E3 Disclaimer: AMN’s E3 previews are designed to inform you of what each game at E3 plays like, and what we think of what’s shown. These previews are not reviews, and we reserve final judgment of each game until it is finished and released. These previews offer an honest opinion of what a publisher chose to demo at E3. So, without further ado, read on.

---

What the Game’s About
When fans of the classic The Legend of Zelda discovered that the Nintendo DS iteration of the game, Phantom Hourglass, eschewed traditional Zelda controls in favor of a touchscreen-based experience there was much unrest in the kingdom. Worry not, as the new control scheme suits the adventure of Link just fine. In this thematic follow-up to Wind Waker, Link finds himself searching for the mystery behind the infamous Ghost Ship after his friend Tetra is abducted by the spiritual barge. In this year’s E3 demo players are greeted with the opening minutes of the title as Link seeks out a weapon and fights his way through a mysterious cave.

Controlling Link is easier than one would think. Our hero is accompanied by a fairy companion who appears on the touchscreen with Link. Tap the screen to position the fairy/pointer and Link will move to the designated spot. Tap a rock and he’ll lift it. Tap again on the screen to toss that rock in whichever direction one pleases. Once Link equips a sword he’s able to attack foes by either tapping them (for a quick stab) or drawing circles around the targets to activate a spinning slash attack. Link can even pull off a rolling somersault if one draws quick tiny circles near the edge of the screen. Other traditional Zelda maneuvers have been reinterpreted for touch controls, such as pushing or pulling large blocks and yanking ropes.

Of special note is the fact that players can scribble notes on the map screen. In fact, the demo recommends writing down the order that a series of ropes must be pulled. To sketch just tap the B button to bring the map screen from the top DS screen to the bottom screen and then just use the stylus to scratch out reminders. A tap of the B button sends the map back to the top for continued reference.

What's Hot
The touchscreen controls work much better than one might expect, as tapping out attacks and tracing routes is easy and quick. Phantom Hourglass has inherited the visual stylings of Wind Waker, adorable character facial expressions and all. Although just a basic tutorial demo, the finished product has great promise.

What's Not
On the other hand, the demo does have a weak spot or two. We spent far too long wandering around the island village in search of a sword. It was obvious that it was locked away in the village storehouse, but inspecting the locked gate blocking entry asks players to get permission from the local elder in order to go inside. Consulting the elder is useless, and it was quite some time before we stumbled upon the solution to the puzzle. Without giving too much away, the answer involves going against instructions. Unfortunately, there were no clues in the demo that we found that hinted in that direction. Furthermore, Wind Waker’s lush fluid animation doesn’t scale down so well to the DS. In close-ups, characters appear very fuzzy in some places and quite jagged in others.

Outlook
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is on track for a release later this year, and from the look of things there’s another fun puzzler of an adventure in store for the fans. While a dungeon was not available for play today, Nintendo has revealed additional gameplay mechanics involving the drawing of tightropes and aiming boomerangs with the touchscreen. While the demo was underwhelming, it’s easy to see where a larger, more substantial experience awaits.