Outside of Skyward Sword and the originals on NES, its my least favourite Zelda game.
Phantom Hourglass...The WORST Zelda Game? - (Under the Super Scope)
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Outside of Skyward Sword and the originals on NES, its my least favourite Zelda game.
Yes, worst one I've ever played for sure.
It amazes me that the one good thing to come from PH (drawing on the map) never made it to any other Zelda game (except Spirit Tracks?). Would be nice for BOTW.
It amazes me that the one good thing to come from PH (drawing on the map) never made it to any other Zelda game (except Spirit Tracks?). Would be nice for BOTW.
It's easy to call this the worst Zelda game if you haven't played Tri Force Heroes solo or with clueless randoms. To be fair, Phantom Hourglass is right there at the bottom with it. I would never, ever replay those or Spirit Tracks. Bad era for Zelda games.
The game seemed like it had a heart. That's all that matters to me, tedium aside. Linebeck is the king, man, and the ending made me emotional. It's also got that sick "illusion dream" theme going on like LA in a true 'Zelda-Handheld' fashion in which being a filler really is no detriment because the tale you get to experience is so fine on its own.
It's also twice as short as its sequel Spirit Tracks and with more of purehearted, simple "Zelda" tone than that game also, I found PH to be the more condense and delightful entry.
It's also twice as short as its sequel Spirit Tracks and with more of purehearted, simple "Zelda" tone than that game also, I found PH to be the more condense and delightful entry.
The thing is that most of the good ideas in Phantom Hourglass were also in Spirit Tracks, so I default to being harsher on its flaws. I admire some of its creativity, but that's where it stops.
The temple of the ocean king is worse than a million Skyward Sword tutorials.
The temple of the ocean king is worse than a million Skyward Sword tutorials.
I liked Phantom Hourglass a lot. If it didn't have the stupid dungeon you had to repeat over and over it'd be a top tier Zelda for me. What is unfortunate is that even tho it's sequel did fix the repeating dungeon bullshit it just wasn't as good of a game overall.
"But when you have a stone around the corner telling you to blow there's not a single inkling of challenge"
Sure it tells you to blow, but not to use the microphone. In most games you'd use an item to accomplish the task. It's unconventional to think of using the microphone. Same deal with the puzzle they like. It tells you to press the crest against the sea chart, not "close the DS".
I dunno, dungeons and puzzles are done better than in games like Wind Waker. Phantom Hourglass has some really inventive item use and puzzles. The puzzles were more of a challenge and used items better than, say, ALBW.
The Temple of the Ocean King is repetitive and visually boring. BotW is king of visual repetitiveness.
Both PH and Spirit Tracks are underrated. Spirit Tracks especially so.
Sure it tells you to blow, but not to use the microphone. In most games you'd use an item to accomplish the task. It's unconventional to think of using the microphone. Same deal with the puzzle they like. It tells you to press the crest against the sea chart, not "close the DS".
I dunno, dungeons and puzzles are done better than in games like Wind Waker. Phantom Hourglass has some really inventive item use and puzzles. The puzzles were more of a challenge and used items better than, say, ALBW.
The Temple of the Ocean King is repetitive and visually boring. BotW is king of visual repetitiveness.
Both PH and Spirit Tracks are underrated. Spirit Tracks especially so.
Nope, that's Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
PH May be one of the worst Zeldas, but it's still a damn good game.
PH May be one of the worst Zeldas, but it's still a damn good game.
I thought Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks were both horrid.
Ah helllll naw
Ah helllll naw
Great game and Zelda. Solid controls (was very sad they didn't return for ALBW) with comfy dungeons and a great seafaring overworld. Game overall took advantage of being on the DS, making it feel unique. Very happy they took the chance to build off it for one more game.
I liked it more than Spirit Tracks. And Zelda 1. And Zelda 2. And maybe even the Oracle games, but I need to replay those to confirm.
Spirit Tracks improves on most aspects, but the annoying Train driving with constant enemy-spawns soured the experience from what was a pretty chill overworld in PH.
The Temple of The Ocean King is nowhere near as bad as I expected. You don't have to go there more than what, four times? And there's even shortcuts. The shrines in BOTW are far more repetitive.
Spirit Tracks improves on most aspects, but the annoying Train driving with constant enemy-spawns soured the experience from what was a pretty chill overworld in PH.
The Temple of The Ocean King is nowhere near as bad as I expected. You don't have to go there more than what, four times? And there's even shortcuts. The shrines in BOTW are far more repetitive.
Spirit Tracks edges it out purely because those panpipes were outright progression blockers for me.
I don't hate either though, a very niche pair of Zelda games that tried to put unique mechanics and gameplay at the forefront, just sadly at the expense of fun at times. A lot of good ideas about settings, themes and characters too.
I don't hate either though, a very niche pair of Zelda games that tried to put unique mechanics and gameplay at the forefront, just sadly at the expense of fun at times. A lot of good ideas about settings, themes and characters too.
Some of the ugliest games in terms of graphics as well. Minish Cap looks a lot better. Most GBA games look better than DS games because of this. Nintendo abandonned sprite based graphics in that era and went with ugly polygonal graphics.
True, they get tedious, but difference between the Shrines and the Temple of the Ocean King is that one is an purely optional set of puzzles, the other is a mandatory and repetitive one. And if short-cutting said puzzle is to be deemed a positive, the argument can just easily be made "why make the player need to do it again anyway?"
I loved Phantom Hourglass. It has one of the greatest characters in a Zelda game ever.
Captain Linebeck.
If you guys haven't played the game, you are missing a great character.
Captain Linebeck.
If you guys haven't played the game, you are missing a great character.
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I absolutely hated this game at launch purely because of the controls. Then a couple of years ago, I went back and replayed it after playing through Wind Waker HD and I was able to at least finish it finally... but man do I still hate the forced stylus control scheme.
Because the time limit is an equally important pressure that PH sets, I suppose you could achieve the same thing with teleports that take away time (though I think the game already does this too), but that feels inelegant to me compared to asking the player to make their way at higher speed and rewarding shortcuts that take advantage of the new tools the player now has.
The issue with the temple of the ocean king is the drab visual design more than anything.
I really enjoyed Phantom Hourglass when I played it (well apart from the game not recognising my Hourglass drawing during the final boss fight for ages). I think Spirit Tracks improves upon most of the concepts the PH introduced, like the main central dungeon and travelling the overworld with a vehicle.
I thought having everything controlled by the touch screen was a pretty cool idea and the puzzle involving closing the DS was really inventive.
If I had to choose my least favourite Zelda it would be the Adventure of Link. I found that game to be far too difficult to be enjoyable.
I thought having everything controlled by the touch screen was a pretty cool idea and the puzzle involving closing the DS was really inventive.
If I had to choose my least favourite Zelda it would be the Adventure of Link. I found that game to be far too difficult to be enjoyable.
Why not both? teleports to advance for players that do find the Temple too repetitive a location with the time penalty (which you nailed by pointing out it is a very drab design in an otherwise colourful game, that'll add to mine and others memories of it I'll admit) whereas more cushioned time can be earned by doing it the way the game actually went with, except it's optional. Key is whatever route you're choosing to go, the game isn't trying to waste your time or experience, which is something Zelda got a lot better at post these games.
FWIW I don't hate the Temple nearly as much as others do, in fact I just begrudgingly put up with it so I can get back to what I enjoyed about PH, sailing with Linebeck.
The worst Zelda in this video and one of the games that are always on behind the list of most people which had 90 on MC. It's always curious to me. lol
Spirit Tracks is miles better imo.
Linebeck was awesome tho.
I still love this game cuz i played it with a friend together in childhood.
Sure the ds games is not really want most fans liked but personally i loved them.
Linebeck was awesome tho.
I still love this game cuz i played it with a friend together in childhood.
Sure the ds games is not really want most fans liked but personally i loved them.
"Optional" being a loose term here. You don't have to do most things in that game. But you will anyway.
As for the shortcuts, they exist so the player doesn't have to do it all again. So your point there is kinda moot.
Now, don't think I love this game. Nor the infamous temple. But I played the game very late, and was lead to believe through word of mouth that this was an awful, prolonged and much repeated process. When in reality I found it to be almost dissappointingly not so. I ended up quite enjoying the challenge of some of the later levels and was surprised by just how few times I actually needed to go there.
TriForce Heroes is another underrated gem. You NEED to play it multiplayer, though, and your mileage will vary depending on how good you and your companions are at solving puzzles because it does not pull punches. It has some amazing co-op puzzle design that seriously requires cooperation, which extends into some of the best Zelda bosses in the series.
See as someone who played Four Sword Adventures solo and loved every second of it (one of my favorite zeldas actually), requiring multiplayer for it to be fun is already a big negative. Every game becomes fun in co-op with friends.
But I'll be honest, it's hard to believe this game is that great of a coop game anyway when a fundamental mechanic (the totem) freezes the movement of one or both of the other players. Actually that just sounds like bad design for co-op.
That title belongs to all of those multiplayer Zelda games, they're really mediocre imo.
The worst thing about Phantom Hourglass is the stressful tedium that is the Temple of the Ocean King, but outside of that terribleness PH is a really fun little action adventure game that manages to translate Zelda's gameplay to a touchscreen/dual screen setup in a surprisingly elegant and sometimes brilliant way. It ain't my fav, but it's still good. Oh And Linebeck is an awesome character.
Spirit Tracks on the other hand is the business, fuck the haters, that game's an underrated gem (Minish Cap > Spirit Tracks and its train >>>> all your fav top down Zeldas, don't @ me. Hit ignore, you'll feel better). One of the DS' best imo.
The game uses PH as a base and improves on it substantially (The Tower of Spirits is one of the best Zelda dungeons with one of the most compelling features, Phantom Zelda) while also feeling like the unique non-(old)Hyrulean follow up that Wind Waker was asking for.
It had a small but fun and unique selection of items.
The cutscene direction is surprisingly sophisticated and the storytelling is wonderful.
It plays with the established lore in fun ways while also providing its own unique worldbuilding elements.
It's version of Zelda is one of, if not the most charming and well developed in the whole series.
Chancellor Cole and Byrne (especially) are really cool one-off villains.
And the music is absolutely amazing, can't get enough of that overworld theme.
It's honestly one of the few handheld games that I wish was made for a home console instead. The only thing I genuinely dislike about it is that damn flute, those mic controls are wonky af. But that ain't enough to spoil the game for me.
The worst thing about Phantom Hourglass is the stressful tedium that is the Temple of the Ocean King, but outside of that terribleness PH is a really fun little action adventure game that manages to translate Zelda's gameplay to a touchscreen/dual screen setup in a surprisingly elegant and sometimes brilliant way. It ain't my fav, but it's still good. Oh And Linebeck is an awesome character.
Spirit Tracks on the other hand is the business, fuck the haters, that game's an underrated gem (Minish Cap > Spirit Tracks and its train >>>> all your fav top down Zeldas, don't @ me. Hit ignore, you'll feel better). One of the DS' best imo.
The game uses PH as a base and improves on it substantially (The Tower of Spirits is one of the best Zelda dungeons with one of the most compelling features, Phantom Zelda) while also feeling like the unique non-(old)Hyrulean follow up that Wind Waker was asking for.
It had a small but fun and unique selection of items.
The cutscene direction is surprisingly sophisticated and the storytelling is wonderful.
It plays with the established lore in fun ways while also providing its own unique worldbuilding elements.
It's version of Zelda is one of, if not the most charming and well developed in the whole series.
Chancellor Cole and Byrne (especially) are really cool one-off villains.
And the music is absolutely amazing, can't get enough of that overworld theme.
It's honestly one of the few handheld games that I wish was made for a home console instead. The only thing I genuinely dislike about it is that damn flute, those mic controls are wonky af. But that ain't enough to spoil the game for me.
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The controls were terrible and the central dungeon was insufferable. It's not even a good dungeon to begin with, and you go back to it over and over and over. It's good outside of that, but those are some massive caveats.