The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo DS) | 
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| From: Nintendo
Category: Video Games
List Price: £29.99
Buy New: £15.50
You Save: £14.49 (48%)
New (28) Used (27) from £10.47
Rating:  55 reviews
Platform: Nintendo Ds
Genre: action-games
Rating: To Be Announced
ESRB: Everyone
Media: Video Game
Batteries Included: No
Age: 11 - 18 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.7 x 0.5
MPN: DS-NTRPAZEE
UPC: 045496737788
EAN: 0045496737788
ASIN: B000FRV2UK
Release Date: October 19, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: uk shipped, brand new factory sealed
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Product Description
The epic story of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker continues as Link finds himself lost and alone in unknown seas in a new adventure. Featuring intuitive touch-screen controls and innovative puzzles, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass offers new challenges for fans of the series and an easy-to-grasp introduction for gamers new to The Legend of Zelda. But time grows short, and only the Phantom Hourglass can buy Link the minutes he?ll need to survive. Many months have passed since the events of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and Link, Tetra and Tetra?s band of pirates have set sail in search of new lands. They come across a patch of ocean covered in a dense fog, in which they discover an abandoned ship. Tetra falls into danger when she explores the ship alone, and Link falls into the ocean when he attempts to rescue her. When he washes up unconscious on the shores of a mysterious island, he is awakened by the sound of a fairy?s voice. With the aid of this fairy, he sets off to find Tetra ? and his way back to the seas he once knew. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is controlled almost entirely by the stylus. Using the touch screen, players direct Link?s movements and attacks: A sweeping motion triggers Link?s spin attack and tapping characters makes Link speak with them. The stylus controls offer a more intuitive means of playing the game and open up new possibilities for puzzle solving. The game action takes place primarily on the touch screen, with a map on the top screen. However, the player can inspect the map on the touch screen and make notes using the stylus. The notes on these maps are saved for review on the top screen during game play. Players use the map to chart courses for their ships, too. Using the stylus to draw a path through the islands, players set their ships? courses. Then, as the ships automatically follow the paths drawn, players can control their ships? cannons to target oncoming enemies. In dun
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| Customer Reviews:
 The Best Zelda Game! September 8, 2007
Master Boi (London, England)
204 out of 213 found this review helpful
I have played and completed the legend of Zelda phantom hourglass in Japanese
(I can read both English and Japanese) so I will give you an overall review of the whole game!
Let me make this clear first, this is the best Zelda game ever! If you were one of those people who said "no" to the cel-shaded graphics, and I know that some of you reading this review were, then you wouldn't be saying that now. Link, the cool little guy, looks miles better in his childish cel-shaded form and makes the game play all the more funnier, speaking of funnier, this game is full of highly commercial moments, unlike twilight princess (I'm not saying it's a bad game or anything) which is why a lot more people will prefer this to the other titles.
The missions, I love. There is one point in the game where you have to explore a giant stone island in the shape of a DS! Anyway, the main aim of the game is to venture deep, deep down into the Phantom Dungeon (I will not tell you why because I don't want to spoil the game for you.) The only problem with this though is that there is life-sapping evil in the dungeon that would kill link if he went in. Fortunately, by defeating the first boss in a smaller anti life sapping dungeon you receive the Phantom hourglass with ten minutes worth of sand. Now using the magic of the sand protects Link from the evil of the dungeon. Now having only ten minutes worth of sand means Link can only stay in the dungeon for ten minutes. The only way to get more sand is to defeat more bosses and the more sand you get, the further down you can go. Though if you die for whatever reason you have to start from the beginning of the dungeon. I know this sounds like a pain but at certain areas there are sort of like check points. So if you die you just come back to these spots, very handy! Of course, like in any other Zelda game there will loads of guards and ghosts and demons and so on so be prepared for a load of tough fights. Anyway, there are also heaps of side missions but we'll be hear for days I describe all of those!
Yo Ho Yo Ho a pirates life for me! When you're not battling evil in one of the many dungeons you can be sailing around in your ship, battling pirates, fishing for fish and other creatures..., playing a whole host of mini games and pimpin your boat. Yep, that's right you can change and completely customise your boat from the cannon right down to the paint work. Its great fun to do and looks really good when completed.
Making use of the famous DS touch screen are the abilities to:
* Control link and interact with almost every object in the environment
* Control your ship
* Fight enemies and pick up items
* Write notes on the map (a very helpful tool when sailing the great sea)
* Set a course for your boomerang before letting it fly
The graphics, oh the sweet, sweet graphics. From Links hat gently bobbing in the breeze to the epic sword fights between you and a demon to the smoke filled explosions that emit from your cannon, the game just oozes detail and charm. This game has some of the best graphics on the DS and that's saying something because I have seen loads of great graphic games on the DS but this Zelda game puts most of them to shame!
Multiplayer something this games does best! Up to 4 players can battle it out in a mini dungeon. The goal is to grab force pieces and bring them back to your base but these little blocks of beauty slow you down making it easier for your opponent/s or one of the many monsters to attack you. Just to let you know, whacking your opponent with your sword is equally as rewarding as scoring a force point! Another great thing is the ability to control guards and set them loose against your opponent. Just to let you know, this game uses WI-FI which will please many of you!
Overall - This is truly the Best Zelda Game in the franchise by far so when it comes out in October/November most of you will have died and gone to gaming heaven! From shouting into the mic to get somebody's attention to completing that extra hard frozen snow dungeon, this game will seem all the more exciting when you revive it. Of course there are hundreds of more things to do and see in this game but I wouldn't want to spoil it for you now would I?
My favourite DS game! October 20, 2007
Mr. J. P. Gaskell (Cheshire, UK)
71 out of 72 found this review helpful
I've been playing this game ever since I got it. Basically, it's your typical Zelda game, but cleverly designed so that it's great for a handheld. There's so much to say about this game, i'll have to put it in quick bullet points:
1. Considering this is on the DS, the graphics are brilliant
2. The touch screen controls are fun, easy to use and work really well (may take you a bit to get used to them)
3. There are lots of puzzles to solve, none of which are too difficult
4. The boss fights are really enjoyable
5. Generaly, the gameplay is excellent
6. The diffiuclty level is set perfectly
7. Nice, short learning curve
8. Great for a handheld game, as it's a little more bite sized than the console versions. As in, it's easy to juct pick up and play for 10 minutes.
To be honest, this is one of those games where I really can't think of anything bad to say about it.
Even, if you're not a Zelda fan, or you've never even played a Zelda game before. You'll love this.
My first Zelda game October 15, 2007
Mojo
41 out of 43 found this review helpful
I'm very very impressed with the people who made this game. Everything is so well thought out, the story, plot, art, puzzles, dungeons...everything. Especially the gameplay, using the stylus has never felt more appropriate and fun in a game. What I like is that the dungeons aren't like normal adventure games where you just slash monsters. Each dungeon is a puzzle in itself and you have different weapons besides your sword to aid you. Not to forget there are so many side quests and adventures like treasure hunting and collecting rare gems to improve your ability. Overall, I would say that it's the best game on the DS, and that means a lot since I don't play many adventure games. Kudos to the Zelda team!
A must for DS owners and Zelda fans November 20, 2007
R. McDonald (Southampton)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Let's get this out of the way first. Phantom hourglass is the best game available for the DS by a clear mile, and among the best Zelda games of all. Nothing else to my knowledge comes remotely close. It's also in a completely different league to any previous handheld Zelda game, so if you felt mildly underwhelmed by the likes of `Minish Cap' on the Game Boy Advance don't worry because this is a complete departure.
Phantom hourglass is a direct sequel to Wind Waker on the Gamecube, though it isn't necessary to have played that game because the only things that really carry over are the characters and the art design. It really is amazing how faithfully the crisp, cel-shaded graphics that looked so impressive on the Gamecube are translated to the DS, and how well suited they are to this new hardware. What with all the cut scenes, character designs and the huge watery overworld, the amount of eye-watering content crammed onto this cartridge is simply breathtaking.
Having said that it resembles Wind Waker visually, the way the game plays is completely new and adapted for the DS and its stylus. You control Link by pointing at the screen, strike at enemies by tapping them and draw quick strokes to perform slashes and the spin attack. It's all very responsive, though the one move that doesn't seem to work so well is the forward roll, which is executed by drawing small circles at the edge of the screen (it's not used very much, however). All the familiar items return, but each and every one has been given a new spin by the touch-screen controls, whether it's tracing out a path for the boomerang to follow, tapping the screen to throw a bomb to a precise spot, or stringing the hookshot between two posts to make a tightrope. The many puzzles that you encounter feature novel designs as well, and often require you to take notes by drawing on the map. It all sounds incredibly gimmicky, but it isn't at all - it's deeply addictive, and a joy to play from beginning to end.
There are some criticisms I could level - the game is a bit easy, especially if you've played Zelda games before, and a bit short if you aren't out to collect everything or finish every minigame. The dungeon layout is inventive, but the different dungeons and islands all look more or less the same. But these are very minor quibbles. As you can probably tell by now, I loved this game to pieces, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.
Best DS Game yet October 17, 2007
kingoflondon (London)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is the best DS game I have played on bar none.
Fans of the Zelda series will not be disappointed as this game has managed to encapsulate the feel and atmosphere of versions on the N64, Gamecube and most recently Wii. The top down pseudo-3D view is excellent, and the controls are intuitive and simple, yet entirely effective. The graphics are the best to appear on the DS thus far, with the character design and levels well thought out and involving.
I am currently about halfway through the game and have not been able to put it down yet. This game carries on from where the Windwaker left off, but many of the things that could get a bit annoying have been improved in this version, such as the sailing which is now much more straightforward.
The Temples are all challenging and other tasks are as you would expect from Zelda, with some cool surprises and some genuinely funny moments.
The game is well scripted - although there is no voice acting, the script is funny, and characters well-developed.
A must buy for all DS owners, this is the most enjoyable game I have played on so far, surpassing even the Castlevania series.
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