Trains are something all boys love — at least in my experience. And it isn’t something we guys seem to outgrow. I know if my dad had the time, he would definitely be at a train store staring at all of them before setting them up somewhere. And riding the train at Oil City/Titusville was a blast all those years ago. What is it about trains that captures our imaginations? Is it simply their raw power and ability to take people almost anywhere? Is it because they stimulate our imagination for adventure? Or is it something else? With this in mind, I present to you The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the Nintendo DS.
The storyline in this adventure is not very different than most of the games in the Legend of Zelda series. It starts in a very similar manner as Link’s previous DS adventure The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: Link’s mentor is telling him the story of how the kingdom came to be. But even here, things are a bit different. Link is not an adventurer by trade; he is an engineer. And he has to go to the castle to obtain his license. It is there that Princess Zelda tells him that she thinks everything is going south, and then she dies 15 minutes later. Actually, “dies” is a bit strong. Her soul is forced out of her so the bad guys can use her body as a host for a horrid demon.
Even though this is something we’ve all seen before in some shape or form, what sets it apart is how the game handles it. She sort of freaks out for a few moments and expects Link to save her, but then she decides to join him. This allows for some interesting gameplay (more on that later). It’s nice not to have the damsel-in-distress stereotype in a Legend of Zelda game.
But with that said, this is very much a traditional Legend of Zelda game. You wander around, talk to people, collect rupees (money) along with treasures, use your newfound item to solve the dungeon and kill the boss. Yeah, not much has changed. But gosh darn it! It is still a lot of fun.
The game is incredibly intuitive. Using your handy stylus, you literally point, click and drag it across the screen. If you’ve played Phantom Hourglass, you’ll feel right at home. Movement is incredibly easy as there is no chance to accidentally roll. To make that happen, you have to tap a spot twice. Sword slashing is a bit tricky but not too necessary as the auto-fight function of tapping works well. The top screen holds the map and is almost always ready for you to make notes. In other words, if this was placed in Grandma’s hands, she would probably be able to play it.
Plus, there’s a lot to do. In one part, there are 50 rabbits to hunt down, a tough goal as you only have 10 seconds to catch them. Did I mention I hate wabbits? There is the “job” of treasure hunting and trading in those “priceless” items for rupees or train parts. There are people who require train rides or need items from another village. These requests don’t happen as often as I would like, but they are still cool. And then there’s playing the flute. In order to use it, you have to blow into the DS’s microphone. It may sound like something that doesn’t work, but it does. I felt like I was actually playing a flute.
Then there is Legend of Zelda: Spirit Track’s signature trick: the train. I love using the train’s whistle (and it changes depending on what engine is being used). Furthermore, there are four speed settings: fast, normal, neutral and reverse. This is where the game’s map function kicks in: You can plan your route in advance, and the train will take care of everything, even track changing. This lets you kick back and enjoy the scenery for 30 seconds. That’s when the monsters come out. At least it gives you a chance to use your cannon on something other than rocks (for wabbit hunting). And during most of the game, you have to avoid evil trains. While it is a bit more confining than most other games in the series, it’s rather nice to know that you don’t have to worry about every single aspect of the world.
It also important to note that you do have a headquarters, so to speak. This place is called “The Tower of Spirits,” and you will return to it after every major dungeon. You see, you have to explore a section of it in order to gain access to the next area. This is where Zelda comes in handy. By gathering three tears of light and slashing a walking suit of armor, Zelda can inhabit the suit of armor. This creates some interesting puzzles (challenges) as you have to figure out how to best use her. She can carry Link if she jumps on top of her shield. One type of armor allows her to teleport. Another turns her into a portable (and arguably more useful) bowling ball. Thankfully, unlike Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, you never have to go through the same few sections of the tower over and over again. Just go right to the floor of the tower you need, or you can go back and hunt treasure. If there is one complaint about this, it is I wish Zelda was used in her armor form more often.
This brings us to the graphics. The game looks great. The cel-shading allows for a lot of detail. Water flows in its reservoirs. Flowers blow in the wind. Characters meander around the map. Shadows change position depending on where the train is on the map. There are two downsides. First, Spirit Tracks is a bit pixilated. This is forgivable because the DS only has so much graphical power. So what if the trees on the world map look like wallpaper? The game still looks cool. The second part is a bit more problematic. While the game moves at a perfect frame rate, it fails when certain enemies chase you on land. It doesn’t stop gameplay, but it is noticeable.
Soundwise, Spirit Tracks succeeds. The usual sounds are all pleasant and easy to listen to. Link screams when he’s hurt badly enough, his sword slashes at his opponents, the whip (a really cool subweapon) cracks, and of course, the whistle of the train is just cool. Musicwise, everything just works. The train music is bright, cheerful and airy. Very few tunes are remixes from old games. However, it retains its own feel. It retains its own connection to the The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks and not to any other game. It doesn’t sell out or cop out. It is its own entity. And I salute the game for it.
Overall, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is a top-notch DS game. It does everything a Legend of Zelda game should do and then some. Although I wish there were more areas to stick my nose into, I still love it. Spirit Tracks does an excellent job of driving you forward, with rewards for your efforts around every corner. My complaints are few and far between, and most of them are just minor nit-pickings. And the worst of my complaints? All of my projects for the DS were placed on hold as this game held me in its grasp for hours on end. In other words, go buy this game! The admission fee is totally worth it. And make certain you have the free time to devote to it. That’s just so you don’t get derailed by other responsibilities. All aboard the adventure train!
