Shixx
04-06-2010, 10:18 PM
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/3867/73854913.jpg
Intro-
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks was released in North America on December 7th, 2009. It is the fifteenth installment of the Zelda Series, and the second Zelda game to make its way to the Nintendo DS. The game is an action adventure puzzle game, where the player controls the main protagonist, Link through many dungeons and cities all while he is trying to accomplish his ultimate goal. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is a cell shaded, cartoon style Zelda game where the characters and world look similar to those that were in Windwaker and Phantom Hourglass, previously.
Story-
The story takes place One-Hundred years after Phantom Hourglass. The game starts off as Link, a boy who is learning to become an engineer, must attend his initiation ceremony at Castle Town, and be awarded the title of Engineer by no one else but Princess Zelda herself. However, upon arriving at Castle Town, young Link receives an urgent letter from Princess Zelda pleading for him to sneak into her room, because she has a suspicion about why the "Spirit Tracks" have been disappearing. She believes that the problem lies in a forbidding place known as the Spirit Tower.
Events occur at the Spirit tower which end up leaving Princess Zelda as a spirit and Link in a bad condition. Link and Zelda's Spirit must now team up in order to revive the Spirit Tracks before they disappear, retrieve Zelda's body before the Chancellor can use it for unfathomable evil, and restore peace to the land.
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/5700/15936079.jpg
Gameplay-
Spirit Tracks continues in the same style that Phantom Hourglass did, in which the player controls Link by using the stylus for all of his motions. Attacking is as simple tapping on the enemy a few times and slashing across the screen with the stylus. Moving Link is by moving your stylus along the screen in the direction you want Link to go, and picking up and throwing items is manageable by tapping on the item you want to pick up, and tapping on the object or enemy you want to throw the object at. If you have played the previous installment, then you are most likely already familiar with the core gameplay of Spirit Tracks and how the controls work.
Spirit Tracks is can easily be broken into three main chunks: Exploration, Spirit Tower, and Overworld. A combination of this three gameplay elements is what makes up Spirit Tracks. Although not all of these elements are the greatest to play, they still fit well when put together.
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/959/58480427.jpg
The first element of exploration is done by controlling Link and going into caves, dungeons, houses, or just exploring the main land of the city. It is the main chunk of the game, and by far the most fun. Link can talk to citizens to obtain hints on what he needs to do, or sometimes they even progress the story a bit. Playing as Link during the exploration bits of the game, is where the game really really shines. It brings back fond memories of older Zelda games, and challenges the player by making them think their way through puzzles, or fight their way through a dungeon and battle a boss.
This element of Spirit Tracks is set up in the same way that nearly every Zelda game is set up. Arrive at the town, learn a little bit about their problems, solve puzzles in a dungeon, earn a new item, use this item on the boss, find whatever relic or emblem you are looking for, rinse and repeat. Spirit Track takes this formula and tweaks it just enough to get it right. You won't only just use the new item you receive to puzzle your way through dungeons, however you will use a combination of various items to work your way to the end.
The puzzles in The Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks are done phenomenally well. Although you might feel they are trivial at first, and a bit redundant. By the second temple you will have to really think your way through various parts of the level, in order to finish it. It takes higher level thinking, and great execution in order to complete some of the temples in the later half of the game, and this is where the more hardcore Zelda fans will get their challenging fun.
The weapons that Link receives in Spirit Tracks are similar to weapons he receives in other games, with a few minor additions. You still get the boomerang, bombs, etc. However a Whirlwind item makes an appearance early on in the game, where you point the weapon in the direction you want to use it and blow into the mic to send a whirlwind in the direction it is pointed. Also new appearances include a whip and sand wand. The weapons used in Spirit Tracks are used in a way where it doesn't feel frustrating when trying to use them. They are all simple commands that can be mastered in due time.
The Ocarina, for lack of a better term, in Spirit Tracks is the Spirit Flutes where songs can be played to uncover hidden locations or resurrect statues that help you through parts of certain dungeons. Some statues tell you where every treasure is on that floor, and others give you advice on how you should approach an enemy. The instrument of choice in Spirit Tracks almost takes a back seat in this game, because it serves a limited purpose where it is mostly optional, however it is still a nice touch to the game, overall. It is used by selecting the item from the item bag, and blowing into the mic when you are on the color pipe you want to play.
Another addition that makes an appearance (and my personal favorite thing about the DS series) is the ability to take notes on your dungeon and town maps. This ability allows you to jot down little information or hints you receive when talking to different townsfolk or reading another sign or map. You have the power to note a treasure chest on your map, to make sure you come back at a later time. Or even write down information you may need to solve a puzzle that could be hard to solve if you tried memorizing it all. The ability to write notes on screen may seem like a simple idea, however it is useful and a method of the game that should not be taken lightly.
The second element of Spirit Tracks is the Spirit Tower. After each temple is completed you must make your way back to the Spirit Tower to collect the next piece of map. In the same fashion of Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Knights are roaming around that, if they spot you, will hunt you down and kill you in the blink of an eye. However Spirit Tracks took a very different approach to the Spirit Tower, when compared to its predecessor. Instead of using a running race against a clock, and frustrating gameplay mechanics that just never seemed to work, Spirit Tracks has you track down three red droplets.
http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/1300/94526420.jpg
Once you have collected the three droplets on the first floor, Link has the power to destroy a Spirit Knight and gives Zelda's Spirit a temporary host body. You then traverse the other floors of the tower as Link and a Spirit Knight, overcoming obstacles and finding unique ways to get past objectives. The Spirit Tower is not nearly as irritating as it seemed to be in Phantom Hourglass. Nintendo has taken a similar method and executed it entirely different.
The third and final element of Spirit Tracks is the awful, horrible, overworld. The overworld is broken up into four main chunks, with only limited areas available at the start of the game. Each chunk of the map is a different area of the Land, with different species inhabiting it, and different climates in each area. The train traversal is a simple tracing of the path you want to go, and allowing the train to take you there. You will have to occasionally shoot something out of your path with the canon, or blow your whistle to get something to move out of your way, but other than that you just watch the train go, and go, and go. For quite some time.
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/4766/52814219.jpg
The only real challenge the train segment of the game takes is trying to pick a path that won't be guarded by other trains on the track. If that is the case, you are most likely screwed at the point you realize a train turned on your same path, and any attempts to turn around end up in the demon train catching up to you and ramming you. When this happens you are then sent to the location you started at, and must make the journey again. Sometimes it would take me up to 5 or 6 attempts before I would just put the game down, or finally make it to my destination. If you thought driving the boat was bad in Phantom Hourglass, this is only ten times worse. And it doesn't help the fact that there are no teleporting check points you can use to get from place to place either. No, you must make each journey, there and back, every time you want to go somewhere.
The train rides are sometimes given a break when you discover a rabbit that you have the opportunity to catch in a net and deliver to a person looking for rabbits. The game cuts into a ten second mini-game screen where a rabbit is hopping around and you must use a net to catch it, with poor reaction time on the net's part. However these side-tracks only happen every so often and if you fail at catching a rabbit it may be some time before you ever see one again. Either way the train segments of the game cause the player to play in a way they shouldn't and really messes up the pacing of the game.
For those Zelda fans who want to complete everything the game has to offer, there are collectibles available that makes the game have a lasting effect. Through various things like your stamp book, where you use a book and find stamp stations to put stamps in your adventure books. These are often a little out of the way and take extra exploration to discover, however this is not a bad thing at all, and most are fun to think about how to get to. Other collectibles take the form of finding treasures in chests that serve the purpose of trading them in to upgrade your train, or selling for rupees. These are a nice addition, because you can also trade locally with people to collect them all!
Music-
For those that care about the music, Spirit Tracks offers a great collection of sounds that offer up a great feeling while playing the game. I have tried listening to the game with the DS Speakers and the headphones, and the game really makes you feel immersed if you have headphones on. With the music playing in the background, the sound of Link's footsteps as he travels through a dungeon, and his voice as he attacks an enemy is really music in my ears.
Multiplayer-
Unlike in Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks does not feature online multiplayer this time around. It is all local, and if you have someone to play with (which more often than not, you will not) it will keep you occupied for a total of ten minutes. However only one game-card is required, so this does make things easier when looking for people to play with in the multiplayer mode.
http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/3350/15582217.jpg
Multiplayer consists of each player attempting to collect as many force gems as they can before the time runs out. Various obstacles can get in your way, such as the environment or the Spirit Knights who roam around. Swords are not available in this mode, so it basically just an all out battle for who can get to the gems the fastest. Special power ups are a nice advantage because they allow the player who receives them various abilities such as using a shock power to knock force gems out of players, or granting the user invincibility for a short while.
Final Thoughts-
Overall The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks brings a huge smile to my face. It is a nice addition to the franchise, where the puzzles are thought provoking and sometimes challenging. The Spirit Tower is actually worthwhile this time around, and changes up the way the game is played for a short while. The overworld is horribly done, in my opinion, and could have been handled differently by giving the player check points or songs to teleport you to different locations on the map. The appearance of Zelda as a main focus of this game is a great addition to the hardcore Zelda fans, and it really brought Zelda's character to life. Instead of being a "damsel in distress" at the hands of Ganon, she plays a pivotal role in helping Link restore peace to the land. In conclusion, Spirit Tracks is a beautifully done game that is a must buy for any Zelda fan that enjoyed Phantom Hourglass, even a little bit. It takes everything from Phantom Hourglass and improves upon it (with the exception of the overworld). For those of you who never got around to playing Phantom Hourglass, I would still say to give this game a try, because you may find you enjoy the cute look, and challenging puzzles that the game offers. I give this game a hearty thumbs up because I know I have already spent hours playing this game, and still know there are many, many hours to come.
My Score-
8/10
Intro-
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks was released in North America on December 7th, 2009. It is the fifteenth installment of the Zelda Series, and the second Zelda game to make its way to the Nintendo DS. The game is an action adventure puzzle game, where the player controls the main protagonist, Link through many dungeons and cities all while he is trying to accomplish his ultimate goal. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is a cell shaded, cartoon style Zelda game where the characters and world look similar to those that were in Windwaker and Phantom Hourglass, previously.
Story-
The story takes place One-Hundred years after Phantom Hourglass. The game starts off as Link, a boy who is learning to become an engineer, must attend his initiation ceremony at Castle Town, and be awarded the title of Engineer by no one else but Princess Zelda herself. However, upon arriving at Castle Town, young Link receives an urgent letter from Princess Zelda pleading for him to sneak into her room, because she has a suspicion about why the "Spirit Tracks" have been disappearing. She believes that the problem lies in a forbidding place known as the Spirit Tower.
Events occur at the Spirit tower which end up leaving Princess Zelda as a spirit and Link in a bad condition. Link and Zelda's Spirit must now team up in order to revive the Spirit Tracks before they disappear, retrieve Zelda's body before the Chancellor can use it for unfathomable evil, and restore peace to the land.
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/5700/15936079.jpg
Gameplay-
Spirit Tracks continues in the same style that Phantom Hourglass did, in which the player controls Link by using the stylus for all of his motions. Attacking is as simple tapping on the enemy a few times and slashing across the screen with the stylus. Moving Link is by moving your stylus along the screen in the direction you want Link to go, and picking up and throwing items is manageable by tapping on the item you want to pick up, and tapping on the object or enemy you want to throw the object at. If you have played the previous installment, then you are most likely already familiar with the core gameplay of Spirit Tracks and how the controls work.
Spirit Tracks is can easily be broken into three main chunks: Exploration, Spirit Tower, and Overworld. A combination of this three gameplay elements is what makes up Spirit Tracks. Although not all of these elements are the greatest to play, they still fit well when put together.
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/959/58480427.jpg
The first element of exploration is done by controlling Link and going into caves, dungeons, houses, or just exploring the main land of the city. It is the main chunk of the game, and by far the most fun. Link can talk to citizens to obtain hints on what he needs to do, or sometimes they even progress the story a bit. Playing as Link during the exploration bits of the game, is where the game really really shines. It brings back fond memories of older Zelda games, and challenges the player by making them think their way through puzzles, or fight their way through a dungeon and battle a boss.
This element of Spirit Tracks is set up in the same way that nearly every Zelda game is set up. Arrive at the town, learn a little bit about their problems, solve puzzles in a dungeon, earn a new item, use this item on the boss, find whatever relic or emblem you are looking for, rinse and repeat. Spirit Track takes this formula and tweaks it just enough to get it right. You won't only just use the new item you receive to puzzle your way through dungeons, however you will use a combination of various items to work your way to the end.
The puzzles in The Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks are done phenomenally well. Although you might feel they are trivial at first, and a bit redundant. By the second temple you will have to really think your way through various parts of the level, in order to finish it. It takes higher level thinking, and great execution in order to complete some of the temples in the later half of the game, and this is where the more hardcore Zelda fans will get their challenging fun.
The weapons that Link receives in Spirit Tracks are similar to weapons he receives in other games, with a few minor additions. You still get the boomerang, bombs, etc. However a Whirlwind item makes an appearance early on in the game, where you point the weapon in the direction you want to use it and blow into the mic to send a whirlwind in the direction it is pointed. Also new appearances include a whip and sand wand. The weapons used in Spirit Tracks are used in a way where it doesn't feel frustrating when trying to use them. They are all simple commands that can be mastered in due time.
The Ocarina, for lack of a better term, in Spirit Tracks is the Spirit Flutes where songs can be played to uncover hidden locations or resurrect statues that help you through parts of certain dungeons. Some statues tell you where every treasure is on that floor, and others give you advice on how you should approach an enemy. The instrument of choice in Spirit Tracks almost takes a back seat in this game, because it serves a limited purpose where it is mostly optional, however it is still a nice touch to the game, overall. It is used by selecting the item from the item bag, and blowing into the mic when you are on the color pipe you want to play.
Another addition that makes an appearance (and my personal favorite thing about the DS series) is the ability to take notes on your dungeon and town maps. This ability allows you to jot down little information or hints you receive when talking to different townsfolk or reading another sign or map. You have the power to note a treasure chest on your map, to make sure you come back at a later time. Or even write down information you may need to solve a puzzle that could be hard to solve if you tried memorizing it all. The ability to write notes on screen may seem like a simple idea, however it is useful and a method of the game that should not be taken lightly.
The second element of Spirit Tracks is the Spirit Tower. After each temple is completed you must make your way back to the Spirit Tower to collect the next piece of map. In the same fashion of Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Knights are roaming around that, if they spot you, will hunt you down and kill you in the blink of an eye. However Spirit Tracks took a very different approach to the Spirit Tower, when compared to its predecessor. Instead of using a running race against a clock, and frustrating gameplay mechanics that just never seemed to work, Spirit Tracks has you track down three red droplets.
http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/1300/94526420.jpg
Once you have collected the three droplets on the first floor, Link has the power to destroy a Spirit Knight and gives Zelda's Spirit a temporary host body. You then traverse the other floors of the tower as Link and a Spirit Knight, overcoming obstacles and finding unique ways to get past objectives. The Spirit Tower is not nearly as irritating as it seemed to be in Phantom Hourglass. Nintendo has taken a similar method and executed it entirely different.
The third and final element of Spirit Tracks is the awful, horrible, overworld. The overworld is broken up into four main chunks, with only limited areas available at the start of the game. Each chunk of the map is a different area of the Land, with different species inhabiting it, and different climates in each area. The train traversal is a simple tracing of the path you want to go, and allowing the train to take you there. You will have to occasionally shoot something out of your path with the canon, or blow your whistle to get something to move out of your way, but other than that you just watch the train go, and go, and go. For quite some time.
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/4766/52814219.jpg
The only real challenge the train segment of the game takes is trying to pick a path that won't be guarded by other trains on the track. If that is the case, you are most likely screwed at the point you realize a train turned on your same path, and any attempts to turn around end up in the demon train catching up to you and ramming you. When this happens you are then sent to the location you started at, and must make the journey again. Sometimes it would take me up to 5 or 6 attempts before I would just put the game down, or finally make it to my destination. If you thought driving the boat was bad in Phantom Hourglass, this is only ten times worse. And it doesn't help the fact that there are no teleporting check points you can use to get from place to place either. No, you must make each journey, there and back, every time you want to go somewhere.
The train rides are sometimes given a break when you discover a rabbit that you have the opportunity to catch in a net and deliver to a person looking for rabbits. The game cuts into a ten second mini-game screen where a rabbit is hopping around and you must use a net to catch it, with poor reaction time on the net's part. However these side-tracks only happen every so often and if you fail at catching a rabbit it may be some time before you ever see one again. Either way the train segments of the game cause the player to play in a way they shouldn't and really messes up the pacing of the game.
For those Zelda fans who want to complete everything the game has to offer, there are collectibles available that makes the game have a lasting effect. Through various things like your stamp book, where you use a book and find stamp stations to put stamps in your adventure books. These are often a little out of the way and take extra exploration to discover, however this is not a bad thing at all, and most are fun to think about how to get to. Other collectibles take the form of finding treasures in chests that serve the purpose of trading them in to upgrade your train, or selling for rupees. These are a nice addition, because you can also trade locally with people to collect them all!
Music-
For those that care about the music, Spirit Tracks offers a great collection of sounds that offer up a great feeling while playing the game. I have tried listening to the game with the DS Speakers and the headphones, and the game really makes you feel immersed if you have headphones on. With the music playing in the background, the sound of Link's footsteps as he travels through a dungeon, and his voice as he attacks an enemy is really music in my ears.
Multiplayer-
Unlike in Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks does not feature online multiplayer this time around. It is all local, and if you have someone to play with (which more often than not, you will not) it will keep you occupied for a total of ten minutes. However only one game-card is required, so this does make things easier when looking for people to play with in the multiplayer mode.
http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/3350/15582217.jpg
Multiplayer consists of each player attempting to collect as many force gems as they can before the time runs out. Various obstacles can get in your way, such as the environment or the Spirit Knights who roam around. Swords are not available in this mode, so it basically just an all out battle for who can get to the gems the fastest. Special power ups are a nice advantage because they allow the player who receives them various abilities such as using a shock power to knock force gems out of players, or granting the user invincibility for a short while.
Final Thoughts-
Overall The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks brings a huge smile to my face. It is a nice addition to the franchise, where the puzzles are thought provoking and sometimes challenging. The Spirit Tower is actually worthwhile this time around, and changes up the way the game is played for a short while. The overworld is horribly done, in my opinion, and could have been handled differently by giving the player check points or songs to teleport you to different locations on the map. The appearance of Zelda as a main focus of this game is a great addition to the hardcore Zelda fans, and it really brought Zelda's character to life. Instead of being a "damsel in distress" at the hands of Ganon, she plays a pivotal role in helping Link restore peace to the land. In conclusion, Spirit Tracks is a beautifully done game that is a must buy for any Zelda fan that enjoyed Phantom Hourglass, even a little bit. It takes everything from Phantom Hourglass and improves upon it (with the exception of the overworld). For those of you who never got around to playing Phantom Hourglass, I would still say to give this game a try, because you may find you enjoy the cute look, and challenging puzzles that the game offers. I give this game a hearty thumbs up because I know I have already spent hours playing this game, and still know there are many, many hours to come.
My Score-
8/10