I had just turned 9 years old, and my mother who lived out of state had come to visit with some late birthday gifts. Most of them were NES games, among them classics like Arkanoid and Castlevania. The one I was most excited about however, was The Legend of Zelda. Twenty years later, I still get that same level of excitement with the release of each new Zelda title. This time, it is the first Nintendo DS adaptation of the franchise, called The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Has it held up to the stature of the rest of the games, or is it more like the CD-i offspring of the series? I am happy to report that this game ranks right up with the best of them.

The story of the game picks up shortly after that of The Wind Waker for the GameCube. While out on a seafaring adventure with Link and the rest of the crew, Tetra, a.k.a . Zelda, is taken by the Ghost Ship. It is up to Link to save her, which is fairly standard LoZ fare. Link had fallen off the boat in an attempt to save Zelda, and was washed ashore without a weapon nor mode of transportation. To find her, you'll need a ship to travel the seas of course. You'll get to use the ship of a rather pretentious and greedy fellow named Linebeck, whose smarmy comments will keep you company throughout the game.

The first thing you are going to notice about this game is the fact that it looks downright amazing. The graphical style lends itself very well to the DS. The 3D gameplay when you are on the ocean works exceptionally well, but the best part is that the core gameplay is in the traditional top-down, 2D Zelda style.

With the controls being solely stylus-based, you wouldn't expect this game to feel very much like the 2D Zelda games. The way they are handled though will make that worry disappear. The only time I encountered any problems is when I try to move Link with the D-Pad and he just sits there. Once you get the hang of it though, the controls work like a dream and sooner than you realize, you're swooping and swishing the stylus around on the screen very easy and naturally.

Another thing that has been added is the ability to write notes on your map. While you're controlling Link on the bottom screen, your map is found on the top screen. By selecting the map and bringing it down to the bottom screen, you're now able to write down notes about certain puzzles, locations, or routes you don't want to forget. Gone are the days that you need a flawless memory or a tablet of paper sitting constantly by your side while playing Zelda!

I will tell you right now: if you didn't like The Wind Waker, you probably won't like this one either. Yes, the boat has made a comeback, however this time you can draw the path of the ship around the islands, wherever your heart desires. One of the neat things that can also make traveling slightly easier is related to the golden frogs you will notice hopping in and out of the water. Eventually in the game, you will acquire a slate, and you will talk to these frogs. They'll each give you different symbols, in which you write on the slate to return to that position from anywhere on the map.

Not only does the boating aspect reappear, but a new level of tedium was added. There is now a dungeon called the Temple of the Ocean King that you must revisit numerous times throughout the game. This is mainly where the Phantom Hourglass itself comes into play, because this is the only timed spot in the game. The sand in the hourglass only ticks away when you're not standing on a "safe spot" indicated on the map by being purple. There are many of those spots throughout the dungeon, and if your sand/time runs out, it will start draining your health. Though you do have to repeat some levels of the dungeon, at one point they do give you a blue or yellow teleport to the outside, that will allow you to leave and reenter the dungeon on that level.

Another thing that will help get you through those levels in the Temple of the Ocean King are the weapons you'll acquire. You might recognize most of these from past Zelda games, but the way they are used is very unique and specifically designed for the DS. For certain items such as the boomerang and the bombchu, you draw the path that you want them to take, sometimes being able to accomplish multiple things in one fell swoop. The hook shot not only helps you cross gaps, but you can also use it to tightrope walk, as well as slingshoting yourself across large gaps.

This title may also have a fair amount of replay factor thanks to the on-line battle mode. In the battle mode, you compete against one other person in a private room. One person controls Link, while the other person controls multiple phantoms by drawing their paths around the map. As Link, you try to get as many of the Triforce pieces onto your base as possible, without being caught by the phantom. You take turns doing this for a certain amount of rounds, and whoever has the most pieces at their base wins. You also get extra points for accomplishing certain feats, such as winning without letting the opponent score any points. The battle mode is very fun, and is very well done. I can see this mode lasting for quite a while.

Another neat thing that I found was that after spending a bit of time in Battle mode, gaining achievements also carried over into the adventure part of the game. When returning to the Adventure mode, I received a piece of mail in game that contained an item for my ship. There are still quite a few achievements I haven't unlocked yet so it will be nice to see what other sort of items I may acquire after doing so.

Bottom line with this game is that it is Zelda, all the way down to the core. If you love the Zelda games, you will love this game.