Why Spirit Tracks failed (IMO)

[Iridescence]

I originally wanted to convince myself that this was better than PH because it seemed to have topped it in nearly every single way, but in the end, Spirit Tracks, just wasn't, at least to me, very fun.

I think about Miyamoto's design processes of games, like Mario 64 for example which started out as just Mario chasing a rabbit in a garden. What he does with his games is that he asks himself at the very core (the controls and basic gameplay): Is this game fun or not? If a game is not fun at the core, why spend so much work creating vast environments and such?

With Spirit Tracks, it feels like Aunoma had a concept but worked out the actual game mechanics of it afterward. Riding a train is not fun. Backtracking to areas numerous times via train is not fun. There is no beautiful scenery in the N64-ish graphics to be had while you're watching idly. Having to re-route to dodge death-trains that will instantly kill you is not fun. Having an abstraction of an overworld instead of having a real one, is not fun.

The flaws of this game also extend in it being so similar to Phantom Hourglass. Tower of Spirits beat TotOK, but who said we needed another giant hub-dungeon. The puzzles in Spirit Tracks are more complex (note: not more creative or clever), but the dungeons still have lazy level design and really no personality to distinguish themselves).

The puzzles in the game are kind of like asking "what's 212 multiplied by 49". It's not hard to solve. It's not much different than solving 2 times 4. It's just much more involved and annoying. In a sense, despite my love of more complex Zelda games, I enjoyed the serene simplicity of Phantom Hourglass

I agree that Spirit Tracks is the more ambitious of the two (though still formulaic). It gets some points for taking some risks in its (good enough - not great) story, but I can't say any of its concepts were executed well. Playable Zelda is great but I would have rather had her in a better game.

 

[Kylo Ken]

Spirit Tracks failed? I enjoyed it, now I feel kind of dumb.

 

[Link Floyd]

I hated the train thing so much I never even got to the first dungeon haha. I only played it once and never picked it up again. 1/10.

I did like the interaction between Link and Zelda, but that's about it.

 

[Iridescence]

The title was offensively curt, and I apologize for that.

Perhaps what I should've said was that the game failed to deliver on it's concepts rather than calling it a failure in entirety.

 

[DarkestLink]

Eh, I prefer the train and steam boat to sailing. At least there's obstacles and actual combat to entertain you.

 

[Jamie]

I do hate the train, that is for sure, but overall I quite liked Spirit Tracks. All of the train-related battles had me extremely stressed out and angry, but I loved the Spirit Temple and really enjoyed the dungeons and gameplay.

 

[misskitten]

I actually enjoyed Spirit Tracks a lot. Sure, the train is limiting travel, but although I have yet to play PH, it does seem like the boat traveling in that game is limiting as well (with you having to plot out the course in that game as well). And we do get to expand the tracks in all kinds of directions by doing side-quests and activating portals made it more convenient to travel.

It's by no means a perfect game, but I enjoyed it. The track was limiting in the beginning, but little by little they opened up. And yeah, the stylus controls weren't my favourite, but I managed. And one thing I really loved about ST is how Zelda was an active companion.

 

[ihateghirahim]

Game would have been fairly good if not for the damn stylus controls. Everything else was fine. The train had good music and good battles. The dungeons were interesting. They were old fashioned and the ability to use Zelda as a knight was a great innovation in my eyes. The story was decent and some of the boss battles were pretty good. I loved that one giant bug. Anyway, it's all ruined by the accursed unresponsive and absolute pain to use stylus controls. A simple Alttp d-pad and buttons set up would have worked far better.

 

[Snow Queen]

It's probably the weakest Zelda game all around the board. Disappointing.

 

[T. Strudel]

I liked the engineer outfit

 

[AncientPoe]

In my opinion the single worst thing about Spirit Tracks was how it took the most basic element of Zelda (exploration) and paired it down to tiny little bite sized locations that weren't any more complex than the villages you'd find in a Final Fantasy game.

 

[Musicfan]

Game would have been fairly good if not for the damn stylus controls. Everything else was fine. The train had good music and good battles. The dungeons were interesting. They were old fashioned and the ability to use Zelda as a knight was a great innovation in my eyes. The story was decent and some of the boss battles were pretty good. I loved that one giant bug. Anyway, it's all ruined by the accursed unresponsive and absolute pain to use stylus controls. A simple Alttp d-pad and buttons set up would have worked far better.

Some styles of games they work but not in a zelda game.

 

[Heroine of Winds]

ST isn't as bad as PH (at least the controls feel more responsive from what I've played of it), but it's still not one of my favorite Zelda games. I did like the relationship between Link & Zelda. I thought it was cute.

 

[Vanessa28]

Hmmm yeah the train ride can be annoying but I enjoyed ST. The music was cool and you have to switch very often between Zelda and Link to play. The boses weren't that tough but not that easy either. The music was cool and I liked the use of the panpipes. It's not a game I replayed more than once but that's not because it's a bad game. It's not bad at all. Personally I thought Linebeck was more fun to have around than Zelda but I liked what they did with her. She is a playable character and you also have to play her in the final battle against the Demon King. Some of the characters made a great change like Byrne/Staven. To each their own but I definitely wouldn't call it a failed game at all.