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DS | Adventure | The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Boxart for The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass 13 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.50
  • SOUND: 5.00
  • CONTROL: 4.00
  • FUN FACTOR 4.75
  • AVG USER SCORE 4.8
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 4.6
Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

Preview: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Preview by ifeelthecosmos | 04/09/2007 | 14:35:40 PM PST

The biggest and best game of the year for the DS will probably be Phantom Hourglass.

Since last year's E3, we've been itching for more updates on The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, but Nintendo has kept its first touchscreen Zelda game under tight wraps. That is, until GDC, when we were able to get a tiny peek at Phantom Hourglass' battle mode.

Multiplayer Unveiled

In this neat teaser of the two-player mode, matches are played in rounds where one player controls Link while the other controls three guards. The objective: collect Triforce gems scattered around a maze and drop them off at your base while avoiding the enemy guards. Your opponent draws paths on the lower screen, which contains a map of the maze for the guards to follow, and if the guards get close enough to slash Link, your turn as Link is over. Control then switches between players.

To make things harder, the guards remain invisible to Link until he obtains the first Triforce. Also, large Triforce pickups are worth more points but they slow Link down to a crawl, leaving him open to the guards. Safe zones, underground tunnels, and speed power-ups help him avoid danger, but guards can use their own power-ups to increase attack range or activate severe wind gusts to block Link's path.

Graphics look the same as they did last May: visuals are cell-shaded and follow the colorful, cartoon-like character design of Wind Waker. Character movement still appears to be stylus and touchscreen controlled. As for Phantom Hourglass's single player mode, exact release date, and whether the multiplayer mode will go online, Nintendo remains elusive. We will simply have to wait as Nintendo bides its time.


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