Graphics:
The colorful, cartoony style from Wind Waker turns out to be a perfect fit on the DS, with Nintendo's handheld easily handling some impressive graphics. Aside from a behind-the-ship view during the sailing sequences, towns and dungeons are presented in the familiar overhead view. The character designs continue to be first-rate, and the various environments, while cliché (An ice temple? A fire temple? You don't say!), are detailed and varied.

Sound:
It's a Nintendo title, so there's no voicework to speak of aside from the fairy's occasional "Hey!", but the music is top-notch, and all the familiar Zelda theme tunes are present. (Although I have to admit that the new music for the smaller treasure chest openings was kind of underwhelming!)

Controls:
The biggest change in Phantom Hourglass is in the controls. If you thought using the Wiimote for slashing your sword and aiming your bow was unusual, just wait until you try doing everything with the stylus! Actually, it turns out to be surprisingly responsive, and the only thing I ever found myself unable to do with any accuracy was the somersault. Poking, swiping or spinning the stylus nets you a nice variety of attacks, and I loved the tweeting birds and dizzy animation after Link performs a few too many spin attacks! Move the stylus around the screen and Link follows dutifully, and even on tiny bridges, it's never a problem (well, aside from the ice temple with its slippery floors).

The menu and items are accessible from the lower left and right of the screen, and are easy enough to use, even in the heat of battle. In the upper right is an icon of the special item you have equipped, which can be activated with a quick tap. The only problem is that certain items don't unequip after use automatically, like the bow, which oftentimes had me wasting a couple arrows as I tried to move after taking a shot.

Sailing:
Aside from the cel-shaded graphics, the major complaint fans seemed to have with Wind Waker was the sailing. The constant, neverending sailing. Personally, I never minded it all that much, but that's just me. Haters will be disappointed to learn that the sailing has returned. And while they've added plenty of enemies attacking along the way to keep you from dozing off as you go from island to island, they've also removed any direct control over the boat. Instead, you draw a line on the map to indicate the route you want to take, and then man the cannon as comic relief sidekick Linebeck takes the wheel. It works okay, but doesn't allow for last-minute precision steering when facing off against rogue pirates or monsters.

Changes:
There are other minor changes to the Zelda canon. There's no wallet upgrades, because you can carry all the rupees you can find right from the start. And while some items might seem overpriced, it's actually far too easy to sell off treasures from the deep and end up with a surplus of thousands of rupees. There's no Master Sword, but you do find the elements to make the look-alike Phantom Sword. There are bonus heart upgrades to be found, but no pieces scattered around to put together. And Gannon is nowhere to be found, thank goodness. A welcome addition to the game is the fact that you can use the touch screen to make notes on any of the game maps. This comes in very handy for marking the location of various posts and eyes for later once you've got the hookshot and bow. And it was a veritable lifesaver in the recurring dungeon mentioned in the next paragraph, being able to mark down the location of the shaped keys and their respective keyholes!

Temple of the Ocean King:
The only thing that keeps Phantom Hourglass from reaching ultimate perfection is the Temple of the Ocean King. Ask anyone who's played the game, and they'll no doubt have a few choice words to say about this particular dungeon, none of which are printable on a family Website such as ours. The gimmick is that Link has an hourglass which turns over at the start of the dungeon, and he must make his way down as many floors as necessary in a limited amount of time. Along the way, there are phantoms that guard the keys, treasures and doors, which Link must avoid. Because if there's one thing I hate more than escort missions (though there's one of those in here, too!) it's stealth.

It wouldn't be so bad if it was limited to one visit like the other dungeons and temples. But throughout the course of the game, Link is forced to return over and over to the Ocean King's temple and delve deeper and deeper to advance the story. And a warp point about halfway through doesn't help alleviate any of the frustrating repetition that sets in after your second or third runthrough. Especially not on the later floors, which become annoyingly complicated. It's not impossible, but it can be frustrating to accomplish the goals in the limited amount of time given. (I recommend salvaging as much treasure as you can because sometimes you can find additional sand for your hourglass that gives you more time)

The Temple of the Ocean King seems like an awkward way to arbitrarily lengthen the game, but its difficulty is offset by the relative ease of everything else. None of the bosses pose too much of a challenge, which I liked, since moving and attacking with the stylus alone is still new to me (and I tend to not be that skilled, so I appreciate not having to feel embarrassed I couldn't finish a game a six-year-old blew through in a weekend). So in the end, it all evens out, and even the stealth portions that I loathe so much couldn't mar this awesome addition to the Zelda series. A fun storyline, clever puzzles and exciting battles make Phantom Hourglass another quality Zelda adventure, and one well worth taking.