One thing i was not expecting, was that this game has the most Zelda out of all Zelda Games. She is always with you, she helps, sometimes more, sometimes less. But its the first game where i have the feeling that Link and Zelda have been given enough time to develop their relationship.
I know right? I want a console sequel to Wind Waker about Link and Tetra discovering New Hyrule, and you could have Tetra as a companion the whole game. You could touch up the train mechanics, make the music orchestral - I don't need Breath of the Wild, just a world comparable to Wind Waker.
Pretty much. I feel like ST Zelda is the best developed Zelda, and one of my favorites simply because you become attached to her since she actually spends time with Link. And the final battle with both of them is just beautiful.
@@Valoe7 Nintendo just needs to be okay with letting the characters have more depth. I love Wind Waker because Link's dialogue options (aka, what he canonically says) are so full of personality. It makes me cringe whenever Link is falsely portrayed as a mute. Nintendo is able to let Samus speak in her games - Link should have that too. Being in such a story heavy (for Nintendo) series, it severely weakens that he doesn't have more dialogue. I'm writing my own little fan novelization of Wind Waker, and I'm basically trying to create Link's character from scratch.
Spirit tracks introduced me to the series, and what an introduction it was. With it’s incredible puzzles and iconic music, I love it. Despite all its faults it’s still in my top 5. I really wish more people gave the ds games a chance.
@@Sora_berserk Same here! They got me into Zelda, led me on to Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, then I finally tasted the sweetness of Wind Waker, my favorite Zelda. Nintendo why won't you put the game on Switch 😩
another thing you glossed over a bit is just how charming Zelda is as a character. honestly shes probably my second favorite companion character, its just so so interesting to have zelda herself with you and helping you so much. she was an active essential part of the story and link couldve never done it without her and gives the player (or me i guess) more incentive to want to help her!! i feel the games with most emotional connection and drive for helping zelda are the most rewarding, like skyward sword :D and yeah the train isnt for everyone but if ur cool with just a super chill way of getting across to world it can be very enjoyable. i very recently 100% completed the game and only felt fatigued by the train at the very end when i was needing to grind out the last bits of treasures for train parts :( some of the side quests are definitely repetitive as well considering they consist of either transporting materials or a person to their destination but i did still enjoy it. these things can definitely be very hit or miss!! another thing is the mic controls definitely very depending on how good ur mic is. i have a DSi and had little to know trouble but its mostly because the position of it and quality are good, so if you have a bad mic the mic controls can be suuuper frustrating. good review overall and thank you for both this and the phantom hourglass video!! its always very refreshing to see someone give an honesty, unbiased analysis or reviews of the games more commonly thought of as "bad" zelda games :)
Spirit tracks is my favourite zelda game the only thing that would be nice if there was a unique reward for first record time on final boss rush and a one reward for amount of 30 bunnies
Well, it depends. I found a way pre compass to get evil trains to disappear (which involved turning off the 3ds). Plus the ocean and fire real don’t have any after you’re done with the places. Plus castle town is not that needed, while mayscore (Whittleton for you) is very easy to get to while avoiding evil trains
Spirit Tracks is amazing. Top tier puzzles, excellent music, good characterization, good use of Zelda with phantom posession, AND YOU GET TO DRIVE A TRAIN.
Thanks Linkus for being the outlier in the community and giving these games a fair treatment, and make clear their faults and their successes. The community has an unreasonable hate for these games, but as my first Zelda games, they still hold a special place in my heart. I would love to see them remade, or even better, a true console return of toon Link, but I am not holding my breath...
linkus understands game design (and character design, sound design, etc.) much better than so many youtubers I've come across. he's definitely a talented reviewer... even-handed with criticism, very attentive to detail, and good at communicating his point of view without being too forceful. legit would want to watch reviews of non-Zelda games on this channel (or a sister channel).
@@mr.cook5 Yeah, when Phantom Hourglass or Spirit Tracks is brought up in many Zelda conversations, online or otherwise, it immediately is declared "stylus controls suck, therefore they're the worst Zelda games." First off - have you played Zelda 2? Second, I'd argue Triforce heroes, if we are to brand one as "the worst" I'd pick that, as the whole fashion mechanic was the only time that purely an anesthetic ruined a game for me. However, when you look at Zelda, I'd argue that not a single one is bad. Although I don't like Triforce heroes, it wanted to do multiplayer stuff, and my friends seemed to like it. The DS games propelled me into gaming, and now into a hopeful game dev career. Many people who didn't like Phantom Hourglass were big fans of Link to the Past, or Link's Awakening - games I find hard to get into, but I'm glad they enjoy them. They are both incredible games. Every Zelda has great things, so I don't like calling one as being objectively "the worst" cause' such a thing is an opinion. When you look at another franchise, such as my other childhood favorite, roller coaster Tycoon, the entries after the third are clearly, objectively bad. Perhaps some poor soul who grows up playing roller coaster Tycoon world might enjoy it, but I'd imagine they'd abandon on discovery of planet coaster. Not so with Phantom Hourglass. Wind Waker, the second I played it, became my favorite game. The DS games though I still love. They're probably the most approachable to casual and young audiences Zelda has gotten.
I have just finished them and they are good games with bad controls but a rom patch fixes that (i legit had to becUse my 3ds touchscreen is really finicky) and they are great zelda games but some part are kinda annoying
I don't think the world could have handled how much more fun wind waker could have been if it wasn't rushed to completion 😔 imagine what they could do with it now!
Spirit Tracks is still one of my top 3 Zelda games. I loved that Princess Zelda was your companion, the puzzles were fun to do, the music was amazing; and I personally found the train section to be a highlight. It was so relaxing and the more the track expanded the easier and faster it was to get around. Plus it made it feel like you were actually uniting Hyrule in a way no other Zelda game comes close
I love Spirit Tracks so much. It has great music and an interesting world, and the story is pretty good too. Zelda even joins Link on his adventure! The core gameplay loop I think wasn't as good as Phantom Hourglass, but still decent. Things like the flute and the train were interesting ideas. It felt so cool to be actually blowing into an instrument - even if it wasn't always perfect at recognizing your notes. The train felt pretty good, though some things could be improved. I liked the travel gates that it was more than just gaining an ability that lets you teleport around - it's a bit of a puzzle. I'd love to see an improved version of the train travel. Really, I'd love to see a return to New Hyrule. It's such a cool idea to see a more advanced Hyrule. If any out there are fantasy readers, it reminds me of Brandon Sanderson's Alloy of Law, and how it incorporates magic from the earlier Mistborn series into a more technological setting. Please Nintendo, please please please give Toon Link and Tetra one last hoorah, and give us a console sequel to Wind Waker, centered on the founding of New Hyrule.
I think these two cute, little unique games we got from Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks hold up atop the handheld Zelda games. Especially in Spirit Tracks with Zelda being your companion. Personally I enjoy traveling via boat than the train but the idea was just as good and dare I say novel.
I remember playing this game on the original DS years ago and I believe playing the flute was really innovative at the time and was quite a pleasant experience. Had no problem with the mic on the DS.
I myself also had no problems with the mic on my DSi XL Though I *did* have rather big problems playing through Phantom Hourglass's mic sections on my 3ds. I'm guessing Nintendo improved the noise filter and, as such, broke all the original ds microphone things
@@pikariocraftf2802 phantom hourglass has no mic sections? You literally only need to do some noises two times in the game and blow on a flame in the first dungeon, Spirit tracks is the only one of the two that makes you speak full words and it definitely just doesn't work
@@Mqstodon - well from memory, the spririt tracks mic stuff worked wonderfully when I did it, and the blowing on the candles thing took ages for me to actually work, shouting into my microphone and eventually requiring me to sit down on my piano and play the star-wars theme because otherwise it just wouldn't register as blowing into the mic. might just be a problem of the 3ds's mic though.
Spirit tracks was my first zelda game and it totally spoiled me by making me think the other games in the series would have stories that were just as good lol. Like Zelda and links relationship in this game is my favorite out of any of the games- by the end I cared about her sooooo much. It also to this day has one of my favorite video game soundtracks and I wish it got more recognition for that
I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this but the local multiplayer in Spirit Tracks was so much fun. I have so many fond memories of just playing vs friends over and over again literally dozens of times and it never got boring.
The overworld in phantom hourglass gives you more freedom to choose where you want to go. Freedom to choose exactly where in the completely barren ocean you want to mindlessly sail forward while sometimes jumping or firing at the occasional enemy in the exact same way. Even though it's more restrictive, in spirit tracks you have to actually put some thought into how you want to reach your destination in the safest and fastest way possible. They even throw the blue skull train enemies in to keep you on your toes and force adaptability. Great and all that phantom hourglass lets you draw where ever you want but man, who freakin' cares? Nothing interesting is gonna happen no matter what you choose. At least spirit tracks lets you be creative and dynamic with your route planning. The spirit tracks overworld is far superior to phantom hourglass
That's not true though. In spirit tracks sometimes you spend full minutes watching the train slowly get to your objective while nothing is happening, while in phantom hourglass it was definitely faster and you got the fast travel earlier, which was also easier to use
And you have much more variety in the overworld than in Phantom Hourglass. I can't think of one aspect PH did better than Spirit Tracks expect fast travel.
@@Perplexum what variety? There's even less bosses in the overworld than in phantom hourglass, they just copy paste the spider monster twice for fuck's sake
@@Mqstodon in ST you had hidden train stations. And different bioms than just an ugly pixel sea. PH was the worst Zelda I've played, so I didn't expect much from Spirit Tracks. I was pleasantly surprised.
There’s an interesting give and take between Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. If there’s a good feature in one I can see how it lacks in the other. - I love the how they separated the Spirit Tower into new areas, but in a way the phantoms are far less stressful to dodge because you don’t have to worry about time. - Fishing and finding treasure in PH are nice mini games, it’s nice that you can see them on your map, but they take longer and kinda get a little old after a while. ST has bunnies and enemies to keep you occupied for some quicker action, but sometimes it’s disappointing when you go to the far lengths of some new tracks and it’s just... a rabbit. - The PH overworld is definitely a lot easier to traverse than ST, but after seeing already vasts amount of ocean in Wind Waker it’s harder to appreciate seafaring from a clean slate. - Linebeck is a GOAT, but I wasn’t a huge fan of Tetra’s characterization in PH. ST Zelda is quippy, with you all the way, and makes the ending feel like a greater pay off (as far as developing Link and Zelda’s relationship throughout the series goes IMO). Both have really entertaining boss fights and OSTs. Personally I prefer Spirit Tracks a little more, even if just for Zelda and the Spirit Tower alone. And as gimmicky as the flute was, I’m all for themes of music being used to forge a new path forward (heck, I even liked that stupid harp from Skyward Sword, and it’s a pain to play it left handed, but I digress). I just love the industrial theme of the Spirit Tower, and it has some deceptive puzzle design that I’d like to see return in future titles.
It's not really a give or take though, in most of those cases phantom hourglass is just better. The spirit tower? Going back to it it's completely useless since it's all new and it removes the puzzle element from the temple of the ocean king of having to find shortcuts. Fishing and finding treasures? Those are definitely better than bunnies, and in spirit tracks enemies aren't harder but simply more annoying. The overworld? I get if you don't like the water aesthetic, but spirit tracks' areas are literally just "ice area" "grass area" "water area" "fire area" so i don't see how they're interesting. And that had nothing to do with the overworld itself, which is just objectively better in ph because spending up to three minutes just to get to your objective is ridicolous, and the fast travel system is awful
"Unfortunately, I'm not that smart sometimes" made me think of when you explained your insane system to remember the cardinal directions. Nu jävlar. love ur vids tho
I've said for a really long time now that Zelda Spirit Tracks has some of the greatest soundtracks ever. Its what inspired me to start playing piano, join band, and (now) write music. Spirit Tracks holds a very special place in my heart.
I remember the instrument being pretty good on a DS Lite, except for the fact that it was a portable console and when I played it on the bus the mic was always on because of all the noise. I also always thought that the sidequests were legitimately kind of difficult and were an interesting challenge that wouldn't be present in a lot of other games in the era. That said, I think based on the reference point of Phantom Hourglass being a 9, I think Spirit Tracks would probably be an 8 for me. I always kind of thought that the things that a lot of people complain about in Hourglass were actually good and that Spirit Tracks (I love the Temple of the Ocean King, fight me) watered a lot of those ideas down to the point where the good things about them were less enjoyable
This was one of the first Zelda games I played, and being nine or so the phantoms and those goddamn oven trains scared the HELL out of me. regardless its still one of my favourite Zelda games, probably because of the nostalgia Edit: also YES!! the soundtrack slaps,people who never played spirit tracks are missing out
Sadly, if they ever would even think about it, these games would be at the very very bottom of the barrel of their remake plan. I think we’re gonna get the 3D games’ remakes ported to the switch from the wii u, then we will get the oracle games after the Links awakening remake, then maybe Minish cap or a link between worlds or maybe even a Link to the Past Remake. IF THEY EVEN want to do all of this remaking and porting. After all of those, yeah maybe they’ll consider the DS games XD. Sucks ass man being a huge of fan of something is honestly shit cuz you have to submit yourself to the company and hope and pray they make their own decision to make what YOU want.
Saw a trademark for Phantom hourglass early this year. Could be a hint it's getting a remake with Spirit tracks from Grezzo. Would be nice to replay those in hd on the switch. Remake would do them justice and draw many to play Phantom and Spirit tracks as they aren't bad games.
I did a second play-through of Spirit Tracks somewhat recently (on my 3DS), and the second time was when I fell in love with the train mechanics. I tend to get bored with traversal when I'm familiar with an area, and Spirit Tracks kept things interesting. I also have a fun story about a passenger sidequest. It was one where there was a guy in the middle of the Snow Realm in the area around the temple, and there were armored trains in addition to the regular evil trains. After I picked the guy up, I ended up in a situation where I had an armored train in front of me and an evil train behind me. I thought it was hopeless, but I shot bombs at the trains just in case. I managed to turn the evil train around, so I threw my train in reverse and kept shooting the armored train right in front of me to slow it down until I could get away from it. I somehow managed to escape, and all without displeasing the passenger one bit. I felt like a god after that.
The flute can be annoying, unless you know a certain trick: for each of the duets, you don't have to stop blowing on the mic at all. Just blow continuously when it's your turn to play and move over the right notes. If you need to skip a note, move the flute quickly past it and it won't play. I liked this one a lot, but I get the train can be tedious. But the music is so great!
I didn't have much issues with the flute itself, but i do know something that works for those having issues: cover the mic with your finger when you play the more complicated tracks
As someone who only played Zelda spirit tracks as a kid (cause sheltered childhood), I appreciate this video and the recognition for how bangin this game actually is. Also thanks for pointing out the sound design and soundtrack! Love this game so much
Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks are hands down my most favourite and treasured games of the Zelda franchise. I absolutely love them and they serve a special place in my heart. I really like Wind Waker and Breath of The Wild and they also stand out. All the games I mentioned here are the ones I have played, and the style of Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time and Majoras Mask don’t fit the kind of person I am. I am looking so much forward to the BoTW sequel and would really like a remake of the DS Zelda games. Your one of my favourite speedrunners from the Zelda community. Keep going and good luck for anything in the near future.
Spirit Tracks was the very first Zelda game I ever played, so I am impartial to it. The puzzles were amazing, I still have some of the soundtrack on my Spotify playlist. I loved the story, and over time as i kept playing more zelda games and learning the lore, I still always came back to wondering about the game's final boss, and coming to the conclusion of seeing tetra, and other characters from Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass. I do think the train is.... tedious and time consuming. But I did enjoy discovering new stations with new tracks as well.
I haven't finished the game yet and I started that game when it came out. MINOR SPOILERS BELOW My main issue (and its kinda dumb) with the train is the faster demon trains that kill you instantly. When they see you, its over unless you are really close to your destination or have the canon. I also somewhat like it because it does add challenge. But other than that this game gives me big nostalgia.
Those demon trains... they gave me so many nightmares and PTSD as a child. I didn't know you could slow them down with the canon, so i would get TERRIFIED everytime they apeared
I honestly think most of the complaints about microphone use with the Flute are because the microphone difference on different hardware but i could just be wrong. I think the flute works fine
I personally didn’t mind the train parts since I loved trains as a kid. It’s not perfect but this was the first Zelda game I ever beat so it holds a special place in my heart forever.
I remember being really frustrated in the darkness area because you had to draw a symbol on the last door and I had no idea what it was. Ended up being a z but it took so long to figure out and you had to walk through a pitch black maze to get there first. Love that game so much.
watching the two vids on phantom hourglass and spirit tracks makes me wanna replay these. they were 2 of the first videogames i ever played and im glad ppl still remember they exist and are very fun games
Before Botw came out, this was my favorite Zelda, the 2d titles were some of the first Zelda games I owned and I loved them as a kid (got stuck sometimes but), its really the soundtrack that does it for me, its my favorite of the series, though I will agree using the mic was a bit wonky but you get used to it
Spirit Tracks was my first and probably only Zelda game. I loved the Overworld to death regardless of consuming my time. Heck, I had kind of time to plan where I wanna go or what to do next in the Overworld while travelling. I think it deserves more attention. The other thing is that in my eyes Phantom Hourglass is not better than Spirit Tracks. Still a good game regardless.
@@manuelredgrave8348 About OoT 3D... when I got my 3DS it had OoT with it... and I wasn't a big fan of it and believ eit or not tried to lose it intentionally... which worked... I dunno when I managed to do that but it worked... sorry about that.
I remember beating the temple in phantom hourglass in less than 30 seconds, since you can actually leave the "checkpoint"-rooms and gather additional time from the floor bevore going deeper. I wish I was on the internet back then - probably could have gathered a few likes on some plattform like reddit.
I totally agree about the pan pipes, but one thing I did come to realize after playing enough (DS version) is that to skip notes, it works better to simply pull past the note quickly than to try to start and stop.
I enjoy how you explained your likes and dislikes of the game, as you say, many people don't really want to give it a chance / hate it so easily. Would be cool if you could make a highlight VOD of your spirit tracks playthrough just like you did with Phantom Hourglass.
This game was Very much made for the DS through and through, I'm so bummed to hear your experience wasn't great! They do emphasize you drawing on the map in the overworld, so I think the implication was that you'd mark which warp point led to the other! (ofc this isn't obvious nor everyone's experience, but just in case this helps anyone else out) I loooove spirit tracks dearly right after wind waker, I think it was definitely a wonderful end to the trilogy 8) I'm glad you played it!
First off: I love this game. I never had problems with the DS controls and i love the music in this Game. Spirit Tracks and Wind Waker are having the best music in all Zelda titles imo. The only two issues i had with this game are: the train system and the "useless" warp shortcuts (basically everything u said in your video) and that it felt really short for me as a kid. i "just" played Phantom Hourglass at that time and that felt like 1.5-2x the game lengh. In this game u had only 5 areas if i remember correctly and the tower in the middle and that was it. Phantom Hourglass felt like u had so much more to do. But hey.. maybe i was just sad the game ended... Oh and before i forget it: i really do not like the state of pre-"apocalypse" in every Zelda Game and if u beat the endboss u just get resetted. i know thats in like every Zelda game but id like to really save the world finally...
If it helps, that last bit is being retconned. Breath of the Wild throws a lot of retconny shit at the timeline thing, so you can assume each major installment, barring sequels, is a entirely new legend completely unrelated to the previous installments
Funnily enough I had the exact opposite when I played the DS games as a kid. I played spirit tracks first and loved it, then phantom hourglass and it felt soo short and I completed it in like three days. I haven't played it since but I wonder how I would like it now
@@vaguelydeltarunethemedsocks fun fact: when i played "a link between worlds i did a 100% of this game... and to complete it i did the endboss (i think right at the end of the credits it had a different cutscene). But i did not know the game does not load you straigt before the boss. No. It loaded me to my last save. And that was like 4 hours ago. That was so frustrating. Ive never played the game since then (it was great tho)
with the spirit flute songs, if you're fast enough with switching notes you don't have to stop blowing into the mic. even the ones that skip one or two, the game will still count it if you flip to the proper note and play it.
Spirit Tracks, being my favorite handheld in the series, is not that bad on the mic. Its usually due to a busted ds if blowing hard is not registering. But the side quests actually lead to a secret dungeon. And yes there are alot of side quests but that last dungeon is worth it. And lastly yes it is more puzzle based and phantom hourglass is more combat based. Its like OOS and OOA. They compliment each other in their own ways. An issue that was fixed in this game that you haven't covered, btw, is Making it possible to get max vehicle upgrades without needing to trade. The golden boat parts weren't guaranteed AND the ship parts were randomized with no way to farm them and repeat purchases of the parts, or receiving duplicate parts from chests, or sunken treasure. Forcing players to HAVE to trade to get the best ship parts if they are not lucky enough to find them in game. In Spirit Tracks you have a crafting system and a way to farm materials to GET the train parts and none of the parts are randomized. Meaning no matter the situation you can get the best train parts without having to trade at all. Spirit Tracks also makes the Tower levels much smaller and you can bypass previously explored levels even after your first revisit. In phantom hourglass that luxury was not given until your 3rd visit to the temple. And with the levels in PH temple of the ocean king being extremely long especially compared to ST the revisits are boring and stale. And then after your third visit you don't get another bypass until your 6th visit right before the boss room. Meaning most of your time in the game is spent in the temple of the ocean king. ST fixed alot of PH issues and improved them. Or together got rid of the issues that just couldn't be fixed due to it causing the game to be boring. Anyway PH is a good game and if you prefer combat and alot less item collecting and side quests between dungeons then PH is the obvious choice. But if you prefer puzzles more so with combat as a secondary feature and side quests and collectables being more prominent then ST is more for you. So in summary. These two games are not bad. And imo should have the same rating with a warning that it is gameplay preference oriented.
I honestly never had a lot of problems with the flute. I think treating the mic like an actual flute helps instead of directly blowing into it. If anything I had more problems with Zelda not doing what I told her to lol. Spirit Tracks is my favorite Zelda game and I hope it gets a remake for one of the next gen Nintendo consoles!
9:10 you dont need to make the whole train ride in the map, thats the thing thats better about the train vs the boat, you can actively decide where you want to go, instead of having to draw the way everytime new
I remember some of the puzzles took so long and I couldn’t figure it out one so I stopped playing and decided to play several months later. I couldn’t look up how to complete it because I didn’t have a phone or computer. I still loved the game and it’s still my favorite
This was the very first Zelda game that I played. I've restarted it recently because I actually wanna beat it this time. I've never beat it and I'm excited to actually do it this time ^^
The only part where I got stuck was when I had to figure out that Phantom Zelda can walk through lava. Also, am I the only one who never had trouble with the mic? The pan pipes were actually one of my favorite parts of the game. Actually, listening to the video, it seems like the things people hate are all my favorite parts of the game. Go figure!
Zelda spirit tracks is definitely on the top 5 of best zelda games. I finished it today. I have no idea how i did it. Challenge after challenge after challenge. Very difficult game especially on emulator with no mouse. Absolutely brilliant game. The world, characters, bosses and dungeons were awesome. I think next to skyward sword this is the best coop play with zelda. From start to the final battle. Very underrated game that deserves more recognition . once in a lifetime adventure and i enjoyed it very much. Thank you nintendo, for this masterpiece. 👍
finally, someone who gets it! I do however disagree on the puzzle portion of the video. I personally found the puzzles to follow patterns such that you're basically solving the same puzzle over and over and over again which is uninteresting to me. I wish they put in more of those boomerang/time-based puzzles as that's really where the gameplay shines
Spirit Tracks was my first Zelda as well. I'll never forget being unable to defeat the Boss of the Wood Temple, until I was like: "f it, Ill try what I never tried before and will use his weapons against him". And well, it worked and I was hooked DEEEEP
That boss took me atleast half an hour because i didn’t think to use the Whirlwind on the bomb caterpillars and simply tried to line them up. I also remember the time i had to look up how to beat one of them while still fighting it at the same time.
Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks will always be my all time favorite of the series I am crossing my fingers they get remade for the 35th anniversary.
The train theme is exactly the reason why this game is a 9/10 for me (minus 1 due to the microphone mechanics) If they ever do a remake and improve on the instrument mechanics, it would probably a 10/10 I grew up with travelling by train regularly, my dad likes to collect railway models and it definitely left an impression on me. Could be childhood nostalgia, but i also already replayed ST and PH as an adult and i still had a blast playing them. Nintendo would only need to revamp the instrument system and it could be a 10/10 for me
I love the Soundtrack and the Flute part, but it if they just remove that blowing mic feature, it would've been better. I used to go outside of my house most of the time as kid, and there are times where it feels like I'm soft lock because the flute part just doesn't want to work and when I'm in a place where it's noisy like the Car AC, Engines, and etc. Just makes it hard to progress. But even with that, I struggled a lot with the Puzzles in this game alot, and ended up restarting my playthrough all over again.
One thing i was not expecting, was that this game has the most Zelda out of all Zelda Games. She is always with you, she helps, sometimes more, sometimes less. But its the first game where i have the feeling that Link and Zelda have been given enough time to develop their relationship.
I know right? I want a console sequel to Wind Waker about Link and Tetra discovering New Hyrule, and you could have Tetra as a companion the whole game. You could touch up the train mechanics, make the music orchestral - I don't need Breath of the Wild, just a world comparable to Wind Waker.
Pretty much. I feel like ST Zelda is the best developed Zelda, and one of my favorites simply because you become attached to her since she actually spends time with Link.
And the final battle with both of them is just beautiful.
@@Valoe7 Nintendo just needs to be okay with letting the characters have more depth. I love Wind Waker because Link's dialogue options (aka, what he canonically says) are so full of personality. It makes me cringe whenever Link is falsely portrayed as a mute.
Nintendo is able to let Samus speak in her games - Link should have that too. Being in such a story heavy (for Nintendo) series, it severely weakens that he doesn't have more dialogue.
I'm writing my own little fan novelization of Wind Waker, and I'm basically trying to create Link's character from scratch.
Something something Wand of Gamelon...
@@andrew_cunningham That is NOT a Zelda game
Spirit tracks introduced me to the series, and what an introduction it was. With it’s incredible puzzles and iconic music, I love it. Despite all its faults it’s still in my top 5. I really wish more people gave the ds games a chance.
Ditto
#Bringbacknewhyrule
My first zelda was Phantom Hourglass, and then spirit tracks! I loved these two games, and now I still play the series on the switch with Botw :)
@@Sora_berserk Same here! They got me into Zelda, led me on to Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, then I finally tasted the sweetness of Wind Waker, my favorite Zelda.
Nintendo why won't you put the game on Switch 😩
This was one of my first two zelda games, I doct care if he gave the game a 7/10 I loved this game as a kid
Music is still epic
Spirit Zelda (the character) is the best Zelda and you can’t tell me otherwise
If Tetra could be with you in a new Toon game, I think it could rival it.
Correct
Each to their own 😂
She's still kinda a potato tho
@@zosonaigh2814 ehhyeaaaa😅🤣
When he keeps calling the pan flute a harp
: D
He’s just been traumatized by Skyward Sword
yup. or he calls the Temple of the Ocean King 'tower' xD
@@puline397 well, it _is_ a tower, at least. In comparison, flutes aren't harps >:(
It’s technically a tower, just that land covers it
@@AliceMeder or hes just stupid
another thing you glossed over a bit is just how charming Zelda is as a character. honestly shes probably my second favorite companion character, its just so so interesting to have zelda herself with you and helping you so much. she was an active essential part of the story and link couldve never done it without her and gives the player (or me i guess) more incentive to want to help her!! i feel the games with most emotional connection and drive for helping zelda are the most rewarding, like skyward sword :D
and yeah the train isnt for everyone but if ur cool with just a super chill way of getting across to world it can be very enjoyable. i very recently 100% completed the game and only felt fatigued by the train at the very end when i was needing to grind out the last bits of treasures for train parts :( some of the side quests are definitely repetitive as well considering they consist of either transporting materials or a person to their destination but i did still enjoy it. these things can definitely be very hit or miss!!
another thing is the mic controls definitely very depending on how good ur mic is. i have a DSi and had little to know trouble but its mostly because the position of it and quality are good, so if you have a bad mic the mic controls can be suuuper frustrating.
good review overall and thank you for both this and the phantom hourglass video!! its always very refreshing to see someone give an honesty, unbiased analysis or reviews of the games more commonly thought of as "bad" zelda games :)
Spirit tracks is my favourite zelda game the only thing that would be nice if there was a unique reward for first record time on final boss rush and a one reward for amount of 30 bunnies
Spirit tracks transportation personally is not chill with the dark trains. Idk why I said that but I did
Well, it depends. I found a way pre compass to get evil trains to disappear (which involved turning off the 3ds). Plus the ocean and fire real don’t have any after you’re done with the places. Plus castle town is not that needed, while mayscore (Whittleton for you) is very easy to get to while avoiding evil trains
Spirit Tracks is amazing.
Top tier puzzles, excellent music, good characterization, good use of Zelda with phantom posession, AND YOU GET TO DRIVE A TRAIN.
Thanks Linkus for being the outlier in the community and giving these games a fair treatment, and make clear their faults and their successes. The community has an unreasonable hate for these games, but as my first Zelda games, they still hold a special place in my heart.
I would love to see them remade, or even better, a true console return of toon Link, but I am not holding my breath...
linkus understands game design (and character design, sound design, etc.) much better than so many youtubers I've come across. he's definitely a talented reviewer... even-handed with criticism, very attentive to detail, and good at communicating his point of view without being too forceful. legit would want to watch reviews of non-Zelda games on this channel (or a sister channel).
@@mr.cook5 Yeah, when Phantom Hourglass or Spirit Tracks is brought up in many Zelda conversations, online or otherwise, it immediately is declared "stylus controls suck, therefore they're the worst Zelda games."
First off - have you played Zelda 2? Second, I'd argue Triforce heroes, if we are to brand one as "the worst" I'd pick that, as the whole fashion mechanic was the only time that purely an anesthetic ruined a game for me.
However, when you look at Zelda, I'd argue that not a single one is bad. Although I don't like Triforce heroes, it wanted to do multiplayer stuff, and my friends seemed to like it.
The DS games propelled me into gaming, and now into a hopeful game dev career.
Many people who didn't like Phantom Hourglass were big fans of Link to the Past, or Link's Awakening - games I find hard to get into, but I'm glad they enjoy them. They are both incredible games.
Every Zelda has great things, so I don't like calling one as being objectively "the worst" cause' such a thing is an opinion.
When you look at another franchise, such as my other childhood favorite, roller coaster Tycoon, the entries after the third are clearly, objectively bad. Perhaps some poor soul who grows up playing roller coaster Tycoon world might enjoy it, but I'd imagine they'd abandon on discovery of planet coaster.
Not so with Phantom Hourglass. Wind Waker, the second I played it, became my favorite game. The DS games though I still love. They're probably the most approachable to casual and young audiences Zelda has gotten.
Nostalgia is very powerful
I have just finished them and they are good games with bad controls but a rom patch fixes that (i legit had to becUse my 3ds touchscreen is really finicky) and they are great zelda games but some part are kinda annoying
I don't think the world could have handled how much more fun wind waker could have been if it wasn't rushed to completion 😔 imagine what they could do with it now!
I’ve played spirit tracks so many times and had no idea it could crash in the water temple
Same here
Yeah never happened to me. Weird...
same here
Same, maybe it wasnt an issue on DS
im crash free
Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks as well as Oracle of Ages/Seasons just don't get enough credit in the zelda community.
The spirit tracks soundtrack is one of the best ever :)
darn right - that and Wind Waker's are my favorites.
Byrne’s theme is badass.
@@PittsburghSonido "In the Fields" is a pretty good one.
I love Stevan’s theme too
You're right
Spirit Tracks was my first Zelda experience and it holds a strange place in my heart. I need to replay this!
I liked this game a lot. The instrument blows, but the soundtrack itself is just brilliant. It sounds fantastic.
I see what you did there.
Instrument pun 😀
I hate the flute. I’ve only beaten the game twice because I can’t do the flute in the desert sage one.
what instrument was in phantom hour glass
@@geoffreyhamm3436 Ship cannon. It worked for Tchaikovsky, it worked for Link.
Spirit Tracks is still one of my top 3 Zelda games. I loved that Princess Zelda was your companion, the puzzles were fun to do, the music was amazing; and I personally found the train section to be a highlight. It was so relaxing and the more the track expanded the easier and faster it was to get around. Plus it made it feel like you were actually uniting Hyrule in a way no other Zelda game comes close
I love Spirit Tracks so much. It has great music and an interesting world, and the story is pretty good too. Zelda even joins Link on his adventure!
The core gameplay loop I think wasn't as good as Phantom Hourglass, but still decent.
Things like the flute and the train were interesting ideas. It felt so cool to be actually blowing into an instrument - even if it wasn't always perfect at recognizing your notes.
The train felt pretty good, though some things could be improved. I liked the travel gates that it was more than just gaining an ability that lets you teleport around - it's a bit of a puzzle. I'd love to see an improved version of the train travel.
Really, I'd love to see a return to New Hyrule. It's such a cool idea to see a more advanced Hyrule. If any out there are fantasy readers, it reminds me of Brandon Sanderson's Alloy of Law, and how it incorporates magic from the earlier Mistborn series into a more technological setting.
Please Nintendo, please please please give Toon Link and Tetra one last hoorah, and give us a console sequel to Wind Waker, centered on the founding of New Hyrule.
I just wish the train was a bit faster
I think these two cute, little unique games we got from Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks hold up atop the handheld Zelda games. Especially in Spirit Tracks with Zelda being your companion. Personally I enjoy traveling via boat than the train but the idea was just as good and dare I say novel.
@@PittsburghSonido Yeah, as a kid who loved trains growing up, Spirit Tracks had me the second I heard about it.
Or at least a switch port of windwaker phantom hourglass and Spirit tracks
@@davidwilson9432 Yeah. I have no way right now to play Wind Waker - I'd love it on the Switch.
I remember playing this game on the original DS years ago and I believe playing the flute was really innovative at the time and was quite a pleasant experience. Had no problem with the mic on the DS.
I myself also had no problems with the mic on my DSi XL
Though I *did* have rather big problems playing through Phantom Hourglass's mic sections on my 3ds.
I'm guessing Nintendo improved the noise filter and, as such, broke all the original ds microphone things
@@pikariocraftf2802 phantom hourglass has no mic sections? You literally only need to do some noises two times in the game and blow on a flame in the first dungeon, Spirit tracks is the only one of the two that makes you speak full words and it definitely just doesn't work
@@Mqstodon - well from memory, the spririt tracks mic stuff worked wonderfully when I did it, and the blowing on the candles thing took ages for me to actually work, shouting into my microphone and eventually requiring me to sit down on my piano and play the star-wars theme because otherwise it just wouldn't register as blowing into the mic.
might just be a problem of the 3ds's mic though.
I had no problems on DS Lite except touch screen calibration and the L button occasionally stopped working.
Spirit tracks was my first zelda game and it totally spoiled me by making me think the other games in the series would have stories that were just as good lol. Like Zelda and links relationship in this game is my favorite out of any of the games- by the end I cared about her sooooo much. It also to this day has one of my favorite video game soundtracks and I wish it got more recognition for that
I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this but the local multiplayer in Spirit Tracks was so much fun. I have so many fond memories of just playing vs friends over and over again literally dozens of times and it never got boring.
The overworld in phantom hourglass gives you more freedom to choose where you want to go. Freedom to choose exactly where in the completely barren ocean you want to mindlessly sail forward while sometimes jumping or firing at the occasional enemy in the exact same way.
Even though it's more restrictive, in spirit tracks you have to actually put some thought into how you want to reach your destination in the safest and fastest way possible. They even throw the blue skull train enemies in to keep you on your toes and force adaptability.
Great and all that phantom hourglass lets you draw where ever you want but man, who freakin' cares? Nothing interesting is gonna happen no matter what you choose. At least spirit tracks lets you be creative and dynamic with your route planning.
The spirit tracks overworld is far superior to phantom hourglass
That's not true though. In spirit tracks sometimes you spend full minutes watching the train slowly get to your objective while nothing is happening, while in phantom hourglass it was definitely faster and you got the fast travel earlier, which was also easier to use
And you have much more variety in the overworld than in Phantom Hourglass. I can't think of one aspect PH did better than Spirit Tracks expect fast travel.
Spirit tracks is just as barren dude. At least in spirit tracks you had to look for hidden islands
@@Perplexum what variety? There's even less bosses in the overworld than in phantom hourglass, they just copy paste the spider monster twice for fuck's sake
@@Mqstodon in ST you had hidden train stations. And different bioms than just an ugly pixel sea. PH was the worst Zelda I've played, so I didn't expect much from Spirit Tracks. I was pleasantly surprised.
There’s an interesting give and take between Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. If there’s a good feature in one I can see how it lacks in the other.
- I love the how they separated the Spirit Tower into new areas, but in a way the phantoms are far less stressful to dodge because you don’t have to worry about time.
- Fishing and finding treasure in PH are nice mini games, it’s nice that you can see them on your map, but they take longer and kinda get a little old after a while.
ST has bunnies and enemies to keep you occupied for some quicker action, but sometimes it’s disappointing when you go to the far lengths of some new tracks and it’s just... a rabbit.
- The PH overworld is definitely a lot easier to traverse than ST, but after seeing already vasts amount of ocean in Wind Waker it’s harder to appreciate seafaring from a clean slate.
- Linebeck is a GOAT, but I wasn’t a huge fan of Tetra’s characterization in PH. ST Zelda is quippy, with you all the way, and makes the ending feel like a greater pay off (as far as developing Link and Zelda’s relationship throughout the series goes IMO).
Both have really entertaining boss fights and OSTs. Personally I prefer Spirit Tracks a little more, even if just for Zelda and the Spirit Tower alone. And as gimmicky as the flute was, I’m all for themes of music being used to forge a new path forward (heck, I even liked that stupid harp from Skyward Sword, and it’s a pain to play it left handed, but I digress). I just love the industrial theme of the Spirit Tower, and it has some deceptive puzzle design that I’d like to see return in future titles.
It's not really a give or take though, in most of those cases phantom hourglass is just better. The spirit tower? Going back to it it's completely useless since it's all new and it removes the puzzle element from the temple of the ocean king of having to find shortcuts. Fishing and finding treasures? Those are definitely better than bunnies, and in spirit tracks enemies aren't harder but simply more annoying. The overworld? I get if you don't like the water aesthetic, but spirit tracks' areas are literally just "ice area" "grass area" "water area" "fire area" so i don't see how they're interesting. And that had nothing to do with the overworld itself, which is just objectively better in ph because spending up to three minutes just to get to your objective is ridicolous, and the fast travel system is awful
"Unfortunately, I'm not that smart sometimes" made me think of when you explained your insane system to remember the cardinal directions. Nu jävlar. love ur vids tho
I've said for a really long time now that Zelda Spirit Tracks has some of the greatest soundtracks ever. Its what inspired me to start playing piano, join band, and (now) write music. Spirit Tracks holds a very special place in my heart.
I'm so happy that you did a review on spirit tracks it just shows that someone in 2020 still remembers it
I've always thought this was a pretty underrated zelda title.
I have never seen this game crash EVER. Somehow linkus manages to do it.
I remember the instrument being pretty good on a DS Lite, except for the fact that it was a portable console and when I played it on the bus the mic was always on because of all the noise. I also always thought that the sidequests were legitimately kind of difficult and were an interesting challenge that wouldn't be present in a lot of other games in the era. That said, I think based on the reference point of Phantom Hourglass being a 9, I think Spirit Tracks would probably be an 8 for me. I always kind of thought that the things that a lot of people complain about in Hourglass were actually good and that Spirit Tracks (I love the Temple of the Ocean King, fight me) watered a lot of those ideas down to the point where the good things about them were less enjoyable
This was one of the first Zelda games I played, and being nine or so the phantoms and those goddamn oven trains scared the HELL out of me. regardless its still one of my favourite Zelda games, probably because of the nostalgia
Edit: also YES!! the soundtrack slaps,people who never played spirit tracks are missing out
Lazybinch Agreed. They were horrifying
OMG i would LOVE a switch remake of both Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks!!
Sadly, if they ever would even think about it, these games would be at the very very bottom of the barrel of their remake plan. I think we’re gonna get the 3D games’ remakes ported to the switch from the wii u, then we will get the oracle games after the Links awakening remake, then maybe Minish cap or a link between worlds or maybe even a Link to the Past Remake. IF THEY EVEN want to do all of this remaking and porting. After all of those, yeah maybe they’ll consider the DS games XD. Sucks ass man being a huge of fan of something is honestly shit cuz you have to submit yourself to the company and hope and pray they make their own decision to make what YOU want.
Saw a trademark for Phantom hourglass early this year. Could be a hint it's getting a remake with Spirit tracks from Grezzo. Would be nice to replay those in hd on the switch. Remake would do them justice and draw many to play Phantom and Spirit tracks as they aren't bad games.
I did a second play-through of Spirit Tracks somewhat recently (on my 3DS), and the second time was when I fell in love with the train mechanics. I tend to get bored with traversal when I'm familiar with an area, and Spirit Tracks kept things interesting.
I also have a fun story about a passenger sidequest. It was one where there was a guy in the middle of the Snow Realm in the area around the temple, and there were armored trains in addition to the regular evil trains. After I picked the guy up, I ended up in a situation where I had an armored train in front of me and an evil train behind me. I thought it was hopeless, but I shot bombs at the trains just in case. I managed to turn the evil train around, so I threw my train in reverse and kept shooting the armored train right in front of me to slow it down until I could get away from it. I somehow managed to escape, and all without displeasing the passenger one bit. I felt like a god after that.
I absolutely adore this game. It got me into the Zelda series and I've always been confused why no one ever talks about it.
The flute can be annoying, unless you know a certain trick: for each of the duets, you don't have to stop blowing on the mic at all. Just blow continuously when it's your turn to play and move over the right notes. If you need to skip a note, move the flute quickly past it and it won't play.
I liked this one a lot, but I get the train can be tedious. But the music is so great!
I didn't have much issues with the flute itself, but i do know something that works for those having issues: cover the mic with your finger when you play the more complicated tracks
Spirit tracks is such an underrated game. I’m glad you enjoyed most of the game
linkus: I made it mom!
the game: are you sure about that?
I look up spirit tracks for the first time in years and this video is just uploaded, incredible
This was my first zelda game. It has a special place in my heart
“I love the collectibles”
“The side quests didn’t add anything”
Make it make sense.
You keep calling the pan flute a harp, just like on stream. KEKW
I know 😅
As someone who only played Zelda spirit tracks as a kid (cause sheltered childhood), I appreciate this video and the recognition for how bangin this game actually is. Also thanks for pointing out the sound design and soundtrack! Love this game so much
Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks are hands down my most favourite and treasured games of the Zelda franchise. I absolutely love them and they serve a special place in my heart. I really like Wind Waker and Breath of The Wild and they also stand out. All the games I mentioned here are the ones I have played, and the style of Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time and Majoras Mask don’t fit the kind of person I am. I am looking so much forward to the BoTW sequel and would really like a remake of the DS Zelda games. Your one of my favourite speedrunners from the Zelda community. Keep going and good luck for anything in the near future.
Not me crying while watching this video 😭😭😭 it REALLLLLLLY needs a remakes alongside Phantom Hourglass
Spirit Tracks was the very first Zelda game I ever played, so I am impartial to it. The puzzles were amazing, I still have some of the soundtrack on my Spotify playlist. I loved the story, and over time as i kept playing more zelda games and learning the lore, I still always came back to wondering about the game's final boss, and coming to the conclusion of seeing tetra, and other characters from Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass. I do think the train is.... tedious and time consuming. But I did enjoy discovering new stations with new tracks as well.
0:10 say Emoglobin64, I hear you like 'em young.
CERTIFIED EMOGOBLIN CERTIFIED PEDOPHILE
Les go fav game growing up
I haven't finished the game yet and I started that game when it came out.
MINOR SPOILERS BELOW
My main issue (and its kinda dumb) with the train is the faster demon trains that kill you instantly. When they see you, its over unless you are really close to your destination or have the canon. I also somewhat like it because it does add challenge.
But other than that this game gives me big nostalgia.
Do you have the canon? The canon can slow/stop the trains
@@Feorn3665 yes I do have the canon. I'm very far into the game
Those demon trains... they gave me so many nightmares and PTSD as a child. I didn't know you could slow them down with the canon, so i would get TERRIFIED everytime they apeared
Such an underrated game man.
I honestly think most of the complaints about microphone use with the Flute are because the microphone difference on different hardware but i could just be wrong. I think the flute works fine
I personally didn’t mind the train parts since I loved trains as a kid. It’s not perfect but this was the first Zelda game I ever beat so it holds a special place in my heart forever.
The sound of the WiiU crashing unlocked a memory
Really enjoying your narration and flow. You are a very good streamer and educator. Thank you very much for being awesome.
This game is not only the one of my first games Overall, it is my childhood.
I remember being really frustrated in the darkness area because you had to draw a symbol on the last door and I had no idea what it was. Ended up being a z but it took so long to figure out and you had to walk through a pitch black maze to get there first. Love that game so much.
"guardians are terrifying"
Phantom trains: Thats cute.
I remember trying to do all the side quests annoyed me so much so that I started to have a bad feeling associated with over world music....
watching the two vids on phantom hourglass and spirit tracks makes me wanna replay these. they were 2 of the first videogames i ever played and im glad ppl still remember they exist and are very fun games
Best final boss theme in Zelda
This is the best sounding zelda
Before Botw came out, this was my favorite Zelda, the 2d titles were some of the first Zelda games I owned and I loved them as a kid (got stuck sometimes but), its really the soundtrack that does it for me, its my favorite of the series, though I will agree using the mic was a bit wonky but you get used to it
Extremely happy Spirit tracks is getting some well deserved recognition
Spirit Tracks was my first and probably only Zelda game. I loved the Overworld to death regardless of consuming my time. Heck, I had kind of time to plan where I wanna go or what to do next in the Overworld while travelling. I think it deserves more attention. The other thing is that in my eyes Phantom Hourglass is not better than Spirit Tracks. Still a good game regardless.
Having only played ST or PH out of all the Zelda games is kind of like only having watched Episode 2 out of all the Star Wars movies.
If you have a chance try Albw or Oot 3d
@@manuelredgrave8348 About OoT 3D... when I got my 3DS it had OoT with it... and I wasn't a big fan of it and believ eit or not tried to lose it intentionally... which worked... I dunno when I managed to do that but it worked... sorry about that.
This and Phantom Hourglass deserve console remakes. Do some justice for my favorite version of Link.
I remember beating the temple in phantom hourglass in less than 30 seconds, since you can actually leave the "checkpoint"-rooms and gather additional time from the floor bevore going deeper. I wish I was on the internet back then - probably could have gathered a few likes on some plattform like reddit.
Thanks so much for making this!
I totally agree about the pan pipes, but one thing I did come to realize after playing enough (DS version) is that to skip notes, it works better to simply pull past the note quickly than to try to start and stop.
The music… THE MUSIC!! When I tell you that I used to repeatedly beat the final boss just to hear the ending song… ✨chills ✨
I enjoy how you explained your likes and dislikes of the game, as you say, many people don't really want to give it a chance / hate it so easily. Would be cool if you could make a highlight VOD of your spirit tracks playthrough just like you did with Phantom Hourglass.
The 3 mainline Toon Link games are my favorite, obviously.
Same here
got this game for my birthday this year, because together with skyward are my favorite games
Pretty damn big brain to call a pan flute a harp not once, but twice.
This game was Very much made for the DS through and through, I'm so bummed to hear your experience wasn't great! They do emphasize you drawing on the map in the overworld, so I think the implication was that you'd mark which warp point led to the other! (ofc this isn't obvious nor everyone's experience, but just in case this helps anyone else out)
I loooove spirit tracks dearly right after wind waker, I think it was definitely a wonderful end to the trilogy 8) I'm glad you played it!
good luck on the botw run RIGHT NOW
Thanks for the heads up
Neat review! Thanks for uploading!
First off: I love this game.
I never had problems with the DS controls and i love the music in this Game. Spirit Tracks and Wind Waker are having the best music in all Zelda titles imo.
The only two issues i had with this game are: the train system and the "useless" warp shortcuts (basically everything u said in your video)
and that it felt really short for me as a kid. i "just" played Phantom Hourglass at that time and that felt like 1.5-2x the game lengh. In this game u had only 5 areas if i remember correctly and the tower in the middle and that was it. Phantom Hourglass felt like u had so much more to do.
But hey.. maybe i was just sad the game ended...
Oh and before i forget it: i really do not like the state of pre-"apocalypse" in every Zelda Game and if u beat the endboss u just get resetted. i know thats in like every Zelda game but id like to really save the world finally...
If it helps, that last bit is being retconned. Breath of the Wild throws a lot of retconny shit at the timeline thing, so you can assume each major installment, barring sequels, is a entirely new legend completely unrelated to the previous installments
Oracle of Ages/Season actually start you after the end of the game when you load it up again. You have a statue in the town built in your honor.
The pre-apocalypse setting after beating the game definitely bothered me more in this game than any other zelda game! Idk what it is about this game
Funnily enough I had the exact opposite when I played the DS games as a kid. I played spirit tracks first and loved it, then phantom hourglass and it felt soo short and I completed it in like three days. I haven't played it since but I wonder how I would like it now
@@vaguelydeltarunethemedsocks fun fact: when i played "a link between worlds i did a 100% of this game... and to complete it i did the endboss (i think right at the end of the credits it had a different cutscene).
But i did not know the game does not load you straigt before the boss.
No. It loaded me to my last save. And that was like 4 hours ago.
That was so frustrating. Ive never played the game since then (it was great tho)
Spirit Tracks is a hella good game, no one can change my mind on that
with the spirit flute songs, if you're fast enough with switching notes you don't have to stop blowing into the mic. even the ones that skip one or two, the game will still count it if you flip to the proper note and play it.
Spirit Tracks, being my favorite handheld in the series, is not that bad on the mic. Its usually due to a busted ds if blowing hard is not registering. But the side quests actually lead to a secret dungeon. And yes there are alot of side quests but that last dungeon is worth it. And lastly yes it is more puzzle based and phantom hourglass is more combat based. Its like OOS and OOA. They compliment each other in their own ways. An issue that was fixed in this game that you haven't covered, btw, is Making it possible to get max vehicle upgrades without needing to trade. The golden boat parts weren't guaranteed AND the ship parts were randomized with no way to farm them and repeat purchases of the parts, or receiving duplicate parts from chests, or sunken treasure. Forcing players to HAVE to trade to get the best ship parts if they are not lucky enough to find them in game. In Spirit Tracks you have a crafting system and a way to farm materials to GET the train parts and none of the parts are randomized. Meaning no matter the situation you can get the best train parts without having to trade at all. Spirit Tracks also makes the Tower levels much smaller and you can bypass previously explored levels even after your first revisit. In phantom hourglass that luxury was not given until your 3rd visit to the temple. And with the levels in PH temple of the ocean king being extremely long especially compared to ST the revisits are boring and stale. And then after your third visit you don't get another bypass until your 6th visit right before the boss room. Meaning most of your time in the game is spent in the temple of the ocean king. ST fixed alot of PH issues and improved them. Or together got rid of the issues that just couldn't be fixed due to it causing the game to be boring. Anyway PH is a good game and if you prefer combat and alot less item collecting and side quests between dungeons then PH is the obvious choice. But if you prefer puzzles more so with combat as a secondary feature and side quests and collectables being more prominent then ST is more for you. So in summary. These two games are not bad. And imo should have the same rating with a warning that it is gameplay preference oriented.
I honestly never had a lot of problems with the flute. I think treating the mic like an actual flute helps instead of directly blowing into it. If anything I had more problems with Zelda not doing what I told her to lol. Spirit Tracks is my favorite Zelda game and I hope it gets a remake for one of the next gen Nintendo consoles!
9:10 you dont need to make the whole train ride in the map, thats the thing thats better about the train vs the boat, you can actively decide where you want to go, instead of having to draw the way everytime new
Loved Zelda in this game!
I remember some of the puzzles took so long and I couldn’t figure it out one so I stopped playing and decided to play several months later. I couldn’t look up how to complete it because I didn’t have a phone or computer. I still loved the game and it’s still my favorite
The final battle theme makes me happy
This was the very first Zelda game that I played. I've restarted it recently because I actually wanna beat it this time. I've never beat it and I'm excited to actually do it this time ^^
The only part where I got stuck was when I had to figure out that Phantom Zelda can walk through lava.
Also, am I the only one who never had trouble with the mic? The pan pipes were actually one of my favorite parts of the game.
Actually, listening to the video, it seems like the things people hate are all my favorite parts of the game. Go figure!
This is my favorite of the hand held Zelda's, i'd love a Zelda game that takes place after this with more technological advancements
when can we fly a plane in zelda?
(oh wait, we had birds already lol)
@@TheOneWhoHasABadName submarine
Zelda spirit tracks is definitely on the top 5 of best zelda games. I finished it today. I have no idea how i did it. Challenge after challenge after challenge. Very difficult game especially on emulator with no mouse. Absolutely brilliant game. The world, characters, bosses and dungeons were awesome. I think next to skyward sword this is the best coop play with zelda. From start to the final battle. Very underrated game that deserves more recognition . once in a lifetime adventure and i enjoyed it very much. Thank you nintendo, for this masterpiece. 👍
Pro tip: if you just press your finger in the microphone, you can trick the games into thinking you're blowing & it consistently works well.
I used the train teleporters a lot when I was playing, I just marked each pair with a specific symbol on the map to remember where each went
Spirit Tracks is definitely in my top 3 favorite Zelda Games
my reason: i like trains
finally, someone who gets it! I do however disagree on the puzzle portion of the video. I personally found the puzzles to follow patterns such that you're basically solving the same puzzle over and over and over again which is uninteresting to me. I wish they put in more of those boomerang/time-based puzzles as that's really where the gameplay shines
Fuck this game, I love it, favorite zelda game
Best Zelda game
CHUGGA-CHUGGA WOW!
This is legit the only Zelda game one of my friends has played.
I actually found a soft lock in this game at a room in the tower, but it is still a good game
where is it?
@@thadeusaegeon3491 tower of spirits the room you go in after completing the dungeon that contains the whip
Ok but like...every boss except one used both screens in phantom hourglass too? I don't get the comparison when it's the same
Spirit Tracks was my first Zelda as well. I'll never forget being unable to defeat the Boss of the Wood Temple, until I was like: "f it, Ill try what I never tried before and will use his weapons against him". And well, it worked and I was hooked DEEEEP
That boss took me atleast half an hour because i didn’t think to use the Whirlwind on the bomb caterpillars and simply tried to line them up. I also remember the time i had to look up how to beat one of them while still fighting it at the same time.
You can't play the overworld theme without the train sounds, it's what MAKES the song.
Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks will always be my all time favorite of the series I am crossing my fingers they get remade for the 35th anniversary.
The train theme is exactly the reason why this game is a 9/10 for me (minus 1 due to the microphone mechanics)
If they ever do a remake and improve on the instrument mechanics, it would probably a 10/10
I grew up with travelling by train regularly, my dad likes to collect railway models and it definitely left an impression on me.
Could be childhood nostalgia, but i also already replayed ST and PH as an adult and i still had a blast playing them.
Nintendo would only need to revamp the instrument system and it could be a 10/10 for me
I just finished phantom hourglass, I can’t wait to play spirit tracks!!
I love the Soundtrack and the Flute part, but it if they just remove that blowing mic feature, it would've been better.
I used to go outside of my house most of the time as kid, and there are times where it feels like I'm soft lock because the flute part just doesn't want to work and when I'm in a place where it's noisy like the Car AC, Engines, and etc. Just makes it hard to progress. But even with that, I struggled a lot with the Puzzles in this game alot, and ended up restarting my playthrough all over again.