The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass follows Link after the events of Wind Waker as he travels with a band of pirates led by Tetra, when the mysterious Ghost Ship appears. It steals both Tetra and Link into another world, where Link must embark on a journey to save his captain and ultimately the world.
I had a lot of fun playing this game. The gameplay itself is largely well-realized and engaging, and while it wasn't always as responsive as it could be, that is possibly caused by my fairly old Nintendo DS console. I think that certain aspects could have been done better by making them easier to control or less complicated to use properly, but that was only the occasional point here and there in the game.
The graphics are, while nowhere near great, stylized in such a way where it's obvious that this wasn't the intent. It's a very interesting looking game, and could probably look better on a higher-end console with the capacity for something better. Regardless, it looks pretty cool, but it's not always great. The occasional slip-up here and there does little to hinder the experience, but those mistakes are still present.
My biggest gripe with the game is the storytelling and heavy exposition. The game feels the need to over-explain things, whether that be simple game mechanics or how to use certain items, and it often gets tedious. Maybe it's because I'd already played the game years before, but Ciela the fairy got awful annoying after a while. Speaking of Ciela, she's the chief reason the exposition is frustrating. She'll often say a few simple phrases to tell you what was just explained to you seconds before, and this is not an exaggeration. A character will explain something, and the second that dialogue bubble ends Ciela will pull you aside and say the same thing in summary. Despite this, the story itself is pretty interesting. It's largely standard for a Legend of Zelda game, but that doesn't mean it's bad.
Overall I enjoyed The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. I don't know if I'd play through it a third time, but I had a good time. Save for the heavy exposition, this is a fun, stylized game. In the end I would recommend it.
I had a lot of fun playing this game. The gameplay itself is largely well-realized and engaging, and while it wasn't always as responsive as it could be, that is possibly caused by my fairly old Nintendo DS console. I think that certain aspects could have been done better by making them easier to control or less complicated to use properly, but that was only the occasional point here and there in the game.
The graphics are, while nowhere near great, stylized in such a way where it's obvious that this wasn't the intent. It's a very interesting looking game, and could probably look better on a higher-end console with the capacity for something better. Regardless, it looks pretty cool, but it's not always great. The occasional slip-up here and there does little to hinder the experience, but those mistakes are still present.
My biggest gripe with the game is the storytelling and heavy exposition. The game feels the need to over-explain things, whether that be simple game mechanics or how to use certain items, and it often gets tedious. Maybe it's because I'd already played the game years before, but Ciela the fairy got awful annoying after a while. Speaking of Ciela, she's the chief reason the exposition is frustrating. She'll often say a few simple phrases to tell you what was just explained to you seconds before, and this is not an exaggeration. A character will explain something, and the second that dialogue bubble ends Ciela will pull you aside and say the same thing in summary. Despite this, the story itself is pretty interesting. It's largely standard for a Legend of Zelda game, but that doesn't mean it's bad.
Overall I enjoyed The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. I don't know if I'd play through it a third time, but I had a good time. Save for the heavy exposition, this is a fun, stylized game. In the end I would recommend it.