Pretty good game, but it definitely isn't the best Zelda ever.
Controls:7.5
The controls are innovative, but akward, because you have to point to where you want to go. Boating is pretty boring and tedious, and the cyclone slate you acquire doesn't help much. You have to hunt gold frogs to learn the signs. After you learn the signs, you must remember them and then flawlessly draw them out on your slate to get to where you want to go. Also, to swing your sword, you must swipe the stylus across the screen. Not too bad. The worst part was drawing things. Aiming the boomerang and bombchus are fun, but having to draw logos like the Phantom Hourglass and the Triforce is frusrating. You have to connect the drawings without any flaws, otherwise it erases your work. The final boss battle can become tedious, becuse the hourglass you have to draw is invisible. This makes it hard to draw it right, because it only works if your perfect. Nonetheless, the contols are basic and innovative,
Graphics:7.5
It's not the cel-shaded that bothers me, it's how rigid it looks. I loved how the Wind Waker's graphics were done. But in PH they are rigid and sharp. It looks like Link's eyes are floating off his face, and his hair looks wierd. Everything looks like it is out of place. The enemies also look kinda fake looking and scratchy. The sea even looks a bit different,
Story: 9.25
The story was the high point of the game for me. It was not as good as Twilight Princess'es, Wind Waker's, Ocarina's or Majora's stories, but it was pretty good. The ghost ship was cool, and having a new enemy was a good move. It had some good surprises, but wasn't too deep. It also was wierd not saving "Princess" Zelda. Technically Tetra is Zelda, but she isn't in her attire and is refered to as Tetra. The worst part of the story is the ocean king dungeon. After every dungeon, you had to return to a huge 13 level dungeon and find some item. You have 10-25 minutes in non-safe zones in the dungeon, depending on how much progress you have in the story. If you go over the timelimit, the dungeon wilI suck the life out of you and you die. It wasn't hard, but it was reptetive and annoying. The story was still good though.
Sidequests:8.5
The sidequests are fun, but there are barely any and they are short. There are no Heart Pieces, just heart containers. There are 16 to find, over 1/2 of which you get from bosses and from the start. That was a huge difference from TP, in which you have to collect 45 heart pieces compared to 8 or so heart containers in Phantom Hourglass. The item collecting and trading is good though, and the upgrades for your spirits are cool. Collect 10 gems for that type of spirit, and you upgade it to level one. Colelct 20 gems for that type of spirit, and you upgade to level 2. Depending on which spirit you have in use, you will have enhanced attack damage, defense, or attack range. You also can customise your ship by finding ship parts around the sea. If they follow the same theme, your ship has more defense.
Online:6.75
For being the first online Zelda game, PH wasn't bad. It is very repetitive, because there is only one mode. Here is what you do. It's basically a capture-the-flag type game. There are 8 battlefields. On each battlefield are a varying number of force gems, yellow triangle-shaped objects that are the key to victory. Each one varies in value depending on size, the biggest being worth the most points. There is a red base and a blue base, which act as safe zones when you are in them. When you get a force gem, you must run with it, put it in your zone(which gives you points), before your opponent's phantoms strike you. When you are caught or time runs out, you go on defense and try to defend the other force gems using your Phantoms. After 3 rounds the game ends, and the person with the most points wins. Depending on who you beat by how many points, you get battle points which upgrade your status. The more points, the better you are in the online mode.
Sound: 7.75
The music is good and enjoyable, but not memorable. The DS's speakers are pretty lame, and have scratchy audio. The sounds Link makes are nausiating because they are the same as Wind Waker's. The weapons sounds aren't too bad, but could be better. It was pretty good sound effects for the DS though.
Overall: 8.25
This game lacks in some areas like online play and graphics, but it is still a great game. It is a must play for the DS and is fun to complete. The dificulty is pretty easy for a Zelda game, so you should be able to play whether you are a good gamer or not. I think it is about 7th or 8th in the Zelda series, but I think everybody should play it. It is a blast, and pretty innovative.