Spirit Tracks' New Instrument Promises Fun New Avenues For Self-Embarrassment

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks definitely looks like a blast to play as word comes out of its innovative controls and interesting characters. One of the most recent details of the game's features, however, has me both excited and worried: the Spirit Pipes.

Link has gotten his hands on plenty of magical instruments in his day, from ocarinas that control the weather to recorders that summon fairies. Their latest reveal keeps with this theme, but adds new elements of interactivity that may or may not equate to more musical fun. From what's been gathered so far, it sounds like the Spirit Pipes are akin to a set of pan pipes, which will be played by choosing notes with the stylus and physically blowing into the DS' microphone.

Now, I'm all for immersion and seeing games reach new levels of player interactivity. But there's a crucial difference between the kind of immersive experience that has a gamer flailing their arms to feel like an expert swordsman and the kind that has a them blowing a tune into their portable game system until they make themselves dizzy. Especially since portable systems are best enjoyed on the go, by which I mean 'in public,' by which I further mean 'in the presence of people who may be freaked out upon seeing a person who is compelled to blow on an electronic device.' Personally, I think we should all be able to practice any act we want as long as it's behind closed doors and with consenting game systems. Bringing that kind of action to the bus stop, however, may be pushing the boundaries of public decorum.

Despite my firm stance against public shaming, I do hold out some hope of discretion for myself and other pipe-blowing enthusiasts. Nintendo may have a bit of a Thing for encouraging use of their optional peripherals--whether it's microphones on portable systems or barrel-shaped bongos--but they do have at least some awareness of how silly it looks. Take, for example, a similar situation in Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: when you meet the jolly NPC who can craft a cannon for your steamboat, he demands that you yell your enthusiasm for his product into the microphone for a few seconds as a way of begging him to lower the set price.

Once this opportunity for horrific embarrassment has passed, assuming you made enough noise to satisfy this madman's craving for your shame, he adds insult to injury by noting, "You do know you could've just made any noise at all, don't you? You didn't have to actually shout!" Well played, cannonsmith. Well played.

...Anyway! Aside from whether I may or may not have actually cheered on demand for a character in my DS, the point stands that Nintendo knows their microphone peripheral can be a bit tough to use in public by those who still have some manner of self-awareness left in them, and that scratching or tapping near the mic isn't a reliable workaround. It stands to reason that there will be, with any luck, an option to simply press a button to simulate the act of blowing rather than to get down and physically do it.

At least, I hope so. Otherwise this may be yet another expensive electronic with which I'm only willing to play in my bedroom.

We'll find out more, and whether I have to make the critical choice between my pride and my love for Zelda, when the game releases on December 11.