Phantom Hourglass

The Phantom Hourglass is the sequel to the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.  It was released in 2007 for the Nintendo DS.  It was the first Legend of Zelda game for the new Nintendo handheld system and utilized the DS' unique style of game play like no other game in the franchise.  It came after Twilight Princess but before Spirit Tracks, the follow-up DS Legend of Zelda title to come out during the holiday season of 2009.  Phantom Hourglass uses the same overhead style of previous Zelda games and utilizes both DS screens to give a more fully functional grasp of game play.

Link and Tetra are living on her pirate ship traveling throughout the Great Sea above the remains of Hyrule.  During their travels, they come upon a ghost ship where Tetra comes under attack.  Link slips into the ocean and awakens on an island by a fairy named Ciela.  Link discovers a strange object – the Phantom Hourglass – and finds Oshus who encourages him to find Tetra.  Link teams up with Captain Linebeck and boards his ship to search out the ghost ship Tetra's on.

After having no luck, Link decides to decode hidden clues in the Temple of the Ocean King.  He seeks out the spirits of Courage, Power and Wisdom to aid him in finding Tetra.  Once he finds the three spirits, he locates Tetra and discovers that the ship was created as a lure by Bellum.  Bellum is a monster that both Oshus (the Ocean King) and Ciela (the Spirit of Courage) are hiding from; Bellum is hiding in the temple and has turned Tetra into a statue on the ghost ship.

In order to put an end to Bellum's rule over the Great Sea, Link must reforge the Phantom Sword after seeking out special metals on the islands.  After this, he comes face-to-face with Bellum in the temple.  When he thinks he has defeated Bellum, he returns to the Linebeck which is then destroyed by the sea monster.  However, Link continues to fight until he defeats Bellum and releases the sand of the Phantom Hourglass in the process to turn Oshus back to his true form: A blue whale, where he takes the spirits with him to live in peace within the confines of the Great Sea.

I was not a big fan of The Wind Waker when it came out, because I was not used to the idea of a cartoon-ish Legend of Zelda.  However, after giving Wind Waker a try, I looked forward to seeing how they brought the concept to the DS and its game engine.  I like the idea of interacting with the game itself.  The Legend of Zelda is so rich in mythology and storyline, it makes sense to let the gamer get more immersed by allowing for the type of interaction the DS gives you.

The Phantom Hourglass can be purchased for the Nintendo DS, which is compatible with the DS Lite and DSi.  It has not been released in any other format and has not found its way to the Wii Virtual Console, yet.  However, since many previous Legend of Zelda titles have been released for purchase on the Wii, no doubt in time it, too, will find its way onto the Wii Shop Channel and maybe even the DSi Shop Channel down the line.