Everyone's got an opinion on The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. But the real cool nerds are the ones that have opinions on Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, the pair of Wind Waker sequels that used every single mechanic on the DS to great effect.

To put it another way, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks don't get nearly enough column inches, especially these days, now that the DS is a distant, dusty memory. So thank goodness for Liam Triforce, who has just posted a ninety-minute-long deep dive into the two games, and what makes them so fantastic.

Phantom Hourglass main dungeon
Does this image give you nightmares?

Honestly, even being the massive fans of the two games as we are, this video got us feeling like we should boot up the ol' Zelda machine and give them another go. The innovation of the stylus-based gameplay; the draw-your-own-maps; the precision mechanics of the bombchu and boomerang; even the dreaded repeated dungeon — most Zelda games introduce a handful of unique ideas, but these two top-down games were nothing but experimentation.

Of course, it's not all sunshine and rainbows, and Liam Triforce also delves into the more disappointing aspects of the games — largely the uninspired dungeon design in Phantom Hourglass. Still, there are cool mechanics and ideas even in the most boring dungeons, so it's hard to be too put out by it.

If you're a fan of video essays and video games, you'll love this combination of the two. We certainly did.

Is Phantom Hourglass your favourite Zelda? Do you think Spirit Tracks deserves a second look? Let us know in the comments!