The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for Nintendo DS Reviews by Gamers

I had avoided this game for some time because, like many other people, I was skeptical about the alleged awesomeness of the all-touch controls. Well, I'm the first to admit when I'm wrong. If you're still holding out because of similar anxiety, let me assure you that the all-touch controls of "Phantom Hourglass" work smoothly and intuitively, and it takes hardly any time at all to get used to it. The ability to make notes on your maps is a welcome and useful feature, and being able to set a course for your ship by simply drawing a line on your sea chart makes sailing much less tedious than it was in "The Wind Waker". Compared to other Zelda games, "Phantom Hourglass" is a little bit anemic when it comes to content and variety, but the excellent controls will ensure that you'll have a blast playing through what's there. The game looks great and sounds great too. The only major complaint I have concerns the infamous Temple of the Ocean King. You have to return to this dungeon many times throughout the course of the adventure, and, every single time, you're forced to trek through the same floors, collect the same items, and solve the same puzzles, all with a bothersome time limit. It's tedious, it's annoying, and Nintendo really ought to have known better. Still, that isn't reason enough to avoid this game. If you haven't yet played "Phantom Hourglass", I suggest you do so.