The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

StrangenessAbound’s Rating: — This review is based upon a copy the author bought.

Buy It Now: on Amazon.com

Amazon.com Product Description: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is an action/adventure game for the Nintendo DS and DSi that sets Link, the iconic hero of the Legend of Zelda series, on a daring new adventure. The game provides players with a new story, more puzzles, a new mode of transportation–by train–and a new companion in combat, the Phantom. Together these offer up new possibilities for problem-solving, adventure and fun to both longtime and new fans of the franchise alike.

StrangenessAbounds’s Review: I have been a Legend of Zelda fan since I was twelve years old – this was about the time the award-winning Ocarina of Time addition to the series was released. The basic storyline is almost always the same: a princess (whose name is always Zelda) is in need of aid and summons a boy or teenaged boy (whose name is always Link) to fight off the evil encroachment of Ganon/Ganondorf (who appears in the vast majority of Legend of Zelda games) who desires a sacred relic called the Triforce (which also appears in the majority of LoZ games). Rarely does a LoZ game deviate from this basic formula, but with Nintendo’s latest addition to the LoZ saga, this formula is changed. Some long-time Zelda fans might even call it a dramatic change.

The game’s premise is simple: Princess Zelda’s body has been stolen away to provide a foothold to the evil spirit, Malladus. Her spirit is left behind and she and Link must team up to stop Malladus’s rebirth into Zelda’s body. The journey to the final battle, however, is anything but simple. They must overcome multiple hurdles before they can reach Malladus.

Spirit Tracks is decidedly different for a variety of reasons, the first being perhaps the most obvious: it has trains. Many Zelda fan’s hackles stood up when Nintendo announced that the next DS LoZ title would revolve around locomotive engines. The LoZ series has almost always been set in a medieval or tribal type setting since the series’ inception – I don’t need to say that trains and medieval settings don’t go together. However, once I began the adventure, I didn’t think even once that the combination didn’t work. I easily became wrapped up in controlling Link’s train and selecting new routes – such is the subtle magic of Spirit Tracks.

Another clear change is that Ganon/Ganondorf, the Triforce and the Master Sword (Link hero’s weapon of choice) are missing altogether, but I would say that this works just as well as the presence of trains in Spirit Tracks.

Princess Zelda’s constant companionship is also a marked change to this particular LoZ game. In previous games, Zelda had to be rescued. If she worked in tandem with Link, she worked from a distance and often in disguise. In Spirit Tracks, her body is separated from her spirit and taken away to become the new body of Malladus, the evil character of the game. Zelda’s spirit is left to linger the earth, but instead of waiting for Link to make things right, she goes along with him. The player is encouraged to utilize Zelda’s spirit and her abilities to the fullest extent. I loved that Zelda took a much more active role in Spirit Tracks than she has ever had before.

The music in Spirit Tracks is beautiful, quite catchy and easy to dance to. Koji Kondo has composed music for the LoZ series since 1986. His scores seldom disappoint and Spirit Tracks is not the exception. I was raised with a wide variety of music and I was also taught to notice the emotion in each piece. Many of the LoZ games have stunning scores, but I would rank Spirit Track’s soundtrack as one of my five top game musical scores.

The sidequests are enough to entertain even the most jaded gamer. One of my favorites is called The Bunny Rescue in which you must find 50 bunnies, catch them in your net and bring them back to the bunny shelter. The problem is that they like to run away and go about in random directions – there is little predictability here. Another sidequest is safely escorting passengers from one destination to another. It sounds easy, but there are plenty of enemies on the tracks who would love to derail your trip. The passenger also has the choice to bail if your driving is too bad.

The dungeon levels become less and less linear as you play, adding to the challenge in addition to monsters trying to kill you. Many Zelda fans will understand the general set up of a certain area in a dungeon (e.g. light a pair of torches, get a treasure box), but the puzzles are difficult enough to work on for at least several minutes.

The stylus is used for all parts of gameplay and not once did it feel awkward to move Link forward, to slow down/speed up/brake the train, or to attack an enemy. Wherever you point the stylus, Link runs over immediately.

The graphics are the last thing I’ll mention and I say that because graphics come secondary to storyline, easy and precise control and an interesting end goal. Spirit Track’s graphics are vivid and fluid, especially considering that this game is set up for the DS console.

The game is intuitive, fun and easy to become obsessed with, like many LoZ games. Spirit Tracks is also a repeatable game – soon after I completed my first adventure, I began a new save file so that I could begin again. I give Spirit Tracks five stars because I often lost track of time while playing this game.