The Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Review [DS]

17 Dec 2009 at 15:42:34 by Tim McDonald
Systems used to review this title: (DS)

There is one little thing about Spirit Tracks which makes it something truly special. It's something that was mentioned and known about, sure, but there wasn't a big deal made about it. A shame, because despite being very small it's one of the best things about the game: you're accompanied by Zelda.

This time around, Link's constant companion isn't a random fairy: it's the title character herself in disembodied spirit form. Villain Malladus, a demon king who has to the best of my knowledge never been mentioned before, needs to reincarnate in her body, and before you can say “Hey! Listen!” Zelda is whisked away and you're left with her soul. As with another recent DS title – Bowser's Inside Story – the constant companionship of a major series character really gives an insight into a personality that we haven't seen so much of before.

It's wonderful. Zelda, as an ally, is brilliant; it's not so much about what she can do (which we'll get onto) but rather what she says. Spirit Tracks follows on from Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass, with one of Zelda's ancestors now the princess of a distant land, but with much the same character as she had back then. She's friendly and confident, and at the same time capable of hilarious overreactions. It's not an exaggeration to say I laughed out loud more than once, both at Zelda herself and at the game's subversions of typical RPG tropes, with a “power of friendship” speech being brilliantly twisted by what happens after. Much as I'd love to go into detail, I really don't want to spoil them, as these are easily the best moments in the game and are the sort of things I'll remember for years to come.

Which isn't to say that the rest of the game isn't good – it's just that the writing really is the star of the show, particularly with Zelda herself. Spirit Tracks treads similar ground to Phantom Hourglass, with top-down control of Link hearkening back to the pre-3D Zeldas; stylus control that, by and large, is perfectly solid; and a dungeon that you'll keep coming back to, as with Phantom Hourglass' Temple of the Ocean King.

No! Wait! Come back! Unlike the Temple of the Ocean King, Spirit Tracks' Spirit Tower isn't shit. That Temple was easily the worst thing about Phantom Hourglass – it was a dungeon that required you to go through it again and again, traipsing back through floors you'd already completed, while under a strict time limit. The Spirit Tower here does away with all of this by removing the utterly idiotic time limit and adding a winding staircase letting you pass any of the three or four-level sections you've already completed. It's also incredibly varied; each floor introduces new challenges and problems, culminating in complex puzzles that span across every floor of its particular section.

In a shock twist that should surprise no-one, the dungeons stand up as the other best thing about the game, next to Zelda's dialogue. While there are less than you might be expecting – likely because the Spirit Tower technically comprises about five or six dungeons, based on the number of times you'll go back there – you've got plenty to do, and it's amazing how Nintendo keeps finding new twists to throw into the puzzles. While there are still the typical push-something-onto-a-switch-to-open-a-door, that switch might be on a raised platform. Behind spikes. Which is behind a river of lava, that can only be accessed by flicking three switches in a specific order displayed elsewhere, which you have to take note of while riding a mine cart and using the Boomerang to switch tracks.

The regular dungeons focus on Link, his equipment, and the way they interact with the environment in the usual Zelda manner. The Spirit Tower dungeons, on the other hand, focus a bit more on Zelda. You see, the Phantoms from Phantom Hourglass – the gigantic, invulnerable, armoured monstrosities that can kill Link in one hit – are back. This time around, though, Link's collection of Tears of Light scattered around these dungeons infuses his sword with enough power to stun the Phantoms if he hits them on the back. Once stunned, they can be possessed by Zelda, granting you another combatant (and puzzle-solving mechanic.)

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