As popular as Zelda’s debut on DS- 2007’s Phantom Hourglass- was, it had its fair share of detractors. While its implementation of an entirely stylus driven control system was laudable, there was criticism of its occasional clumsiness. The game structure, reliant on revisiting stages of a central hub dungeon at various points in the game, was oft derided, and much hyped features like the ability to make notes on maps to assist in puzzles really came across in an overly patronising hand holding way.




Spirit Tracks fixes these supposed faults, and attempts to demonstrate this as much as possible in its opening hour. In your first few minutes with the game, you’ll meet your usual chirpy villagers introducing you to the controls (slightly refined, with a double tap for evasive rolls replacing a circular motion). You’ll be shown how to use your train and travel the titular rails (on which more later), introduced to the overhauled central dungeon (as before, beating one of the more traditional elemental dungeons unlocks an extra portion of the large central one- unlike Phantom Hourglass you can now run past floors you’ve already visited rather than repeat previous sections) and meet some familiar faces from the first DS game (well, sort of- Spirit Tracks being set a hundred years after its predecessor, you’re dealing with the character’s grandchildren of the same names and likenesses- thankfully this means re-appearances for characters like the treasure obsessed Jack Sparrow-a-like Linebeck). The game starts out feeling wholely familiar in fact, new and altered features popping up and your attention drawn to them in much the same way annual sports franchises have text proclaiming ‘NEW!’ next to added menu features as if admitting the rest of the game is same old same old. Those with little patience in fact, may reach as far as about the thirty minute mark, where you’re engaged in a stealthy escape from Hyrule Castle in a manner not so much inspired by as directly ripped from the eleven year old Ocarina of Time and shut the game off for good.



They would be mistaken for doing so, of course. Granted, it takes a little while for Spirit Tracks to find its individuality, but once in its stride, it makes you forget its achingly slow introduction. The thrill of all Zelda games is in their dungeons, and Spirit Tracks’ grow ever more intricate and clever throughout, with more requirement of lateral thought and fewer blatant hints than its older sibling.. Retaining a familiar theme, dungeons will unlock a piece of extra kit for Link to use in defeating monsters and solving puzzles for the rest of the game, and far more so than in Phantom Hourglass, you’ll get a lot of mileage out of Spirit Tracks‘ toolset. The microphone utilising mini windmill stuns beasts, but also is needed to pilot floating blocks over rivers. A whip is used for usual Indiana Jones’ still swinging across chasms, but also to hurl objects at enemies. And while bow and arrow puzzles have been a Zelda staple for over two decades, dungeons requiring you to move around switching stations to create a flight path to hit switches are more cleverly done than ever before, and satisfying to pull off. In the central Spirit Tower, meanwhile, the ability to possess Phantom Hourglass’ meddlesome phantoms with the aid of Zelda’s spirit (who accompanies you throughout- a minor spoiler certainly, but one that’s given away in the game manual. For shame.) leads to some interesting co-operative puzzles- and does a lot to strengthen Zelda’s character as a slightly sniffy brat turned hardened monster killer.



As you explore the various towns and villages in Spirit Tracks’ Hyrule, you’ll be drawn in by another series hallmark- what I’d like to refer to as the ‘what you could win’. You’ll frequently spot an area that’s always just out of reach when you first see it, but that you’ll swear to revisit once you can bomb that wall, summon that bird for a lift, or swing across that chasm. Zelda as a series is all about refinement, upgrading your abilities to make things just that little more achievable, or polishing off a meddlesome monster to make life for nearby villagers a little more tolerable. As innovative as Zelda games have been throughout the years, they are ultimately dealing with evolution rather than revolution.

It’s a theme that shows up well when exploring the game’s overworld. Rather than adopt Phantom Hourglass‘ swashbuckling sailing action, Spirit Tracks has you driving a train over the four corners (and a bit beyond) of the map. Foregoing its forebear’s sense of discovery, Spirit Tracks has a more linear (sorry) sense of progression, as you unlock more tracks to delve further into the game world. A fitting analog for the game as a whole, probably, and still inspiring of a certain sense of romance, the method of transport of choice here nevertheless often feels frustratingly confining, and the loss of speed caused by an inability to move between A and B as the crow flies means you may give some of the fetch and carry based side quests a miss.



The on rails (sorry, again) gameplay also shows up the game’s technical failings. Hyrulian towns out of technical necessity have been small in the past but travelling long distances toward them shows up their tiny size. Much of the terrain is comprised of empty fields, which comes across as barren in comparison to its predecessor’s presentation of the wide open seas. Having to deal with large swathes of land shows up the lack of draw distance inherent with 3D DS games and certain elements look downright funny, like the forest realm’s sprite based trees popping up in the polygonal environment. This of course, can’t be helped, but it is obvious that the gameplay style chosen for the game was at odds with the art design (it’s no coincidence, meanwhile to note that the ocean realm shows up the best visuals of the game, one underwater set piece in particular proving quite attractive). Character design meanwhile is excellent, with character models for enemies and heroes being charming and expressive, and boss design being as spectacular as ever.



If the majority of this review comes across as negative, it’s praising the game with faint criticism. With the lineage that Zelda has, it’s in a unique position that a game with excellent pacing (once you’re through the first couple of hours) likeable characters, involving puzzles and deep gameplay can be ‘merely’ one of the best examples of it’s genre on its host platform and an essential purchase. Spirit Tracks may not be a revolution, but it still manages to be nothing less than legendary.

Zelda Spirit Tracks trailer