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

After reading reviews for this game on line I was pretty excited about receiving Phantom Hourglass in the mail.

However that excitement turned to disappointment relatively quickly.

The new control scheme, which uses the stylus for almost all interactions works very well. However, this newfound ease of control quickly serves to illuminate how trivial the combat becomes when one isn't forced to struggle against the controls.

This lack of difficulty also extends into the games dungeons. The solution to every puzzle is spelled out for the player to an absurd degree. I didn't go in expecting a mensa quiz, but I sure thought it would be aimed at players who have graduated kindergarten.

If that wasn't enough to steer you away from this game, there's one more thing which wound up being a deal breaker for me. After each of the dungeons you must return to a main dungeon in order to progress. Each time you return the skills you have gained allow you to reach lower levels of the dungeon. However, each time you return you must play through all of the levels you have already completed in order to get to the new areas. While the game does provide some minor shortcuts once you attain certain items, it still seems incredibly punishing and slow. In fact it basically just serves to extend the length of an otherwise short game.

In summary, I cannot recommend this game to anyone who values their free time. It really doesn't add anything of value to the zelda formula, and many areas of the game are needlessly tiring and repetitive.