Welcome to VC Weekly, N-Europe’s guide to the wonderful world of Nintendo’s download service. Written by Sam C Gittins.

A double dose of a famous franchise, both titles originally appearing on Nintendo's original dual-screened portable console, now available to play on the big screen. One new review and the other is a reworking of one of my original reviews. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!
 
Available for download this week we have...   

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass  
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

On paper at least The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass sounds like a potentially fantastic title in the long-running series, indeed for the most-part it is because not only is it a brand new portable adventure where you're playing as Link in top-down psuedo three-dimensional perspective but it also follows on from the events of The Wind Waker straight after [SPOILER] Link buries his sword in Ganondorf's skull and everywhere floods with water [/SPOILER] and it shows Link with Tetra off on high-sea adventures until Oh No! Ghost Ship, where's Tetra? Oh right... better go rescue her then; wait who's this guy? It's the rather handsome Captain Linebeck who will be adventuring alongside you of course! Oh yeah and there's a fairy named Ciela who will point things out to you, how convenient.

It is a decent premise with promise which starts out rather well too as you will find yourself exploring on foot in a traditional enough manner, even if the control scheme is different as the whole game is controlled with the stylus so get used to making Link follow a pointer while scraping wildly across the screen to get rid of enemies. Then there's taking to the open sea because even if there is land there isn't a lot of it so you'll find yourself travelling between islands by boat, but hold on because this isn't quite the same sea-faring as was in Wind Waker, rather more of a puzzle as you have to draw a line to your destination on the touch screen which can only be a certain length so when you set sail it's all pre-determined; it's not all bad though because at least you can look around plus later in the game you get a cannon so that's still fun as it was but I still maintain to this day that the transport choices utilised in this game and its other DS-based brethren feel like a compromise, this I am even more certain following the fact that we got two full remakes on the 3DS both of which contained full overworlds... I'm not saying it's a bad thing, by boat or by train the transport is at least fun to use but a lot of player freedom is also sacrificed which I'm not a fan of.

Dig! nothing... Dig! rupees... Dig! Oh look a sea chart!

Another thing I wasn't initially a fan of was this game's central dungeon called the Temple of the Ocean King which requires you to come back to it many times throughout the adventure, looking at it with a fresh pair of more experienced eyes though I have come to appreciate it as a unique mechanic, besides you have more time in the titular Phantom Hourglass each time you revisit it - killing bosses fills it up - plus you get to discover shortcuts along the way which will mean you can get that little bit further each time which means you'll be striving to finish it; either that or it might still annoy you personally but don't forget that you can always tactically save with this version if it all gets too much which could prove a handy extra feature for some even if it is frowned upon. Plus it's not even that bad ultimately as there are at least several safe spots where the timer doesn't count down, so you do get to formulate a plan along the way; the dungeon is well designed too even if I've never been a huge fan in the way that these parts of the game are presented, it's still a valiant effort which works well with the hardware. Don't expect the original multiplayer to work though but do expect some fun mini-games!

Clearly the cel-shaded visuals came across very nicely when this was originally released, they still look reasonably decent today as well, both parts are clear on the gamepad as well as the TV screen plus now it's even easier to see your notes scribbled on the map via the touch screen thanks to the increased size, I'd even go as far to say that I actually prefer playing this Virtual Console version as opposed to the original as it looks clearer to me despite slight loss in definition from presenting the originally smaller image on larger screens. Of course the music has always been very enjoyable anyway but when played through a lovely set of speakers or through the gamepad it's brought to life in a new and fantastic way meaning that you can appreciate it all the more which is a good thing as there are some very good compositions in there even if they aren't quite the best in the series, all the sound effects you'd expect are there.

Ahoy! Set sail on the slightly pixelated sea!

For its time this being the very first Zelda title for Nintendo's dual-screened machine was a rather inspired effort which attempted to fuse something old and beloved with a good few new tricks plus an interesting core mechanic which to its credit works well indeed. If you have never played either of the DS Zelda titles or even if you perhaps shyed away from them back in the day or even didn't quite get around to finishing them, I can definitely say that now is a good time to give them another chance; would I say that this is an ideal entry point to the series for those new to it? No, I would still advise playing a more classic entry such as A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time or even Wind Waker HD before this, though it's still a very decent accompaniment which might just surprise you.  

Verdict : Phantom Hourglass skillfully sails across stormy seas much to my surprise.

When the first Zelda game was released on the DS in the form of Phantom Hourglass it was nothing short of impressive in terms of what Nintendo had achieved - a top-down and yet three-dimensional game in the series in a way which we hadn't thought possible until then. Using one of the console's greatest strengths - that of the Cel-Shading technique - the world that had been created was both believable and easy to get immersed in, although there were a few gameplay choices which diluted the great adventuring aspect the Zelda series is renowned for. This time around it's more of the same in some respects as you begin the game as an apprentice Train Operator – yes Hyrule has its own railway now – you are due to attend a ceremony where you are certified by none other than Princess Zelda herself - but of course something goes wrong and you end up having the spirit of Zelda assist you during the game.

As the title suggests you will be traversing much terrain by train along specifically laid out tracks; while this alleviates a problem from the previous game - the meandering sailing sections - it brings about another which is that of linearity. The train itself is pretty simple to control via the touch screen but when you're automatically being taken to your chosen destination it simultaneously destroys some of the adventure. That's not to say that traveling by train is less than stellar, it's actually fantastical when done in typical Nintendo fashion, it's just that it seems however a three-dimensional Zelda game is implemented on the DS we are always going to be limited on the overworld. This is probably due to hardware limitations so we will no doubt have to wait for the DS2 - which turned out to be the 3DS - until we get to explore in-between dungeons 'properly' once more.

Now if I just... Ah but then... Oh I get it now!

Back to the present day however - or back to the past from now -  what we have here is still a stunning technical achievement in its own right; everything moves fluidly and looks even better than before, there are more parts where the view extends to both screens, such as in some fantastic boss battles. The visuals consistently shine - especially in places such as the tower which is the game's new 'hub' of sorts. You complete the tower in parts after each dungeon which feels a lot more manageable than Phantom Hourglass' infamously infuriating Temple.

While in dungeons you will encounter the Phantoms from Link's first outing once again, however this time they don't seem as threatening as they once were, thankfully owing to a new game mechanic which sees the spirit of Princess Zelda being able to possess the bodies of phantoms and allow you to control both her and Link alternately to advance, which is a refreshing change. Of course you still get to pick up new items such as a hand-held windmill that you must blow into the DS microphone slot to use which works rather well indeed, obviously for the VC release this works perfectly with the gamepad even if you are frequently looking between the screens.

Not only will you be blowing into the microphone for just that one purpose though, for there is another major item in the game produced in similar vein to the infamous ocarina which requires use of both the touch screen and the microphone. That item is a set of Spirit Pipes, which will aid you a great deal throughout the game. They are simple to use as you slide the stylus to align which note you wish to play and then blow to produce sound; it's a wonderful addition which even goes some way to recapturing the magic of playing the ocarina, especially when learning major new songs.

Choo! Choo! All aboard for slightly blurry adventures!

There is of course more than just the main quest with the addition of mini-games to play and various things to collect during your travels - including rabbits! - which you can capture once your train is equipped with a cannon - not for the rabbits - and when you possess the catching net. Other additions include a postal lottery where you can win a certain amount of items each day by sending postcards – as a side-note the new postman character is rather amusing, yet another example of a character that only Nintendo would come up with – which makes things a little more interesting and will aid you in completing your treasure collection. Playing with multiple players in the Battle Mode used to be possible in the game though not in this release but it's essentially more of what was in Phantom Hourglass which was nothing more than an amusing distraction rather than a proper multiplayer Zelda; which reminds me I must get around to playing Tri Force Heroes online at some point.

Everything else about the game seems to follow the tried and tested methods of its predecessor from the almost entirely stylus controlled action to the writing on the map to solve more intricate puzzles or simply note down reminders. Zelda veterans will no doubt notice similarities and patterns during parts of the game such as the infamous multi-switch hitting boomerang puzzles, which while fresh in Wind Waker feel somewhat stale by today's standards.Repetition of past ideas aside however this is still yet another magical Zelda adventure which fans won't want to miss out on; plenty of new elements have been brought to the table which was so lavishly laden with treats in Phantom Hourglass, some of them may be a little stale now but the new morsels make it palatable and enjoyable once again. Certainly one of Link's more entertaining portable adventures, now available on the big screen for the first time!
 
Verdict : Spirit Tracks sticks solidly to the path laid out for it without going completely off the rails.

That's it for another installment of VC Weekly which will return again soon. So until then, enjoy the rest of the week and Game On!