The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
North American box art
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Eiji Aonuma (producer) Daiki Iwamoto (director)
Series	The Legend of Zelda
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release date(s)	JP June 23, 2007[1] NA October 1, 2007[2] AUS October 11, 2007[3] EU October 19, 2007[4] KR April 3, 2008
Genre(s)	Action-adventure game[5]
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer, online multiplayer[6]
Rating(s)	CERO: A ESRB: E OFLC: G PEGI: 7+

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (ゼルダの伝説 夢幻の砂時計, Zeruda no Densetsu Mugen no Sunadokei^?) is the fourteenth game in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series and a direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. It is an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. Phantom Hourglass was released in Japan in June 2007; North America, Australia, and Europe in October 2007; and Korea in April 2008. It features 3D cel-shaded graphics with an overhead camera perspective, and uses several features of the DS for game controls, including the touchscreen and microphone. The game has online competition using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Phantom Hourglass is set in a parallel world of The Wind Waker. The story focuses on Link as he travels on a journey to save his friend Tetra from Bellum. With the help of Captain Linebeck and his ship, Link sets out to find the Phantom Hourglass, which he uses to find the Spirits of Courage, Wisdom, and Power. After learning that the only way to defeat Bellum is with the Phantom Sword, Link travels across several islands to find three pure metals, which are forged into the sword used to finally defeat Bellum.

The game was generally well received by critics, and its control scheme was singled out for particular praise. Criticism was focused on its online features, which were considered too simple. The game received several video game industry awards, including the Nintendo DS Game of the Year award from IGN, GameSpy, and GameSpot. Over four million copies of Phantom Hourglass have been sold worldwide as of March 2008.

Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Plot 3 Development 4 Reception 5 References 6 External links

Gameplay

Phantom Hourglass is an action-adventure game with gameplay structured similar to other games in The Legend of Zelda series. The player controls the protagonist, Link, as he explores the world to find new items, information, and allies to help free Tetra and defeat the main antagonist, Bellum. As the game follows The Wind Waker chronologically, it is divided into two types of gameplay: sailing between islands, and exploring the islands and their dungeons on foot.^[7][8]

When on land, the game shows a map of the area on the top screen, and a 3D top-down view of Link and his nearby surroundings on the lower screen. At some points during the game, usually during boss battles, a 3D view is shown on both screens, allowing the player to have a wider view of their surroundings, or show an enemy from a different angle. At nearly any time, the player can bring down the map to the lower screen and draw on it, to make notes, identify locations of objects for later reference or control certain aspects of the world.^[7][8]

The player controls Link through the stylus, moving him around by pointing to the sides of the screens, and interacting with objects and people, or attacking foes by pointing at them; other motions with the stylus can be used for additional moves and attacks. Tools common to the Zelda series, such as the boomerang, grappling hook, and shovel can be acquired, and are used to open new passages to obtain treasures, all used by either pointing or drawing with the stylus. The game also uses the microphone for some events, including blowing out fires and defeating certain types of monsters, and other aspects of the Nintendo DS system, such as closing the unit to create an imprint on a map.^[7][8]

To travel between islands on the Great Sea, the player is given control of a paddle steamer called the S.S. Linebeck. The player can plot a course by drawing on a sea chart, redraw the course to make alterations if needed, and while traveling, shoot at enemies that attack the ship using a cannon, and jump to avoid obstacles. Throughout the game, treasure maps can be found, which create red Xs on the sea chart to plot where the treasure lies. The player can then salvage these treasures from the ocean floor using the ship's Salvage Arm.^[7][8]

When salvaging for treasure, a view of the undersea environment is shown on the bottom screen, and the player can control the speed and movement of the arm with the stylus. By dodging the mines scattered underwater, the treasure can be brought back up to the ship. Once the player receives the Cyclone Slate from the chief frog, they are able to travel to other places in the ocean via cyclones by simply drawing the appropriate symbols on the Slate. These symbols can be obtained by hitting smaller golden frogs in the sea with cannonballs.^[7][8]

A multiplayer battle mode is also included in Phantom Hourglass. It is a one-on-one multiplayer game dubbed "Hide-and-Go-Seek" by Eiji Aonuma, the game's producer. In an arena, one player takes on the role of Link, while the other player, on defense, controls three Phantom Guardians. Players of both sides are aided by power-up items that shortly appear on the playing field, such as the Pegasus Shoes, power gloves, a Decoy, a Time Increase, and turning on Wind Walls. Link's goal is to grab a Force Gem from one of the many zones and carry it to his own base at one side of the arena. The other player, controlling the three Phantom Guardians, must try to find and catch Link before he scores any points. When Link is caught, or if the turn-time has passed, players switch sides.^[7][8]

Each multiplayer game consists of three rounds, and in each round, each player takes a turn at both sides. The maximum length of a multiplayer game is 12 minutes, assuming Link does not get caught and no time bonuses are acquired.^[7][8] In addition to playing to win, players can earn Big Plays by doing certain things in the battle mode. For every four Big Plays a player unlocks, they earn a gift in the story mode. They must receive a letter, and then pick up the gift on Cannon Island. The game supports multiplayer both locally and online through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Local Download Play is also supported. The game is the fourth Zelda game to include multiplayer; the first three are Four Swords, The Wind Waker, and Four Swords Adventures respectively.^[6]

Plot

See also: Characters in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

In the backstory to Phantom Hourglass's immediate precursor, The Wind Waker, a flood covered Hyrule, and only the tallest mountains, now islands, rose above the Great Sea. Phantom Hourglass depicts a different section of this sea than that of The Wind Waker, one which is the domain of the Ocean King. This section of the sea is split into four different quadrants, which can be explored after obtaining their corresponding sea charts. The final battle of Phantom Hourglass also takes place in a parallel world of The Wind Waker; this is confirmed after Bellum is defeated and the Ocean King tells them they must return to their own world. Set some time after The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass opens with Tetra and her pirate crew along with Link encountering a Ghost Ship claimed to have taken sailors and residents of the local islands in an area of the Great Sea. The crew discovers the ship, but when Tetra goes aboard to explore, she disappears; Link attempts to follow her but ends up adrift in the ocean.^[7][8]

Link later wakes up on a strange island through the help of the fairy Ciela (who has some amnesia about her past) and an old man named Oshus, who help Link on his quest to find the Ghost Ship and reunite with Tetra. To that end, they enlist the help of the reluctant Captain Linebeck and his ship after saving him from the Temple of the Ocean King; Linebeck only offers to help with the expectation of finding treasure along the way. Link discovers that to learn of the Ghost Ship's position, they must find the Spirits of Courage, Wisdom, and Power, using maps and clues hidden in the Temple of the Ocean King. However, to overcome the evil forces in the Temple, Link must make use of the Sands of Hours within the Phantom Hourglass and possessed by other creatures around the islands to prevent his life force from being drained.

With the aid of the Hourglass, Link is able to locate and ally with the Spirits of Wisdom and Power easily, but the Spirit of Courage he finds looks exactly like Ciela. Oshus explains that Ciela is actually the Spirit of Courage. Ciela is then reunited with the rest of her self, and awakens as the Spirit of Courage. With Link, they proceed to the Ghost Ship. He succeeds in his attempt to rescue Tetra with the help of the three Spirits, but finds that Tetra has been turned to stone. Link wants to find a way to save Tetra, but Linebeck refuses to help further, as there was no treasure. Oshus then reveals that he is the Ocean King, and that he and Ciela had to take their present forms to hide from the life-eating monster Bellum, who is the cause of the Ghost Ship, Tetra's statue form and other evil in the local area, and has taken residence at the very depths of the Temple. Linebeck quickly changes his mind as soon as Oshus promises to grant him one wish if he helps Link complete his quest to defeat Bellum and save Tetra.

Link learns that the only way to defeat Bellum is to forge the Phantom Sword from three unique, "pure" metals around the local islands called Crimsonine (found on Goron Island), Aquanine (found on the Isle of Ruins), and Azurine (found on the Isle of Frost). After collecting the materials and forging the Phantom Sword, Link descends to the bottom level of the Temple, and initially appears to defeat Bellum. Ciela's memory emerges during the battle which then helps to defeat Bellum. Tetra is freed from her statue form and revived, but before the group can celebrate, Bellum reemerges from the ocean depths and takes Tetra again. In the ensuing battle between the S.S. Linebeck and the Ghost Ship, Linebeck's ship is sunk with Oshus still on board, and Link and Tetra are captured. Linebeck reluctantly picks up the Phantom Sword and is able to free Link and Tetra at the cost of his own freedom, but is able to give Link back the Phantom Sword before becoming possessed by Bellum, turning him into a huge Phantom. Link is finally able to defeat Bellum without harming Linebeck.

As the adventure closes, the sand from the Phantom Hourglass is released into the sea. Oshus, now in his true form of a white blue whale, readies to depart with the Spirits of Power, Wisdom, and Courage, while Linebeck, surprising everyone, wishes not for treasure but for his ship back. After everyone says their goodbyes, Link and Tetra find themselves back on the pirate ship, where it seems only ten minutes have passed for the rest of the crew and they insist that the events were all just a dream. However, Link still possesses the now-empty Phantom Hourglass, and spies Linebeck's ship on the horizon (with the parts Link customized it with), knowing full well that his adventure was real.

Development

Phantom Hourglass began as a Four Swords game for the Nintendo DS, and the game's development team, having discovered the potential of cel-shaded graphics on the console, ultimately decided to opt for a single-player adventure instead. When Nintendo first announced the Nintendo DS at E3 2004, Eiji Aonuma hinted at a The Legend of Zelda title for the system. Shigeru Miyamoto stated in October 2004: "We're thinking of bringing Zelda: Four Swords to the DS,"^[9] but Aonuma later remarked that the idea never reached the development stage.^[10] In late 2005, Aonuma told Electronic Gaming Monthly that the new The Legend of Zelda game for the Nintendo DS would not be a Four Swords title, and rumors were finally put to rest when Nintendo announced Phantom Hourglass as the actual DS project at the 2006 Game Developers Conference.^[11]

The main objective during the game's creation was to take advantage of the DS' features, allowing a Zelda game to be controlled by a touchscreen alone. Eiji Aonuma, the game's producer, hopes the new control scheme will appear in future Zelda titles and other adventure games for the DS. Aonuma said that while The Wind Waker's sales were disappointing and affected him personally, he still wanted to continue the game's style in Phantom Hourglass. One of the goals of the game was to attract casual gamers to The Legend of Zelda series, and then to continue this trend with Zelda games on the Wii.^[12] While Phantom Hourglass continued the style of gameplay of The Wind Waker, it also focused on improving elements which received the most criticism, including sailing, which was criticized as being "dull and terrible" in a review for The Wind Waker. Sailing was improved by increasing the speed of the ship, and by adding more enemies, hazards, and points of interest that players can visit while sailing. Nintendo also made the ship customizable, giving players the ability to change the hull design, anchor, and cannons.^[13]

The game was first shown to the public at the 2006 Game Developers Conference as a trailer. At E3 2006, the game was available to be played by visitors, and its multiplayer mode was also unveiled. At the event, Nintendo announced that the game would be released in the fourth quarter of 2006, but as Nintendo kept quiet on the game in the months following, it became apparent it was going to be delayed, and in late November, Nintendo officially announced that the game would be delayed until 2007. At E3 2007, Nintendo announced the official North American release date to be October 1, 2007.^[14] On November 23, 2007, which was Black Friday in the United States, Nintendo released a special edition gold-colored Nintendo DS Lite which included The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and had an image of the Triforce on the exterior of the DS. Another special edition DS was released that had the Phantom Hourglass logo on the right-hand side of the cover and Link holding a map with Ciela on the left.^[15]

Reception

Reception
Review scores Publication Score Edge 9 of 10[16] Hyper 97 of 100[17] IGN 9 of 10[3]
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score Metacritic 90% (57 reviews)[18]
Awards GameSpot: Best Nintendo DS Game[19] GameSpy: DS Game of the Year[20] IGN: DS Game of the Year[21]

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass received generally positive reviews and was given a 90% rating from review aggregator Metacritic.^[18] Chris Kohler of Wired noted on the stylus-driven control scheme, "there seems to be absolutely zero learning curve. Playing with the stylus feels totally natural,"^[22] and predicted that it "will be copied endlessly from here on out. It is like a textbook of how to use a touch screen for a third-person action game."^[23] In issue 179 of Edge magazine, the British publication praised the game and said, "Phantom Hourglass is a game completely re molded by its platform. It achieves the deep, all-encompassing synthesis with the most hardware that Nintendo's designers are famous for, but hadn't yet attempted with the idiosyncratic features of the all-things-to-all-men DS. It is an instinctive, ingenious joy to play for every minute, and it sets a new gold standard for game interface design on any platform."^[16] Phantom Hourglass received a 97 of 100 from Australian video game magazine Hyper, the highest score it has given to a handheld game.^[17] IGN writer Mark Bozon stated that it was much more casual than previous Zelda games, but nonetheless was "an extremely ambitious, entertaining, and innovative product". His criticism on the game focused on its online features, which were "too simple", and cited the trading aspect as being unnecessary and the game's Battle Mode for not being as deep or as fun as Four Swords.^[3]

At both E3 2006 and 2007, Phantom Hourglass won the Game Critics Awards for Best Handheld Game.^[24] Phantom Hourglass was chosen as the DS Game of the Year by many websites, including IGN,^[21] GameSpy,^[20] and GameSpot,^[19] and was included among the Best of the Year lists of Wired,^[25] TIME,^[26] and Edge.^[27] It won the Best Handheld Game award at the 2007 Spike Video Game Awards.^[28] On February 7, 2008, the game received the Handheld Game of the Year award from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences at the Interactive Achievement Awards.^[29]

When it was released in Japan, Phantom Hourglass shipped 400,000 copies to the country's retailers, and over 350,000 of those were sold within a week. These sales were on par with The Wind Waker's release in Japan (350,000 units), and just behind Ocarina of Time (500,000 units) and Majora's Mask (400,000 units) as the third-best opening week for a Zelda title.^[30] During its release in the United States, Phantom Hourglass was the fifth best-selling game of October 2007, with 262,800 copies sold.^[31] As of March 31, 2008, 4.13 million copies of Phantom Hourglass have been sold worldwide, with 910,000 of those copies in Japan.^[32]

References

External links

• The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass official web page
• The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass at Zelda.com
• The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass at Nintendo.com

The Legend of Zelda series Main series The Legend of Zelda · Zelda II: The Adventure of Link · A Link to the Past  · Link's Awakening  · Ocarina of Time (characters) · Majora's Mask (characters) · Oracle of Seasons & Oracle of Ages (characters) · The Wind Waker (characters) · Four Swords Adventures · The Minish Cap (characters) · Twilight Princess (characters) · Phantom Hourglass (characters) Spin-offs Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland · Tingle's Balloon Fight DS · Link's Crossbow Training Other games LCD games · CD-i games · BS Zelda no Densetsu · BS Zelda no Densetsu Kodai no Sekiban · Collector's Edition Characters Link · Princess Zelda · Ganon · Tingle Other Universe · Enemies · Comics · Manga · TV series Nintendo · The Legend of Zelda Portal