The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (2007) – A Touchscreen Adventure on the High Seas

Released in 2007 on the Nintendo DS, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is a direct sequel to The Wind Waker. With its cel-shaded art style, it retains the colorful world of its predecessor while introducing groundbreaking gameplay through the DS’s unique features.

A Reinvented Gameplay

This Zelda title was the first to use the stylus as the main method of control. Forget the D-pad! Here, Link moves by drawing his path with the stylus and attacks by tapping the screen. Some puzzles even use the microphone: you have to blow to extinguish candles or shout to progress!

A major innovation is the control of the Boomerang, which can be freely directed by drawing its trajectory on the touchscreen.

A Journey Across the Seas

The story picks up right where The Wind Waker left off. Link and Tetra (Princess Zelda in her pirate guise) explore a mysterious ghost ship when Tetra vanishes. To find her, Link must sail across the ocean aboard the S.S. Linebeck, a ship captained by the eccentric Linebeck, and explore many islands and dungeons in search of the Phantom Hourglass, a magical artifact used to push back the curse of the Temple of the Ocean King.

One of the game's unique features is the Temple of the Ocean King, a central dungeon visited multiple times, where Link is limited by the time allowed by his magical hourglass to progress.

To learn more or rediscover this DS classic, check out the official page: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass – Nintendo DS