Look, Phantom Hourglass gets a lot of hate for literally no reason. I will argue until the day I die that Phantom Hourglass is an incredible, completely flawless game. Seriously, it’s flawless. Except for the Ocean King segments, and the controls, and — well, a few other things. Look, I understand the criticisms, I just don’t agree. However, one thing that actually is flawless is the amazing, cartoony art style.
Phantom Hourglass is the middle panel in a triptych of games that all feature the same cel-shaded art style, the other two being The Wind Waker and Spirit Tracks. I have always loved this kind of style, as it reminds me of cartoons like Popeye and Steamboat Willie. I’m not entirely sure why, since it doesn’t really look that way, but something about how exaggerated the character features are gives me pangs of nostalgia for that wacky animation. That’s why this piece called “Zelda: The WindWacky” by ThemRock caught my attention.
Let’s talk about the characters here for a second. This art style lends itself so well to exaggerated facial expressions and interesting characterizations. Linebeck’s face is perfect, with an “aw, shucks” look that encapsulates his character so well. He’s yanked a treasure map from Link, who has obviously gone through some stuff in order to get it for him. Even though she doesn’t have a face, you can tell that Ciela is furious at Linebeck, who just says “Well, what can ya do?”
Exaggeration is a key component to this art style. In order to show Link has undergone some sort of travail, he is covered in Morths. Different styles would just leave it at that, maybe with Link looking exhausted or just lying on the ground. But to fit with the style presented here, his eyes bug out, the pupils resize, the irises change color, and he goes cross-eyed. It’s an animation in a single frame. You can easily visualize how this could be part of a storyboard.
Ciela is another great example of exaggeration here. She is a fairy, so she’s just a glowing sphere with no visible face. However, by squishing her to an oval shape and putting angry puffs above her head, her great frustration with Linebeck is made obvious. You can see how these two characters interact in an instant. The trail of circles behind Ciela are such a great touch to this piece. She has no corporeal form and is floating in the air, but she still kicked up a bunch of dirt as she tore over to Linebeck to scold him. Hilarious.
I just love everything about this piece. The clothes look so good, like they’ve been worn in and fit the characters properly. The small facial expressions from the Morths are just *chef’s kiss*. Linebeck’s and Link’s fingers have that Ren and Stimpy boneless look that really drives home all the other cartoony aspects.
If you like ThemRock’s art, you can check out their DeviantArt profile, which is filled with all sorts of great artwork in this style.
Phantom Hourglass is 15 years old on June 23, 2022! We’re celebrating with dedicated articles all week.
