THE GOOD:Characters, ship customization, interactivity, music & sound, humor.
THE BAD:
Controls, game length, story.
SUMMARY:
It's been a long time since I've played a Zelda title, but from what I can remember, this game captures the spirit of the series perfectly.
Once again, you take on the role of Link, who must save his pirate friend Tetra (AKA Zelda) from the clutches of a mysterious Ghost Ship that is causing havoc in an unknown land.
The story itself, while typical, is almost too typical to the point of being somewhat predictable, and I found myself wishing they had fleshed out some of the other characters' back-stories a bit more to keep my heart more ingrained with what was going on.
However, the characters themselves definitely do have their own unique personalities, and add a lot to the humor of the game.
I found myself chuckling on more than one occasion, especially during a few of Link's failed "victory dances".
Graphics are colorful and cutesy, and in the same cel-shading style as a few other titles in this series.
The only issue I have whatsoever with the graphics is that the island maps are in this drab, uninspiring yellow color.
Gameplay is simple, and players will be using the stylus 99% of the time as their primary means of control.
The d-pad does come into play for quick-selecting maps and items from your menus, and the trigger buttons are used for quick-selecting secondary weapons such as the boomerang or the mallet.
Other movements, such as swinging your sword, or tucking into a roll are done with specific patterns on-screen with the stylus.
Controls CAN get a bit frustrating sometimes, though.
For example, Link moves by following the stylus where-ever it is on-screen, but the speed at which he moves depends on how far away the stylus is from him, which can get you into trouble on occasion, because it forces you to perform some pretty wild hand movements to keep yourself from getting hit by an enemy or from flying into a chasm.
In all honesty, I think they would have done better utilizing the movement style from MySims, where, unless the stylus is almost right on top of the character, they will run at top speed in the direction of the stylus no matter where it is on-screen.
No matter, back to the good stuff, this game contains TONS of interactive opportunities that are just an absolute joy.
Using the stylus, players can make custom notes on their maps to help them through the seas and various dungeons, which is actually necessary for certain puzzles, and can draw symbols on maps and on doors to help them access areas more readily.
Using the microphone, players can blow out candles, remove dust from maps, activate windmills, and shout their lungs out to haggle, communicate with characters, and even get the better of enemies.
There are also a decent number of mini-games to be played, where you can win items, rupees, treasures, and ship parts.
And speaking of ship parts, since a good chunk of this game takes place at sea, it makes sense that they would give you the opportunity to customize your ship.
There are eight different ship part types, and depending on the combination you choose, your ship's durability will go up.
The online capabilities are fun as well, you can play one-on-one battles based on stages from the Temple of the Ocean King with people from around the world.
Now, though the actual game is a tad on the short side, and there's no real replay value to speak of unless you want to go back and collect some of the items you missed, this is still a really good title nonetheless, that any Zelda fan, or indeed any adventure fan will enjoy.
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