SPECIAL: The Legend of Zelda #2 (Article/Review)

This is a follow-up article to my Legend of Zelda special that I wrote earlier in the year, which specifically looked at Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, Spirit Tracks and Ocarina of Time 3D. I suggest you read that before returning here, as I'm going to jump right into a couple of other games that I've played since writing that article, and once again tackle them in the order that I played them. I debated whether or not to hold off writing this, as there's a new Zelda game out just before the end of this year; A Link Between Worlds is out during the tail end of November and I've got it pre-ordered to play ASAP. However, while I still have them (relatively) fresh in my mind I thought I'd do another special.

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After the superb Ocarina of Time 3D, I gave the Zelda games a bit of a rest while I played through some other things (which I've reviewed a few of), but eventually returned to play Phantom Hourglass; another DS game like Spirit Tracks, which is actually a prequel to that game and also a direct sequel to Wind Waker. One of the reasons that I had put off playing this title was because of playing them out of order meant Spirit Tracks (allegedly) fixed loads of "problems" with Phantom Hourglass and I didn't want that affecting my judgement of the game - however, I really should have ignored internet hearsay because Phantom Hourglass is a fantastic game and I enjoyed it even more than it's successor is almost every way. This entry, being a direct sequel to Wind Waker, takes place on the great sea - a vast overworld of water with lots of tiny islands popping out all over the place - and is split into four large regions that you explore, and find the usual assortment of temples and dungeons.

To get about in the great sea you hook up with one of the best Zelda characters outside the main cast, Captain Linebeck and his tramp-steamer, which you steer chugging through the vast oceans, shooting baddies and jumping over obstacles. It really is a *LOT* of fun piloting that ship, and while I *loved* the train in Spirit Tracks (I had no problem with trains in a Zelda game unlike most people) the boat is a much better method of transportation in my opinion, mostly because you're not constrained by the rails and can pretty much explore where you want. Once you get the hook arm and cannons sorted it really feels open to exploration in a way that its successor simply wasn't. While we're on the subject of gameplay, it's worth mentioning that this is another overhead-view 3D Zelda, which is again controlled completely with the stylus. I thought that after playing Ocarina of Time with it's full 3D environment and complex controls that jumping back into a stylus-only DS game would feel awkward and basic - not so! The control scheme in Phantom Hourglass is a work of genius, and really shows that with expert game design you don't need a zillion buttons assigned to everything in order to make a great game. The only time this falls a little flat is during some of the tougher boss battles where you need to be switching items and using them rather quickly, but it just about holds up and the rest of the game outside these encounters is perfect.

The story of Phantom Hourglass concerns itself with the hunt for the legendary ghost ship, as Tetra (Zelda) and her loyal pirates, which Link seems to have joined, are hunting for it with the intention of finding and plundering its legendary booty. Of course, this all goes wrong and Tetra ends up trapped aboard the spectral vessel, leaving Link in charge of chasing her down and rescuing her. In order to find the ghost ship, Link calls on the help of the Ocean King, the lord of all waters, however his temple is occupied by an ancient and powerful evil that has sealed away his power - so it's down to the 'Hero of Winds' to once again go chasing through temples, finding different holy items in order to restore the Ocean King to his former glory. This also introduces one of the most divisive aspects of Phantom Hourglass - the temple of the Ocean King himself - a timed temple that you have to revisit in-between each of the other dungeons in the game. Personally, I thought it was great! I love the push-your-luck aspect of the temple, as you see if you can get just a little further and get to a "warp spot" in good time, so that you can skip huge parts of the dungeon on your next visit. Also, the unkillable phantoms that lurk the darkened halls are great for keeping you on your toes and add to the puzzle-based nature of the Ocean King's domain. In fact, Phantom Hourglass has a lot of well-designed temples and it seems like a lot of are and effort has gone into the structure of the game.

As you can hopefully see from the screenshots, this is also a really good looking game for the DS; it's the same graphics engine and assets that they used to create its successor and so a lot of it looks very similar (in fact I had a hard time finding screens for this article as lots that came up in Google's image search were from Spirit Tracks). The game also makes really good use of the functions and features of the Nintendo DS, such as using the touchscreen to make notes on maps/sea-charts, blowing or having to talk into the microphone, and sometimes having to "stamp" information from the top screen to the bottom by closing the lid. It's all very clever and really makes the experience feel right at home on the platform. I had a lot of fun with Phantom Hourglass and really enjoyed playing through it, even more than Spirit Tracks, which I also liked a *lot*.

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At this point I had played both it's sequels but never actually played the original Wind Waker game; although I had toyed with the idea of buying the GameCube version to play on my Wii several times, only put off by the astronomical cost on eBay and Amazon. When they announced Wind Waker HD on the Wii U I immediately pre-ordered it (along with the limited Zelda edition console) and was very much looking forward to playing what some people consider to be the best, or at least one of the best, Legend of Zelda games ever released. Extremely divisive at the time of it's release, Wind Waker completely changed the art style of Zelda games into a 'cell-shaded' format meant to imitate anime/cartoons, which was continued on it's DS sequels but dropped on the home consoles in favour of a more realistic (and fan-pleasing) look for Twilight Princess.

Remastered in glorious 1080p 60fps high definition for the Wii U, Wind Waker HD looks absolutely gorgeous, and really shows that the 'cell-shaded' art style was a timeless one, and a great decision from Nintendo at the time. Textures are sharp and the lighting engine has been improved over the original to create hot sunny days, atmospheric storms, and dank gloomy dungeons - the whole thing really does look like it was designed from the start for the Wii U and is one of the best HD remasters I've played. In a similar vein to Ocarina of Time 3D it really demonstrates that Nintendo knows that it's doing when it comes to rereleasing these Zelda games and still making them feel contemporary and fresh. The control scheme also feels like it has been designed from the ground up for the Wii U Gamepad, as switching effortlessly between different gadgets with the touch screen, and being able to flick between maps/sea-charts on the fly is great and also helps to modernise the game more.

Wind Waker not only provided a departure from the standard graphical style at the time of it's release but it also experimented with a brand new structure and setting compared to the Zelda games that had come before it. Set several hundred years after the events of Ocarina of Time the story concerns itself with a great flood, sent by the gods to seal away Ganon's resurrection, which has covered the land of Hyrule and created the Great Sea. The effect this has upon the gameplay is that there is no longer a 'Hyrule field' overworld to traverse by foot or horse, instead there is a vast ocean populated by lots of small (and occasionally large) islands, containing temples, dungeons, side-quests, etc. There is a *LOT* to do in Wind Waker HD and the game often has you sailing back and forth all over the place. Unlike some entries in the series that have you constantly revisiting temples/towns, Wind Waker's concentration on traversal of the Great Sea is a welcome change of pace. However, that didn't stop people from complaining at the time, and so Nintendo have put in more shortcuts this time through - not only can you 'teleport' to certain locations using the Ballad of Gales (played on the eponymous 'Wind Waker' instrument that is key to much of the game) but through a purchase in the auction house you can acquire the 'swift sail', which makes your boat sail twice as fast.

I'd waited a long time to play Wind Waker HD and it did not disappoint. The story is very compelling and I *loved* how it tied together some of the events in Ocarina of Time - specifically, giving Ganon a bit more of a motivation/backstory for this nefarious deeds - there was a moment about midway through the game that really gobsmacked me (which I won't spoil here). The overworld with it's sailing and discovering new islands/secrets was fantastic fun, and despite being largely empty ocean, it really feels like the world in Wind Waker HD is a living breathing place. This also concludes my time spent with 'toon Link and the cell-shaded Zelda games that I've enjoyed both on the Wii U and Nintendo DS, and I'll be sad to see them go. While I understand the desire for an epic looking fully realised Legend of Zelda game, I find the escapism of this art style charming and utterly timeless. Next up in the series is another return to an earlier design - a sequel to A Link to the Past - and it will be interesting to see if a pseudo-2D game can live up to modern gaming standards and rival the magic I felt while playing through Wind Waker HD.