We recently got our hands on the final copy of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and the first hours have been a joyful treat, to say the least. It all begins as Link and Tetra (alongside the band of pirates) decide to check out the whereabouts of a famous Ghost Ship the wanders around the ocean. In a not so surprising turn of events, Tetra gets lost among the ghastly mist, and Link falls into the ocean without being able to save his friend. That's the introduction to this epic handheld adventure, and we're armed and ready to save Tetra and in the process, the world.

From the get go, you'll get the usual Zelda tutorial, where you will learn basic moves like moving, attacking with your sword, doing spin attacks and talking to people. This is standard Zelda stuff that's featured in every 3D Zelda game, and couldn't miss out being here. The difference is that these controls are actually new, and therefore deserve to have a tutorial explaining you what to do. Does this new control method work? It depends on whether or not you like trying new things, like this new input mode. It's an all-touch control scheme where you will simply point at the screen, and Link will follow. You swipe your stylus, and Link attack with his sword. Draw a full circle, and Link will unleash the one and only spin attack. The controls sound super easy, and they are. Animal Crossing: Wild World was a test drive at how well touch-only controls could work, and if Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is any indication, they've pretty much nailed it.

Graphically speaking, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is home to probably the most beautiful 3D graphics to ever grace the system. There are some great lookers already on the handheld, like Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, and Final Fantasy III -- but the development team created a solid graphics engine that's colorful, and clearly inspired by its console brother, The Wind Waker. Though this is a 3D game, the viewpoint is more like The Minish Cap's 3/4 overview, so don't expect to see a complete third person viewpoint.

The King of Red Lions is missing in action this time around, but you still have a trusty boat that will help you sail the seven seas. Captain Lineback, a key character in the story, will help you travel along the world, and thanks to the new touch-control interface, you now only need to draw your route and watch the boat go (this is a motorboat, so you don't depend on the wind anymore, woo-hoo!) and reach the next destination. Careful though, the seas are still as dangerous as ever, and you will still need to fight creatures like Octoroks (we missed you in Twilight Princess!) and other famous baddies from the Zelda universe.


The game looks gorgeous.

We got just in time to witness one of the big changes in the game, and that's the Temple of the Ocean King. This is the central dungeon that will be completed progressively throughout the game. The Phantom Hourglass is a key item here because you depend on it to continue your quest within the dungeon. Once the Hourglass is empty, so will your heart containers be. The dungeon serves as another tutorial where you will learn to appreciate the touch controls even more -- for instance -- now you can draw symbols and write any hint on your map for future references. It's quite handy, and we absolutely cannot imagine any future Zelda game without this feature.

It's only been a few hours since we started playing this gem, but we can already tell it's a product of highly professional game-making. Though we hope the adventure keeps the same pace and balance until the end, we have high hopes for what's sure to be one of the year's biggest adventures. Stay tuned for our full review coming soon, but in the meantime we'll grab our trusty stylus, and slash away until the very end.