Stylus-On With Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is a return to the stylus-controlled Link of Phantom Hourglass, but with a twist.
In Spirit Tracks, not only do you get to play through segments of the game on a train, firing off shots from a canon, but you have a pet Phantom of sorts which is used to protect you and help solve puzzles.
The version of the game on show at E3 this week was broken down into distinct sections so you could get a taste of some of the new gameplay elements easily.
First I checked out a dungeon, with Link and his Phantom cohort. In the game you control Link with a stylus, as with Phantom Hourglass, moving him around by touching the screen and attacking by tapping on enemies.
You can also move a giant, friendly Phantom by touching a symbol at the feet of the armoured Phantom and drawing a path with your stylus. Once you lift the stylus the Phantom begins walking the course you drew. There is also a button that lets you switch views between Link and the Phantom when the two move away from each other and another button that allows you to call the Phantom to you.
While it doesn’t look like you can use the Phantom to fight, you can use his armoured body to unlock rooms by standing on switches, block fire and even ride the thing across pools of lava by standing on his head.
It’s an interesting new mechanic that adds just enough to the experience to make Spirit Tracks feel like a fresh approach to the touch-control gaming of Phantom Hourglass.
The train section of the demo was more tutorial than gameplay. You control the train by sliding a lever up and down to speed up, slow down, stop or reverse the train on its tracks. There’s also a chain you can pull down with your stylus to blow a whistle and clear the tracks of animals. There’s also a canon mounted to the train that you can fire by touching anywhere on the screen.
Played separated from the experience of the game itself, the train section felt sort of odd, like a tacked on experience that didn’t really fit in with the bigger picture. But I’m sure that won’t be the case once the full game is released.
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
I love having a phantom to help you around, it makes the zelda game feel fresh and new, finally having some more help in a zelda game.
it is too bad you just cannot use the regular controls. I had a hard time with the stylus on the previous Zelda so I just ended up not wanting to play it and sold the game.
TT
@randomspirits: Oh please, that dungeon wasn't hard, in fact it was the only part of the game I actually had fun with. And if you really think that dungeon was hard, go play Link to the Past. Every single dungeon in that masterpiece is harder than every Zelda since Windwaker put together.
@vanillakokakola: Never thought I'd see the day when I wouldn't be excited for a new Zelda. I was wrong, and it sucks.
I'm so glad they got rid of all that pesky exploration and freedom. God knows everyone hated that. This is such a great evolution for the franchise.
@robomonk: George Bush sucks.
Hey, if you don't like him you can always move out of America, nobody's forcing you at gun point.
Weepee
Really? I'm the first one to say this? Awesome!
"firing off shots from a canon"
CANNON BANNED!
almeister112
@Gomerboy: But but... but Makar! D:
He's all cuddly and can fly! He sounds like a togepi too! you clearly have no heart! :'(
*Googles Makar teddy*
@vanillakokakola: Same. Not worth buying. It's really upsetting.
Monolith
@enderx: One can bitch without being self-entitled. I don't expect companies to make games I enjoy, I just point out what I don't like. That is, if and when I complain.
@brieeyeball:
I still have nightmares about the water temple.
ren666
@brieeyeball: I didn't think the dungeon was challenging, it was no fun to go back to and do the same puzzles over again.
Danarcho
@brieeyeball: Oh, and it was NOTHING compared to OoT's Water Temple.
@Tzepish:
@randomspirits:
Oh come on, guys, it wasn't that bad and you know it. The Ocean's king temple was the only part of the game that actually made you think; and it didn't even take much thought. In fact, if you've played any Zelda game you already know how to beat the temple.
1. Aquire new item
2. Use new item to get further in temple
3. obtain sea chart
4. rinse, repeat
I enjoyed the ocean king's temple as it was the only somewhat challenging part of the game. It was nowhere near being game ruining.
@SuperD:
Judging from screen shots and the trailer, I'm guessing it's going to be another Link.
For one, the original trailer shows Zelda AS Zelda. In PH, Tetra said she HATED being called Zelda, and dressing up as her and the like.
Also, the Overworld isn't flooded.....
@Tzepish: Yeah, I still havn't beaten it; due to that dungeon it's probably one of the hardest Zelda's excluding non-Nintendo ones.
randomspirits
@vanillakokakola: Indeed.
randomspirits
@Sebnotic Is Serious Business: I hate games that use the mic like that. I kind of feel like I can't play those games in public or people will think I have tourettes.
It would be funny if there was a game in which you try to get an old NES game to work by blowing on cartridge.
robomonk
@Kayin: Right. It's as if some people think Reggie is going to come to their home and force them to buy games they don't want at gun point.
Then again, knowing Reggie... *locks doors and windows*
robomonk
@LionheartAce: Does it make a pointy triangle in your cheek like a hunk of Toblerone?
Anybody else pissed off that it's on a TRAIN? I didn't realize technology was going to start advancing after phantom hourglass...what's next, Link in Manhatten? =/ Do not want. Stick to middle ages, please.
@vanillakokakola: Agreed.
@ShimodaNexus: +1
Um, Crecente, you can indeed fight with the Phantom. He automatically attacks nearby enemies if you guide him to them.
razzbarry
@Tzepish: Yeah that dungeon was the worst. I couldn't finish the game either because of it. My girlfriend did and said you had to go back to that dungeon every time. What a terrible idea.
Danarcho
@cabjf:
That would be a great easter egg.
Jacob Morgan
Any word on the story? Set after the Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass storyline or is it going to be another Link?
So only touch screen controls? This ruined Phantom Hourglass for me (among other things). I like using the D-pad better.
Does anyone know if there is a dungeon that you have to keep going back to over and over? That was the worst part of Phantom Hour glass.
Danarcho
@Kayin: fuck, didn't they though???
the sense of self-entitlement is gross.
enderx
Looking at Phantom Hourglass, I'm not surprised they went with trains for this game. In PH your boat is essential a train, you set a course and you follow along at set track.
Not to say trains don't seem out of place in the Zelda universe but it seems like a logical progression.
This is the first Zelda game ever that I'm not excited for. How depressing.
@cabjf: And "I think I can! I think I can!" everytime you're going up a hill.
Please, god, do not ruin this game with another dungeon similar to the ocean king dungeon from the first game. Seriously, I loved the game, and would score it a 10 out of 10, if not for that dungeon. I never finished the game, because that dungeon just straight-up ruined it.
@Sebnotic Is Serious Business: I hear the faster you can repeat "chugga-chugga-chugga" into the mic, the faster the train will go!
cabjf
@TRT-X: Or, more importantly, can I choose to use the cannon instead?
cabjf
@tinky XIII: Someone hasn't played Phantom Hourglass apparently...
mitch_93
@Sebnotic Is Serious Business: I would love that
BLUE HEART METER!?
@TylDurden: i love how all gamers seem to hate games around E3 time. did everyone become a whiny little bitch on monday ?
@Agumen:
I just see it as another item you can use, rather than an extra character in the game.
woons
@Gomerboy: In almost every game I've ever played, having a second character tag along just makes the game a chore, or if not, simply a little worse. Sheva was a horrible example of this in RE5, those wind waker temples another example.
Fallout 3 did the companion idea very well though. Prince of Persia's Elika was alright too. But overall, I'm not a big fan of the idea.
@Gomerboy: I agree. That aspect of Wind Waker was probably the worst.
himohebi
@mitch_93: IT DOES CHANGE!
[gonintendo.com]
That or they heavily edited the mapping which i doubt. So the enviroment changes as you go on into something more developed and complicated? That could be some hell of a mindblowing addition if true.
mitch_93
@frank0127: while still using the shitty parts to make them even shittier
TylDurden
@Sebnotic Is Serious Business:
shhhh! it hasn't shipped yet, don't give them ideas!
yellowbilliards
Is it me or does that map change a lot during the game development? Or does it change as the game passes on with more discovery? If so then I applaud Nintendo for their ingeniou minds.
mitch_93
Least they don't have you screaming "Choo-Choo" in the DS mic for the whistle.
So what happens if I DON'T blow the whistle? Do I take damage from colliding with our bovine bretheren?
As long as I don't have one big, pain-in-the-ass dungeon to go back to each time, I'm sold.
ShimodaNexus
Mmm, I can taste the Triforce already.
What a twist!
[www.lifelounge.com]
I love Zelda, but my least favorite parts are dungeons where you have to control a second character along with Link. Windwaker was notorious for this.
nice to see they've found a way to make the formula that made Phantom Hourglass great EVEN BETTER. that Phantom suit sounds like what the Tingle Tuner did for Wind Waker.
frank0127
@Placentasaurus: The Ocean King dungeon wasn't hard, it was just ANNOYING. I don't have the patience for stealth+puzzle solving with a time limit (awful combination), and I don't have the patience for replaying the same dungeon over and over again.