For fans of the Zelda franchise (and just casual gamers), this title does not disappoint.
Developer: Nintendo
Release date: December 7th, 2009
ESRB Rating: E10+
The Zelda franchise is one that has been pushing Nintendo along for all these years now, starting off on the NES with The Legend of Zelda. Fast-forward 14 games later, and we have the latest installment on the NDS, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. The previous Zelda game that appeared on the DS (Phantom Hourglass) brought new ideas and features to the table, and this one is in the same vein, only making the game more interesting and innovative. That being said, lets jump right in!
The first thing that you have to keep in mind is that this is a sequel to Phantom Hourglass, so this game takes place after that game. The main storyline starts off with Link, who is going to the graduation ceremony to become a train engineer. During the ceremony, the Princess Zelda gives Link a note to meet in secret, and from there she asks him to take a secret path out of the castle and to the Spirit Tower. Link’s friend Alfonzo (from the previous game) helps them out, lending them a train they can use to get to the Spirit Tower. However, on the way there the Spirit Tracks start disappearing, and they run into an encounter with Zelda’s Chancellor, who turns out to not actually be human. If you’ve played a Zelda game before, you can probably guess what happens. Yes, he manages to kidnap Zelda’s body, and damages Alfonzo so Link will have to go solo on this mission. The good thing is that only Zelda’s body was captured, so she can still appear as her soul/ghost, and that is the Zelda you play as in the game. The main basis of the game after that is to collect all the Spirit Tracks to get to different places, and then save Zelda’s body from an evil ritual. For being a Zelda game, this storyline isn’t really new. It is more or less part of Nintendo’s classic “rinse-and-repeat” formula for their newer games from old franchises. Nintendo isn’t really known for their story-driven games/franchises, so it isn’t too bad. Plus, the bigger part of the game is the gameplay, and the new features that they added.
The gameplay is what really propels this game, and it is clearly apparent that the developers had that in mind when they created it. The coming months to the release of Spirit Tracks contained anticipation about the new features and use of the DS in gameplay, and it shows that the hype wasn’t for no reason. The first part of the gameplay has you learning how to drive a train, and this flows rather nicely with the rest of the game. You have to draw a direction with the stylus, and just pull the lever down and you’re on your way. However, there are also animals on the road and flying at you that you have to pull a horn for them to go away. Later you can also get upgrades to your train, such as a cannon and extra space to carry cargo from place to place. While this is all fun, I thought it stalled the time to actually start playing the main aspect of the game, but it is a creative way to get the player to the next place without a cut-scene, so I’ll give them credit. As for the rest of the game, the gameplay is engaging and fun. A highlight of the gameplay is being able to control Zelda in a simultaneous way, as this adds a puzzle aspect to it. To control her, you grab her icon and use your stylus to create a path to your destination. She can also take over the bodies of guards in the Spirit Tower to give you more power, and to distract the other guards. Another aspect of the gameplay that I enjoyed is the Spirit Flute, which utilizes the DS’s mic. In order to play this flute, you have to use your stylus to drag the flute into place and then blow into the mic to play the note. This made the game more engaging for the player, unlike typical RPG’s where you just sit back and not feel like you have to put forth physical effort. I don’t know about you, but I like that in a game when its moderated (moderated as in, not too much, but not a game driven by it i.e. Wii Fit). The battles are also fun, but not too repetitive or boring. There is also a multi-player game that only requires 1 cartridge, and it is nothing that I would go out of my way to get working (which I did, to get someone to play it with me). The multi-player is just there, not really offering anything huge other than a competition to collect the most Force Gems. The multi-player mode tips its had to Four Swords in the way that each player controls a different colored Link. I’m not saying that it isn’t anything bad or not enjoyable, but I wouldn’t play it more than once, unless a friend really wants to.
What makes this game a bit frustrating is the controls. To control Link, you move him with the stylus, and to attack you either tap the enemy, or do a special stylus movement (i.e. a circle movement to swing your sword). After playing both of the Nintendo DS incarnations of Zelda, I still don’t know why they don’t have a D-pad configuration setup to control Link. The touch screen controls can be a bit frustrating and may not appeal to all of the audiences. I know that when I played Animal Crossing: Wild World back when it first came out, I preferred the D-pad controls as opposed to the touch screen, mainly due to the fact that it didn’t feel natural. To this day, that view stays the same, but even if its forced I would prefer to have the variety. As mentioned in the gameplay part of this review, I enjoyed the Spirit Flute and its controls, so there is an example of controls that went over rather well.
I will also note that the graphics for this game are almost identical to the graphics for Phantom Hourglass, but with a few changes. If you liked the graphics in that game, you are guaranteed to enjoy these graphics just as much. I liked how the cutscenes were done, but I can be a sucker for lengthy, well-done cutscenes (hence why I enjoyed MGS4). The music had the same feel as Phantom Hourglass as well, but like any other sequel the developers wanted to make the game better than before, and they succeeded. The result? Beautifully crafted orchestrations, not like anything you would hear in another DS game. That is what makes the music in this game great.
All in all, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks makes for a well-done game. It’s new features, length, and gameplay all make it worth the price of the game. This has been the first good RPG I’ve played in a while, and it certainly doesn’t put shame to the franchise (despite having some flaws). If you’re a current Zelda fan, or even just want to get into the games, I recommend that you pick this up.
