Spoiler Did You Think the Two Nintendo DS Games Are Way too Easy?

[Mrflamexd3]

During the ZD Marathon I started playing Phantom Hourglass (one of the games I never completed) and I finished it up in 2 days (about 3-4 hours a day). I got through half of Spirit Tracks the next day, but haven't played it since after I right this thread. My question is did anybody else find this game way to easy? The combat wasn't the best and was sometimes unresponsive, and the blowing into the mic thing on the 3DS doesn't go down to well..but the puzzles and everything was just way to easy, does anybody agree?

 

[Sydney]

I didn't find ST too easy, but I liked the gameplay. It had it's challenging moments, but it wasn't terribly difficult.
I don't have much to complain about ST. ^^ I preferred transportation by train in ST over transportation by boat in PH.

 

[chrismoz]

I would have to disagree. I found Phantom Hourglass to be quite frustrating due to re-playing the Ocean Temple every time you beat an actual temple. Spirit Tracks to me was just terrible. The train function detracted from what made me fall in love with Zelda and it just seemed stupid. I could not get into that game. Everytime I had to travel on the train I put the game down for a week or two. The only cool thing about Spirit Tracks was the role Zelda played in helping you throughout the quest.

 

[athenian200]

Phantom Hourglass was definitely not easy. I had such a horrible time with the Temple of the Ocean King that it made up for anything that was "easy" in the game. I had to keep doing the same challenges over and over, with no way to save.

I also found drawing shapes to be difficult. The dungeons were not the hardest I've ever encountered, but they seemed reasonably difficult. I'd say they were about as difficult as TP's dungeons, which were just a little easier than OoT's. Good enough for modern Zelda.

As for Spirit Tracks, I do think the introduction of tracks makes navigation a bit too easy, but it's made up for by requiring you to maneuver to avoid these demon trains for much of the game. Also, playing the Spirit Flute is a real challenge, especially on the 3DS where the microphone placement is different. The dungeons seem more difficult, though, back up to OoT difficulty. The Tower of Spirits is not especially difficult, but it does require unusual ways of thinking due to needing to control Phantom Zelda. I liked it.

 

[Ventus]

I definitely agree. But then again, they were both brand new Zelda games as far as control scheme goes, so maybe they were just trying to appeal to the casual player instead of the player that desires some degree of difficulty. I doubt they made them purposefully easy, which isn't really the topic at hand, but easy they are nonetheless.

 

[surferguy7]

Spirit Tracks easy?

The final floors in the Tower of Spirits disagree entirely.

 

[Fig]

I found both Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks very reasonable according to the difficulty, in my opinion. I love both of them and I really hope that Nintendo will make another portable Zelda game very soon! Maybe this time, it would be exclusively for the 3DS! I would love to see that!

 

[MW7]

I didn't have much trouble with anything in Phantom Hourglass, but Spirit Tracks required me to stop and think a number of times. The puzzles are not as hard as Oracle of Ages or Majora's Mask but it's not ridiculously easy either IMO. Phantom Hourglass was probably one of the easier Zelda games for me though. Although now that I think about it that famous closing of the map puzzle got me for several minutes, and the end of the Temple of the Ocean King wasn't simple by any means either. The hardest part of either game though for me was traveling. Having instant deaths in Spirit Tracks kind of blindsided me, and the gangs of boats in Phantom Hourglass killed me a handful of times also.

 

[A Link In Time]

I actually found Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks to be rather difficult. While they didn't offer too much of a challenge initially, the difficulty gradually increased as the adventures progressed.

In terms of overworld transportation, nothing was particularly hard for me but the dungeons and sidequests of both games rounded them out to be particularly challenging affairs. I've always thought that Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks compare to Oracle of Seasons and Ages, respectively with their focus on action and puzzles. The dungeons in Phantom Hourglass were personally easier but the bosses were a lot more aggressive. The Temple of the Ocean King continued to confuse me no matter how many times I entered. Spirit Tracks, on the other hand, offered a more head scratching experience with its puzzles especially in the Sand Temple and last set of floors of the Tower of Spirits.

Both games were certainly manageable and didn't hold a candle towards the difficulty of earlier handheld games but in an era of hold your hand adventures, the extra difficulty was appreciated and is one of the reasons they rank as two of my personal favorite Nintendo DS games.

 

[Vanilla♥Hero]

I didn't think they were too easy. Yes, they did have a whole lot of easy moments, but I actually think that they each had some difficult moments as well... although I believe Spirit Tracks was a bit more difficult than Phantom Hourglass as a whole. Honestly, they're some of my absolute favorites, and I found them to be incredibly fun and enjoyable games despite whatever the difficulty level may be. <3

 

[Night Owl]

I thought their difficulties were ideal for handheld Zeldas.

As far as the mic goes, the problem is with the 3ds not the games. If you play on the Dsi or DsLite it works wonderfully.
The location of the mic on the 3ds is in the lower right just below the "Start" button. I've found that playing on the 3ds, being right handed, the mic gets partially covered up by my hand. Because the mic gets covered, I've found that it doesn't always register my blowing.

 

[Mrflamexd3]

Okay, maybe because they made the controls different, they made the game easier for that reason. I just found both games to be very very easy. Phantom Hourglass was definitely easier then Spirit Tracks, but I still think they're really easy. I'm surprised you all disagree..

 

[PokaLink]

They both werent that hard or easy, it just depends on whats hard for a person, however they were probably the only games i didnt use a walkthrough on.

 

[Spirit]

I've yet to complete Phantom Hourglass, I'm trying to get through it before playing Spirit Tracks, even though I know PH's is barely a blip on the timeline or mythology... still, best for continuity, the adult timeline is the only one i'll have played in order haha.

As for the difficulty in Ph.. its a pain as far as the timed Ocen King Temple goes, i hate that thing, i had heard bad things about it and thought there was no way it could be that bad, but it is... i can't deal with time and you need to be fast and almost perfect and ugh... i'm on my third visit there now and the swift phantoms have just shown up, and the worst of it is that i know i'll have to return there after this visit and i don't want to so the compulsion i have to complete it is almost non-existent yet i want to play ST because i want the story and don't mind the control system (though it took me forever to get used to)

The dungeons in PH hurt me, i've NEVER played a Zelda game where the dungeons were this easy, i walk in and ten minutes later im fighting a boss and realising it isn't a mid level boss but THE boss, the puzzles are so easy to figure out and easy to to physically solve, nothing slows me down and its over before i know it. PH limps between dungeons, the islands have no heart and it feels like a random jumble of events and a trek through the Ocean King temple beofr another easy dungeon, however i do like the characters and it hurts my heart that PH wasnt a home console game with more challenge to it, i'dve loved to have seen this as a sequel to WW on the Cube or Wii, i'd rather have had SS on the 3DS and Ph on the wii... but...

Another thing i really find difficult in PH is the salvaging arm, i have t constantly repair it becuase it keep breaking it, yet when it comes to using it i dont feel as if the touch controls are as responsive as the rest of the game is... maybe its just me though..

difficulty -3/10 if i don't include the ocean king. 12/10 if i do.

 

[Terminus]

The only though bit in those games were their central dungeons. TotOK in PH was only difficult on the last part OR during a complete playthrough without stopping. The last part of the Spirit Tower in ST was a bit difficult due to that last room AND getting started in that part. Otherwise those games had no impact on me.

P.S.: PH was my first Zelda experience and it lured me into thinking the rest of the series was easy. ST only reinforced that concept. The next game I took a stab at was AoL. Nearly stopped the series after that. Good thing I didn't.