Fortune tellers are often used as a way to point the Link in the right direction, such as in A Link to the Past, where the fortune teller will give Link a hint for his next objective — for a price, of course. But while the fortune teller in Phantom Hourglass points Link in the…
At the beginning of Phantom Hourglass, our hero Link wakes up on Mercay Island in the World of the Ocean King, where he encounters an old man named Oshus. Acting as a kindly mentor to the confused boy navigating a strange new land, Oshus presents Link with a simple sword and provides some rudimentary lessons…
Club Nintendo used to be the coolest thing ever. The system was simple: you would buy a game, redeem the points from said game, collect the points up, and then have an exclusive Nintendo reward sent straight to your house. Shipping was free (I remember this because I didn’t have a credit card), and in…
Exploring all of the strange and wonderful islands of Phantom Hourglass is one of the best parts of the game. (And there are many great parts. Deal with it, haters.) The game follows a reliable pattern: Link finds a sea chart, sets a course for one of the islands on said chart, and explores to…
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…
Link has had many fairy partners throughout the Zelda series, with people usually pointing out Navi and Tatl as prime examples. Oft-overlooked, however, is Ciela from Phantom Hourglass. It’s not uncommon for her to be forgotten amid the large cast of memorable Zelda companions, but out of all the fairies who have accompanied Link, I’ve…
Earlier this spring, I completed my first playthrough of Phantom Hourglass. While I have several fond memories of the game, there is a single character whose story has stuck with me longer than any of the others, though not for the reasons the game’s developers may have had in mind. I’m talking about the Old…
2007 was a nostalgic year for me. I was only in sixth grade, and I didn’t have to deal with stressful adult responsibilities. More importantly, it was also the year when Phantom Hourglass was officially released in North America. I remember how elated I was when I heard about a sequel to The Wind Waker,…
I don’t hear people talk about Phantom Hourglass very often, and even when they do, nobody ever seems to bring up the prologue. When I booted up the game for the first time, I had a huge grin on my face throughout the entire intro. It provides a brief synopsis of the events that took…
For most of the first arc of Phantom Hourglass, Link enjoys relatively smooth sailing through the Ocean King’s realm. There is the occasional monster that threatens Link, but with his expert use of a cannon and Linebeck’s sailing skills, these creatures are no match for our heroes. There is one threat, however, that plagues the…
Good news, everyone! The ZUBC is still alive! We’ve been away for a bit on account of I started my career back in August like an adult, but we’re back in the nick of time or something or whatever. Anyway, cue the shenanigans! If you found us through Apple/Google Podcasts, Spotify, or some other podcatcher,…
Within the Zelda series, Phantom Hourglass, the first outing on the DS, is probably one of the most overlooked. However, it has the distinguished position of being one of the few direct sequels. While all sequels hold the burden of innovating while keeping within the identity of its predecessors, direct sequels in an anthology series…
Linebeck’s Ship in Phantom Hourglass is a top-notch vehicle capable of bombing boulders, destroying enemies, and hiding people during unprovoked pirate attacks. The first time the ship is mentioned to us is by Oshus, who tells us that there is a port on the eastern side of the island where a sailor named Linebeck should…
“First, defeat the imprisoned Pols Voice. Last, the skeletal Stalfos…” This simple yet subtle line of dialogue still sends chills down my spine. The original Game Boy version of Link’s Awakening was my first Zelda game, but this puzzle in the Bottle Grotto dungeon perplexed me for several months. After nearly giving up on the…
One of The Wind Waker’s biggest charms is Tetra’s pirate crew. While Tetra herself is quite intimidating and acts like a true pirate, her crew lacks a lot of her competence and ends up being a great source of comedic relief. There is Gonzo, the giant teddy bear of a first mate whose intense loyalty…
