Phantom Hourglass Difficulty?

[Alder Dragon]

Okay, for those of us who have completed the Zelda series up to this point, what did you think of the difficulty (or well, I should say simplicity) of Phantom Hourglass? I have to say, I was actually disappointed because of how easy this game was. I wish Phantom Hourglass had a second quest similar to LoZ's second quest, that would have been fun to play through.

Twilight Princess is said to be a pretty simple game, and Phantom Hourglass was definitely the easiest Zelda game I've ever played. The Minish Cap was a good game - I loved the big/small puzzles, but it felt to me like it lacked adventure. The game pretty much told you where to go at every point in the game. Phantom Hourglass was better in that aspect. Although you didn't have all four sea charts at the beginning of the game, you could still sail anywhere you wanted on the east side of the southwestern sea. Zelda games are based on adventure, and I think it's starting to lack it. Think of the original Legend of Zelda - as soon as you started the game, you could go up, left, right, or in the cave. You could go through the entire game without a sword until battling Ganon, you could go through the labyrinths in any order, and you could get to every part of the overworld map without beating a single dungeon. I liked this about Zelda, but it seems to be lacking in some games.

Okay, back to Phantom Hourglass. I feel like Ciela gives away too much. Perhaps this is to draw in younger players, which is a good thing. Don't get me wrong - I loved Phantom Hourglass, I think I might have enjoyed the game play more than any other Zelda game, but it just felt too easy. Having played through the games before, it's obvious what you're supposed to do. Shoot the enemy in the eye (Mases :p), bomb the wall that is colored differently, put bombs in Dodongo's mouth, hit the switch to change the blue and red barriers, etc. I guess what I'm saying is that I just miss challenge in a Zelda game.

I beat Phantom Hourglass in 3 days, maybe 8 hours total. I beat The Minish Cap in two days, I haven't gotten Twilight Princess yet, and I beat The Wind Waker in 3 or 4 days when it was released. Looking back on the classic games, it took me years to complete LoZ and AoL, LttP and LA without any help at all. I suppose the lengthiness took away from the enjoyability a bit, but in the long run, I loved it. Perhaps they took so long to complete because I was younger back then, but they are still noticeably harder games regardless.

Zelda games don't feel as rewarding to complete anymore. When I first beat the original Zelda, it felt amazing - I finally completed the adventure - but then there was the second quest. Link to the Past felt awesome to finish, finally restoring peace to Hyrule and just knowing I had completed it myself, without help. Every Zelda game I've completed has been done without a guide with the exception of Oracle of Ages - and over the years, it seems less and less rewarding each time.

The simplicity in the recent games is good for drawing in a larger fan-base of the Zelda series, along with younger players - but I can't wait until another Zelda title is released that has much more challenging enemies and puzzles. Do you think this will ever happen? Many times, games are made easier because the makers are afraid that if the game is TOO hard, no one will want to play it.

As for me, I don't really care how hard a Zelda game is. Sure, I prefer a challenge, but as long as it still bears the Zelda title, I'll play it and most likely love it. I don't think Miyamoto will go wrong with Zelda.

[RyanNope]

I know what your saying and I couldn't agree much more. The games are getting too far easy. I don't think it has much if anything to with the fact that we've gotten used to the feel of Zelda games.

[Onilink89]

also agree, after TMC zelda games became quite easy. like for instance, with oot after i beat the temple it was like "yes finnaly beaten a temple" with PH "ok temple cleared...NEXT"
i'm getting that sort of feeling.

and in PH the only annoying part is temple of the ocean king.
PH felt a little incomplete, i mean you only had one shield and not many items, there are entire hearth containers in stead of piece of hearts, you didn 't need bottles. gameplay of PH was great even it is easy.

with TP, nintendo could have done so much more for TP, if fans would not be so hasty. everybody was overhyped about it.

but the thing is, i'm thinking maybe nintendo made it easy because some people would have trouble with the gameplay.

[Peregrine]

As much as I liked the game, I have to agree that it was rather easy. And maybe a little short. It seems most of the more recent portable versions are rather short.

Where I am in my life right now, I think a shorter game hits the spot. Judging by the ages in some of your profiles, I'm a bit older than a few of you. (I hate to say this next phrase) When I was your age, I could sit in front of a game for hours at a time, play from beginning to end, and rack up a list of games that I've beaten. Now, unless a game is really well known to me, or otherwise really short, I don't have that kind of time anymore.

I completed about 80% of Links Awakening. But then something came up that I had to work on, so I had to set the game aside for a few months. When I finally had a chance to go back to it, I'd lost track of the storyline, had no idea where I left off, and just decided to delete the save file and start from the beginning.

I completed about 50% of Oracle of Seasons. Then, same problem. Had to move on to something else for a while, and when I went back to it, there was no point in continuing. Oracle of Ages, same thing.

It's not that I get stumped, or find it too challenging, or anything. I just have other responsibilities that demand my attention. And when I have a chance to go back to the game, I loose the thread of the story, and the only way to get my interest back is to start over.

Abbreviated games like Minish Cap, or Phantom Hourglass are rather pleasant these days compared to all-engrossing epics of the earlier series. I can dedicate 45 mins a night for a month to these games, and actually make it to the end.

Also, I like the way Four Swords Adventures was set up, using something of a level format, so you could just plug away at one stage at a time, without loosing the thread of the story. I suppose it was done that way because it was intended as a multiplayer game, and you're not always certain to have 2-4 people available to play with. I've been able to set that one aside for months at a time, and pick it up where I left off without missing a beat.

But some of those longer epic quest games, unless I win the lottery, or become independently wealthy or something, I don't see me getting to the end of anytime soon.

[Mases]

To me, there was no question Phantom Hourglass was one of, if not thee easiest Zelda game ever. There was a few mind boggling puzzles, but the actual gameplay was quite simple and I don't think it was a bad thing at all.

I am in the same boat with Peregrine, sorta. Even in my past Zelda years, I rarely ever played a game straight for say more than an hour, 2 hours at most. Most the times I just turned games on and played in 20-30 minute sittings. So for a gamer like Peregrine or I, Phantom Hourglass fit perfectly. I played piece by piece of the game, and especially since I wrote a strategy guide for the game as I went through it, it actually was long lasting.

For those games our there who play non-stop and are Zelda Veterns, Phantom Hourglass was quite easy and very short, so I can see the disappointment. I also disagree with what RyanNope had said. I do think we have gotten accustomed to the Zelda series and we are used to the similar style of gameplay. If say Twilight Princess was my first 3d Zelda title, it would be rather hard. But because of the experience I got from the previous Zelda 3d titles, it made the game much easier for me.

All in all, Phantom Hourglass was simple because Nintendo was focusing more on gameplay rather than difficulty, which is fine by me. Maybe not attended for the hardcore gamer, but it was still a very fun experience. I hope they play off of this, and release the next DS title with similar gameplay, but further expand on the touch capabilities and since the gameplay is down, focus more on the story, length, and difficulty. Not to say there were problems with PH to begin with, but I think you guys catch my drift.

[LegendZ]

I aswell noticed how easy PH is compared to LoZ OOT WW and probably other ones i dont know of yet aswell.
I think they might've just made ph to try out the capability's of a zelda game with a touch screen, like they tried being innovative.
My idea on that whole thing is they will sometime release another zelda game for the DS fully using all the capability's and fun stuff off the touchscreen, like even better then they did at ph.
I'm not saying ph isn't fun(actually i love it ;)), I just think it's the start of something newish to them =p And they will evolve the new style into a great game, especially if they make good use of the capability's the DS gives them.

I agree with mases that this game wasn't actually meanth for the gamers who play non stop and are experienced with zelda games.

[Absinthewithfaust]

I've actually never finished a Zelda game before. I'm sort of pushing out Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Phantom Hourglass all at once. However, even then the huge difference between the difficulty--or ease--from these other games to PH is... astounding. I think it was made easier just because it's a DS version: they might have wanted it to just be something people could breeze right through.

[zeypherlink]

Wow...long posts >.< Mine will be so small...

I thought the game was considerably easier compared to the other Zelda games. The AI was kinda crappy, and the dungeons were a breeze.
On the flip side, the bosses were vrey fun, and a few provided a challenge. Also, the game was very fun.

[Kybyrian]

The game was very fun, but I couldn't agree less that the game was terribly easy. The games have been getting shorter and somewhat easier. To me, Phantom Hourglass was the easiest Zelda game yet, besides Twilight Princess. The dugeons provided no challenge at all to me, and you could get through them fairly easy without any stuggle. I like how they brought that red/blue block thing back from Oracles though. It was nice to see that return. The game wasn't too well put together if you ask me. The most challenging thing in the game was some of the last lever things and the part where you have to transfer the symbol onto the map; which I solved when I got angry and closed my DS.

[scarecrowlink]

I have to agree that this is the easiest Zelda title. I didn't feel that any past installments have done so much hand-holding. I love the game and all; I just played through it and I'm thinking about starting over again. The controls are fantastic, although I am somewhat worried about longterm effects on the touchscreen. Another game I loved was Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, which even though it was markedly easier even than PH, it wasn't as touch heavy. It did have kind of a sidebar of fun little touchscreen games you can play. But back to the subject at hand, I got thru this game in a little under a week which is faster than I've completed any other Zelda game. I finished the game before I actually managed to collect everything, and found almost everything except a few gems without a guide (still lacking that Gem Anchor though...) And speaking of that, I'm kind of torn on whether I like the whole random aspect of this game. I kind of like it when everything is in a set location, there's only one of each thing (besides upgrades and stuff like that) and either you have to solve a puzzle or scour the world to get them. The random thing made more sense in MC with the Kinstones and fusing them at different times and places and it was an integral part of the game. The ship part/treasure thing is kind of like an annoying sidequest whereby you can always keep your wallet full and get a few extra HP for the ship, but it makes it such a pain to get all the parts unless you want to do the whole trading thing. I'm a Zelda perfectionist, so I'll keep plugging away until I get that last ship part. Perhaps if I start a new game and let the other one sit idle for awhile, I'll get lucky and find it. I'll end with this: maybe someone could start a thread about why the hell everyone is so down on Twilight Princess and why everyone thought it was so easy? I thought it was on the same level as OoT and had the same kind of vibe to it. At any rate there is no way it is easier than PH, as some have suggested.

[Josh]

I also really think that they have gotten easier, I mean, a couple of months ago I played and finished TP. Right after I went and tried to finish LoZ. I almost didn't. I died so many times on that game, it really isn't funny. TP I died maybe, 3 times. They really have gotten a lot easier, maybe that's because of the young kid aspect that Nintendo is trying to go for, maybe it isn't, but it does seem that they have gotten a lot easier.

[twili123prince]

It was actually quite easy the only part i found hard was getting the sun key and BELLUM!!!!!!........that evil thing.

[El Bagu]

I have not completed the game yet but I agree this far, it is a bit one the easy side. I want to see some more difficult zeldas in the future!!

[EponaOwns]

The only reason it is easy is because it is on a small device. These kind of games are not meant for playing at home looking for a real challenge like TP or MM. These are more of fun puzzle zelda games for long car rides or if yu are just bored. And you can't really do much on a device with only these keys you can use STYLUS, ABX, ARROWS

[El Bagu]

You can play AoL and Alttp on your gameboy advance and links awakening and oracles as well, games that are at least a bit more tricky than PH. So it should not be impossible to make challenging games on the DS I assume!! :)