One for the phans...

Celda, they called it. It was the GameCube's most controversial game and Zelda's most dramatic change in direction since the ill-advised side-scrolling second NES outing, but the cartoony Wind Waker nonetheless had its followers. And despite Twilight Princess's return to a grittier, mainstream aesthetic, Nintendo clearly hasn't forgotten its older, more stylised success. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass on DS is very much the next chapter in Link's epic seafaring story.

Like its GameCube big brother, Phantom Hourglass will present Link's adventures in full cel-shaded (that is, black-outlined) 3D, giving Phantom Hourglass the feel of a moving comic book. However, Phantom Hourglass will play somewhat differently to its colourful forebear by giving gamers a top-down perspective more akin to traditional Zelda outings than the third-person cam of home console versions.

Cunning control

It's a trade-off that's looking entirely worth it. Not only is Phantom Hourglass looking stunning for a handheld title, but the control system is built entirely around the birds-eye viewpoint. Making ingenious use of the DS' idiosyncratic features, you'll guide Link almost entirely with the stylus and touch screen; pointing to move, tapping objects and people to interact, and swishing and stroking to attack with sword or other weapons. To put it in context, Phantom Hourglass' touch-screen controls make Wii Twilight Princess' masterful motion mimicking feel utterly redundant.

Phantom Hourglass also promises to completely reinvent the videogame map system. Never have we seen a map screen like this, where you'll swiftly transfer the map to the touch screen and sit there jotting down all sorts of notes on it with your stylus – treasure locations, unsolved puzzles, you name it – for future reference, just like a real-life professional elf-cum-explorer (such as Link is, of course) would do.

And it's not only that which Nintendo have used inventively; Phantom Hourglass will boast tons off neat little DS-specific touches; transferring things between screens by closing the DS, spreading the play to the top screen on occasion; solving puzzles by blowing on the mic... and these are just the tip of Phantom Hourglass's genuine Nintendo genius.

All of which will come in handy for Phantom Hourglass's diverse, sprawling adventure. Like in Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass sees you once again trying to track down a kidnapped Tetra by exploring a mixture of a water-strewn overworld, devious dungeons and, on occasion (though far less so than on home systems) a small town here and there for the odd fetch-and-carry sidequest. It is supposedly shorter than the Zeldas on the bigger systems, but Phantom Hourglass promises possibly the perfect blend between longevity and pick-up-and-play portable fun.

The DS's defining release?

A big factor in Phantom Hourglass's longevity is going to be multiplayer, which we can see hordes of Zelda-loving DS owners absolutely loving this winter and beyond. Described at its most basic as two-player Pac-Man, one player controls a treasure-hungry Link while the other guides guards trying to trap the green-clad scamp – and the best bit is you can play it locally – via both ad hoc and download play, so you won't necessarily need two Phantom Hourglass carts – and, crucially, online.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, then, could well be the DS's defining release and one of the year's uppermost top titles. Indeed, Wind Waker may remain the Zelda series' most hotly debated release, but if Phantom Hourglass ends up delivering as promised then this second Celda will deserve nothing but universal acclaim.

Preview by: Mark Scott
Preview Published: 28.09.07