I bought Phantom Hourglass at a Wal-Mart in the middle of nowhere on Monday night. It still baffles me how a store miles from civilization has their stock in on a Monday night when Best Buy and Toys R Us in the city are advertising their availability for Tuesday by 5PM and Wednesday by 2PM, respectively. Why is the video game industry seemingly the only entertainment medium that is this incompetent when it comes to release dates?

Anyway, I've played Phantom Hourglass for a couple of hours now and I feel like I'm the only person in the world who is not impressed. Besides the CD-i games, I've played and loved every title in the Zelda series. I'd even give those a play-through if I could. And usually, my opinion with Zelda is that more of the same is always better. But in this case, I just can't help feeling like Phantom Hourglass strays too far from the core formula in some places while remaining prohibitively familiar in others.

I wouldn't necessarily call the control scheme innovative, as it has been done before in titles like Animal Crossing to a certain degree of success. But controlling Link with the stylus is new for the Zelda series and, for the most part, works well. I find it too difficult to roll and if I miss an enemy with my sword, it rarely feels like it was my fault. The ability to take notes on your map is a great feature, but it's never implemented well. In fact, the only uses I've come across so far illustrates my overarching criticism of the game - like so many recent first party Nintendo games, Zelda has been "dumbed down" to appeal to a wider audience. It would be a misnomer to call the map sequences puzzles, as they amount to little more than reading a sign in one room, copying the image, and then walking into the next room to flip switches. There's no mental exercise involved, and the extent to which your new fairy friend offers helpful hints borders on insulting. Add to this the fact that a number of Zelda staples are missing, like heart container, map, and compass collection, and Phantom Hourglass just seems like it's trying to reach to too wide an audience.

My next couple complaints are, admittedly, a matter of personal preference. I consider myself to be pretty open to most gaming experiences or genres, but there are two aspects of game design that I absolutely despise: working against a timer and stealth sequences. In some games, certainly those designed around a countdown like Marble Madness, Exit, or most puzzle games, working against a clock can add appropriate suspense. But if I'm playing my DS, I don't want suspense. I want to relax. On the same note, if I wanted to play a stealth game, I'd pick up Metal Gear or Tom Clancy. The stealth sequences have always been my least favorite aspect of the Zelda series, because I don't feel that they are ever implemented well or really serve a purpose. I don't enjoy trial-and-error gameplay where you have to continually die or get caught in order to progress. Punishment just isn't fun. So you can imagine that, in a game like Phantom Hourglass, where you are forced to repeatedly play the exact same levels using these two mechanics, I would be less than pleased.

Obviously, I'm still going to finish the game. And I imagine my opinion of it will get better as I get further. But I just can't shake the feeling that Nintendo has begun to let their recent success sink in a bit too much and are riding on their own coattails. While still fun, recent games like Mario Party 8, WarioWare Smooth Moves, and even Metroid Prime 3 have been disappointing for a variety of reasons, many of which apply to Phantom Hourglass as well. And it was clear from their recent E3 conference that their target audience has drastically shifted. As a lifelong fan of the company that introduced me to video games twenty years ago, I can't help but feel a little slighted.