Category: Phantom Hourglass

Like the hardware they’ve been released on, Zelda games have come in many shapes and sizes. It was typical over the years for smaller, more modest releases to adorn Nintendo’s handheld systems, while major “main event” titles would receive a console release. With time, this line has become blurred. Former 3D powerhouses Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask have both received significantly overhauled 3DS rereleases, and the advent of the Virtual Console has brought many 2D classics to home consoles like the Switch. With a few…

Ganon and Ganondorf cast a long shadow over the Zelda series. The Great King of Evil (and his various incarnations) have been the villain in a large amount of games, which means the player often end their experience in Hyrule by battling Ganon. With that being said, it is always interesting when a game features a final boss that is not Ganon. Whether it is Link’s Shadow, Majora, or Vaati, the non-Ganon villains help keep the gameplay and storytelling from…

With every new iteration in the franchise, the Zelda series finds some new way to innovate on itself. Some are smaller changes or developments, like Ocarina of Time to Majora’s Mask or Phantom Hourglass to Spirit Tracks. Others are huge sweeping changes, like the N64 era to The Wind Waker, or Skyward Sword to Breath of the Wild. While many of the fundamentals remain the same from entry to entry, the games still find ways to make themselves unique and…

Over the course of the Zelda franchise as a whole, art style and overall tone have gone hand-in-hand. The leap into 3D, beginning with Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, solidified what would become some of the most iconic character designs within the series. They also set the bar for player expectations in terms of storytelling and theme. The era immediately after, beginning with The Wind Waker and continuing with Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, famously stirred up controversy over…

I’m not sure how out of the ordinary this is, but I replay games more often than I play new ones by a mile. Not just new releases; even older games I haven’t played have a hard time squeezing into my schedule when there’s so many that I want to experience again (and again, and again). The Legend of Zelda is my favorite franchise and it makes me want to revisit their worlds many times to learn more and deepen my appreciation…

A good or bad gimmick can elevate or detract from a game, and the Zelda series is unique in that every single game has a distinct, unique gimmick associated with it that makes them ripe for examination! This week, we’re diving in and discussing what’s worked and what needed improvement over the years with Zelda gimmicks; Dual worlds are a favorite staple, but maybe stylus or motion controls weren’t for everybody. Transforming via masks was likewise awesome, so why did…

Tingle, although a strange character, has had some importance in a few Zelda games. In The Wind Waker, Link frees him from jail and, in return, he assists Link with the Triforce Charts quest. And in Oracle of Ages, Tingle hands Link a chart which helps him navigate the Crescent Strait to reach Crescent Island. However, despite playing a vital role in certain quests in these titles, there are also moments in the series where Tingle’s presence acts a mere…

Nintendo has never been afraid of getting weird in the name of innovation. Leveraging the support of a dedicated fanbase has allowed them to take hardware and software risks that other companies simply wont. While they’ve occasionally asked for too much adjustment for ultimately fleeting gimmicks, their willingness to experiment has led to a variety of tangible benefits for many players. Most notable have been the non-traditional control methods that Nintendo has implemented in their recent systems. Many of their…

The Zelda series is my form of a comfort blankie. When I play any game from what is ultimately my favorite franchise, I feel completely content. Whether I’m traversing Hyrule Field in Ocarina of Time, or running for my life as a Guardian chases me in Breath of the Wild, I know my time has been well spent (for me, at least). And this very thought leads me to wonder just how much time I’ve sunk into playing Zelda games…

The conversation surrounding game length has cooled over the recent years. Most people have come to accept that the paradigm of “hours played divided by money spent” doesn’t make much sense. It fails to account for replayability, expectations, and subjective fulfillment with the game in question. I feel the other side of the conversation, games that are too long and overstay their welcome, hasn’t had enough spotlight. Plenty of games offer extremely lengthy stories or mountains of content, but fail…