Zelda: Spirit Tracks

I will say, first off, that anyone who says this game is better then Phantom Hourglass better check their water system because something in there is affecting their brain. While a decent game, Spirit Tracks is in no way better then Phantom Hourglass. I know that a lot of reviews claim that it is, I began to question my own view of this game because so many reviews were all gung ho about it, then I talked to someone else who was currently playing the game and they agreed. So I felt much better about my stance.

While I will admit that the dungeons were pretty cool and the extension of the phantom dynamic was pretty awesome, the whole thing felt short. I was hoping that the sidekick Zelda would be just as awesome and entertaining as Midna or Linebeck, she ended up being a bit more like Navi, complete with the “Hey!” (I’m not kidding.) Zelda is cumbersome, she’s annoying, and her character development is just off. I mean, you barely see Zelda in so many of these games but this one just fell so short. It was disappointing. The two characters I was MOST interested in had barely any part in the game, the character I go to know the most was some dweeb that was obsessed with trains! *facepalm*

There are a few relatives of the characters from The Phantom Hourglass, I was hopeful, I was disappointed. I was psyched about the final boss fight because the boss fights leading up to it were . . . well . . . really NEAT. The sand realm boss was by far my favorite, but the final boss . . . disappointing. The ending was empty. I have no idea what to say about the game. I guess I just had such high hopes for it because everyone was saying it was better then the Phantom Hourglass. I was complaining about the game after the first few hours of playing it and Brad told me that reviews said it picks up as you get further in the game. I beat the game, there was no pick up. The sand realm was pretty freakin cool, the first part of the final boss fight was awesome, annnnnd yeah. It was all hype and no delivery!

I did appreciate the thought into the side quests. I had a blast toting people around in my awesome train and having them get all upset when I passed a sign without doing the appropriate thing. Oh, I also appreciated the fact that I could blow up the signs with my cannon. I had fun with that one for quite a while. They could have given me side quests for the entire game and I probably would have been happier then what I ended up with!

And train cars, I do wish that they would have pointed out earlier that you do not BUY the train cars you trade treasure for them. Luckily I hadn’t saved when I realized this so I could restart the game and go back. Always ALWAYS remember to save your game because you never know what’s going to happen or pop out. There were so many bad guys to FIGURE out how to kill. You would think it would make this game all the more entertaining but meh.

Nothing about this game seemed inspiring, nothing about the game was inspirational. I kept trying to figure out why in the HECK people were raving about this game. Brad was blunt and told me that Zelda obsessees have to be somewhat delusional, otherwise they are constantly disappointed. I was a bit insulted until I realized he was telling me I wasn’t delusional, I expected MORE, and there was no more. If this was how the franchise had started out, I probably would have never played another Zelda game again. I mean I was so bored I was noticing how annoying the characters’ FEATURES are! What kind of game makes me bored enough to wonder why Link’s nose is about 400 times smaller then it should be!? Or why in the heck Zelda is wearing all that makeup!? These aren’t things I should be thinking about AFTER finishing the game.

The music wasn’t interesting, except for in the tower. It was pretty cool because it builds as you run up the steps. Too bad they didn’t do that with the rest of the music . . .

The weapons were pretty cool, as always, my comfort weapons. I DO appreciate that there is repeated use of the weapons even after you finish the temple they are in. I hate it when you find this ultra cool weapon and can only use it in one place. HOWEVER, the cool weapon/item thing I got drove me absolutely mad because it wasn’t reacting where it was supposed to. You’d think that they would be extra sure to get the perception right on it, but it DOESN’T work that way. Blah.

There were a few allusions to things that were in Twilight Princess and in Ocarina of Time. I wasn’t uber happy with the flute pipe thing. You didn’t use it a whole lot, and in some ways it was TOO much of the primary focus, but not enough of the primary focus. It’s a magical flute and when you discover tunes Zelda dances around in the air, wheeeee . . . eee . . . e.

I mean my GOSH what were they thinking! They could have totally incorporated the train more, it’d be awesome if there was some way to be derailed not just run into things. I mean why isn’t there some annoying pirate giggling by the train tracks ready to throw a giant penny or something and send you off into the grass or off a cliff.
When I driving the dang thing I’d take turns at full speed and NOTHING would happen. I get that it allows you to do whatever you want without being punished but geez, couldn’t we make it a BIT more difficult? There was no “Geez how do I do this?” or “ARRGGHH” or “GRRRR” unless it was ME being mad at the game for being so stupid. Throw a curveball or something! Something new! I mean my gosh, it drove me mad. The game didn’t challenge ME, I just tried figuring ways to make it challenging for myself!

*sigh* So yeah, if you are a huge Zelda fan, buy the game, play it, figure out if you like it yourself. If you’re not but curious, buy it . . . I’d suggest buying it used . . . at a lower price . . . it’s a decent game but not jaw dropping amazing.

I mean, my gosh, are they just going to live off the fact that Zelda is a BIG NAME! Why not? It’s what Final Fantasy did (one of the reasons I stopped playing that game.)

*bangs head against wall* WHY WHY WHY!?

Blah . . .

On the bright side though! I’m finally playing a game that Brad has been telling me to play for a while and I’m utterly addicted! I’m resting my thumbs right now because I think I damaged them in the last fight =/

P.S.
Isn’t FPM’s pencil awesome?