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The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Whitney Reynolds
 & Whitney Reynolds Producer

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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- The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
4.5 Outstanding

The Bottom Line

The latest Zelda game doesn't break from the classic formula of fighting monsters and solving puzzles to save the titular princess, but the use of the DS's touch-screen makes it feel like a whole new game.

Pros & Cons

    • Touch-screen-only interface works beautifully.
    • Puzzles and dungeons are fun and a good challenge.
    • Innovative boss fights.
    • Sailing portion of the game can become tedious.
    • One of the dungeons must be played through multiple times, with minimal changes to ease the repetition.

The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass Specs

ESRB Rating: E for Everybody
Genre: Action Games
Platform: Nintendo DS
All Specs
  • Platform Tested: Nintendo DS
  • Genre: Action Adventure
  • ESRB: E

    The Legend of Zelda series might just be gaming's best example of the old phrase, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The latest entry to the series, The Phantom Hourglass, doesn't stray from the formula of a green-clad hero delving into dungeons to find special tools and solve puzzles to save his princess, but it does spice up the classic through use of the DS's special features. Control over the game falls solely to the touch screen, which means puzzles and battle take new, innovative forms. The game also makes good use of the DS's two screens, especially during boss fights. The Phantom Hourglass is a fine addition to the Zelda series.

    For more on this game, see 1Up.com's review of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

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    Final Thoughts

    - The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass

    The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

    4.5 Outstanding

    The latest Zelda game doesn't break from the classic formula of fighting monsters and solving puzzles to save the titular princess, but the use of the DS's touch-screen makes it feel like a whole new game.

    About Our Expert

    Whitney Reynolds

    Whitney Reynolds

    Producer

    Whitney Reynolds has been a Web Producer for PCMag.com since 2003. In that time she's served as an occasional game reviewer, contributed to the Appscout and Gearlog blogs, and moderated a lot of comments. When she's not creating yet another slideshow story, she dabbles in podcasting and has been a contributor on The Toast.

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