Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

Anyone else pick this up today? I got it and just played it for about an hour and I'm pretty happy so far. The stylus controls are better than I thought they'd be -- as far as I can tell you never need to use the buttons or D-pad and this works fine for moving around and hacking up bad guys. The idea of being able to write on the map is genius. Graphics are pretty good too, for a handheld. (I always liked the 'Wind Waker style' so maybe I'm biased.)

Looks like there's some online content too so we can exchange friend codes, etc if anyone gets to the point where they've got something to trade (I'm only on the first dungeon now).


Edit to add a link to Gamespot's Review (a 9.0)

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

omgggg didn't know it was out. I'm such a loser for zelda. thanks for the info!

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

They should call the next one 'Zelda and the adjective noun'. (This is a light-hearted rib, mind you. I am a fan of the Zelda series. I only point this out in case the video game forum is as free of senses of humor as the politics forum is.)

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

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They should call the next one 'Zelda and the adjective noun'. (This is a light-hearted rib, mind you. I am a fan of the Zelda series. I only point this out in case the video game forum is as free of senses of humor as the politics forum is.)

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ban.

Just picked up the game and finished my session...can't wait to play it.

MOTHER [censored] ZELDA BITCHES OMG HERO OF TIME I LOVE THIS [censored]

is anyone else ostensibly cool but turns into a 12 y/o asian kid at the prospect of playing Zelda? (i use ostensibly pretty lightly but whatev)

http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/4...glass02gz9.jpg

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

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omgggg didn't know it was out. I'm such a loser for zelda. thanks for the info!

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Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

Game is dope so far yo. I can't help but wish it were on a console but I'm sure it'll still be fun. Using the stylus to control everything is easier than I thought it would be.

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

i just played for about 3 hours or so, i had to force myself to put it down.

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

Played last night for about an hour. The stylus control is pretty cool, I guess, but I found myself getting in my own way on occasion.

I ran into two puzzles that I had problems with because I had no idea that I was supposed to use the lame ass microphone for the game. Perhaps I should read instructions? Meh.

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

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omgggg didn't know it was out. I'm such a loser for zelda. thanks for the info!

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Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

Spoilerish content in white:

<font color="white"> I'm surprised that there's no Map+Compass in the dungeons (well at least not the "fire" dungeon) since this must be the first Zelda game not to have that. I don't think I miss it too much though -- what I *do* miss is collecting heart pieces. I'm wondering if it you're still going to be able to get up to 20 hearts? </font>

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

I just finished the game last night, and wow... I probably enjoyed it more than I did Twilight Princess. The controls were so innovative and it's just a really fun game overall. if anyone wants to talk about spoilerish stuff we can have a conversation in white.

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

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I just finished the game last night, and wow... I probably enjoyed it more than I did Twilight Princess. The controls were so innovative and it's just a really fun game overall. if anyone wants to talk about spoilerish stuff we can have a conversation in white.

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how many hours of gameplay, roughly, to finish the storyline? any extra content? replay value?

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

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I just finished the game last night, and wow... I probably enjoyed it more than I did Twilight Princess. The controls were so innovative and it's just a really fun game overall. if anyone wants to talk about spoilerish stuff we can have a conversation in white.

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how many hours of gameplay, roughly, to finish the storyline? any extra content? replay value?

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answers in white just in case

<font color="white">I wasn't really sure how many hours of gameplay so I looked it up, and people are saying 15-20 hours. Seems like it took me a little longer but I'm pretty thorough.

As far as extra content, it looks like the multiplayer battle might be kinda fun but I haven't tried it yet. You can do things like trade treasures with other people but that looks dumb. There are some decently fun minigames (maybe 3 or 4 in total?). So basically it's like any other Zelda game except a little bit smaller in all its features.

I'll definitely play the game again but that might not be the same for everyone. </font>

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

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I just finished the game last night, and wow... I probably enjoyed it more than I did Twilight Princess. The controls were so innovative and it's just a really fun game overall. if anyone wants to talk about spoilerish stuff we can have a conversation in white.

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I just finished -- in white:

<font color="white"> I thought it was a great game. I thought the controls were excellent and the dungeons and boss battles were all very cool, even if the two-headed dragon did have me on life tilt for a couple hours until I figured out what to do. One of my favorite things was just being able to jot notes on the map. Writing things on the sea chart like "come back here when you get arrows" was very useful.

About 20-25 hours is how long I'd guess it took.

I'm curious how much you were able to find -- did you get all 16 hearts? I ended up with 13, and also 19 power gems, 16 wisdom and 14 courage. Kind of bummed because I was curious what would happen at "spirit level 2", but I wasn't motivated enough to go back to every single island and look for things.

Did you ever find "the guard book" for the one sleeping/faking-death guy on the traveler's ship?</font>

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

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[ QUOTE ]
I just finished the game last night, and wow... I probably enjoyed it more than I did Twilight Princess. The controls were so innovative and it's just a really fun game overall. if anyone wants to talk about spoilerish stuff we can have a conversation in white.

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I just finished -- in white:

<font color="white"> I thought it was a great game. I thought the controls were excellent and the dungeons and boss battles were all very cool, even if the two-headed dragon did have me on life tilt for a couple hours until I figured out what to do. One of my favorite things was just being able to jot notes on the map. Writing things on the sea chart like "come back here when you get arrows" was very useful.

About 20-25 hours is how long I'd guess it took.

I'm curious how much you were able to find -- did you get all 16 hearts? I ended up with 13, and also 19 power gems, 16 wisdom and 14 courage. Kind of bummed because I was curious what would happen at "spirit level 2", but I wasn't motivated enough to go back to every single island and look for things.

Did you ever find "the guard book" for the one sleeping/faking-death guy on the traveler's ship?</font>

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white yo

<font color="white">I got to 20 power gems but it wasn't that impressive. It just said something like "your sword is even more powered up!" and the red flame was a little bigger. I imagine your attack power is doubled but I got to 20 after I had beaten the game so I haven't really tested it.

I didn't have any trouble with the boss battles except for the final one. Did you find it to be pretty difficult as well? It was actually the first time I died all game.

Writing on the map was def cool. In so many Zelda games I just completely forget where to go and refuse to consult strategy guides which makes it very difficult. I guess the wizard on the bottom island on the SW map will tell you, but I forgot about her too.

Did you ever get stuck anywhere? I did once (and had to consult a guide just b/c I was pissed), and as usual in these games, it was in a pretty easy spot. It was on the Goron island on the little maze thing. I bombed a few random walls but just assumed that wasn't correct since Zelda has gone away from the "bombing random walls" stuff, so I missed that you're supposed to hit that one near the black marks.

Oh, and looking back I only got 11 hearts ?? Weird, I'll have to find the rest of them. No idea what you're talking about with the Guard book on the traveler's ship. I must've not gone there or something.

but yeah, this game was really fun, and I'll probably play it again soon. </font>

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

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white yo

<font color="white">I got to 20 power gems but it wasn't that impressive. It just said something like "your sword is even more powered up!" and the red flame was a little bigger. I imagine your attack power is doubled but I got to 20 after I had beaten the game so I haven't really tested it.

I didn't have any trouble with the boss battles except for the final one. Did you find it to be pretty difficult as well? It was actually the first time I died all game.

Writing on the map was def cool. In so many Zelda games I just completely forget where to go and refuse to consult strategy guides which makes it very difficult. I guess the wizard on the bottom island on the SW map will tell you, but I forgot about her too.

Did you ever get stuck anywhere? I did once (and had to consult a guide just b/c I was pissed), and as usual in these games, it was in a pretty easy spot. It was on the Goron island on the little maze thing. I bombed a few random walls but just assumed that wasn't correct since Zelda has gone away from the "bombing random walls" stuff, so I missed that you're supposed to hit that one near the black marks.

Oh, and looking back I only got 11 hearts ?? Weird, I'll have to find the rest of them. No idea what you're talking about with the Guard book on the traveler's ship. I must've not gone there or something.

but yeah, this game was really fun, and I'll probably play it again soon. </font>

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whiteness:
<font color="white"> I got tripped up on the wall-bombing part too so I went and searched everywhere on the island and talked to every single Goron again, then figured that the answer had to be over in the little maze. And then I saw the little black mark and tried the bombs -- so yeah, I thought that could've been a bit more clear.

I died a bunch of times on the dragons b/c I couldn't see that I was hurting the one in back when I bounced the ball back at him on an angle. Finally I noticed the "cracked face" and realized something was working. I also died on the last guy once and yeah, I thought that was probably the hardest battle overall. It as well done though -- challenging but not impossible.

Did you like the fishing? I think I just sucked at it. I only caught a couple 2 foot skippyjacks. It took me a while to figure out how to hook them in and then I would still lose them even if I was frantically scratching up and down on the bottom screen.

The guy on the traveler's ship in the SW map says something like "oh you know my brother? (the "hero" from the NW map) if you could find him maybe you could find my guard book" But I never found anything like that.

</font>

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

in white:
<font color="white"> OK, I figured out the guard notebook thing. It's part of a pretty long item collection quest involving all of the "traveler's ships". The payoff is a new sword move, which is pretty fun to do.

I also just figured out that you can float with chickens in this game, so that got me to a couple places I hadn't found before. And I also learned that you can grapple on to rocks, so I was finally able to get that chest in the early part of the Goron island.

I think at this point, it's just about going to the mini-games and completely beating them all, and I don't think I have the patience for that so I'll probably stop playing. But I am curious what the level 2 courage gem gives you... (shoot bigger beams? shoot in more directions!?)</font>

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

as usual
<font color="white">
I didn't have any problems with fishing for whatever reason. I think I only lost 1 fish out of a bunch of tries. I wonder if there are any good payoffs... I got one of the big fish (a loovar?) but I think all I got for it was a gem or a treasure map or something. I might use an online guide now to see if I can complete the game since there are surely cool Zelda secrets in there somewhere. </font>

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

Quick question for those who have finished because I would like to know this answer but don't want to go to gamefaqs and risk spoiling anything else:

<font color="white"> Is there a heart piece in the treasure digging game on Hallow Island? (I think that is the name of it) It is pretty standard for one to be in there based on past games, but I am still coming up empty after like 15 tries</font>

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

white

<font color="white">I tried to look it up. I don't think there is. Hallow island didn't show up on some dude's list of heart containers. </font>

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

thanks

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

That final boss was the biggest bs I've ever come across. I still don't necessarily know what I did, but I managed to get through it somehow. And my hand and wrist are in agony, yo.

This game is part brilliant, part horrible. There are definitely elements that I'd like to see brought to the next gen of Zelda console games, which I guess is the overall goal of something so novel.

Re: Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (no spoilers!)
 

I've pretty much enjoyed every Zelda ever, but this one just didn't do it for me. In fact, I quit about half-way through.

The lack of characters, constantly revisiting the temple of the Ocean King, and lack of towns and islands really bugged me in this game.