The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

[Prinny]

I haven't done a review so, why not!

Hokay lets try this out. I guess it'll be similar to Lopez's reviews.


Story~

Typical Zelda plotline, you play as Link and your goal is to save Zelda in one way or another. The writers seem to always come up with something new and fresh, even though its the same task ultimately. In this incarnation Zelda has been forced out of her body by a minion of the dark lord Malladus, in the hopes of reincarnating said lord into her body. They've destroyed(ish) the Tower of Spirits, and along with it the Spirit tracks which connect the different realms/temples/etc. You, as a train engineer who just so happened to be in the area when she needs you(yay!), must travel with Zelda to help restore the spirit tracks, and retrieve her body before it's too late. This is the first Zelda that I've seen lately that has not a single fairy in it, and Zelda is actually with you the entire time...more or less.

9/10. As far as "save the princess" plots go, I think this one is pretty unique.

Gameplay~

The gameplay in this should probably end up in two different descriptions...

Train~
The train is operated similarly to the ship in Phantom Hourglass. When you board your train you draw your course out on the touchscreen following the tracks, and your train goes. Along the way you can adjust the speed of your train, blow the whistle, and shoot things with your cannon. At any point during your trip you can either reset your course, or pilot the train freely by changing the direction at turns via a switch that appears on screen. Enemies will attack you on your journeys, and you can tap them and blow them away with your cannon. All in all the controls are pretty good and easy, with a few minor exceptions. In some instances you will be randomly attacked by groups of pirates, or tanks. They tend to lag the game considerably, and make the camera difficult to turn while trying to shoot them down before they get you. It's not uncommon to take a few hits from the lag, but it's bearable since they don't attack you too often.

10/10 for train controls :3 easy to use.

As for the controls in the rest of the game, things are sort of different this time around, as far as having things at your disposal. The game is completely touchscreen based like Phantom Hourglass was. The touchscreen is definitly less of a hinderance than it was in PH, as things are slowed down to where you don't have to do anything ridiculous that makes you wonder what they were thinking. However, if you didn't use the L/R buttons for your tool usage in PH, (I didn't) you may want to consider doing so this time around. There are a number of instances that require you to act fast with your tools, and the L/R buttons are a massive help.
Your new tools are the Spirit Flute, Whip and the Fan/leafy pinwheel. The flute and the pinwheel make use of the microphone. This game seems to have a lot more mic usage than other games I've seen which is both good and bad. You absolutely can not successfully play the flute parts on an airplane or in a remotely crowded area- the mic is obscenely sensitive(or at least mine is?). The flute acts like the wolf howling, or the ocarina of past Zelda games. You must follow along with people at times, and they can be incredibly picky about how well you play, and can get you stuck easily. The fan you just need to blow and make a little gust go whoo~ across the screen. Crowded areas shouldn't be any bother when you need to use the fan. The whip is probably your best new weapon. Its a mix between hookshot, bow and arrows, and your boomerang. It can stun, kill, and drag/throw objects. 95% of your enemies can be killed in some way with the whip.

The Tower of Spirits is full of a lot of new challenges. When you enter the tower you are able to control a phantom while reaching your goal. Each new section of the tower gets you using a different type of phantom to your advantage. You must use the phantom to help you complete puzzles and get through the tower effectively. Some of the things the developers thought of are pretty unique and amazing imo. Controlling the phantom can be a bit annoying at times, especially when you need to do things at the same time as them. Setting your phantom to move on a certain path while trying to keep things from hitting them is an annoying and frustrating task, but once again, it doesn't happen overly often.

8/10 Easy controls but can get frustrating. (I'm not factoring in the flute here, the flute itself gets a 4/10 for being so ridiculously difficult most of the time)

Overall the game is a wonderful addition to the Zelda series. Link seems like a lot more of a pansy in this version, but that doesn't affect anything lol. If you liked Phantom Hourglass, you'll like this one more. While you have to head back to the Tower of Spirits every so often, you don't have to go through the same stuff like you did in PH. You'll always be doing something new.

Replay value is about the same with any Zelda game. If you don't mind doing everything again, then go right ahead. The only thing I can see is that if you play it too soon again, you'll remember how to get through all the tricky parts and it could be more boring. My advice is wait until you forget how to do stuff, then play it again. It'll be more fun lol.

Overall, I give it a 10/10.

:3~ I hope this review didn't suck too bad, I've never written one. If anyone wants to ask me something feel free :3

[CelticRedemption]

well... 10/10 is my first problem, since 10/10 doesn't exist, there's always room for improvement.

rest of review seemed good

[lopez]

I'd say your review was pretty good

I'm actually playing ST right now and agree that it's a great game

I don't know if it deserves a 10/10, maybe a 8/10.

The mic stuff isn't that bad... I mean you'd just look like a big dweeb in public

I actually loved the flute stuff, it was unique and the music was really catchy!!!

I do agree with the phantom stuff. It's especially hard in those areas with the boulders and the giant lizard guys that need you to flank them with both characters to beat them.

Overall, good job, the only criticism I had was that you were a little too generous on your score in certain areas, especially when you had some bad things to say.

[Prinny]

I'd say your review was pretty good

I'm actually playing ST right now and agree that it's a great game

I don't know if it deserves a 10/10, maybe a 8/10.

The mic stuff isn't that bad... I mean you'd just look like a big dweeb in public

I actually loved the flute stuff, it was unique and the music was really catchy!!!

I do agree with the phantom stuff. It's especially hard in those areas with the boulders and the giant lizard guys that need you to flank them with both characters to beat them.

Overall, good job, the only criticism I had was that you were a little too generous on your score in certain areas, especially when you had some bad things to say.

Yeah I'm a bit too optimistic =w=;;; XD