To my disbelief, Spirit Tracks chugs out of my DS and into this review as one of my favorite Zelda Games in the series!
About 2 months ago, I was doing a little shopping on Amazon for a new Microphone for my Xbox (which I will sadly say is mostly used to chat and socialize with my friends who are out of state) and a new computer mic, and because my purchase was around $70, All I needed was 2 $30+ item in order to qualify for not only Free Shipping, but also a cheaper price overall on the Mics I wanted because as we all know: Amazon loves to have people save money when they order in bulk. I decided to the best to do given the situation , was to buy 2 DS games as they where having a DS Game Sale to begin with and I am not going to lie, I kind of wanted to spend money on something other then stuff I needed to replace. So after looking at the expansive library that is the DS Titles over a 8.0 average scores and glancing over a couple article, I picked 2 games to be delivered to me with the new mics: Radiant Historia (Mostly cause I read rumors about the game being in a limited print and would go up to around $90 when they stopped, and since I wanted to get it eventually, I picked it up when it was cheaper) and the game I am reviewing tonight, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. Now coming into this review, I STILL have yet to play Phantom Hourglass, so I will not be doing any comparisons to that mainly cause... well, I haven't played it. This may tilt to score a little, but it is my review, so who cares anyways!
Coming into the game however, I had quite low expectations for it. I heard from people the game was a bit shorter then the Gameboy Titles (being Link's Awakening, The Oracle Duo, and Minish Cap) and was substantially easier then those games. I had also heard from some fans that the controls where funky at times and the way of traveling via train was a little obscured, but after what happened with Zelda 2 and Fire Emblem 6, I decided it would be to come into the game with a clear mind and try to ignore what picky fans tell me. So, was the game a fun ride or did it crash and burn? Well, we will see in next few paragraphs, now won't we?
Graphics - 9/10
Many readers of mine have called this my "easy grade", but that is mainly because I am not a graphics hoer, but I am a sucker for Art Style and Atmosphere, and this game nails it! The graphics in this game are very colorful and vivid, with little details that just give it that extra wow factor. It is very impressive to see such detail on such a tiny screen and granted, the super polygonal character models may not work at times, but they do grow you and you get used to them after a first hour or two of the game. Overall, I dig it and this might be because I am huge fan of Wind Wakers art style, but I really enjoyed them regardless :).
*Special Extra Points* - Music +1
I am not going to lie about this: I AM A HUGE FAN OF VIDEO GAME MUSIC! It's my music of choice next to Anime Soundtracks and trust me when I say this games got great music! Granted, Zelda music has always been know to be great and this music may not be as iconic or memorable as say Ocarina of Time, but this game is the first in a while to have an almost entirely original soundtrack and the music it does barrow, are all remixed to sound different from there counter parts. The tracks remixed tracks are good and the new tracks are amazing! Some of them that take the show are Spirit Tower, Realm Overworld, Sages of Hyrule, Linebeck III, Underwater... there are so many, that I have only scratched the service. On top of this, all the songs you play on your Spirit are all new and they all sound fantastic and it's only even more satisfying that you are literally playing your favorite songs yourself... I would say this is reason alone to buy this game, but maybe it's just the music nerd talking inside me!
Controls - 8/10
This a very tough one for me to rate. Part of me loves how well this works with some parts, especially the train sequences where controls are spot on, but the controls can be a hinderance at times, especially later in the game when it becomes more demanding. Personally, I LOVE the different ways you control some of items in the game, like how you need to actually blow into the microphone in order to use the Spirit Flute, how you can draw all over the map to help you solve puzzles with more ease, and drawing a path for the boomerang is super fun, but some of these are iffy when it comes the response you get from it. Walking around at times feels odd and because almost everything in the game is mapped to the touch screen, there are a good amount of miss clicks when you are first learning the controls and this can be a real pain at times, especially when you don't want to walk to far and you end up walking off the cliff, but overall, the idea works well and although it isn't perfect, it's still very solid and rather impressive! The minor control issue here and there should not be a turn off from this game!
Story - 10/10
This is the biggest surprise in my opinion! The story here is beyond the average Zelda game... well, not completely beyond, but different enough to make it note worthy. This game stars you the players (AKA Link, but since you can name him whatever, I call him the player) as young engineer in-training who after receiving his Engineering License, is asked by Princess Zelda to escort her to the Tower Spirits, and after a little plot twist there, Zelda falls into a coma-like state and is turned into a wandering spirit. Lucky for you, you and a few other select characters are the only ones who can see her and because of this, she decides that you will travel with her and try to not only get her body back, but save Hyrule from a ancient demon king's revival... basically, stop Hyrule from being destroyed. Now I know this sounds similar and yes, it does fall under some standards of the Zelda Formula, BUT having Princess Zelda with you the entire time adds for new layers onto the way this story plays out! Zelda is always talking and interacting with you in some fashion and is easily the best companion the player has ever had. She isn't annoying (Unlike Navi) and her dialogue is well written (Unlike Midna's). You can tell how much care went into crafting her character and crafting the story around her being a primary part of the players adventure, and it really shows through out the adventure. The other characters are interesting as well, with no character models copied and each one being unique, but that is thanks to the art direction and interesting set pieces that make up this excellently crafted story. It may not be Lord of the Rings epic in the story department, but in a way, it reminds me of the way Chrono Trigger had a good story: A fun easy story the progress nicely with complex characters with complex relationships, leaving the player satisfied in when all is said and done. This kind of story telling also helps with the idea of it being a portable game, as it's easy to remember and easy to find spots to say, "ok, I will get back to this in bit". Also, I don't know if it just me and my dirty mind, but there is a lot of hidden jokes throughout the story that can taken in multiples ways. Two main examples come in the form of two lines: the first is a scene where the villain tells you to, "Go Polish your train cause you won't get Zelda..." and the second is Zelda freaking out because the Demon King will, "Have his way with her body"... you see where I am getting at this with. It's a minor thing and does make it rather cheesy in the beginning, it's such a small part of the game, it doesn't even come close to hurting it. I would and really want to go more into the story, but I really don't want to spoil it, because it is easily the most enjoyable part of this game, other then the music and replay value...
Gameplay - 9/10
What can I say? It's Zelda at it's basic level and damn it, it's still works! This formula is the same, yet different as well. Is actually rather challenging to get to the dungeon itself and the puzzles require you to observe and clue hunt a lot of times, which is different from most Zelda's that have you running to a guide to figure out where you have to go next. The Dungeons themselves are more action based and quick puzzles rather then the normal zelda game. You usually get the new item 5 minutes into the Dungeon and the next hour or so is you figuring out how exactly you can use this to solve the puzzles. It's a interesting new way of doing things and I like it more then the classic way of getting the item half way and using it for the remaining rooms to get to the boss. Another new idea I like is how you have to carry to boss key instead of just obtaining it, which leads into interesting situations. Also, in some of the Dungeons, you get the ability to control a Phantom, giant walking knights that Zelda Posses and aides you at certain points of the game. This is a really cool feature, but sadly is only used in a few Dungeons and I feel it should of been used more, maybe for other parts of the game. In case people are wondering, there are a total of around 10-12 Dungeons, which isn't bad for a Zelda game and you will actually have to revisit them quite a bit if you want to snatch all there goodies, but I will save that for when I get into replay value/difficulty. The train is also a big part as I said in controls, it works flawlessly. If you liked Wind Waker, I think you will really enjoy this. You don't have to worry about steering the train, just making it's path and avoiding deadly obstacles and enemies. Even though this seems like it would hinder important elements like exploration, it actually enhances because you will likely want to explore every part of the game to look for something you didn't notice before or travel to a new place on the new tracks you unlocked. This formula get's even more interesting with all the side quests in the game which are not mandatory, but do a great job of encouraging the player to complete them as they have some pretty fantastic rewards. I know this seems like a lot, but it isn't and this is because of the stupendous passing of the game. It introducing everything at perfect timing, never overloading the player with stuff to do and always gives them something new to begin working on. The game is also easy for pick up and play, as the DS is a master of a sleep function and cool save anywhere feature makes is really easy to not lose your hard earned progress. Honestly, this would of easily been a ten, but lack on more interactivity with Zelda in a gameplay sense really was a missed opportunity in my opinion. Still though, it's really impressive and is great none the less :).
Replay Value and Difficulty - 10/10
I will start with Difficulty first. It's just right to be honest. Not so cryptic you need a guide, but not easy enough you will figure it out on your first try. The combat is pretty simplistic, but the puzzles require the player to pay attention to details and observe the puzzle and explore the area of a puzzle you a stuck on, and this is something not to many Zelda's make you do. I though it was spot on and is very well done. Replay Value is where this game shines however. There is so much in the game for you to do after you are done with the main quest: Discovering Warp Gates, Treasure Hunting, Bunny Catching, Stamp Collecting... and those are just the main four, not counting things like mini games, finding heart containers, and many others. The game gives you a lot to do with a lot of rewards for players who do actually take the time to dive into them. Honestly, I feel it helps draw the player into the world even more and each one of the main 4 are vastly different from each other and require different skills and elements of what makes Zelda the type of game it is. They are just so well crafted and done so well, it acts as cherry on top of one of the best shakes you have ever drank. Also, because the length of them, which with a guide could probably take a player about 20 hours the finish the story and 10 extra to finish the side questing, I could honestly see myself replaying this again and again just for the enjoyment I get out of it. It's long enough to be a satisfying adventure, but short enough you wouldn't mind replaying over and over again.
Final Score - 9.5/10
If you couldn't tell by my review, I REALLY LOVED this game. Everything about has the charm of Zelda with elements about the series I love mixed well with improvements I desired such as story and focus on exploration. Overall, AS MUCH as I would want to give this game a 11 out of 10, I felt some elements held it back from being beyond my perfect standard, however, that is to be expected since my expectation for Zelda Games are rather high only those that truly surprise me or blow my expectations out of the water get 11's. Although it may not be my perfect Zelda games, I will admit that to this date, this by far is the best Zelda game I have ever played! It's everything I wanted in a Zelda game and better yet, I can have it on the go :). I am proud to give The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks a surprising 9.5 out of 10!
I am sora_heart and I hope you enjoyed this review. If you liked this, be sure to check out my blog and other reviews on my page. So until then, I will see you all in my next review, whenever and whatever that is... oh wow, it's already 11? 2 and half hours writing a review? Man, I really need to stop being such a nerd...