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Phantom Hourglass Fact Sheet - DS

11th May 2006, 1:02am

The epic story of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker continues as Link finds himself lost and alone in unknown seas in a new adventure. Featuring intuitive touch-screen controls and innovative puzzles, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass offers new challenges for fans of the series and an easy-to-grasp introduction for gamers new to The Legend of Zelda. But time grows short, and only the can buy Link the minutes he'll need to survive.

The stylus makes controlling Link easier than ever. Tap on the screen to make Link move, or sweep the stylus around him to swing the sword. Players can even draw a path for his boomerang and send it flying into hard-to-reach targets;
Players can stash the map on the top screen for quick reference or drop it to the touch screen to make notes, study enemies, or chart a path for their boat to follow while they man the cannons;
Compete with a friend over a local wireless connection: Guide Link through special dungeons to capture the Triforce, or command the forces that oppose him.

Many months have passed since the events of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and Link, Tetra and Tetra's band of pirates have set sail in search of new lands. They come across a patch of ocean covered in a dense fog, in which they discover an abandoned ship. Tetra falls into danger when she explores the ship alone, and Link falls into the ocean when he attempts to rescue her. When he washes up unconscious on the shores of a mysterious island, he is awakened by the sound of a fairy's voice. With the aid of this fairy, he sets off to find Tetra - and his way back to the seas he once knew.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is controlled almost entirely by the stylus. Using the touch screen, players direct Link's movements and attacks: A sweeping motion triggers Link's spin attack and tapping characters makes Link speak with them. The stylus controls offer a more intuitive means of playing the game and open up new possibilities for puzzle solving.

The game action takes place primarily on the touch screen, with a map on the top screen. However, the player can inspect the map on the touch screen and make notes using the stylus. The notes on these maps are saved for review on the top screen during game play. Players use the map to chart courses for their ships, too. Using the stylus to draw a path through the islands, players set their ships' courses. Then, as the ships automatically follow the paths drawn, players can control their ships' cannons to target oncoming enemies.

In dungeons, players can use the touch screen to draw paths for boomerangs, sending them flying around corners or into otherwise unreachable areas. The stylus-driven game play is the most compelling new feature of Phantom Hourglass. Players use the stylus to control Link, chart courses for their ships, mark notes on maps and solve puzzles in both the overworld and dungeons.

A two-player wireless battle mode pits one player, as Link, against another player who controls the enemies pursuing him. Link must collect enough Force Gems before the enemies close in.

Looks to be an awesome, gorgeous installment in the series. We've got some screens, the logo and some Link art. You can also view the trailer (same as GDC, but this time housed in the bottom screen of a DS) in Quicktime format by right click just here. It's about 30MB.

by Nick Schaedel » Author's Blog