PLOT
Spirit Tracks takes place about 100 years after Phantom Hourglass, meaning a new Link and new Zelda. This time, Link is an apprentice engineer for the royal railroads. The game begins with Link only minutes away from undergoing his final acceptance ceremony, to become a true railroad tycoon. As exciting as it sounds, the title is really just a formality. He soon learns about the chunks of railroad that have been disappearing, and why everyone in Hyrule is in a state of panic.

Upon meeting up with Zelda, she explains that the railroads are really a series of shackles, preventing an ancient evil from escaping into the planet. The tracks all converge at the Tower of Spirits, which is exactly where Zelda would like you to take her. Link agrees to transport Zelda to the Tower of Spirits, though they must sneak out of Hyrule Castle first.

Once out of the castle, you bump into Alfonzo -- a former castle guard who also happens to be Link's mentor for all things swordy. He insists on accompanying you to the tower, to find out why the tracks have been disappearing. When you arrive at the tower, dark clouds have already began to manifest overhead, and lightning shatters the tower into several pieces. The very tracks you're traveling on disappear, and Chancellor Cole appears on the scene.

Cole reveals himself to be a monster bent on reviving the evil presently trapped by the Spirit Tracks. He explains that he needs Zelda's body as conduit for said evil, and then snatches her body away. With the tracks thrashed, Alfonzo injured, and Zelda missing, Link returns to Hyrule Castle to learn more about what has happened.

quote ZeldaInformer

* You'll first control Zelda while sneaking her out of the castle. She follows you normally, but you can tell her to stay put by tapping an icon, then tapping another to tell her to catch up when the coast is clear. You can also draw a path for her to follow, then distract the guards as she passes by by talking to them or throwing rocks at them.

• The "big, bad, super-duper evil" that needs Zelda's body is "apparently not Ganon."

• Anjean "claims to have known Zelda's ancestors." (Wink, wink.)

• The tower doesn't require you to revisit floors, but you can to get access to secrets you may have missed. I'm hoping they use this to lock away unobtainable treasure until you've acquired more items, much like various floors in the Temple of the Ocean King did.)

• The Phantoms, "who are supposed to protect the tower from evil, have gone haywire".

• Zelda can't inhabit a Phantom until you (a) get the three Tears of Light in an area, and (B) strike it from behind with your sword.

• As the game advances, Zelda will gain the ability to transfer her spirit from one Phantom to another.

• You aren't completely free to choose your route with the train; but you will have to watch the upper screen map to see where enemy trains are headed, and switch off to other tracks to avoid collisions.

• There are four dungeons that connect to the Tower of Spirits. The first one, "Forest Temple," has no Phantoms, but Zelda is still with you in a Navi-like fashion.

• Getting to the Forest Temple et al. involves visiting various villages and other locations which in turn gains you access to new areas.

• There are six slots for items in Link's inventory.

• "Odds and ends" treasures like wooden hearts and dragon scales tie into sidequests.

• The Forest Temple's Master Key that leads to the boss must be carried along a safe route lest you get grabbed by Wallmasters. Apparently you will have to note this route on your map at some point?

INTERVIEWS/PREVIEWS
Destructoid Jun 5 2009
GameSpot Mar 25 2009
IGN DS: E3 2009 Jun 2 2009
Joystiq Jun 6 2009
Gamespy Jun 4 2009
Gaming Excellence Jun 8 2009
IGN DS: GDC 09: Hands on Aug 19 2009
Games Radar Nov 6 2009 [GameGrep]
IGN DS Nov 6 2009 [GameGrep]
Miyamoto on Zelda ST/Wii Oct 30 2009

CHARACTERS
Link
A humble Apprentice Train Engineer on his way to Hyrule Castle to be appointed a Royal Train Engineer, by none other than Princess Zelda herself. During the ceremony, Zelda slips Link a note asking him to meet her in her room after the ceremony is over. During their meeting, Zelda reveals the Spirit Tracks are mysteriously vanishing, and evil is beginning to seep back into the world. She then asks him to accompany her to the Spirit Tower, to sort out what has been happening.

After a brief incident at the tower with the game's main antagonist, Chancellor Cole, Link finds himself in a race to stop Chancellor Cole from releasing the Demon King while trying to reunite Princess Zelda's spirit with her body.

Princess Zelda
The elegant princess of the Kingdom of Hyrule. She cares deeply for her kingdom, but fears the return of the Demon King is imminent.

She asks Link to accompany her to the Spirit Tower, after Anjeal suggested they visit it to find out more about the disappearing Spirit Tracks, but during an encounter with Chancellor Cole her spirit is separated from her body. She even goes as far as to posses a Phantom, in order to provide aid to Link as he tries to stop Chancellor Cole and save Hyrule.

Chancellor Cole
Presumably the main antagonist, Cole is a chancellor of the royal court and pays close attention to everything that goes on in Hyrule Castle.

He follows Link and Zelda to the Spirit Tower, and is responsible for the derailment of their train, as well as the kidnapping of Princess Zelda's body. His primary goal is to revive the Demon King by destroying the Spirit Tracks.

Alfonzo
A Master Train Engineer and former soldier in the Hyrule army. He's Link's mentor on both swordplay and train operation, and acts as a guard for Link and Zelda on their journey to the Spirit Tower.

On the way to the tower, the tracks disappear and their train derails. Alfonzo is knocked unconscious, as Chancellor Cole snatches Zelda's body away.

Anjean
A lady of the Lokomo people, and whispered as being as old as the hills themselves. She is the protector of the Spirit Tower, and presumably the only living sage left in Hyrule. She entrusts Link with the Spirit Train, as a way to travel across Hyrule quickly, because she knows time is of the essence.

ITEMS
Whirlwind
A propeller-shaped tool that serves a variety of purposes. After you've locked onto an enemy or item, blow into the microphone to send a blast of air towards your target. The Whirlwind has a variety of uses, including: acting as a weapon or a tool to blow objects into enemies, clearing away purple fog the blocks Link's path, and acquiring unreachable items and solving puzzles.

Boomerang
Works identically to how it did within Phantom Hourglass. The Boomerang allows Link to pick up remote items, such as Rupees and Small Keys, as well as hit otherwise unreachable switches and stun many of the game's weaker enemies.

Snake Whip
A standard whip boasting a snake hit. The whip acts as a weapon for defeating weak enemies, such as ChuChus. While the Snake Whip isn't as effective in long range fights as the Boomerang, it has more than one function. The whip can also be used as a grappling hook to pull distant switches and swing across gaps too wide for Link to jump across.

Spirit Flute
A flute when played can be used to law down new segments of tracks, which will allow Link to reach previously inaccessible areas. To play them, blow into the DS microphone while cycling through different colored pipes using the stylus.

Whistle
When Zelda's Spirit inhabits a Phantom, you may see the Whistle Icon appear in the bottom left corner of your screen from time to time. If she moves off the screen, Call will appear in place of the Whistle Icon. Tapping Call will cause Link to blow the Whistle, signaling her to regroup.

Cannon
While traveling on the tracks, Link will come across enemies that mean to do him harm. After acquiring the Cannon, Link can blast enemies on the tracks by tapping on them.

Tears of Light
Tears of Light in Spirit Tracks differ from those that appeared in Twilight Princess. In Spirit Tracks, Link must find three Tears of Light in each dungeon. Collecting the Tears will allow Zelda to take control of a defeated Phantom, in the dungeon. Tears of Light can be obtained by solving puzzles and defeating minibosses within dungeons.

SCREENSHOTS/SCANS
Neoseeker profile
Game Trailers leaked screens [GameGrep]
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VIDEOS










This message was edited by Kafei on Nov 21 2009.

This message was edited by Kafei on Nov 27 2009.