Zelda Spirit Tracks wasn't only an innovative experience it was also one of the best handheld zelda games I ever played.
The DS was really getting some nice games during 2009 and one game that really caught my attention was Zelda Spirit Tracks! Previously I played Phantom Hourglass but found it to be somewhat frustrating because you were forced to keep returning to the Ocean Temple. I was a little skeptical at first about Nintendo trying use a train instead using the boat or just going back to the old traditional style of zelda exploration which involved you running around and exploring the different areas like in other classic handheld zelda titles. As it turned out, when I first played this game I was litterally blown away! Nintendo had took the idea of simply using a train for exploration and just went all out innovative with it! I was so impressed with the amount of creativity and innovation I saw in Spirit Tracks that it became one of my most favorite handheld zelda games! I don't know why I never got around to reviewing this game but I might have forgotten because I was probably so busy playing through the entire game again! Spirit Tracks was definitely worth waiting for and its also worth a review!
Storyline: Zelda Spirit Tracks picks up 100 years later after Phantom Hourglass. There's an old legend that the people speak of about the first settlers on the land. The settlers in the beginning followed the spirits and all was peaceful. But then suddlenly their peace came to an end! The evil Demon King appeared destroying everything in his path. A terrible war was then waged between the spirits and the demons and much blood was shed! The spirits managed to defeat the Demon King but they could not destroy him entirely and their powers were greatly depleted. With the last of their powers the spirits buried the Demon King's soul underground and built the Tower of Spirits as a lock to keep him from ever escaping. The Spirit Tracks were then created to act as shackles which also chained him forever into the earth! With their powers drained the spirits returned back into heavens. The land was then entrusted to the new generation which would later become the next Hyrule!
Gameplay: In Zelda Spirit Tracks you ride a train! You use the touch screen to guide it along the tracks in making turns, slowing down, backing up, and using the breaks! You also use the touch screen to shoot bombs once you get the cannon and to just toot you horn. Riding the train alone is an innovative experience because everything you do revolves around the touch screen. In Sprirt Tracks you also get a wind flute or the Spirit Flute and you use the mic to blow tunes into it to activate certain events iin the game. With the Sprirt Flute you can also learn different songs which also reminds me of Ocarina of Time. Though some people may think that this is just an annoying gimmick, its actually the coolest thing I've ever seen implemented into a DS game! Your main goal in Spirit Tracks is to stop the Demon King Malladus from returning and that means you will be heading into some dungeons which I believe are more of challenge than Phantom Hourglasses dungeons. In the game the Tower of Spirits splits into four parts thanks to the scyco Cole and once the Spirit Tracks begin to dissapear it's your job to get them back! This requires you to go into the Tower of Sprirts, sneak passed the phantoms, collect the tears of light, and use Zelda's spirit to possess a phantom and maneuver the rest of the dungeon drawing paths for her because of Cole's evil plot from stealing her body. While this method of gameplay is similar to Phantom Hourglasses Ocean King Temple, it is much less frustrating because you're not working your way down almost 20 floors in a time limit doing so! But in Spirit Tracks however, you must work your way up 30 floors which makes the Tower of Spirits one of biggest dungeons ever conceived! After you complete a section of the tower you get a piece of the Spirit Tablet back which brings back parts of the Sprirts Tracks. Only then can you venture to the dungeons and different areas across the land.
Graphics: In many ways I would say that Zelda Sprirt Tracks has better graphics than Phantom Hourglass. I know your thinking the graphics are problaby about the same but you can tell that there was a little bit more detail put into Zelda Sprirt Tracks. The entire overworld as well as the music theme, characters, and bosses just look better in this game! It's really fun to watch Toon Link ride the train across the Spirit Tracks and see the really bright colorful world that Sprirt Tracks is set in. The best part of this game to me is it's presentation! When I first put this game in my DS I was immediatly blown away by its title presentation! That to me right there was enough to let me know that this game was going be something special! Zelda Spirit Tracks really did alot to impress me and through out the whole playthrough of this game there was never one moment that I complained about it!
Value: Unlike Phantom Hourglass, this game has a number of sidequests to keep you busy! There are more areas to explore and more things to collect! You can even hunt for bunny rabbits and collect stamps in this game! The customization is also better in this game when it comes to changing the look of your transportation. You can really customize your train to look really cool and if you get as good me at playing this game you might end up with the Golden Train! May take some work getting it early in the game though.
Overall: Zelda Spirit Tracks brought alot of innovation with it on the DS and I still regard this game as one of the zelda franchises finest handheld titles! The amount of fun I had playing this game was just astronomical! I would recommend this game to any zelda fan who hasn't played it yet! Zelda Sprirt Tracks will be sure to impress any zelda fan or anyone else looking for a unique and fun gaming experience for that matter! Zelda Sprirt Tracks wasn't only an innovative experience, it was also one of the best handheld zelda games I ever played. And that's saying something since I never cared for Toon Link much.
Uh... Link will win. This review was brought to you by Wolflink001.