It's Zelda, what did you expect?
Not Recommend---People who absolutely hate Zelda games (shame on you)
For those who don't know, my favorite series of games are the Zelda games. This is the first one I'm reviewing here on GameSpot, and although I'm giving it a 10, it really deserved something in between a 9.5 and a 9.9. But this rounds up to 10 since GameSpot changed their reviewing system, so just to let you know this isn't my favorite in the series (I'll be giving out 10's to almost every Zelda game in the series in the future). Anyway, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is the last game I completed all the way through, and it has been really fun. It is a sequel to Wind Waker, which is another classic. It doesn't matter that the sequel is on the DS, because it's still AMAZING. The entire game you control Link using the stylus, which is a first in the series. At first I thought I'd hate it, but it's works so naturally and is THE BEST use of the touch screen on the DS. Even though nothing new was really added gameplay-wise, this new control scheme changes the way you would ordinarily play it. Simple things like shooting arrows or throwing the boomerang are so new to me now because of the touch controls. If anything was added gameplay-wise, it's the way you steer the boat. Instead of letting the wind sail you where you need to go (as you did in Wind Waker), you draw lines on a sea map showing the course you want to take. After this, the boat takes you there automatically. All you have to do is shoot monsters in the sea and avoid hazards. This is the only thing I would take points off, though, because after a while it's a hassle to sail everywhere because it takes a good amount of time. Other people have complained about the Temple of the Ocean King being too long to navigate, but I didn't mind it all. In fact, I though it was a smart addition. It only bothered me a tiny bit towards the end, but if I had to pick I would still keep it in the game. So besides all this, it's a normal Zelda adventure. You explore the 8 dungeons in the game (which are actually much easier than other Zelda games), fight the awesome bosses, and collect rupees. You get cool weapons and gear along the way, too. A little addition that was added are these 3 fairies that follow you. As you collect enough special gems (Wisdom, Power, and Courage; each for the type of fairy), you can upgrade a fairy so it gives you minor powers, such as a better defense or a small flame shooting out of your sword. They don't really help that much, but they can in some situations and it's still something to do as a side-quest. Mini-games are also present that are addicting due to the touch controls. A shooting range is in the game, there's fishing, and there is also a bombing course you do while driving your ship. You might think these are small things compared to the overall grand adventure, but when you complete the entire game and all the side-quests (which I have, thanks to the strategy guide), you will be coming back to these mini-games time and time again. Another new thing in the game that I forgot to mention are treasures and ship parts. You can change ship parts to: 1) make it look better, and 2) to raise your ship's stamina. Treasures are things you will find randomly with your Salvage Arm, and they serve no purpose other than selling them for a lot of rupees. As long as you have a lot of treasure, you will have all the money you need. This game is also really long, and took me HOURS to complete. It's worth every minute. I don't know how to go into any more detail, but if you've played a Zelda game before, you know this game will be good. There's also multi-player in the game called Battle mode, but this isn't that fun at all. You can play it over Nintendo Wi-Fi if you want, but I guarantee you no one will be playing it online. The only reason you might play it is because you can unlock special ship parts only by completing certain tasks in Battle mode. I didn't do this, though, and i don't intend to. Since when was a Zelda game multi-player, anyway (forgetting Four Swords [Adventures] lol)? So yeah, it's Zelda and it's good.
Overall---Like I said, it's Zelda and it's good.