If there was one thing that was great at VGXPO this year, it was that Nintendo had a huge presence. There were a lot of DS and Wii systems  hanging around. Most of the Wii games were games that had already had been showcased like Punch Out and Wii Sports Resort but the DS games were another story. One particularly interesting game was the Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. I had actually heard very little about the game besides some box art that I had seen somewhere so I was eager to try this game out.

On the demo they had three modes: Train, Dungeon, and Boss. The Legend of Zelda games are very famous for its dungeons so I started there. The first thing that I noticed about this game was that it was similar to Phantom Hourglass. It had the same cell-shaded art style and the same controls. It even had the map that I love to take notes on. The tasks in the dungeon involved movement. There is Link and a guardian and the task is to move them both to solve puzzles. Some of the puzzles include walking on lava (or any other liquid that could potentially hurt you), passing through flame shooters, and flipping switches simultaneously (which I was really bad at).

The second part of the game was my favorite, the train. It is a breath of fresh air from the navigation system in Phantom Hourglass. Instead of a ship, it’s a train which runs on a track so there are no lines to draw but it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be alert. Keep an eye on the speed by adjusting it on a gauge to the right, pull the whistle with the stylus to clear the tracks, and fire the cannon when enemies are near. There is also strategy and the ability to make quick decisions involved. There is sometimes a crazy train that will collide with you and explode so you have to quickly switch tracks to avoid it. The train is a fun addition to the game and it actually makes travelling to places fun.

Of course there are nothing like the boss battles. In Phantom Hourglass they were the most creative and fun and this game follows the formula well. It makes use of both screens and some really cool items. In this boss battle for example the Whirlwind item is needed. It reminds me of one of those pinwheels that you blow on. It is used to blow away poisonous smoke that is in the way and in this case to remove the same smoke from covering the boss’ weak spot. After a while the boss flies up to the top screen and attacks Link from above dropping enemies that either harm or help.

All and all, this is a very fun game experience for Legend of Zelda games or even fans of Phantom Hourglass. It is a game that I am glad I tried out and I can’t wait for it to hit shelves.

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