Genre: Action/Adventure
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
Retail Price: $35
Availability: Nintendo DS
Dear Nintendo,
It’s me, Anthony. I’ve been a fan of your company now for a good 23 years or so, back whenever it was my parents decided to pick up our first Nintendo Entertainment System. My earliest memories of video games consist of staring up at the TV cross-legged on the living room floor playing River Raid on the Atari 2600, but the ones that truly shaped my love for this hobby came from you. I’ll never forget the first time I saw the black skies of World 3-1 in Super Mario Bros. It blew my mind. I’ll also never forget the wonder I felt while exploring Hyrule for the first time in the original gold-cartridge Legend of Zelda. I was so enthralled, so obsessed, that my mother hid the cart in worry I’d erase her save; when her plan failed and her fears came to pass I experienced an agonizing two weeks away from your system. I wanted to play so badly once while at my grandmother’s house I tricked my aunt into going to a local toy store to buy a copy. I still know how to beat that game by heart two decades later.
Fast forward to Christmas 1998, when Ocarina of Time came out on the N64. I used to play the demo unit at a local Sears for what felt like hours; I have friends who did the same. When I was finally able to play the entire game in the comfort of my home, my jaw was on the floor from the moment I stepped out into Hyrule Field until the conclusion. I was hooked; I tracked down every piece of heart; I have fished with a sinking lure, found after hours upon hours of searching. Do you get what I’m trying to say? The Zelda series is at the very root of my love for video games, and that’s because you take the time to craft amazing worlds with an incredible amount of depth and an unparalleled level of charm, worlds that incorporate clever puzzles and memorable characters. That was what I thought, until I played The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.
Choo choooooo!
The series has finally spiraled away from what made it so endearing, at least in the form they take on the Nintendo DS. It’s no longer a cohesive experience that builds upon its earlier parts to epic heights. It has become a collection of bite-sized levels strung together by train tracks instead. The Hyrule found in Spirit Tracks is a far cry from the Hyrule found in any other Zelda, simply because you have done away with one of the series’ greatest elements: exploration. We used to hand-draw overworld maps for the original games, marking every bombable wall, burnable bush or pushable block.
The best part about original overworld style was that there could be secrets hidden anywhere. The world was as open as a world could be. I found it incredibly rewarding to explore each area to its fullest, to delve for its secrets. Now you require us to ride a train about the land and simply examine the open wilderness between settlements as it slides past us. Oh sure, we may be temporarily distracted by the two or three enemies who may attack us, but they’re easily dispatched and then it’s back to gazing wistfully at a passing hillside, wondering if it has a hidden cave. We’ll never know; we’re not allowed to check. You chose a similar transport style in Phantom Hourglass, and it was acceptable in the context of the water-based world. Link can’t walk about the waves as though they were grasslands, no sir, so the sailing made sense. Even then you included the freedom to sail wherever. Finding hidden islands was one of the game’s great pieces; there’s none of that here. The fact is you’ve used this method because it’s included in the recycled engine, and also to justify the game’s train theme. It’s through this you have sacrificed much more than you have added.
You also seem hellbent on forcing a touch-screen only control scheme on us. You did improve the rolling function — the double-tap works much better than scribbling at the edge of the screen like a madman — but things otherwise remain the same. Would it be that difficult to allow movement with the D-pad? It would be far more accurate and a good deal more fun. There’s nothing worse than running from an enemy and past a pit, only to have Link hurl himself off the ledge and into the abyss despite where my stylus drags. Again, tying movement to same function as attack is problematic when facing enemies in large numbers, especially ones who require location-specific strikes. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve simply walked up to and pressed against an enemy instead of attacking them. Moving while shooting arrows or throwing the boomerang would also be a God-send; the enemies don’t stand still, why should we have to?
Then there’s using the spirit flute. Must every Zelda game require the hands-on use of a musical instrument? Why can’t we just return to the one-blow flute of days gone bye? It’s kind of neat that you want us to blow into the microphone in order to use it. It’s as close to playing a pan-flute on the DS as we’re going to get, something I know all gamers have dreamt of extensively. But is it too much to ask that the device function properly? I almost put the game down and walked away for good while trying to access the chart for the desert area. The problem is the mic suddenly becomes unresponsive. It works everywhere else in the game just fine; its in this specific moment the game starts to register double notes even though your breathing is constant and smooth, or pretend you aren’t blowing, no matter what technique you try or location you direct it. There isn’t a story-based explanation or gameplay catch for this either, it just happens.
Typical Zelda style: right in the butt
I’ll tell you though, I like the idea of using the Phantoms as tools for puzzle solving. Their multiple powers allow for some real creativity in the design process, especially when they’re mixed about in the same puzzle. The only problem is how much babysitting they require. They rarely follow the path you draw for them close enough to not fall into sandtraps or get hung up on corners. To make matters worse they don’t recalibrate the route and avoid whatever the problem is — they simply stop. This is a problem, mostly, later in the game, when the puzzles are more complex and demand more precision than actually they should. Getting the Phantom to pick an object up, or drop it, or attack can be a crap-shoot. There are times I failed not because of my imprecision, but because of the interface; something formerly foreign to the Zelda series. The long and winding hallways are also a nuisance because of the general sloth with which the Phantoms move; requiring me to wait for them to reach the door as well was a poor decision, especially considering how often they get stuck on the way.
It’s a shame that you let these elements conspire to ruin the promise the early parts of the game show with an irritating and unenjoyable second half. There are several puzzles where the answer is as plain as day but the controls refused to cooperate with me, leaving me to experiment with several out-of-the-box style solutions before finally trying my original idea again. It’s a shame too; the dungeons are mostly well-designed and cleverly put together. It’s just that once you figure out how to do something, it’s a chore to actually complete it.
The work put into the story is impressive for the DS, there’s no questioning that. You’ve gone above and beyond when it comes to establishing a link to the original DS Zelda and providing answers as to the motivation of each main character. The justification for the train motif is hamfisted at best, but at least you’ve provided an explanation. It’s unfortunate that due to the inconvenience of train-travel, returning to interact with the townsfolk and complete side-quests is something of a bother. The warps available later in the game are inconveniently located and do little to reduce travel-time as well. Even still, you’ve provided a base-game of well over 20 hours; something to be commended on a system of this size.
It’s a 20 hours, though, that takes the series from ingenious to tedious. I know it’s not simply rose-tinted glasses talking — I completed Link’s Awakening for the first time last summer and experienced all the same joys I did as a child, exploring the swamps or reaching the apex of the Tal Tal Heights. Allowing me to explore the entire environment established a connection with not just the characters, but the very gameworld itself. The disjointed experience provided here, I’m afraid, is reverberating throughout my love for the series. It would be one thing if the changes were positive and I were complaining about the concept of change in general, but Zelda has never played so poorly before. Spirit Tracks is the point, Nintendo, where I disembark from the handheld passenger car unless it changes course. I’d love to follow the adventures of Link for another 23 years or more, but I refuse to remain seated if this is the path the series continues upon. Please tell me the best is yet to come, because if I’ve already been to the mountain top it’s all downhill from here.
Here’s to the future,
Anthony
