Nintendo for the DS. Rated E10 for everyone 10 and older.
It’s not easy keeping up with Princess Zelda. She and her eternal rescuer Link never take a break. Nintendo cranks out a new installment of the long-running adventure series almost every year. This decade alone has seen four console games and six handhelds. Like with Mario, it’d be overkill if they weren’t reliably good.
“Spirit Tracks,” a new DS game, is a sequel in all but name to 2007’s “Phantom Hourglass.” Both present traditional Zelda dungeon-questing in the cartoonish, cel-shaded art style of 2003’s “The Wind Waker.” Link is still controlled entirely with the stylus. Instead of traversing the map by foot or horseback, transportation depends on a special vehicle that can be upgraded. In “Hourglass” it’s a boat, in “Spirit Tracks” it’s a train. Both games force you to return repeatedly to the same central dungeon in order to unlock new destinations.
Those last two features turned “Phantom Hourglass” into a drag. “Hourglass’ ” seas were wide expanses of open space, with little to do and less to enjoy. The multiple trips to the Temple of the Ocean King consistently killed any momentum. If the mediocre stealth elements and drab level design didn’t do you in, playing through the same area three or four times would.
Despite the similarities, “Spirit Tracks” fixes most of “Phantom Hourglass’ ” missteps. The train is an exciting new system with its own unique rhythms and challenges. There’s much to interact with while steering the train, from forks in the road to enemy trains that try to ram you off the tracks.
“Spirit Tracks’ ” hub dungeon, the Spirit Tower, avoids stifling repetition. The stealth has been refitted to highlight a vital new role for Zelda. The formerly helpless princess has actively participated in the series for years, but she’s more prominent and useful here than ever. Her spirit is Link’s ever-present companion, and with it she can possess the otherwise unbeatable guards of the Spirit Tower. It might be only a half-step toward gender equality, but it’s better than nothing.
Between the train, Zelda’s enhanced stature and a new musical instrument (a pan flute), “Spirit Tracks” offers a refreshing twist on a true classic.
