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[GOTY] Best Portable Game of 07: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Aaron Dunlap — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 13:16:00 -0600

Why It Won: Zelda games come around more frequently than Mario games and so aren't held to the same absurd scrutiny. In fact, after a lifetime of mostly-identical storylines (the princess is kidnapped, oh noes!) it wouldn't be altogether ridiculous to wonder when something new would come along for Link to do besides spend all day fishing, blowing into an ocarina, and looking for pieces of the much-elusive Tri-force. I'd all but discounted the series as an ad-tedium retread of the same concepts when The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass came along and I, feeling sorry for my oft-neglected DS, decided to give it a whirl.

Phantom Hourglass is refreshing on many counts. Rather than trying to transpose some pre-fab Zelda tale onto the DS and throwing in a few inane mini-games for the sake of utilizing the hardware's features (like nearly every Wii game being made still), Phantom Hourglass is built from the ground up for the DS and the dual-screen, touch-screen, and microphoney features are etched into the very fabric of the game. Though it may sound off-putting, the only way to control our cel-shaded Link is by dragging the stylus around the screen (no D-pad), the only way to skip through conversations is by tapping the screen (no face buttons), and except to activate them, every weapon and tool is exclusively controlled by the touchscreen. Need to extinguish a fire to continue through one of the countless labyrinthine temples, caves, and dungeons? Just it out? Need to send your boomerang on a serpentine course across the map to defeat baddies, break open some vases, and return their contents to you? Stay back where it's safe and draw a wiry course for the boomerang to follow. Need to remember the key to a puzzle, the best route through a maze, or the positions of hidden treasure chests? Just draw them on your map.

No element of this game feels shoe-horned in. The story is actually a bit engaging and not a repeat of the same thing we've been doing for 20 years now. There's no Ganondorf or Tri-Force or Epona or, hell, not even a Zelda. This straight-sequel to Wind Waker manages to be unique, fun, and simple at the same time. I was starting to think that there would never be a portable game that could hold my attention when I'm surrounded by high-definition consoles and crazy-huge gaming PCs, but here's The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass proving me wrong.

Why You May Disagree: The most common complaint I read from naysayers is that the lack of D-pad controls is a "slap in the face" to longtime Zelda fans. Others find the constant ocean-faring tedious. Others are afraid that playing a game with a cel-shaded protagonist will damage the delicate fabric holding their heterosexuality intact.

But We Say: Is the reason you liked previous Zelda games because of the immersive story and addictive gameplay, or because you move the character around by sliding your thumb around a plastic cross? The touchscreen control might look awkward at first, but it feels perfectly comfortable. Also, since every tool and weapon is controlled via the touchscreen it would become too confusing to constantly switch back and forth from the D-pad to the stylus. if you want to control a character with a D-pad, try playing any other video game ever made. The sea-travel can seem a bit monotonous, but there's usually something to do on the way, and there are ways around it.

Runner Up:

Contra 4: This was the first game in a long time to "feel" like a Contra game. The fast-paced shooter is one of the best portables released this year and deserves recognition, but the joy it takes in its difficulty makes it a game not for everyone, and besides taking advantage of both screens the only real reason for this game to be on the DS is because it would look ridiculous on any other platform. What the game needs is a boomerang you control by drawing its path with the stylus.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions: The PSP release of the nine-year-old PlayStation classic, FFT: War of the Lions is possibly the best RPG available on Sony's handheld and is an absolute requisite purchase if you owned and loved the original. However, this fresh version does feature some subtle changes that tend to annoy fans, including slower spell animations, adjusted dialogue (though we find this a plus), and the lack of online multiplayer. Considering the huge potential for online battles as opposed to just ad hoc (which requires two PSPs and two copies of the game), this is a significant drawback.

GB Review: Contra 4 (DS)

Eric Jonathan Smith — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 21:22:01 -0600

The same macho brutality and challenging gameplay you love.

Contra 4 delivers the classic tough-as-nails gaming experience that children of the 80's look back on fondly but will probably be too unforgiving for those weaned on more contemporary titles. Relentlessly challenging but immensely satisfying, Contra 4 will reward those willing to undertake its masochistic demands.

Click here for an explanation of our review and scoring format.

One look at the box art for Contra 4 sums up the entire experience: explosions, two guys (presumably) causing this mayhem, menacing alien eyes staring at the bare-chested duo, and above all of it, a banner declaring the series' 20th anniversary. Contra 4 is all of those things - one or two-player 2D side-scrolling, alien-blasting action that hearkens back to its two-decade old roots. Contra 4 is certainly a balls-to-the-walls experience and Konami would lead you to believe from reading the box that its appeal is largely due to the Contra series' moniker as the video game equivalent of S&M: testosterone manifested as a DS game card.

But a closer look reveals a different story. From the explosively cheesy cover art, to the back of the box bulleting the famous Contra "spread shot" as one of the game's features, to the intentionally pun-tastic throwback to old Konami instruction manuals from the 80's, one thing becomes clear: Contra 4's appeal comes not from its manhood-grabbing nature but because it pulls at those emotional strings that reside within the recesses of your nostalgia.

That said, this game was made for a very specific audience by members of that same group - players who grew up with Contra during its heyday in the late 80's/early 90's. From its explosions, spread shot, manly men, and ugly aliens, Contra 4 delivers that sadistic double punch to the gut that will cause some to reminisce and others to give up in frustration.

The premise of Contra is simple: shoot everything that moves and get out of the way of anything that doesn't; if you don't, one hit will kill you. This is the way it has been since the beginning and Contra 4 does little to mess with this basic formula. Contra 4 feels like a Contra game from the moment you pick it up. This may be a sigh of relief to some, as when it was announced that American developers WayForward were picking up the historically Japanese-developed franchise, longtime fans drew a cause for concern. It was all for naught. The game controls great (with the exception of the DS being perhaps a bit too confining during the game's intense combat for the more "grown-up" hands of its intended audience, though this hardware kink is no fault of WayForward's), looks great with its colorful 2D graphics and huge setpiece bosses, and even sounds great with throwbacks to days of old with familiar sound effects and musical cues. There is no doubt: WayForward has imbued the soul of Contra in Contra 4.

Not everything is the same. For one, the game is on DS, so that means two screens. The action happens on both the top and bottom screens of the DS, which is a lot of real estate to get used to. A grappling hook feature has been added that allows quick and easy transportation to the upper screen when necessary. However, when the initially unnatural screen layout is combined with the gap between the DS's two screens (the distance between of which the game actually compensates for) it can add to some cheap deaths.

And lives don't come cheap - the game varies them between 3 selectable difficulty levels: Easy with 10 extra, Normal with 5, and Hard with 3. Playing on Easy is tantamount to practice, since in that difficulty you are only able to access 7 of the game's 9 levels. Practice and memorization of enemy patterns will see the most dedicated players to the end of the Normal and Hard modes. No, the game is not forgiving and doesn't pretend to be. When you run out of lives you have a limited number of continues to try again. When you run out of those - you guessed it, you have to start again from the first stage. Players not versed in the mechanics of the age of Contra and its peers will likely not find this type of punishment the least bit rewarding. Those twenty-or-older-somethings that do recall this system are likely to smile at the same time they curse the enemy that just expired their last life.

Being the series' twentieth anniversary, Contra 4 packs in some sizeable bonus content. An unlockable Challenge mode will allow you to earn the NES versions of the original Contra and its sequel Super C, additional player characters, and more. A Contra Museum feature detailing the series' history is available from the outset.

The game's greatest asset is its unwillingness to change. It will never hold the player's hand with tutorials or allow 10 minutes to explain some overly melodramatic narrative. You will likely have to continue in the first stage; but with every death you will remember the alien scumbag that did it and blast him into oblivion your next attempt. That is how we used to do it in the old days and those who can relate will interpret this punishment as a lost pleasure.

Won runner up for GameBump's Best Portable Game of 2007