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Phantom Hourglass...The WORST Zelda Game? - (Under the Super Scope)

m.i.s.

m.i.s.

Member
Oct 30, 2017
243
England, UK
FernandoRocker said:
I loved Phantom Hourglass. It has one of the greatest characters in a Zelda game ever.

Captain Linebeck.

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If you guys haven't played the game, you are missing a great character.
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Indeed. Pirate Zelda are the best Zeldas. PH, ST, LA and Windwaker. Rest I don't care about.

maximumzero said:
I disagree. It's up there as one of my favorite Zelda titles.
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Good man. :o)
 
Vire

Vire

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,591
Spirit Tracks is much worse. IGN should retroactively fire the guy who gave it a 9.2
 
maximumzero

maximumzero

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,925
New Orleans, LA
I generally find the appreciation of Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks is directly tied to the tolerance of its utilization of the Nintendo DS' unique features. Some folks don't jive with alternative control schemes, but I frankly wouldn't want the game to exist without them.
 

fireflame

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,275
I loved PH even though having to come back in the same dungeon, even through dungeons, was a bit stressing. Ity was rewarding to go on the seas, play minigames and find treasures. The worst zelda i completed was Twilight Princess , despite being bigger than oot it felt smaller.
 
KDR_11k

KDR_11k

Banned
Nov 10, 2017
5,235
Jonneh said:
I actually find Spirit Tracks delightful. I'm writing the episode at the moment and it's so clever and well designed. Most puzzles in Phantom Hourglass are basically: "PULL THESE LEVERS: 4 2 1 3" and then you do it. Spirit Tracks has a similar take on this early on apart from the clue is "Hit the right switch before the top one..." - this kind of hint makes you think about the information being relayed to you rather than just noting down exactly what it's saying. It's so much more effective with the note system.

I agree that Linebeck is a great character but he's the only great character. Spirit Tracks has a far more vibrant cast and world, including one of the best Zeldas.
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Outside of the train it seemed good but man, that train...

Speaking of train, fuck the idiot who decided to make you yell into the microphone in PH. I'm not fucking shouting at my DS on a train! Sorry about the language but man, that was the worst idea I've ever seen. They even make sure that you can't cheat it by blowing into the mic or something. Guess it's on par with making a game sequence people want to skip through LONGER.
 
Azzanadra

Azzanadra

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,806
Canada
I have a soft spot for Phantom Hourglass, it was my first Zelda :p

I loved it and honestly I still have only good memories. The Ocean Temple was a good blueprint for the sorts of games I would later come to love...the SoulsBorne games!For years it was the only game I owned on the DS, so I got really good at replays (one playthrough I started it the Saturday morning and had it done by the evening). I really came to appreciate how good I got at those playthroughs and using all the tools the games have me to optimize runs.

Also, Linebeck shockingly is still one of the best written Zelda characters. That's not saying much considering that this series isn't known for its writing anyways, but man I still appreciate his arc, Dude was legitimately cool.

I hope we do get another series in this timeline, I would love a successor to spirit tracks, a mature and dark Zelda set in a victorian-esque Hyrule (building on Spirits Tracks' locomotive technology).
 
Rodney McKay

Rodney McKay

Member
Oct 26, 2017
12,205
The train in Spirit Tracks is worse than anything in Phantom Hourglass for me (the flute too, but that's not even as bad as the train).

Absolutely hated navigating the overworld in that thing, especially when they made it even more of a chore by adding enemy trains that.

That said I still got through quite a bit of the game before dropping it (a little past when the evil trains were introduced).
Skyward Sword I barely got past getting the sword, hated how it controlled, doing something as simple as cutting grass was a chore (when I looked into more of the game, there are other things I wouldn't have liked either).
I also think pre-GBA Zelda control pretty bad too. Only having two buttons to equip items means you have to constantly go into the menus and swap them for what you need.
 
Slam Tilt

Slam Tilt

Member
Jan 16, 2018
5,585
I liked Phantom Hourglass, especially for Tetra and Linebeck. Couldn't get into Spirit Tracks for some reason, however.
 
jph139

jph139

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,378
I'm really curious to see the video on Spirit Tracks now, because man, I always thought it was way worse than Phantom Hourglass. It has most of the same problems and more on top - the sailing was meh but the trains were just awful.
 
Paltheos

Paltheos

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,679
Terrible experience. A few things stick with me from this game.

1) Tedious sailing - Nintendo's response to the complaints on WW's sailing addresses the world size but makes the experience boring, although I don't remember my particular complaints.

2) Temple of the Ocean King or whatever - Common complaint. Why do you need to go through the same segments of the dungeon over and over again every time you come back?

3) The controls - I don't understand why anyone likes these. Please, someone, explain it to me. You're bound to the stylus, literally locked out of the face buttons, which creates enormous problems whenever you need to do more than one thing at a time. Trying to draw and throw a bomb while running from an enemy chasing you shouldn't be an issue. It especially shouldn't be an issue when there's an easy solution that you've had for literal decades. Why did these idiots lock out the face buttons?
 
gardfish

gardfish

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,628
The Spirit Tracks hate in this thread is baffling to me, especially those saying it's worse than Phantom Hourglass. In my view Spirit Tracks was a huge improvement over Phantom Hourglass in every possible way, and while I probably wouldn't put it at the top of my list of favorite Zelda games it definitely falls somewhere in the upper-middle.
 
Saibot

Saibot

Member
Nov 3, 2017
36
No, Spirit Tracks was worse. Phantom Hourglass' biggest issue was the backtracking temple in my opinion. Otherwise, I thought it was okay. Played through it while dropping Spirit Tracks.

I liked the control schemes, to be honest (it's long ago so I can't go into details anymore)

Spirit Tracks' Main Theme is absolutely stunning, though!
 
Rust

Rust

Member
Jan 24, 2018
1,225
It's no way the best game, but it simply cannot be the worst Zelda game when the CD-i games exist.
When Link's Crossbow Training exists.
Hell, when Zelda II: The Adventure of Link exists.
 
Puru

Puru

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,176
I liked it more than spirit tracks by far, and easily above 1 and 2. All of those would be at the very bottom of my 2d zelda list, with phantom hourglass being the only one i wouldn't mind replaying at all even despise it's glaring flaws.
 
Jonneh

Jonneh

Good Vibes Gaming
Verified
Oct 24, 2017
4,538
UK
gardfish said:
The Spirit Tracks hate in this thread is baffling to me, especially those saying it's worse than Phantom Hourglass. In my view Spirit Tracks was a huge improvement over Phantom Hourglass in every possible way, and while I probably wouldn't put it at the top of my list of favorite Zelda games it definitely falls somewhere in the upper-middle.
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Fully agreed. It takes similar puzzles but encourages player input rather than just handing them the answers. Whether the overworld is better is up for debate but I strongly believe the puzzle design and pacing are several times more impressive than Phantom Hourglass.
 
'3y Kingdom

'3y Kingdom

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,494
gardfish said:
The Spirit Tracks hate in this thread is baffling to me, especially those saying it's worse than Phantom Hourglass. In my view Spirit Tracks was a huge improvement over Phantom Hourglass in every possible way, and while I probably wouldn't put it at the top of my list of favorite Zelda games it definitely falls somewhere in the upper-middle.
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I'm also surprised, but I guess some people just hate the train and flute that much, and I can't blame them. The core Zelda gameplay is much better, though.
 
The Almighty Tria

The Almighty Tria

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
6,411
It was my most hyped DS game by far, with Wind Waker being my favorite Zelda game.

It subsequently became my biggest disappointment by far.

Spirit Tracks is slightly better, but also has awful elements like the annoying Zelda and flute
 
Jonneh

Jonneh

Good Vibes Gaming
Verified
Oct 24, 2017
4,538
UK
The Almighty Tria said:
It was my most hyped DS game by far, with Wind Waker being my favorite Zelda game.

It subsequently became my biggest disappointment by far.

Spirit Tracks is slightly better, but also has awful elements like the annoying Zelda and flute
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Oh, you didn't like Zelda? She's actually one of my favourite takes on the character. The flute I understand though, any songs that's require a gap between notes are tricky to register.
 
Saibot

Saibot

Member
Nov 3, 2017
36
'3y Kingdom said:
I'm also surprised, but I guess some people just hate the train and flute that much, and I can't blame them. The core Zelda gameplay is much better, though.
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Yeah, I think that was the issue, for me at least. I just couldn't stand being on the train. It felt like a chore getting to the maybe improved puzzle gameplay of the game. A bummer!

Edit: oooh, I totally forgot about the flute! Usually, I love those Nintendo-gimmicks (I absolutely adore Skyward Sword's controls for example), but this thing didn't make the cut for me)
 
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Boiled Goose

Boiled Goose

Banned
Nov 2, 2017
9,999
It's a bad game by Zelda standards for sure. The controls were interesting but everything else was mediocre, so I think the video is spot on.

Somehow, I hated spirit tracks even more
 
Vitor

Vitor

Member
Oct 30, 2017
517
Rodney McKay said:
The train in Spirit Tracks is worse than anything in Phantom Hourglass for me (the flute too, but that's not even as bad as the train).

Absolutely hated navigating the overworld in that thing, especially when they made it even more of a chore by adding enemy trains that.
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And the train part looks so ugly, those horrible horrible textures
 

Deleted member 42637

Banned
Apr 25, 2018
269
I loved Spirit Tracks, sad to see the hate for it here. I enjoyed driving around in the train though agree they could have done without the enemy trains

As for Phantom Hourglass, the repeated dungeon is an unnecessary chore and a big problem with the game so that puts it fairly low in my personal Zelda rankings, but even at that I still have fond memories of it
 
7upguy

7upguy

Member
Oct 31, 2017
88
I will defend Phantom Hourglass until the day I die as being the best Zelda game. I have beaten like seven times, most recently being on Wii U.
 
SPRidley

SPRidley

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,238
Is the worst singleplayer classic zelda, because zelda 1 and 2 are products of their time. Trifroce Heroes is the worst zelda overall, and i played it on multiplayer with friends, had MUCH more fun with friends with Four Sword Adventures.
Spirit Tracks is a much better game compared to it but still having a similar base.
 

Deleted member 3815

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,633
Phantom Hourglass at least does a better job of being a sequel than Link Between world ever did as it struggled to toe the line of being a sequel/remake and failing badly at it.

As for it being the worse Zelda game? Nah that honours goes to Triforce heroes, as while I did like Hytopia, the NPC and the costume mechanic the gameplay itself and the fact that it live and died, mostly died, on multiplayer.

Triforce Heroes should have been a solo Zelda adventure and I am forever annoyed at Nintendo that they didn't do that. Ah well at least I got my money back in the end.
 
RagnarokX

RagnarokX

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,778
Yeah, the Spirit Tracks hate is just baffling. It has good dungeons and puzzles, one of the best soundtracks in the series, a wonderful refreshing story with the best Princess Zelda in the series.

I get that the train is a bit slow, but at least it was engaging. In Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass you can just aim at the next island and take a nap most of the time and it takes just as long, but with the Train you have to watch out for those enemy trains that give you an instant game over if they get you. It's tense.

Hell, I only rented Spirit Tracks and in the few days I had the game I beat it, got all the gold train parts, and did a good chunk of the other sidequests. It blew me away how heartwarming it was and I couldn't put it down.
 

lmx

Alt-Account
Banned
Aug 10, 2018
469
it looks bad

the controls are bad

I don't understand why they couldn't just make an oot/mm successor with a similar looking engine. I'm not a fan of the top-down zelda games.
 
Hong Kong Hermit

Hong Kong Hermit

Member
Nov 2, 2017
592
Phantom Hourglass fucking owned. Loved everything about it, and while the repeating main dungeon was the weakest part of it, even that was still... fine, at worst. The boss fights in particular were some of the best and most creative things in any game I've ever played. I especially loved the invisible boss where the top screen showed you events from their viewpoint, and you had to figure out where they were as they charged you so you could put an arrow into that eyeball before you got rushed. Wonderful use of two screens.
 

Deleted member 17207

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
7,208
I remember when I played it I didn't mind it (came with my first DS - DS Lite - Zelda edition), but I couldn't tell you a damn thing about it, so I guess that says more than anything lmao.

What I will say is that it didn't disappoint me as much as Skyward Sword did..
 
No Depth

No Depth

Member
Oct 27, 2017
18,285
Yea, I probably would go with Spirit Tracks as slightly worse myself, though both were pretty tepid games with only occasional eyebrow-raising novelties.
 
Anustart

Anustart

9 Million Scovilles
Avenger
Nov 12, 2017
9,049
I only played spirit tracks and it felt like Zelda Lite: For Dummies edition.

Everything was so basic and boring.
 
FUNKNOWN iXi

FUNKNOWN iXi

▲ Legend ▲
Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
9,596
Phantom Hourglass receives so much unnecessary hate imo. It was a fun title that utilized the DS's unique features very well.
 
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