Being a HUGE fan of all previous Legend of Zelda games dating back to the original, I was a bit skeptical on how good this one could possibly be on a Nintendo DS. Would it have the same sense of adventure? Would the world exploration be as deep and engaging? Would it be as addictive and make me want, nay, need to see it through to the end? Add the new control scheme where you use only the stylus and not the directional pad, and I just couldn’t see where this was going to be a great game and do justice to its predecessors.

Wow – was I ever dead wrong….

My wife bought Phantom Hourglass for me for Christmas. A couple that we know also bought it, and so we all started playing at about the same time. Before I knew it, we were trading stories, checking out where each other had made it in the game, and giving tips and tricks.

First, game control using the stylus is extremely simple and a load of fun. You know how you can get cramps in your hands on a typical game while trying to hold the Nintendo DS, work the shoulder buttons, use the D-pad, and punch the action buttons all at the same time? None of that is an issue with a great control scheme and a touch screen. Movement is fluid and as simple as placing the style where you can to go. Interaction with objects and characters is all accomplished through tapping the touch screen.

The world is actually quite large. I didn’t keep official time, but I probably spent 20 hours on this game before I finished it. Twilight Princess on the Nintendo Wii clocks in at more like 35, but hey – that’s still huge for a Nintendo DS game.

The game play varies nicely. You get to explore the ocean on a ship that you can customize as you find parts, explore various islands, and go diving into temples where the real baddies live. The atmosphere, dialogue, humor, weapons, and exploration all remind you of the Zelda games of old. I was really happy to see they kept all the old favorites in there such as the boomerang and the master sword. Boss battles were challenging but fun, and the game makes use of both Nintendo DS screens at times which is really cool. You can even write notes to yourself on the maps so you can remember where to go, the order to perform actions, clues you find and need to revisit, etc.

All in all, this has to be the best game I’ve played on the Nintendo DS by far. My wife might argue that Skip-Bo is better, but I’m not buying it!