For me, the defining moment (and often moment of purchase) of a new system is when a game in one of my favorite franchises gets an installment on it. In fact, you can probably track all of my console purchases to the proximity of available Kingdom Hearts games, but that’s a story for another time. In the case of Nintendo, the arrival of a new Zelda game pretty much cements my purchase of their latest gadget. Usually, it’s worth it. Phantom Hourglass, the first Zelda game for the Nintendo DS, uses many of the DS’ unique features, while also providing one of the best portable adventure gaming experiences I’ve ever had.
STORY
Phantom Hourglass is a rare direct sequel to a prior game in the Zelda series; in this case, The Wind Waker for the Gamecube. Zelda games do tend to be self-contained, however, and the main story of Phantom Hourglass doesn’t really have too much to do with The Wind Waker, outside of a few references at the beginning and the presence of some minor comic relief from Tetra’s pirate crew. For all intents and purposes, Phantom Hourglass is a similar game to The Wind Waker, but it’s not necessary to have any experience with the prior title.
