‘THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: PHANTOM HOURGLASS’

‘THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: PHANTOM HOURGLASS’

(Nintendo) for Nintendo DS

Rating: E; Grade: B

Link’s first adventure on the DS doesn’t rank among his very best, but “The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass” is still a solid game. What’s more, it makes expert use of the touch screen as the chief method of control.

“Phantom Hourglass” is a rare direct sequel in “Zelda” lore, taking place some months after the end of the cutely cartoonish “The Wind Waker,” released for the GameCube more than five years ago. The game opens with Link and Tetra (a.k.a. Princess Zelda, in tomboy pirate mode) sailing the seas of Hyrule on their ship, fresh from defeating the evil Ganondorf.

But their carefree voyage doesn’t last long. The crew encounters an ominous Ghost Ship. Tetra goes aboard to investigate, then goes missing, and Link is thrown overboard and awakens on a small island.

But don’t worry, he won’t have to find volleyballs to buddy around with — this island is inhabited. The most notable folks around are an amnesiac fairy who joins up with Link, an old man who knows more than he’s letting on, and Linebeck, a money-minded pirate with a nose for treasure.

After a few adventures, Link joins up with this scalawag and avails himself of the scoundrel’s steamship, which carries them around the four corners of the sea (a span mercifully smaller and quicker to navigate than it was in “The Wind Waker”). Treasure maps lead to sunken riches, which can be hauled up once the ship is equipped with a winch and a claw, and several trading ships ply the waters.

Of course, not all these areas are open from the start. Initially confined to the southwest quadrant of the map and its few islands, Link must find sea charts to open up new areas. And those charts lie in the Temple of the Ocean King, a dungeon that sucks the life out of adventurers who brave its depths.

Luckily for him, Link finds the Phantom Hourglass not long after beginning his quest. This artifact protects him from the sapping effects of the temple, but only as long as the sands within last. The timer starts at 10 minutes, and each defeated boss adds more time to the hourglass (allowing Link to delve even deeper before coming up for air) and frees a fairy that allows him to open up new areas of the temple.

The game is controlled almost entirely via the touch screen. The controls are very easy to pick up and extremely effective. Using the stylus, the player presses in the direction Link should go, and he goes. Tap an enemy, and Link attacks it with the sword; select the boomerang and draw a line, and the weapon will follow its path before returning.

Only a few buttons are used, and even these are optional. While aboard the ship, the player can draw a path for the vessel to follow, then defend it from attacks and blow through obstacles by directing cannon fire with taps on the screen. The player can also make notes on most island and dungeon maps, which can come in handy for solving puzzles and marking points of interest.

On the downside, the stylus can sometimes cover up a small portion of the screen. Also, a couple of maneuvers, like the forward somersault, are a little tricky to carry out reliably with the touch-screen controls.

The puzzles aren’t too complex, especially compared with the recent “Twilight Princess” on the Wii, or with “The Wind Waker.” Even the enemies seem easier to defeat than in most previous games in the “Zelda” series. The whole game seems a bit simplified.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There are some pretty tough “Zelda” games out there, and it’s good to dial back the difficulty a bit now and again so younger players can get their bearings. And the game is visually engaging, with big-eyed characters and a smooth, cel-shaded graphical style.

— Justin Hoeger, Sacramento Bee