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Phantom Hourglass takes full advantage of the dual screens and stylus to create a gaming experience that will leave you completely satisfied.First, the dual screens. Having two screens in this game is fantastic because as you're travelling the high seas in the bottom screen you'll see the the ocean map in the top screen showing your boat and its route to your destination. Some of the puzzles involve drawing lines at certain angles on a map and noting their intersection for example. Instead of just throwing a boomerang in a cardinal direction, you can draw circles and curves for the boomerang to fly, creating new and interesting puzzles. Also, when playing a level through the first time, you are not able to acquire all treasure chests. But the best part of having a touch screen is the ability to write on the maps. For starters, most of the time when you replay a level in the temple for the second time you can use your newest item to complete the level faster - e.g.
you played the level the first time and had to navigate a bunch of tunnels and hit switches, the second time you can use your newly acquired bombs to just create a shortcut. You control Link through the stylus on the touch screen. To me, these elements made the temple fun to play and re-play.Overall, this game is just fabulous and this is a must have title for all DS owners, Zelda fans and new comers alike. Its only when you replay the level with additional items that you are able to reach these remaining treasure chests. The controls are extremely fluid - the only thing I struggled with was consistently performing a somersault. But even if you didn't like WindWaker you will probably still love this game, and here's why:Very few Zelda game introduce something drastically different from the series. No more having to pause to view the map to see where you are.
Using the stylus for shooting the bow and arrow and drawing a path for throwing the boomerang are a lot of fun. Some of the puzzles are more complex now, requiring you to keep notes and draw on the map to solve them. Plus, having a time limit made it intense. I'm a fan of WindWaker so I enjoyed the art style and sailing aspects of Phantom Hourglass. This applies also to exploring areas and dungeons, the map will be in the top screen while you control "Link" on the bottom screen.Second, the stylus. It really adds something new and fresh to the puzzle solving in this game.I want to note that playing the Temple of the Ocean King over and over was fun for me - unlike most everyone else.
Big lack of feedback to the player here. As this was the first attack I tried (using the old Zelda logic - I found a new item in this dungeon, I probably have to use it on the boss) I filed it away in the "ineffective" part of my regimen. The only time I want to blow on my DS is when the screen is dusty.*If you try and read a signpost when your character is to the side or behind it, you get a message, "You cannot read it from here." Really guys. I feel like a scolded child that didn't know his manners. And sometimes running past your target means you run and jump off a cliff or ledge. Ah, I yearn for the 100% accurate button-press. Why.
sometimes. My hopes are low. Perhaps because I'm not a cartographer.It was progressive in gaming when an NPC told you where to go, then a shining beacon appeared on the map (and some games even draw the path in the game for you). That's fun, right. I could never tell whether it was me being too slow to hit him again with the boomerang, or if it was just a mechanic where it took a few times before he "stuck" in his larger form. The step back we take in Phantom Hourglass. Put sparkles on the wall signs if you have to.oHaving to hit a switch with the boomerang that was nearly off the screen, and impossible to walk to. Heck, players might even decide to just go for a spin in hopes of stumbling on them.
Fail.--------------Like I said, that's just up through the first level. We haven't used drawing on the map much. Great. Developer lesson: you have to make things dead-obvious.
Awesome. However, since I have a long standing history with this series, I'm going to suffer through Phantom Hourglass a bit longer in hopes that it will suddenly become fantastic. Not here. I started playing the series with the original Legend of Zelda for the NES when I was seven (and still play it on occasion) and I've played every Zelda game since, with the exception of the Game Boy Color titles. A picture of the scribbles would have gone a long way. Could be better, could be worse. Where's the fun.
There was a 1-tile diagram on the wall that I didn't see. Why. Nope, didn't work. Lawyered.*I resorted to a walkthrough 4 times by the end of the first level. I was so overwhelmed with feedback and disappointment by that point, I had to write a review. I wish the game would pause when I was drawing with it, otherwise it's satisfying as-is.*The art direction is clean and stylized, and reminiscent of Wind Waker. We'll have to add that in the next handheld. (I think they accidentally left all the fun in Minish Cap).
Then on one of your first trips, you get a random popup about jumping over something in the water. o"Scribble little circles on the edge of the screen to roll" is horrible direction that took a long time to figure out. Then I find out the boomerang does work. Okay, walkthrough time, big developer fail. There's no indication exactly how large or how close to the edge. And I'm in a car, no less, which makes it near impossible. Really. Game design isn't just about being cute, it's also about respecting your players, and making the interface EASY TO USE and not punishing.*Okay, having to make notes on the map as a form of gameplay is just not cool anymore.
Pressing a button is. You try drawing a torch on the map, and there's about a 30% chance that anyone watching will be like, "Dude, why are you drawing dog poo on your map."Example (2) - You just found a note on the wall showing you what order to hit the 4 switches in, now, "mark them on your map." *Sigh.* I didn't buy a "my first sketchbook" game. Or instead of a fish, it's picking up a bottle with something inside. Okay, so maybe I use the boomerang or my sword on the fire they shoot and reflect it back at them. Someone make it stop, please. Long story short, I did those things in an unexpected order, so I got bad feedback. Nope. (This is unacceptable for an adventure game where you constantly have to figure out where to go).
Being told to take our own notes on the important bits.Example (1) - "Note where the 3 torches on the island are." And it even shows you one of them. But all he did was tell me to go talk to some other guy. Too bad this thing doesn't have a built in accelerometer or we could have them shake the whole thing when those little green blobs stick to them. But it doesn't mark it for you. Let's make them do that. It died somewhere between Zork and the dawning of the Super Nintendo, when games could *gasp* map for you.
Using the stylus to move creates many problems, and solves very little. I blame 3 of those instances on the developers. Link usually runs a bit before you can pull off the maneuver, which means you occasionally run past your target before you can roll. You just told me the order, so mark it for me, you punishing bastards. I want to be Link, not direct him.oWhy is there no option to move with the D pad and strike with the buttons. Sell it for cash. Here's a better design: randomly you sail past a school of hopping golden fish in the water, and if you press the button at the right time, you catch one.
The other can still be attributed to them, but not as entirely.oGetting the first sword requires you to look at a sign and draw the number 7 on it. Apparently someone has booby trapped the ocean with spiky trip wires. It doesn't matter, but the point is this - instead of a random punishing mechanic, you can make the player do the exact same button press, but reward them instead. Then I tried all 3 forms of sword attacks. But forcing you to note information the game is telling you (and knows you need to remember) is just plain work, and bad design.*So you go out sailing in your new boat (yay). No luck. Details:oScreen is always partially blocked by the stylus and sometimes your hand. So you've solved your problem (Sea travel is just going from point A to point B, we need something to break it up and make it interesting,) and players will actually look forward to encountering these events rather than find them an annoyance.
This game has racked up far more than 3 major strikes on me, and normally I'd drop it by now, forever having labeled it a poorly developed piece of garbage. Scrolling the screen in the boomerang tool barely let me see it. To me, what ended up working was drawing zigzags at the edge of the screen, very tiny.oRolling is still difficult to do, even when one figures out how to actually do it. Grow up, Nintendo. I had to erase 3 times and start over so that I could tell where it actually was, and so that it didn't look like the game had some back memory blocks corrupting the screen. Because there are moments where the boss cannot be touched by the boomerang right after he splits up.
Because scrawling notes like a madman about everything an NPC just told you about where to go, and drawing poor misshapen map symbols that look like I ate a box of number 2 pencil graphite and vomited on coffee-stained graph paper lost its appeal after the hundredth time a decade ago. It should either be a large part of the game such that one purchases the game for the gameplay around blowing/speaking into the mic, or it shouldn't be part of the game at all. Though I've never had a problem with the art direction in other Zelda games, I've found this art style makes gameplay more satisfying. Good control schemes disappear and you become the character. Here are some positives and negatives.Positives:*It's a Zelda game.*Tapping on enemies is to attack them lets you target (almost) precisely in such a way that you avoid having to make your character run and then attack - instead it all happens for you.*Drawing the path of the boomerang - this is a fun mechanic. 80% of the time it feels forced. Good developers give you different configurations.
The difference is subtle, but important. For example, when you kill enemies, they burst in a plume of cartoony smoke, which is gratifying feedback and appropriate to the Zelda universe.*The story - I haven't gotten deep into the story yet, but it's on par for a Zelda game. Here's a rundown of my experience up through the end of the first dungeon. Nope.
And I hope they do add that, because then the DS would know when I hurl it off the top of a 30 story building into an exploding nitroglycerin plant. I understand that's probably another month of dev time to get all the controls and UI worked out, and a bit of extra QA, but you have to respect your players. This I blame partially on myself for lacking perception. After checking out a walkthrough, I realized that going back to the sign would reveal that it was actually blank, and wanted me to write something on it (despite getting a message the first time I tried to read it).oThe order of the 4 switches in the first dungeon. What made it worse was you collect him and hit him again with the boomerang, it stuns him and you can hit him a lot with your sword (good so far), but it often broke back up into 3 ghosts a lot of the time after I condensed him with the boomerang. not sure why. Instead, I have to realize that I'm not an artist as I attempt to draw a flame on the map where the torch is. Why not.
The rest of the time it's a tangible barrier between you and having fun in the game. It should at least have them marked automatically when you get them on the screen. What were they thinking. I haven't found it yet. I feel disconnected from Link. When playing in crowded areas, it makes one look insane. Or maybe Nintendo's next DS will come with a screen you can attach to the top of your hand so you can see the game you're playing underneath it.oTapping is not detected 100% of the time.
From a 3rd party developer, I might understand. When playing alone, it just feels gimmicky. However, the first time I walked up to the sign and tapped it, I got the message to the effect of, "Grandpa always wants you to ask permission before going through his store house." So I went and spoke to grandpa. Where have you gone.oIt's just not fun using a stylus for this game. Don't get me wrong, being able to make notes on the map is cool, as an optional feature. What, do you think that if Link were to read the sign from behind that we'd all toss the DS down and be like, "Psh, this game is so unrealistic." Instead, you make me circle Link around to the front of the sign like a moron and try it again. Definitely not anywhere near in sight enough.oHaving to use the boomerang on the boss.
Developer lesson: you cannot count on players doing things in the order you want them to. So I tried standing between the split bosses when they were flanking me, thinking maybe I needed to have them shoot each other with their fireballs. What can we add. I see throngs of 5 star reviews, and I'm just not understanding it. It should not be a "feature" that happens to be thrust on players that only want to play Zelda. Maybe they can hold it and do summersaults in real life to make link roll.
It's like someone decided to start making shadow puppets at the movies, except that you can't kick anyone out of the theater to make the problem go away. Like they were sitting around the table going, Geeze, our game just isn't fun. Only rarely does the player get into a flow where being mindful of the control disappears. I'm even playing Phantom Hourglass on my limited edition Gold Zelda DS Lite that it was bundled with.So far, this game is really poor, and it disappoints me greatly.
Overall, Phantom Hourglass feels like a whole lot of work, and not much payoff. That was the first thing I tried, and it wasn't effective. I suppose I could invent technology to make my hand translucent. What's fun about randomly having to press a button on my voyage so that I don't get hurt. Is this supposed to be cute. But Nintendo is better than this. Ooo, I know, we can make them blow into the mic, too. I'm putting this in the "positives" section because it's easy for a game to screw up a story, and so far this story isn't horrible, so it gets the benefit of the doubt.Negatives:*The control scheme is absolutely terrible, and the crux of most of my issues with the game.
It's no longer me controlling him (as with a direction pad/joystick), instead, it's me telling him where to go. It feels like the designers were compensating for something. You must support every potential order. *Blowing on the microphone or yelling in the mic as an occasional gameplay element is just plain annoying. I am a huge Zelda fan. Adding this one layer of indirection removes some agency and the satisfaction of immediate and direct control. The player gets nothing out of that.
It has really difficult parts where you need to use a little of thinking and i love that, it has lots of action too where you can defeat enemies totaly manual. This game is awesome, i had lots of fun playing it. I definetnly recomend this game to those who like Zelda, and thinking/action games.
my friend took over my ds in the middle of my game, when he saw the gameplay. i've been a fan of zelda for a long time and this game is no disappointment. i miss it already.
They're undefeatable, and they can take you out in one hit. It is a good game though. Bombs are available in the beginning, but you need a bomb bag. One bad thing is bombs. One thing good about it is action. This game is my first ever Zelda video game. At first, you don't have the sword (or any other weapon). Also, there's the phantoms.
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