Needless to say, a handheld Zelda finally appealed to me after all these years. This isn't to say the Oracle series is horrible, or that The Minish Cap sucks and that Phantom Hourglass is the worst game in history, it's more of credit to Spirit Tracks than a downplay on other games in the series. When Spirit Tracks was first announced, we all had the same feelings. As IGN recently wrote in an article calling Nintendo lazy, it sure felt that Spirit Tracks was just a lazy game put together to tide us over until Zelda Wii. Eight months later, with another quest in the series complete, it's safe to say we couldn't have been more wrong.A lot of complaints have come up over the last 6 or so years when it comes to the Zelda franchise. Most of it focusing on lack of innovation, being way too easy, no challenge in the puzzles, boring side quests and minigames, and generally gimmick-like aspects seeping in. In essence, the Zelda formula felt archaic, and for long time Zelda fans the series was losing its appeal. It was understandable then that with the general "dislike" of Phantom Hourglass from more veteran players that Spirit Tracks was met with the same reaction. This time though, Nintendo delivered--and very unexpectedly so.
Not only did Spirit Tracks correct almost everything that was wrong in Phantom Hourglass, it did things in the game we haven't seen in what feels like an eternity in game years. They gave us a challenge. The kind of which hasn't been seen since The Wind Waker. When Eiji Aonuma said that Spirit Tracks may be the most fun Zelda ever, he wasn't kidding around or trying to falsely hype the game up--the game truly delivers so much stuff you never want to put it down, and you keep finding yourself replaying it.
Spirit Tracks isn't perfect, and I wont pretend to say it's everything I wanted in a Zelda game. It is almost everything I could ask for in a handheld Zelda, however. The fact I find it more enjoyable then Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass, and Four Swords Adventures speaks for itself. If you remember, earlier this year there were two key things I was asking Nintendo to do to help make things seem fresh. First I said that Ganondorf needs to go away, and secondly I said it's time for the Triforce to not really matter anymore. Ironically enough, that's what happened in Spirit Tracks. Ganondorf was nowhere to be found, and the Triforce wasn't even mentioned. There was a focus on force gems and magical rail maps, with a new enemy for a new Hyrule. In essence, it's exactly what I was asking Nintendo to do.
Of course, I also wrote about 10 things Spirit Tracks needs to be successful. I mentioned the musical score needed to be fresh and inspiring. Needless to say, the musical score is the best since The Wind Waker, and is clearly the best soundtrack ever for a Zelda handheld. It is truly inspiring, even down to the songs you play on the Spirit Flute. Don't believe me? Check out our song page for the Spirit Flute. I also mentioned that Zelda needed to play an important role, and clearly she did. She nailed it, having her most important role in a Zelda game to date. Of course, that's not all I wanted.
I asked for a higher difficulty than Phantom Hourglass and Twilight Princess. Lets just say, Spirit Tracks easily provided that. I don't even have to debate it: It's the hardest game since The Wind Waker, even if that doesn't say much. I also asked that there be better and more plentiful side quests. Again, Spirit Tracks delivered. I asked for more interesting characters and items being useful. Nintendo delivered on both of them. It was almost as if Nintendo had been following what I was saying and designing this game for me. It is indeed an odd feeling knowing that I called a lot of this long before I knew much about the game at all. However, it is also gratifying to see that Nintendo is indeed listening to our pleas.
Naturally I didn't get everything I want. There isn't a truly open world, for example. Still, it's covered up well with everything else being of high quality. Spirit Tracks is indeed better than every game released since the The Wind Waker. Maybe you disagree, and that's ok. Some just can't get over the train. Some can't get over Phantom Hourglass and let it apply to this title too much. Still, some just overhyped themselves too much. For me however, Spirit Tracks delivered, and it has now entered my top three games in the series. I am no longer ashamed to say "I really like Spirit Tracks". What about you? What do you think about Spirit Tracks?
Categories: Articles
And TWW is the easiest Zelda in the series if you don't include FSA. You can't die in that game at all. Woooow. At least I've almost died in TMC and PH. TP was definitely not as easy as others make it out to be.
When they were doing that Zelda marathon for charity they died 22 times in TP and died 4 times in TWW. I think that means something.
I completely agree Nathan
This is seriously one of my all time favorite games in the series, I can't get over how out of left field this title was
Nintendo truly amazed me with this game, it even reinvigorated my passion for this franchise
wow u r an idiot if u think that all thoughs games r bad then u hav a bat tased of games they where amazing and orical series was really good ign gave them both a 10 how r they bad!!
I never said the games were bad, I said ST was better. TP, TMC, and PH rank as the 3 easiest games in the series. SO some Zelda marathon people died 22 times in TP... I am not sure how. Cave of Ordeals? Optional side quests? Because the main quest offers no challenge, both in fights and with puzzles.
FSA was easy, PH is the easiest game in the series, and TMC is clearly a cake game.
I never said they were bad, I said they were easy, and that ST is simply all around better. I say since the TWW, because I feel TWW is better then all the games after it. Timeless art style, characters you care about, interesting puzzles, a unique Ganondorf, fun boss battles, and a GREAT soundtrack. TP doesn't even measure up. I love TP, I even made a case that it may be the best Zelda ever earlier thisyear, but that doesn't mean I think it is. It's a fun game. It's in my top 5, but TWW is ahead of it, and now so is ST
Is that picture of Ganondorf and Link supposed to be a metaphor of you imposing your opinions on readers like you are with these posts?
"Spirit Tracks is the Best Zelda Since The Wind Waker" Even if this is my favorite Zelda since The Wind Waker, I thought this was "Zelda Informer," not "Zelda Imposer." Your opinion, and that's what it is, an opinion, is not a fact. Yet, you like to post it as if it is. It would be one thing to make an argument for the best of the handheld games (and even then, still subjective), but to compare them to the console games which have far more variables than Spirit Tracks can even compare to is just absurd.
I could understand if you were trying to get more people to buy them game and support Spirit Tracks, but that clearly isn't the case as this isn't the first time you do it. This is just "hey guys, this is my opinion, but it holds more weight than yours because I'm posting it online on a Zelda site." This sounds more like a post from someone trying to troll on 4chan than a Zelda site.
That said, I do agree with most of the context after the title but not the authoritative stance you take in every post with which to decide that ____ is better than ____, or ____ is bad, etc. I think fans a capable of deciding for themselves what they think, and the Zelda team is capable of creating the games without fans meddling and trying to impose their own agendas unto them.
I agree with Nathan; I just received it today and had to force myself to take a break to catch up on the latest Zelda news here.
Also, stop getting so butthurt over opinions, you guys.
@ A
dude.....lay off.
I read this entire post, and have read some of his other ones. I've never felt like he was imposing his will on me like Ganondorf about to bitch smack Toon Link (like he did in WW, which I giggle at everytime).
I guess different people infer different thing when reading peoples posts and what not. Some one might feel that the post 'really speaks to them' and they 'agree whole-heartedly', or they might think that 'this post is horrible' or 'you are stupid for seeing it this way'.
Some people do tend to 'put their foot down' when it comes to things they believe in, and I think that is what Nathen did in this post. I for one, am ok with that, because I don't feel imposed on at all.
---ok, now that that is out of the way, on to the game. I have yet to get a copy myself, so I can't speek on oh good/bad spirit tracks is. I can, however, say that I have enjoyed every Zelda title I have played, except for the first 2. It could be that they are just older then what I am used to, but that wouldn't really be true. I just couldn't get into it. I can't say I remember which Zelda I played first, whether it was Awakening or Ocarina, but I have played every title through, from Past to Hourglass and Twilight, with the exception of Ages because I never got it, just Seasons. Every game has been fun, and I did have slight difficulty with each one from time to time. I didn't matter if it was a Water Temple, a missing mask, navagating Sky City, or just knowing where to go next and what I need to do before I go there.
I, for one, also don't care if Ganondorf starts to suffer from the "Team Rocket Effect". I enjoy watching Team Rocket blast off to this day, I enjoy beating Bowser again and again as a plumber, and I love fighting Ganondorf. Doesn't matter if you impale him or not, I just enjoy smacking the old guy around.
I agree completely (though, MM is actually THE Zelda game :-P ). I also felt the atmosphere and general story to be quite dark, certainly the darkest since MM. Mayhaps not as "epic" as WW or as "edgy" as TP, but meaningful and heavy in the same vein as MM.
Also, in regards to the comments about it not being a truly open world, upgrade your train. :-P
I also place it in my top 3 Zelda games (which by default, places it among my favorite games of all time) ^_^
You're too quick to try and make yourself sound smart, A. He made it clear enough this is just his opinion, so don't be afraid of people getting "brain washed" so easily. Theres plenty of bashing all around the internet just as much as there is praising, and we both know they WILL find it somehow. In the end it evens out, and they look at two different sides of it and have no choice but to try for themselves.
I know you wouldn't have said anything if this was 10 years ago when OoT came out, when it was pretty much general opinion that the game was "the greatest Zelda ever". The reason you jumped in here with your harsh 2 cents is because you do not personally believe this game is as great as he makes it sound, so you let your personal opinion come into play, thinking a lot of people would disagree - when you should just let them speak for themselves and give this game equal chance.
Stop commenting, A. Your wise words never had the chance to be wise the moment you simplified it to "Console game can never be beaten by handheld game".
Total agreement.
Best Zelda game since tWW and best handheld since LA. No question.
I'm currently trying to catch this last b*stard rabbit that keeps eluding me and I'll have a hundred percent save file- the soonest I've achieved that after a release- and not because it's easy- cause it's so darn addictive.
Plus my interweb's been on the blink...
Whatever- this game is awesome. So much better than PH it's unreal, and I always stood up for PH.
Wind Waker is the best 3D-Zelda. It is even better than ageing Ocarina of Time. Even ocarina of time cannot help it from getting old. Wind Waker on other hand will never grow old. Its fantastic, ever lasting graphics and most memorable music in the series supports perfectly its epic story and warm hearted characters. There are not many games, that gave me so unforgettable memories...and I have already forgotten most of my Twilight Princess. TP is super good game, just not a very good Zelda. It was a bit too familiar(although I like certain familiarity in my Zelda games) and it never felt like an adventure, as it was so easy and straight forward. Oh and that disk was stupid and far-fetched.
Phantom hour glass was awesome, and Spirit Tracks seems to be even better!
I'd have agreed with this article if it weren't for TMC. That game is godly among the handheld Zelda's, and far better than even ST IMO. The complete lack of an open world and a pretty dim atmosphere make ST a level lower than TMC.
That doesn't mean ST is not what the franchise needed right now, it's still a solid and fun game and miles ahead of PH (which was also a great game, just not a good Zelda game). In fact, I'm still obsessively playing it right now.
I just hope that for the next handheld Zelda, instead of focusing entirely on gimmicks and fun scripted sequences, they also spend some time making a large and immersive world. I'm sure Nintendo can pull it off considering their track record.
wind waker > st, though, just sayin
I disagree in every way possible. Spirit Tracks is one of the worse zelda games yet. Only beaten by PH. The Oracle games were probably the best handheld ones of them all.
I cannot even play ST for more then 10-20 minutes at a time without getting bored and having to put it down to continue later.
@LoZ: I'm not gonna argue with you, but you probably didn't expect to like it to start with and went in ready to hate it. =/ Playing in 10-20 minute segments kind of makes it hard to take you seriously as a real-deal hater with merit.
@LoZ: Haha, ST worst yet? I dunno what's wrong with you, honestly. If you found ST boring, how the hell did you find any other Zeldas exciting?
I agree, Spirit Tracks as replaced my beloved LA as the best handheld zelda game ever, RIP LA
The marathon guys died a bunch in TP. I wasn't there to see it all, but the minibosses were beating the crap outta them. And they were getting killed by environmental things all the time. We didn't even bother counting the game overs they got during the joust.
TP punishes you for screwing up while TWW gives you 1/4th damage for melting, falling and drowning. TP erased half their health meter and sometimes gave them instant game overs. I REALLY can't see why people suddenly say TWW was hard. That's hilarious to me.
All the 2D Zeldas have been harder than most 3D Zeldas for one. And TWW is the most lenient in the series. The monsters didn't even want to kill you. Their AI purposely made them forget you were there the moment you took 3 steps back. You can beat the entire game by holding the L button and pressing A.
PH, TMC, TP, and ST were all more difficult in comparison to TWW.
In the Marathon they died 25+ times on LoZ1. 49 times on AoL. 25+ times on ALttP. 6 times in OoT. 18 times in MM. 4 times in TWW and 22 times in TP.
I really like ST. It was addictive and fun. I still liked LA more though. LA had THE soundtrack and veeery challenging puzzles. I enjoyed ST more than TWW...but TWW holds a special place in my heart and is kind of stuck in the center of my Zelda list. I'm not moving it down more. =/
How can you die 22 times in TP? I recently replayed the game and died once. And that's because I was an idiot and kept attacking the ball&chain guy head on. I think that was also the only time I even used a fairy. Though I'll admit that I didn't do the cave of ordeals.
I haven't played it yet >_> But I can't wait to do so!
Well, you know how when you die...you come back with only 3 hearts. Well. Let's just say they weren't allowed to turn the game off or go back to the title screen, so they often died from the same thing over and over again.
Falling into lava cost 2 hearts. And getting hit costs 1 heart. Do the math.
I agree with almost everything Nathan says in the article. EXCEPT, even though ST is pretty darn amazing, I still love TP. Sure, I want a more challenging game out of Zelda, and sure the puzzles in ST were harder, but come on you guys think about it, we're trying to compare apples and oranges, and quite frankly, it isn't fair. I played tWW, and yeah I liked it but what I, and I'm sure a lot more other fans do too, look for in a Zelda console game is the graphics, music, detail, and emotion. OoT is the only exception, mainly because it's awesome as the first game of the 3D game era. Believe me, I thought that tWW and ST were cute and brought a certain scale of depth, but they weren't anything like TP, which is considered to basically be the redo of OoT.Although I liked it how they changed it up with Zelda being your partner, there is only so much you can do to the characters with the cel shading effect, and it gets kind of annoying after a while when all you can see is those giant black eye brows showing through Link's blond hair. And, it gets kind of boring when the only other expressions he can make with his face is when it looks like he's getting electrocuted or something. I'm not trying to bash every single little detail about those type of graphics, but I'm just saying. TP might not of been the hardest of all the console games, but it did deliver the graphics and the music that I was looking for in a console games. Yes, ST is the hardest hand held game though, I can give it that. I 'm not going to try to chew anybody out, but I am getting annoyed at how people think they can compares apples and oranges, or in another case, trying to find the square root of a negative number....it's just not possible.
I don't so much miss Ganondorf, but I do miss the Triforce. Maybe they could incorporate it more into the next game without having to put the spotlight on it again. And, for something to try, I think that maybe they should even look into a cel shaded styled Sheik. It may be out there, but think about it... And, this is really random, but it would also be so cool as to have toon Zelda, toon Link, and both forms of Midna, along with the normal Link and Zelda in the next Super Smash Brothers, if they have one at all. Infact, they should just make a all- Zelda Super Smash!!! Just another random thought.
I guess all we can do though for the sake of the Zelda family is just keep cool, and try not to let things get hairy between us until Zelda Wii comes out. By the sounds of it, it's going to be the best so far, and it's supposed to be everything we were ALL wanting out of TP. I trust Miyamoto and his team, and I think that this time NONE of us will be disappointed. But please, lets just keep our angers and tempers down, no one has been brain washing people so far, so let's chill. 'in a sense, let's have temporary zelda world-peace....
I'm going to say it plain and simple: BINGO!
I rate Spirit Tracks right behind Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, the two best titles in my opinion. They both fill spots 1 & 2, I just can never discern which takes the gold.
I've never wanted to replay a Zelda game as much as I did after completing Spirit Tracks, not to mention how often I tugged at that feeling whilst playing through on my first go at several points (driving the train underwater gave me that "I love Nintendo so much right now" feeling).
"Compare apples and oranges" is pretty much Console>>Handheld for you, right? Well I gotta say, sometimes I'm just in an orange mood.
Okay then, I guess something like Mario and Luigi: Bowsers Inside story could NEVER be better than something like Banjo Kazooie, right?
Console games have two advantages:
Graphics
Space
However, graphics don't affect gameplay, which is the most important point a video game could ever have.
and space. Often having more space gives you more room to to add more/better content. But its what they DO with that space that makes a difference. Twilight Princess was a huge game, and what did they do with it? Leave it at that. It was huge. Litterally. It wasn't huge as in theres a lot of stuff to do, it was just HUGE with almost NOTHING to do. Spirit Tracks may be on this little tiny handheld compared to the wii and gamecube, but it used its space much more wisely than Twilight Princess did, which focused everything it had on its main story.
Thats why you cannot just go right ahead and say a handheld could never compare to a console. A console game should be better than handhelds, but thats not always entirely the case if one game has superior gameplay, or similar gameplay but better generally more favorable choices. Now I liked TP alot, it felt alot more fluid than OoT, and even more so than WW. Its main quest was also great for me, and its graphics have never been better under the realistic terms. It just lacked things on the side, which are the heart of every Zelda game. Little tidbits that add together and make a great game great. It did have things to do, but little compared to how huge the world was, and little compared to its past 3D games.
Of course I'm not saying ST beats 3D console Zelda games, I'm just saying it shouldn't be discarded for consideration that sometimes and under certain situations, handheld games can indeed be better than console games.
No I went in with doubt but thinking it could be alright. And it wasn't. Nothing about it was fun for me. The puzzles and items were cool but it takes more then that to be a good game. It was too short, the train travel was was long and tedious and the plot lacked development. Plot mentioned at the beginning and then at the end. Almost never in between.
It is by far one of the best zelda games. It was an average game and an even less average zelda game
"It is by far one of the best Zelda games"
Oh, okay. I thought you didn't like it, but I'm glad to see we actually agreed. =)
Majora's mask was too short, but no one complained because it had sidequests to fill the gap - and everyone loves that game. This game also has plot at beginning and end only just like MM. Again, no one complained about it and just loved it. So now that I've taken apart your first two complaints and put ST down to a mini MM with PH-like gameplay, all that remains is the train. Which granted, it is a bit slow, and at some points it can get tedious, but hating it right from the get-go just shows your lack of patience. Thanks, respect your opinion and all, but goodbye.
@Zeldablue
if they were really dieing in TP then they just suck, TP is the easiest game in the entire series
ST definitely edges out MC for recent handheld titles in my book.
Better bosses by far.
Better utilization of weapons.
Better sidequests. Both were a little one-dimensional in their sidequests, but I felt more rewarded in ST.
And of course, better music.
@ REALM
Actually, I think Graphics DO affect gameplay on a deep level. By that I mean deep in the game it self. I'm talking about the game data.
Graphics Data
Text Data
Input response data
All that stuff on one little cartridge or disk.
And they never truly do '100% job" where they give us "everything" because then there would be nothing to grow or improve on. They always hold back a bit on something, even if they don't realize it.
I know everyone has their own, different opinions, but honestly, Spirit Tracks is like the frosting on the cake to me.
I myself am only a Zelda Player noob, as my first game was played in 2007, but:
Phantom Hourglass was a total lifesaver! My first Zelda game in '07, and I loved it! The stylus was fun to use, relaxing on the S.S. Linebeck was nice while going somewhere, and the dungeons were tricky enough to go for hours without getting bored. I loved it so much, I played it 8 times over last summer without losing interest.
Then I got Wind Waker, which I just finished (after months of cowering in the corner 'cause the next boss was Puppet Ganon)...*shudders*... and either way, Link looks just so adorable in his pajamas! <3
And Four Swords Adventures is just flat out tricky (being stuck on the start of level 2 at the Zora-filled lake).
Frankly, from what I've played combined with all the good reviews and hype'n'such, Spirit Tracks looks as if it's gonna be the best game EVER! I simply can't wait for Christmas to roll around for it!!!
Four Swords Adventures is just flat out hard (being stuck on the start of level 2 at the Zora-filled lake). Hmph.
From all the games I've played combined with all the Hype'n'whatnot, Spirit Tracks looks as if it's gonna be the best game ever! I cant wait for Christmas morning now!
...I just kinda wished they didn't drop Tetra off the LoZ idea cliff so suddenly... it wouldn't feel the same without her... @;)
how on earth can you say that ST is overall better than TP!? 1st of all TP took almost 4 years to put together and perfect and spirit tracks took what? 1-2 years? on top of that the artwork in TP is simply beautiful. I'll admit, I was very pleased with much of the art in ST but I don't think it took itself seriously enough most of the time, with it's overly quirky animations in many of the cinematics. secondly, TP has a fantastic score with several epic and moving pieces. Don't get me wrong, ST had some of the nicest music I've heard from a game in a while (thank you Koji Kondo) including: the field theme, Byrne's theme, and some of the flute songs, but the Spirit Flute had too many songs with very limited usefulness. Finally the deepness and difficulty of ST were not up to par with TP. TP was an absolutely immense game that took a fair amount of time to truly "beat". ST felt like it was over waaay to fast (slow down steam engine). Even other things such as deep intriguing characters and story weren't captured as well because of the capabilities of a console VS. a handheld. I.E. subtle facial expressions that make a character that much more believable (for example Telma has terrific facial expressions and body signals. I feel like I've known her my whole life!) Honestly, coming from someone who has played all the Zeldas, this is my favorite handheld, for sure. But it doesn't measure up to TP, one of my top 3 favorites, when I look at all the good things a Zelda game can provide.
saying that those guys doing the marathon suck is out of line because they beat other games with less difficulty. Saying they suck can't be logically argued... Also there was a ton to do in the huge and fantastic world of Twilight Princess. I understand that it can be a bit overwhelming at first and all you may want to do is get through to the end, but please, play it again and actually explore everything thing this time. You'll find that there is really a lot to do in all that space.
graphics actually statistically do have a large effect on gameplay. Big gaming companies realize this. That's why each new system that comes out supports higher levels of graphical power. Even the Wii has twice as much power as the Gamecube.
Graphics are not necessarily what makes gameplay enjoyable (that's where Sony went wrong), but lack of them by todays standards isn't really the best quality for a game to have. TP had excellent graphics, artwork, and animation to go along with its superior gameplay.
I know I've posted very frequently recently but I've got so many valid points to make. The hardness of these games shouldn't be measure in how many times you die anways. That's just one thing that contributes to how hard a game is to complete. ESPECIALLY a Zelda game, with massive exploration and difficult puzzles. Despite what everyone else says, the puzzles in Spirit Tracks weren't that hard for me. Like I said before, I beat it in less than a week (and I refuse to cheat in a Zelda game). The puzzles in other games such as OoT, TP, & MM have kept me stumped for months at a time with 1st playthrough. Okay TP didn't keep me stumped for THAT long but it did for alot longer than ST.
Except TP was way more enjoyable in comparison to TWW. TWW wasn't much of a step up for the series, it has always felt like the lowest point to me. I love ST though, and I love TWW too. But I'm having a tough time deciding if I really do like ST more that TWW.