So uh, apparently this got a 39/40 in Famitsu! They are getting REAL SOFT lately!

Apologies if that's been brought up already, off I go now. *scoots out*

People have been saying that since the scores they gave out to Wind Waker and Nintendogs respectively. (both perfects if I remember correctly)

Though despite those two pieces of software, Phantom Hourglass is just simply a damn fine game.  Certainly worthy of that top tier on the scoring scale if not a perfect (especially considering Nintendogs).

famitsu's scores = usually crap

not to say the phantom hourglass is bad (haven't played it) but i wouldn't trust famitsu at all.

People have been saying that since the scores they gave out to Wind Waker and Nintendogs respectively. (both perfects if I remember correctly)

Though despite those two pieces of software, Phantom Hourglass is just simply a damn fine game.  Certainly worthy of that top tier on the scoring scale if not a perfect (especially considering Nintendogs).

yeah big surprise there

Must remember to get this at some point, much like I must remember to actually finish playing Wind Waker.

I think the stylus-driven controls work really well. The game is extremely responsive so the movements are fluid. Unless you poke the screen SUPER HARD, the game shouldn't give you hand or thumb pains(imo), at least not for +4 hours but who plays a handheld game for 4 hours straight!

you have to quickly draw little lines or circles between link's and the enemy's sprites to do an attack (or draw a big circle around link to do a spinning attack). Only it gets pretty hard to position yourself properly to do an attack since you also need the stylus to move around and also because usually there are multiple enemies moving around you all the time. I had trouble with the fucking slimes in the beginning of the game so that says a lot about the controls.

I disagree with this. Attacking is really easy. You can choose to target the monster directly so I don't get how you had trouble with the slimes in the beginning...especially when they move extremely slow. Then when there are times where you would usually miss because the monsters are moving faster than your "targeting," I don't find it hard to draw a line to attack that monster either.

One of the major problems I had with the controls was rolling towards bottom right or bottom left because the Menu and Item commands were in the way so you HAD to walk for a bit(to wait for the commands to disappear), then you could roll. But I find rolling useless in the game anyway.

I agree with konix on the topic of the ship. Drawing a line to guide the ship means sitting there for 5 mins, shooting monsters randomly(which, is not fun by the way because you can target the monsters so it's more annoying than fun).

Using the D-pad or buttons as shortcuts is a nice feature. I find myself using these shortcuts often because it's faster than selecting the icons to the 3 corners if you can press the buttons with your free hand at that moment.

So yeah, I think the game is fine.

famitsu's scores = usually crap

not to say the phantom hourglass is bad (haven't played it) but i wouldn't trust famitsu at all.

Well enough I suppose, I don't take Famitsu's or any reviewer's scores seriously at all anyway if only because there are quite a few instances I've disagreed with the scores some of the more often mentioend souces like EGM, Famitsu or something give out or have come away from a game enjoying it despite it receiving not so stellar scores.  The text behind WHY it got the score I'll more than likely pay attention to, but the numbers on the end don't really tell me much more other than the critic(s) involved had the capacity to simply gauge with numbers that which tells a heck of a lot more through words; and even then that may not be enough. (for me anyway)

I heard this was good. I know it's Zelda, but still I've got to ask. I've been disappointed with the DS lately, so I'm just posting here to ask: Does it live up to other Zelda games, and how many hours of gameplay/hours of side quests are there?

I heard this was good. I know it's Zelda, but still I've got to ask. I've been disappointed with the DS lately, so I'm just posting here to ask: Does it live up to other Zelda games, and how many hours of gameplay/hours of side quests are there?

That depends I suppose, I don't think it stacks up well with the console Zelda games personally.  I think the last game that I really felt that way about was Link's Awakening; since then other Zelda games have carved out their own "style" I guess you could say on handhelds, which isn't bad - just different.  I'd certainly say Phantom Hourglass more closely matches up with the likes of handheld Zelda games though I tend to think it's probably the most elaborate of them all.  Early on though, dungeons are a cakewalk without much in the way of difficult puzzles or interesting bosses, but that changes by about third dungeon and continues on. (at least from what I've played thus far anyway)

Since I'm not done with the game I can't give you a time estimate, although I'm easily closing in on the ten hour mark and I'm only at the fifth dungeon, not counting the main temple on the first island. (since it's a consistent thing throughout the game)  There does seem to be quite a bit in the way of sidequests though, namely from doing your own explorations and finding uncharted islands by exploring the ocean or by digging up treasure maps which will lead you to uncharted items or treasures that will help you in a variety of areas both in the main game and just to boost your wallet.  It's very similar to Wind Waker's sense of exploration save for the whole Triforce shard fetch quest that was present in Wind Waker.

That depends I suppose, I don't think it stacks up well with the console Zelda games personally.  I think the last game that I really felt that way about was Link's Awakening; since then other Zelda games have carved out their own "style" I guess you could say on handhelds, which isn't bad - just different.  I'd certainly say Phantom Hourglass more closely matches up with the likes of handheld Zelda games though I tend to think it's probably the most elaborate of them all.  Early on though, dungeons are a cakewalk without much in the way of difficult puzzles or interesting bosses, but that changes by about third dungeon and continues on. (at least from what I've played thus far anyway)

Since I'm not done with the game I can't give you a time estimate, although I'm easily closing in on the ten hour mark and I'm only at the fifth dungeon, not counting the main temple on the first island. (since it's a consistent thing throughout the game)  There does seem to be quite a bit in the way of sidequests though, namely from doing your own explorations and finding uncharted islands by exploring the ocean or by digging up treasure maps which will lead you to uncharted items or treasures that will help you in a variety of areas both in the main game and just to boost your wallet.  It's very similar to Wind Waker's sense of exploration save for the whole Triforce shard fetch quest that was present in Wind Waker.

Ah. I wasn't a big fan of Wind Waker, but I might take my chances and just buy a copy. Thanks for the information.