The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is an upcoming installment in The Legend of Zelda series. It is in development for the Nintendo DS. Details about the game were revealed by Satoru Iwata at the 2009 Game Developers Conference. It is scheduled for release in late 2009.

The basic premise of the game is travel by railroad; in the promotional video clip, Link is shown riding a cannon-mounted locomotive through various lands. Link is also seen controlling a sidekick character clad in armor similar to that of Phantoms in Phantom Hourglass. What role this new character has in the gameplay and story has yet to be revealed.

Gameplay
The game's graphical style is similar 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.

In the promotional video, Link is seen wielding an item resembling a pinwheel whose fan blades are similar to cloverleaves. It is shown to have a similar function to both the Gale Boomerang and the Deku Leaf, and it seems to be similar to a fan, as Link uses it to retrieve a key and flip over a large boss resembling a beetle. Also appearing is the Boomerang. The cannon on Link's locomotive is seen shooting Bombs.

Plot
The major plot details of Spirit Tracks remain at present officially unreleased. What gamers and analysts do know comes from the official trailer released on March 25, 2009. In the trailer, fans are shown Link traveling around a land that is now covered with train tracks, and Link is shown to be the conductor (or engineer) of the train seen in the trailer. Gamers are also shown what appears to be the halls of a castle (quite possibly a new incarnation of Hyrule Castle) and Link kneeling before Princess Zelda in what appears to be the throne room of the castle. When observed closely, one can see a large body of water (as well as a beach) at the very beginning of the trailer which Link passes while conducting a train, and later in the trailer, there appears to be a building that looks like a castle (possibly the aforementioned castle Princess Zelda is seen inside of) in the center of a large field which Link also passes on his train. Link is also shown working with a character greatly resembling one of the Phantom Guardians from Phantom Hourglass. Link is shown wearing his Hero's Clothes also later in the trailer, indicating that at some point in the game he changes his clothing to his usual Hero style. He is also shown fighting a beetle-like boss in what appears to be the middle of some kind of forest.

Given this evidence from the trailer, many similarities to Phantom Hourglass can be seen in both style and substance. While the official plot details for this game are currently unavailable, it is possible to generate ideas of what the game could possibly entail. Since the series was introduced to steam technology in Phantom Hourglass (i.e. the S.S. Linebeck) and Link is shown riding a train powered by steam, it is quite possible this game takes place following the events of Phantom Hourglass in the new land of Hyrule which Link and Tetra were seeking in Phantom Hourglass. This is supported by the similar appearance of the figure Link is shown controlling in the trailer (mirroring the style of a Phantom Guardian). Also, one of the safe zones like those that appear in the Temple of the Ocean King can be briefly seen in the trailer, suggesting that there will a dungeon where the player is timed, similar to the Temple of the Ocean King. Also, there is a sighting of a large body of water and a beach as Link passes on his train early in the trailer. This body of water could possibly feed into or in fact be the Great Sea. The land appears wide and open as though new, and the presence of a new castle with Princess Zelda inside the throne room supports the idea of the reestablishment of the Hyrulean monarchy. Further evidence is at 1:30 on the trailer; one can see what looks like Hyrule Castle in the distance. Just how the game's major story will unfold is for the moment unclear, but the game gives off strong indicators of a sequel to Phantom Hourglass.In gameplay,you can have a Phantom.You'll know what a phantom is if you played Phantom Hourglass.

Official Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH9yOh9dsy8