Despite some faults, Spirit Tracks is a worthwhile Zelda adventure for its fans.
The story begins as Link heads to the castle from his small town to obtain an engineering license from Princess Zelda herself. After a rushed ceremony, you help Zelda escape the castle grounds and escort her to the Tower of Spirits by train. Along the way, the tracks suddenly disappear, and the demonic Chancellor Cole separates Zelda's body from her spirit and runs off with her body. Unlike most humans, Link can see and speak to Zelda in her spirit form. After some conversation, the two set out alongside each other for the first time ever so they may retrieve her body back and stop Cole from resurrecting the all-powerful Malladus, the Demon King. From there, the two develop a closer friendship throughout the game. The narrative isn't very strong because of a lack of scenes and conversation in the middle of the game. In fact, you may even forget about the main villain at one point. However, it is charming to see the unlikely duo become BFFs through their journey. The game's unique storyline and good sense of quirky humor are just a few of the things that make Spirit Tracks stand out among the rest of the series.
Like Phantom Hourglass's Temple of the Ocean King, Spirit Tracks has its own central dungeon called the Tower of Spirits. Fortunately, this dungeon did away with the tiresome backtracking that was present in Phantom Hourglass. This is also where having Zelda by your side comes in handy. In her spirit form, she can possess Phantoms--hulking armor-clad enemies that patrol the halls of the dungeon. This means that by controlling both Link and Zelda, you can complete interesting and challenging co-op puzzles in the Tower of Spirits. This usually works very well and is enjoyable, but sometimes Zelda gets in the way of Link's path and vice versa. The Phantom Zelda is invulnerable to fire and spikes, but sinks in sand pits and is terrified of rats. These advantages and disadvantages force you to really use your head when solving some of the puzzles. There are also different Phantoms she can possess such as one that allows her to teleport her and another that allows her to roll around like a wrecking ball. Some of the levels in the Tower of Spirits are among the best and most challenging in the game.
The train is another new element in Spirit Tracks that is used to transport Link across the land of Hyrule. Unfortunately, the train rides are pretty dull. Because you are limited to riding on the tracks, this method of transportation causes Spirit Tracks to be linear and takes away the freedom to explore that has been present in every other Zelda game before it. It does take some strategy to plot your route to get to your destination while avoiding enemy trains, but overall the train rides are not very compelling even with enemies to shoot down with your cannon. The rides are usually long too, even with a warp system. You're going to need to use the train for every bit of travelling for both the main and side quests, so it gets old fast even with the outstanding music that plays and the scenery that you pass.
The main quest of Spirit Tracks in actually played in a predictable pattern: complete some floors in the Tower of Spirit with Zelda, ride your train to a new section of the world map, find your way to the temple of that area, complete the temple as a traditional dungeon, and ride back to the Tower of Spirits to begin the cycle again. The first two full cycles are forgivingly easy. It isn't until the third dungeon where the game's difficulty picks up. The different items you obtain while playing through each cycle are thoroughly used when faced with the game's clever puzzles and certain enemies.
The boss battles in Spirit Tracks are among the most awesome in the series. Link faces mostly colossal monsters whose weaknesses involve the use of an item or skill you acquired in the dungeon. These battles are some of the most exciting moments in the game. You'll certainly feel a sense of accomplishment after defeating these intimidatingly huge foes. It's after conquering these bosses when a new area in the Tower of Spirits becomes accessible for you to travel to and start the cycle of gameplay again.
The controls of Spirit Tracks work well but take some getting used to, especially if you haven't played Phantom Hourglass. The touch screen and mic are used to carry out all of Link's (and Phantom Zelda's) actions. The touch screen is used for running, attacking, controlling Zelda in Phantom form, and most of your items. These controls may feel awkward at first to those accustomed to D-pad and analog stick controls, but after some time, using the touch screen should feel natural. An item called the Whirlwind is used to attack enemies with gusts of wind; it is activated by blowing into the DS mic. The Spirit Flute is an instrument that is played by blowing into the mike and sliding the instrument on the bottom screen to play the correct notes. The mic can occasionally be unresponsive, especially for the original DS, so those controls can be a little more tedious. After you get the hang of them, Spirit Tracks' controls become simple and efficient.
Spirit Tracks shares the same visuals as Phantom Hourglass. These include impressive character design and diverse environments. Facial expressions are nicely detailed and animation is mostly smooth. However, some textures are a bit too blurry, and once in a while the frame rate slows down. Overall, it is a very solid looking DS game. Spirit Tracks has one of the best soundtracks on the DS. Zelda's screams, the crack of Link's whip, the traditional jingle that plays after you solve a puzzle, and everything in between sound clear and authentic. The awe-inspiring music that plays when riding the train will be stuck in your head for days. The tunes you play on the Spirit Flute are very charming as well.
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks succeeded in correcting most of Phantom Hourglass's problems, but issues of its own keep it from being clearly superior. Despite shortcomings such as the train, Spirit Tracks is a great game with some remarkable features. This unique Zelda game is a must-play for fans of the series and is worth playing for any adventure fan.
Score: 8.2/10