The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (ゼルダの伝説　大地の汽笛) is the fifteenth installment of the Legend of Zelda series, released for the Nintendo DS on December 7, 2009. Details about the game were revealed by Satoru Iwata at the 2009 Game Developers Conference. Spirit Tracks was put on display at the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

A direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass set a hundred years after the events of its predecessor, Spirit Tracks uses the same graphical style and many of the same gameplay features from Phantom Hourglass. A major difference from Phantom Hourglass (as well as The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker) is that overworld travel is by train rather than by boat. It is notably the first canon game that allows the player to control Princess Zelda.

Gameplay
The game's graphical style is nearly identical to that of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, as is the gameplay; the top screen is used as a map screen, and the touch screen serves as the action screen. One of the biggest new additions to the game is travel by railroad. The player is put in control of the Spirit Train that may traverse a whole network of tracks across the game world. The train's speed is controlled with a throttle on the right hand side of the touchscreen, and includes the ability to go full stop, reverse, and also blow the train's whistle. Eventually players will have to switch between several different tracks. In some areas tracks have other trains on them, and Link must avoid colliding with these trains.

Another major gameplay element is control of the Phantom, which opens up several new combat and puzzle solving capabilities. On the bottom left corner of the screen is an icon that can be tapped to draw a path for the armored knight to follow. Players can also draw a path to a nearby enemy and the Phantom will attack once he has come within range of his sword. This character is invincible to fire, magma and metal spikes allowing it to reach areas Link can't. Link can also ride on the knight through lava in order to reach platforms and islands surrounded by magma. In the promotional video, Link is seen wielding an item resembling a pinwheel whose fan blades resemble Deku Leaves. It is shown to have a similar function to the Gale Boomerang, the Deku Leaf, and the Gust Jar. It also seems to be similar to a fan, as Link uses it to retrieve a key and flip over a large boss resembling a beetle. This item is used by blowing into the DS's microphone and is known as the Whirlwind. Also reappearing is the Boomerang. The cannon on Link's locomotive can also be upgraded to shoot Bombs. Link also uses the Whip to damage foes and to cross gaps in a manner similar to the Grappling Hook from The Wind Waker as well as a boss battle in a mine cart against a rock monster with a large eye.

Plot
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is the direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. After defeating Bellum in the World of the Ocean King, Link, Tetra and her band of pirates set out to discover a new Hyrule; eventually, they came upon an uninhabited land, christening it New Hyrule and reinstating the Hyrulean monarchy. Thereafter followed an age of peace, in which the spirits of good watched over the Hyrulean people. However, this small period of peace soon came to an end when the evil Demon King, Malladus, appeared, seeking to destroy all the land.

The Spirits of Good came down from the heavens to battle this foe; they were successful in subduing the enemy, but could not destroy him. Malladus was sealed deep beneath the earth; giant shackles were forged and a huge Tower of Spirits was erected to maintain the seal on Malladus. However, the power of the spirits was depleted during the battle with Malladus, and they ascended to the heavens, leaving New Hyrule, now bereft of spirits and demons, in the hands of the chosen Hyrulean people. As time passed, New Hyrule became a prosperous kingdom, and the chains used to bind Malladus became tracks for a new technological marvel, the train.

The game opens up with a new Link travelling to Hyrule Castle to attend a Graduation Ceremony where the honor of Royal Engineer will be bestowed onto him by Princess Zelda herself. As she rewards Link for his service, she slips him a note, warning of the suspicious Chancellor Cole, and to take a hidden path and meet her in secret. She requests Links help in investigating the mystery of the vanishing Spirit Tracks – she's restricted to her quarters, but needs Links help sneaking out of the castle to figure out why the Spirit Tracks are mysteriously disappearing all over the land. Zelda then presents Link with a change of clothing – the Recruit Uniform – which will help Link blend in and trick the similarly dressed guards and looks like the Hero's Clothes.

After their success, the two finally make it out of the castle and bump into Alfonzo, Link's Master Engineer, who taught him how to become an engineer. As Alfonzo was once a soldier, he helps Zelda and Link escape on a train towards the Tower of Spirits, but as they're off to investigate, the tracks start vanishing right out underneath the vehicle. After a spectacular crash they are stopped halfway by Chancellor Cole and his second-in-command, Byrne. The pair easily defeat Link and Alfonzo, and go on to murder Princess Zelda. Chancellor Cole then takes Zelda's lifeless body and uses it as a vessel in an attempt to revive Malladus.

When Link awakens, he finds himself in Hyrule Castle. Zelda's spirit floats in and after a few moments, Zelda learns she is dead and that no one can see her but Link. With her help, Zelda leads Link to a sword. After a bit of training she then directs Link to head to the Tower of Spirits, where she might be brought back to life. There, they meet Anjean, a Lokomo. She tells them what Cole is planning, and tells them to restore the Spirit Tracks by finding the Rail Maps and purging the temples of evil. To help Link, Princess Zelda's ghost inhabits a Phantom Guardian and aids Link in stopping Chancellor Cole and reviving herself. Meanwhile, Cole is using Zelda's body as a vessel to bring Malladus back to life. Link sets out to restore the Spirit Tracks &mdash; without the Tracks, Malladus can not be held down and will be brought back to life.

After reclaiming the last Rail Map, they are confronted by Byrne. Anjean appears in the nick of time, just as Byrne is about to eliminate Link, as well. Anjean explains that he is in fact her former apprentice and a Lokomo who had turned away from his duties. She warps Link and Zelda back to the entrance of the tower to restore the last of the Spirit Tracks while having an apparent battle with her former apprentice. Returning to the Tower after defeating the Fire Temple, they climb the Tower once again, confronting Byrne (who has apparently defeated Anjean). Overpowering him, they find that Cole has finished the process to make Zelda's body a vessel for Malladus. Byrne asks Malladus to grant him the power he always wanted, but Malladus attacks Byrne, nearly killing him, and then leaves with Cole on the Demon Train. Anjean arrives, apparently surviving her battle with Byrne. She explains that they must seek the Bow of Light, the only known weapon that can harm Malladus, which is in the Sand Temple.

With the newly acquired Bow of Light, Lokomo Sword (given to Link from Anjean) and Compass of Light (to help them find Malladus), the duo, along with Anjean and a knocked-out Byrne, set out to the Dark Realm to confront Malladus and Cole. Link fires a Light Arrow, purging Malladus from Zelda's body. As Malladus attempts to reenter the vessel, Byrne steps in the way of the magic attack, sacrificing himself for Zelda, allowing her to reclaim her body. With no other body available, Malladus takes residence within Cole's body, transforming him to a giant beast. Link distracts the beast long enough for Zelda to use her sacred power to identify its weak spot, and allowing Link and Zelda to defeat it with the Bow of Light and the Lokomo Sword. With Malladus defeated, Anjean reveals that since the world is now safe, the Lokomos, along with the newborn spirit of Byrne, will leave the world in the care of Zelda and Link. The two are met with a warm return back at Hyrule Castle, and depending on Link's choice from before the purging of Malladus, there are three possible endings.

4-Player Battle Mode
During the 2009 E3 interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, he was asked if there would be a 4-player battle mode, an idea that was scrapped from The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, something Miyamoto confirmed. Although he did not want to reveal too much information, he did state that when playing battle mode, the 2-4 players would play a game similar to tag, and that there would be no swords. 4-Player Battle Mode revolves around collecting Force Gems while dodging enemy attacks as well as the opposing players/team. While swords cannot be used, red Bomb Flowers can be used as a weapon.

Release
Spirit Tracks was released in North America on December 7, and in Europe on December 11; in Japan, the game was released on December 29 &mdash; marking one of the few times a Legend of Zelda game has been released outside of Japan before it was released in its country of origin. A special stylus for the Nintendo DS, shaped like a feather pen and stored within a Rupee-shaped container, was bundled together with the game or made available separately in certain regions. The feather pen design may have been inspired by the in-game graphic used whenever Link is swallowed by a Like Like, stunned, attacked by a Phantom Eye, or similar situations, when the players must rub the screen to free Link or the cursor used to draw the train's route on the rail maps.

Reception
Spirit Tracks has received generally positive reception, holding an average of 86% and 87% from Game Rankings and Metacritic, respectively. It was noted that Spirit Tracks had improved on all aspects of Phantom Hourglass. Most criticism of the game was directed at the repetitive train travel. Spirit Tracks received the "Best Handheld Game" award at Gamescom 2009. The game was also selected by IGN as their "Best of Gamescom 2009" winner for the Nintendo DS. Sales worldwide stand at 2.45 million units.

Videos
Video:Zelda Spirit Tracks Launch Trailer|Launch Trailer

Video:Zelda Spirit Tracks Opening|Spirit Tracks Opening

Video:Zelda Spirit Tracks Battle Mode|Four Player Battle