Another fun, leisurely ride through Hyrule
The land of Hyrule has gone through many types of transportation over the years. Link, the Zelda series' protagonist, has traveled the vast land by horseback, boat, and even teleportation. And now, in the latest installment, Spirit Tracks, he uses trains to get around.
But while his form of travel may be different, the game itself isn't. From its gameplay mechanics, to its controls, and to its visual style, the game is essentially Phantom Hourglass with trains. And you know what? That's totally okay, as Spirit Tracks proves to be yet another fun journey through Hyrule, despite hitting a few bumps along the way.
The most notable one being the lack of challenge in most of the game's dungeons. They all follow the long-standing formula of enter dungeon, get new item, and use said item to solve puzzles and defeat the boss at the end, which still works well. But the puzzles have been simplified. Often they require you to hit a switch or move a block or two around to open the way forward. They have some small attempts at complicating things like requiring switches to be hit in a certain order, and they do add a slight increase in challenge, but they don't require much thinking to solve. In fact, the solution is easily uncovered by the hints written on stones placed closely to the puzzles.
They're also short. Really short. They all took me around, what, 20 maybe 30 minutes? Much less time than the hour or two I'd spend in dungeons of previous titles.
The game does have some difficult puzzles, though, but they're all confined to the Spirit Tower -- Spirit Tracks' version of the Temple of the Ocean King from Phantom Hourglass. And that's because the puzzles there rely heavily on teamwork. Within the tower there are Phantom Knights: bodiless, animated suits of armor that can be possessed by your ghostly companion, Princess Zelda (whom, in case you're wondering, had her soul forced out of her body for the purpose of using it as a vessel for Malladus, the Demon King, and main villain of the game, who's, once again, attempting to destroy the world). These knights are used for a variety of things like hitting switches, distracting other knights, and helping Link get across bodies of lava by carrying him on its shield.
The puzzles involving the knight start off simple with the duo having to avoid and/or distract a single knight as they solve puzzles that open the way forward. But they get much more complex as you progress further. For example, one room requires Zelda to constantly switch between Phantom types (there are four in all) as they move further to destroy blockades with Phantom's that transform into boulders, light torches to open doors, and teleport to otherwise inaccessible areas to activate switches among other things. The puzzles are well designed, and require much careful thinking as to what the two must do to move forward.
One other minor quibble comes from the train, and the limits it places on exploration -- a former staple of the series. I mean, it's understandable why it's limited (kinda hard to move around via train without tracks), but these limits result in less areas to explore and less secrets to discover, which, as someone who typically roams around the game world to find all its hidden secrets, disappoints me greatly.
Granted, the game is filled with sidequests and various activities to participate in, which does help ease the pain of the limiting game world. Though most of these quests involve taking someone from point A to point B, and the trip to the destination can be tedious, the quests themselves are relatively easy to complete, and offer some great rewards. Whether it be treasure, rupees, heart containers, or simply unlocking more tracks, the quests continuously provide great incentives that make them well worth seeking out.
Still, the tedium of traveling is definitely a nuisance. The train doesn't move terribly fast, and the constant encounters with monsters or Demon Trains (or Bomb Trains as I like to call them, for they explode upon impact, which results in instant death, and can be very grating during long trips) become an annoyance after encountering them the first several times. Thankfully, the monster encounters are easy, and don't take long, as one or two shots from the train's cannon will quickly vanquish them.
Less grating, however, are the controls. Spirit Tracks opts to use the touch screen for all the various actions Link can perform. Movement is handled by placing the stylus in front of him in the direction you wish him to move, slashing his sword is done by making a quick stroke across the screen, and items such as the Boomerang are used by drawing a path with the stylus for which it will follow. It all works very well. The actions are executed quickly and without fail, and the movements necessary for using them all feel very natural.
Same goes the many actions for using the many items Link collects. To use one, it must simply be equipped by tapping the item's icon in the upper-right (or upper-left for left-handed players) and Link will equip it. After that it's simply a matter of tapping where or what you wish to use it on. The Bow, for example, is used by placing the stylus down in the direction you wish to fire the arrow in, and, once the shot's lined up, lift the stylus to fire it. It's simple actions like this that make the controls so intuitive, and well designed.
The only real problem with them is that timing sword swipes is almost impossible. And that's because it's hard to determine when to do the appropriate motion, as there is a slight delay between executing the motion and performing the action. This results in a lot of frustration during moments that require careful timing to send an enemy attack back at it.
The microphone is also used a lot throughout the game in a lot of excellent, if not clever, ways. The most notable usage is the Spirit Flute, which is used by blowing into the mic. Different notes can be played by sliding the flute along the touch screen, which gives a strong feeling of playing the actual instrument. The notes that come from playing it all sound great, with very genuine sounding noise that comes forth upon playing. It also plays a big role in both the main story and the many sidequests and secrets hidden all over, as proven by one song that uncovers any hidden items in the immediate vicinity.
Visually, Spirit Tracks has a nice, clean look to it. The game still utilizes the fantastic art style of The Wind Waker, which continues to make a great transition to the DS. Characters all move with plenty of fluidity, and all have nice array of expressions that accompany the excellent writing nicely. There are a few bits of blockiness on character models, and the visuals aren't really a step up from Phantom Hourglass, but neither really detract from the experience in any significant way.
Audio wise, the game supported by some great music. Most of which being flute based, which goes along nicely with the the aforementioned instrument's inclusion. The music fits well with each location, with high, up-beat tunes for towns and villages that give a relaxed, and save feel, while low, foreboding ones for dungeons invoke a sense of danger, and help convey the ancient look and feel of each temple.
The game should take around 15-20 hours to finish the story, and grab all the extras. There isn't much in the way of replay value, though. Once you've beaten all the sidequests, and collected all the heart containers and other items, there isn't anything else to do. Unless, of course, you have a few friends or siblings with DS' to check out the multiplayer with.
In it, players compete to see who can grab the most force gems -- large, golden, triangular gems spread throughout the playing field -- before time runs out. In addition, Phantom Knights patrol various parts of the field, adding a small element of stealth to the otherwise frantic pace of the multiplayer. It's a fun mode. Though its lack of online play is disappointing, and severely limits its use. Also, the style of the multiplayer, while frantic fun, feels more based around luck rather than skill like it was in Phantom Hourglass, and lacks the element of strategy found in its predecessor.
Overall, Spirit Tracks is another solid entry in the series that continues to play to the DS' strengths. Control is superbly executed, and the microphone usage is clever and smart. Though the dungeons lack the challenge of of previous Zelda titles, and the lessened emphasis on exploration is disappointing, it's tried-and-true formula continues to entertain. Spirit Tracks is another fun ride through Hyrule, and should satisfy both fans and newcomers alike.
