Yes, I agree with some reviewers that it is tedious to return to the Temple of the Ocean King all the time, but that is made more than made up for by shooting, stabbing, hooking and bombing all the very ingeniously invented monsters of the various temples and islands. But apart from that you can also fish, trade, dig up rupees, pimp up your boat, fly with chicken. And you have to solve some riddles that are difficult, but not impossible.

Some of the bosses were cool, but you would reach them so quickly after entering a dungeon that they didn't have time to build up the suspense. Honestly, if this game were not part of the Zelda franchise, I would have given it 4 stars, but being Zelda I really did have higher expectations. Still worth buying, but not worthy of the name "Zelda".

But in this case, the graphic design of the Phantom Hourglass for DS has not delivered any disappointment by far. I enjoy the cartoonish design of the characters, places, and objects. And it's certainly a satisfaction to not have to worry about the DS freezing up because of having to process a game that it can't handle.

Dungeons (although not as large and intricate as previous games from the same title) are still challenging enough to keep you occupied. Collecting ship parts will consume you the same way Pokemon did (well, maybe not, but that doesn't mean you don't have to go around and trade them to collect them all). In the end, it's worth it, if for nothing else, just to see how it goes.

It's a bit awkward when you want to precisely control the speed of your character or do some specific action at a specific time (like running or rolling) but it's possible. Other than that, being able to tap on a bad guy and have the character dispatch it was kind of nice, particularly since the movement control is a bit awkward. Drawing paths to deploy the boomerang was a nice addition, though sometimes having to know certain targets lie offscreen made simple puzzles unnecessarily frustrating.

I can do it, but it's kind of hard. --Movement, though fun, is a little difficult with the Stylus because you accidentally touch stuff that hurts Link: ex: I thought I had tapped the boomerang and was ready to throw it at a boss, but I ended up telling Link to run up and bump into the boss instead. --Sailing still takes a good chunk of time.

Speaking of maps, it is possible to write down notes on your map (normally relegated to the top screen, but can be "pulled" down to the touch screen); this is necessary in some points to get through areas by copying down safe routes through a trap-laden area or to mark where a particular treasure is. The options are diverse but simple, and an average player should be able to get the hang of the system pretty quickly. The only problem I had with control was that rolling (by making small circles on the edge of your screen) was difficult and got confused with regular movement.

Also, people look at me weird when I have to start blowing at my DS, I wish there could have been a button option to replace the blowing. And only being allowed to use the stylist made my wrist start to ache after awhile. It would of been nice if I could have had the option to be able to play off the D pad for at least some of the game, all of the buttons besides the power button are utterly useless.

After a level, I have to return to The Temple Of The Ocean King, and run through everything again...on a timer? That means all the enemies, puzzles, etc. It was ridiculous.

I had given up on my DS. I put it away for a few months. The technology of the unit is great but the game selection is terrible until now.

This particular version has been one of the most enjoyable both graphically and conceptually. The one TLOZ I never really got into was on the Game Cube (because I never bothered to buy a GC), but I remember my brother playing it on his and the graphic design of this version and that one seem very similar (cartoonish). Back then I thought it was disappointing, having obsessed over the TLOZs on N64.

You will not be able to take a break from it. You may be able to put it down, but only for a while. You WILL come back for more.

One of the things I enjoyed about Wind waker was being able to see different, distant lands but this one didn't have that. Instead, you are asked to go back several times to the same temple and even though you get to explore different floors and the difficulty increases, it tended to get old sometimes. Unfortunately, it is that aspect that may not make me want to play this game again for quite some time.

All in all, it's a good game though it is a bit weak for a Zelda title. While it is no Ocarina of Time, it is better than mask of zorrah (which had complex puzzles, but i found far too repetitive).

They practically spell most of the puzzles out for you, and it is a real disappointment in the difficulty area.

The graphics are a pretty good rendering of Wind Waker's graphical style, with only a slight decrease in smoothness to accommodate the DS's graphical limitations. The cel-shaded style remains intact and it is a pretty good job overall. The sound is about the same as it was in Wind Waker, with limited voice acting (Link's cries, specifically).

The main attraction in a Zelda game in in the intricate dungeons and this game is severely lacking. There are a good number of dungeons... that's not the problem.

Thats the only reason I gave it four stars! However, I loved it , and was excited to have another handheld Zelda game!

Well, Phantom Hourglass does the same thing with the DS. You'll blow on the mic, write on the map, and every movement and combat is used exclusively with the stylus. This is how the DS was meant to be used.

I would say that these style graphics aren't really meant for the DS. When characters faces are close up, some of the pixels look a little weird, as though they may have been saved in a jpg format using Paint. Overall this is just about the games only flaw.

One of the things I enjoyed about wind waker was being able to see different, distant lands but this one didn't have that. Instead, you are asked to go back several times to the same temple and even though you get to explore different floors and the difficulty increases, it tended to get old sometimes. Unfortunately, it is that aspect that may not make me want to play this game again for quite some time.

The graphics are a pretty good rendering of wind waker's graphical style, with only a slight decrease in smoothness to accommodate the DS's graphical limitations. The cel-shaded style remains intact and it is a pretty good job overall. The sound is about the same as it was in wind waker, with limited voice acting (Link's cries, specifically).

Speaking of maps, it is possible to write down notes on your map (normally relegated to the top screen, but can be "pulled" down to the touch screen); this is necessary in some points to get through areas by copying down safe routes through a trap-laden area or to mark where a particular treasure is. The options are diverse but simple, and an average player should be able to get the hang of the system pretty quickly. The only problem I had with control was that rolling (by making small circles on the edge of your screen) was difficult and got confused with regular movement.

I had given up on my DS. I put it away for a few months. The technology of the unit is great but the game selection is terrible until now.

Yes, I agree with some reviewers that it is tedious to return to the Temple of the ocean king all the time, but that is made more than made up for by shooting, stabbing, hooking and bombing all the very ingeniously invented monsters of the various temples and islands. But apart from that you can also fish, trade, dig up rupees, pimp up your boat, fly with chicken. And you have to solve some riddles that are difficult, but not impossible.

After a level, I have to return to The Temple Of The ocean king, and run through everything again...on a timer? That means all the enemies, puzzles, etc. It was ridiculous.