To celebrate the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, we're running a series of features looking at a specific aspect — a theme, character, mechanic, location, memory or something else entirely — from each of the mainline Zelda games. Today, Mitch looks back on an underrated handheld entry that gave the titular princess her biggest role yet in a game with her name (and something to do other than turn up at last knockings with the Bow of Light)...
Take a look at Zelda games made in the past couple decades, and it’s clear to see that each one has had clear gimmicks and goals to separate it from previous iterations. Majora’s Mask, for example, was defined by it’s transformations and repeating three-day cycle. Skyward Sword was all about integrating motion controls into everything and blurring the neat line that used to exist between the overworld and dungeons. This commitment to introducing fresh ideas and interesting experiments with each entry has likely been a large part of why the Legend of Zelda series has become such a beloved and respected institution in the gaming world.
Even so, a lot of similarities have always been kept in: there’s always some big bad that the lone hero needs to overcome; your main goal is to run through dungeons which combine combat and puzzle challenges; and those dungeons are usually spread across a large map. Along the way, you’ve got a diverse arsenal of tools to help you overcome the challenges, too. At the heart of all of this, however, is the fact that you always play as Link (or whatever you care to call him). With one notable exception: Spirit Tracks.
Wind Waker was the first game to explore the concept of playing as alternate characters (ones that weren't just Link wearing a different coloured tunic, that is), but these sections were relegated to mostly small parts in just a couple dungeons. It was Spirit Tracks (and, as of yet, only Spirit Tracks) that explored building a Zelda game around someone other than just Link, and I think it’s important that we remember this; though the series will likely always be based around that familiar green-garbed hero, the ideas touched upon in Spirit Tracks still have a lot more potential if Nintendo ever wants to go that route.
What I’m referring to here is, of course, the great amount of focus put on Phantom Zelda. Though most of Spirit Tracks was a bog-standard classic adventure with Link as the front-and-center hero, the massive Tower of Spirits that you return to over the course of the game was distinct in how it gave you another play character to contend with. Each new floor of the dungeon introduced new obstacles that only Phantom Zelda could overcome, which opened the door to a wealth of interesting dungeon design ideas.
For example, there were some sections where only Phantom Zelda could carry the boss key needed to progress in the dungeon, and you had to draw the route for her to carry it while fighting off enemies trying to take the key. Sometimes she had to carry Link over lava pits or past arrow traps. Sometimes Link had to walk over sandpits she couldn’t cross to hit switches to help her over. Zelda games have always been about finding ways around obstacles, but the power to overcome them usually rests in a singular hero. Here, that power was split in two, and only by utilizing the strengths of each character in tandem could the player progress.
As a kid, this concept floored me, and I’ve found it kind of disappointing that Nintendo has never felt the need to explore it more in future Zelda releases. I imagine two characters, each with their own arsenal of items and powers they accrue over the adventure (maybe even with their own diverging storylines), and the two frequently reuniting for expansive dungeons that they can only overcome together. It could be a way of finally putting co-op into a Zelda game without simply cloning Link, and it could lead to some wonderfully complex puzzles that require you to account for the limitations and strengths of both characters. Barring some incredible revelation about Breath of the Wild 2, I doubt that we’ll see something like this done in a future game, and that’s fine with me because Breath of the Wild showed that Nintendo certainly isn’t running out of ideas for this series anytime soon.
Even so, I wish that Spirit Tracks would get a little more recognition in the broader community for what it represented to the series and what a cool game it turned out to be. Phantom Zelda aside, traversing the open world by train was an awesome idea that got a lot of fleshing out through side quests, puzzles, and boss fights (and gave us some of the finest Zelda music — Zelda choo choo music — in the series). The Spirit Pipes (as infuriating as they were if you weren't playing in a near-silent environment) introduced a neat way of using the DS microphone as a game mechanic.
Spirit Tracks was a shining example of ‘less is more’ philosophy in action, and it deserves to be respected for what it accomplished. It may not be many fans’ favorite entry—it’s not even mine—but Spirit Tracks was an important step for the Zelda series, and I would say it stands up there with the best of them.
Comments 43
Spirit Tracks to me was a more polished Phantom Hourglass. The same great looking (...for DS) engine and sublime touch controls, but with a more interesting central dungeon, the Zelda mechanics and a more linear (but busy) overworld. For all its faults I really enjoyed it, the train riding was something unique (and the harder dungeon bits were satisfyingly puzzly!). Some great tunes too...
They did well in making her a useful deteuragonist while keeping her the "damsel in distress" they like so much
Any Zelda can be anyone’s favorite Zelda... the series is THAT good. The bar is really high.
i like both games but prefer Hourglass
I definitely played this at the right age, I didn't have a huge knowledge of games or 3D graphics so it was magical.
Didn't enjoy as much when I revisited it...but it's still good! Just hard to live up to other Zelda games.
I need to buy Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass on my Wii U before its online services inevitably get shut down. Never got around to playing them, and it’s cheaper on the eShop than it would be to buy the DS cartridges.
Man I love the Zelda series, but I feel like Link should always remain the hero, that's just how it goes. Sure we can give Zelda more meaningfull roles and I'd love that also but it should not take the spotlight away from our glorious Link.
I think a Zelda-centric game or at least Zelda-centric dungeons and objectives in a main console Zelda game would be fun and would help in breaking up the monotony that sometimes becomes Link-centric adventures. For a series and it's developer that's known to take risk and tries to do different things with it's franchises, you would think this would have happened or happened more often than just Spirit Tracks
Never played this Zelda so a very good and polished Switch version would be good for me.
But of course BOTW2 comes first always.
Loved this, only thing i hated was the blowing in mic, detest that in so many DS games
A classic case of Nintendo going back and improving a concept. Plus: train whistle!
I personally wasn't a fan of Phantom Hourglass, it had good ideas but almost all puzzles came down to taking note of a sequence and applying it elsewhere which imo is barely puzzle design. Spirit Tracks was just a better game in almost every regard to me, dungeons felt like proper Zelda dungeons with diverse puzzles and it was all tied together with one of the most unique and charming worlds in the series. Really love this game.
I never played this one and I'm not in a rush, but playing as Zelda is enough to make me interested in it. I really wish we had more instances of that in the series.
Ofcourse we don't speak of the CDi games.
@g_ruz It also doesn't feel quite right on the Wii U.
Okay, I'm ready for "git gud" responses to this... but I found the lack of signposts in the DS Zeldas to make the games irritating. I don't need hand holding, but I prefer Zelda games to have a clear "rail." You can jump off that rail, do all sorts of fun stuff, explore, solve puzzles, etc. But the game let's you know that when you want to return to story advancement, you need to go here. BotW, ALBW, Minnish Cap, etc. were great about this. The DS Zeldas had multiple stretches of lengthy running around and figuring out what you should be doing. They felt less polished than other titles.
Everry time I think about what my favourite Zelda game is, I have to almost really go over them all, and the outcome still seems wrong. Is it Minish Cap, Link's Awakening (original due to nostalgia, DX, or remake), Majora's Mask, Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild, Four Swords Adventures, Wind Waker, Link Between Worlds... But it's never one of the NES games, and actually never Ocarina or even Link to the Past, although they were truly great, I never played them in their time... I rarely think of the DS games, despite being very hyped for them when they came out, and enjoying them a lot. While originally playing it, Spirit Tracks might have been my favourite.
Probably Sheldon Cooper’s favourite Zelda. Because trains.
I will always be thankful to both DS Zelda games for keeping me busy while I was working a job that had me do the overnight shift.
@Crono1973 What about it doesn’t feel right? The slightly yellow color the GamePad gives games has never bothered me much, but a controls issue would be a different story.
I want to play this. I have this. It's sealed/ unopened and I just checked ebay, and its going for ~300usd. I feel like if i open it now, im squandering 300 bucks.
@g_ruz It feels different holding the Gamepad instead of the DS.
But the panpipes! Such an annoying game mechanic! And the hundreds of little bunnies! And being stuck on rails! I’d rather have the freedom of an endlessly empty sea to sail / sky to soar around than be confined to this linearity.
Zelda is exploration. Train tracks are the pinnacle of the linearity they ran from in BOTW.
Literally the one truly great thing about this one is mixing it up with Phantom Zelda - and even then, why does Zelda have to become a ghost before they make her playable?!?
I want to give Spirit Tracks another play through at some point. While Phantom Hourglass is one of my favorites, Spirit Tracks is one of my least of the Zelda games I've beaten. It felt a little too complicated and restrictive compared to Phantom Hourglass in terms of puzzles and overworld travel respectively. It also brought in mic controls for critical aspects of the game, and those are hit and miss on the Nintendo DS. I felt they were a little bit finicky during my first and only play through of the game. Spirit Tracks has a lot going for it though to make me want to give it another chance someday.
This is one of the few Zelda games I never played. I don't have a DS of any sort anymore, so I likely never will...and now I feel like I missed something interesting.
And people say a playable Zelda has never been an option before... 🙃
Of the DS Zelda games, Spirit Tracks is the better. I whole heartedly agree with everything he said in this essay as well.
I really loved this game when it came out. I replayed it recently and found that I still do! It isn't perfect, but still feels and looks so magical.
I liked Spirit Tracks a lot. I personally preferred the boat customizations in PH over the train customizations in ST, but I think the story in ST was stronger. Byrne and Malladus were great non-ganon antagonists (probably the best this side of Vaati. Sorry Veran and Onox.). Use of Zelda, as this article points out: is easily among the best in the series. And during a time where using zelda seemed to often mean making her someone other than Zelda (Sheik and Tetra), this one really did go for making it about the namesake. Plenty of other familiar faces like Alfonso and Linebeck.
Really, there is no portable zelda that isn’t an underrated zelda.
While Spirit Tracks is in the bottom half of the Zelda pile for me (This isn't a criticism, merely the fact that the series sets such a high bar to begin with), it's still a decent Zelda game. Being able to play as Phantom Zelda is a huge perk for me. Plus, I enjoyed traversing the overworld via a train, better dungeons/bosses (except Fraaz...ugh), some of the items were unique at the time, the touch controls weren't TOO baked in/overdone this time around, and the game offers many QoL improvements over Phantom Hourglass; it boggles my mind that so many prefer the latter.
Sure, there's still a central dungeon - the Tower of Spirits - but at least you don't have to repeat the whole thing ad nauseam. Phantom Zelda is a much, MUCH better partner than Ciela. While the Spirit Flute criticisms are valid, the tunes you eventually manage to belt out are charming and memorable. And, IMO, the final boss is better than what we got in PH. I'd argue the only thing Phantom Hourglass did better was Linebeck.
Legend of Zelda: Wand of Gamelon did it first.
Spirit Tracks is a fine game, and I prefer it over the Phantom Hourglass. However, I still count it one of my least favorite in the series, mainly due to the touch controls and the really limited overworld.
@g_ruz
There's nothing to worry about playing them on the Wii U. The only problem I found was that the game doesn't check Wii U's clock, which means that Beedle won't change items, restock, or give out discounts on Sunday.
If you decide to play on both the GamePad and the TV, you'll likely slice certain cutscenes in half (unless you hold the GamePad up and align it to the TV). There's also the part about having to constantly look up and down, but that's all part of the Wii U experience anyways.
@Crono1973
I think you're forgetting the fact that there are multiple ways to hold the GamePad while playing DS games. It would be a little crazy to say none of these would suit you, don't you think?
Personally, I found it to be a DIFFERENT experience than playing on a DS, but not necessarily a bad one. For one thing, you can play on the TV, which meant you'll hear the game on better speakers than you would on regular DS speakers.
i hope and expect Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 finaly give us a playable Princess Zelda with distinct gameplay between her and Link.
@Fighter_Hayabusa If you have a Wii U, I'd recommend just getting it there through virtual console. Great game, but I'd personally much rather have $300 😂
The game has a fatal flaw. The flute parts are sooo sooooooooooo bad. Soooo bad. Makes you want to stop playing after 20+ mins of trying to learn a song from that old fool that wants you to play it exactly.
@Bobb Yeah, i like that
I'm sorry but this game is utterly and completely broken because the pan pipe mechanic simply DOES NOT WORK...
And I love Phantom Hourglass, Linebeck is the best Zelda NPC since Dampe.
Pretty neat, though the train still feels weird.
I imagine a game focused on Zelda would either be a strategy game or one where Link dies early on and Zelda revives his shadow, controlling it indirectly (and giving a starting point for Shadow Link). Focus on the princess and magic parts.
I would gladly replay this if it wasn't for the flute sections.
Those gave me nightmares. I think I tried for about 2 hours for the last one.
Only Zelda wich I played through just once for this sole reason.
Spirit Tracks is a great Zelda game. My only issue with it is the darn Spirit Flute sections; no game should have mandatory microphone segments.
Man, I loved Spirit Tracks. Gotta give it a replay some time
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