear, though: these negative thoughts are purely a result of the Temple of the Ocean King. My experience with the rest of the game was very enjoyable. I just hope the developers never go down that road again. Believe me, I'm all for freshening up the series, but adding time limits, stealth, and pointless repetition (perhaps three of, if not THE three most universally hated gameplay mechanics of all time) is NOT the way to go.
All in all, Phantom Hourglass is a respectable entry in the Zelda series (and one of the best DS games, period), but it also has some major flaws that keep it from being a timeless classic.
