Zelda - Phantom Hourglass footage

[Warbie]

yay \o/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs-CB2iKz9E


Looks like it's controlled almost entirely by the stylus.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Looks a little counter-intuitive to me...

Once you get over the learning curve it'll probably be easier, but it still doesn't seem like an ideal control system just for moving around. The way he was using other things like weapons was cool though.

 

[Warbie]

Possibly. It could be that once you're familiar with the controls, going back to a more tradtional method would seem horribly clunky and cumbersome. Quite a few of my fave DS games are those controlled by the stylue alone.

Have faith in Nintendo, they very rarely **** things up.

 

[-Psy-]

It looks similar to Animal Crossing:WW in terms of controls. The graphics look really nice.

 

[Raxxman]

looks awesome.

Mind you Zelda is awesome

 

[VictimOfScience]

Yup, its entirely stylus controlled:

From IGN's recent review of the Japanese Demo (the full game goes on sale on Saturday in Japan those lucky bums):

This game is controlled exclusively via the stylus. You move Link and target enemies by pointing, and execute special attacks by sliding. Buttons are used for shortcuts, like toggling the map from the top screen to the bottom, although these can be performed with the stylus as well.

The Touch! Try! DS kiosks are programmed to make you stop touching and trying after just 10 minutes, so I was only able to sample the controls via just a few quick fights. I did manage to replay those 10 minutes over and over again, though, and have to admit that while initially skeptical, I've come to love controlling Link via this new control scheme. Combat is fast and fluid, with Link connecting attacks between different enemies. The stylus also seems to be better suited for some moves, like picking up and tossing objects.

What's really telling is that my impressions are so favorable even though I wasn't actually using the stylus. The retail kiosk I used was missing the stylus, so I had to use my pointer finger to play. Even though the screen was somewhat blocked off due to my fat finger, I was still having a blast just moving Link around and slashing at things. With a proper stylus in hand, the experience should be even better!

Nintendo seems to have embraced the stylus completely for this latest Zelda game, rather than going the safe route that most third parties take and offering the option for "standard" controls. As Link advances on his quest, the stylus should come even more into play, with the boomerang requiring that you draw a trajectory, and sailing requiring that you plot out paths on a map. And, of course, there's the ability to jot down memos on the map directly. This will presumably help out when dealing with a particularly tough dungeon.

In addition to the stylus controls, I was a bit worried about the downgrade in visuals from the GameCube to the DS. While the game doesn't have the clean visuals of a GameCube game, it does retain the overall look of its controversial predecessor. On top of some solid cel-shading, Nintendo has packed plenty of detail and animation into the visuals, and even managed to get 3D displaying on both screens during cinemas, a trick that only a few DS games have used so far.

Screenshots and online videos don't do the game justice. See it running live on the tiny DS screens, and you may have to look twice to convince yourself that this is a DS game.

It was tough to force myself away from the demo kiosk even after playing through the same area of the game multiple times. The wait for the Japanese version of Phantom Hourglass is just a few days, but it's going to be painful. You'll have to wait even longer for a true localized version, but we'll be sure and provide full impressions once we have the final import in our hands.

Source.

This is my most wanted DS game right now, along with Dragon Quest IX, Heroes of Mana, Professor Layton, FF: Tactics A2, and FF: Revenant Wings.

 

[Noobulon]

The control scheme looks great to me.
I imagine it will play like a cross between Zelda and Diablo. It's Zeldiablo. :smoking:


Also, Famitsu just gave it 10/10/9/10, so if there are any control issues I think they must be pretty damn minor.