First unveiled at GDC '09 and due out later this year, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is enjoying a continued and healthy buzz here at E3 this year with its playable demo being present on the show floor. The line to play Zelda is estimated to take anywhere between thirty minutes to an hour, and after spending some hands-on time with the game it's easy to see why attendees are so worked up.

Visually the game appears just as it did when it was showed at GDC, but the demo gives a deeper look into the gameplay variety that Spirit Tracks is offering. Upon starting the demo, you're given the option to play through a dungeon, battle a boss, or to try out one of the train sections. As dungeons are the key to each Zelda experience, we chose that route first.

Progressing through the dungeon in the demo felt very familiar, as expected, but the inclusion of the Phantom Knight added a new twist to things. As you control Link, you're also able to send the Phantom around the area by tapping his move icon and dragging it to the desired location. You can send him to trigger switches, through fire, across lava, or to deal with enemies that Link isn't able to attack directly, such as electrified foes. In one portion of the dungeon Link even hops on top of the Phantom and uses him to cross a room where the floor is covered in lava.



The best puzzle in the demo involved using the Phantom directly. At one point Link needs to hit four switches in succession, but they are timed switches and there's not enough time to run around and hit all four. In fact, there's barely enough time to hit two before they reset. You also need to hit all four switches in a specific order. To get around this, Link must send the Phantom to two of the four switches (you can chain his movements similarly to tagging stuff with the boomerang in past Zelda games). Upon arriving to the first switch, the Phantom will strike it and then move to the next. Simultaneously Link is running between the two switches he is responsible for. Careful timing is needed to make sure all four switches are hit in the proper order and within the allotted time.

It was only fitting that after playing through the dungeon portion of the demo that we gave the boss a try. The boss was a large--or better said--humongous beetle with a weak point at its back. The weak point was protected by some sort of cloud, so it had to be blown away in order to deal damage. One of the game's new items includes a sort of fan that sends wind in the direction you aim using the touch screen. After dispelling the protective smoke, Link is able to strike the boss at his weak point. Do this three times and the boss will take his second form. We won't spoil the rest of the battle, but it was a fun boss fight overall.



The train portion of the demo introduces some of the puzzles and challenges that the game will throw at you while you are riding the tracks. Much like with the boat, Link will use the cannon that's mounted to the train to deal with enemies that get in the way. This is accomplished by tapping the touch screen where the cannon needs to be fired. The train differs from the boat because you're bound to a predefined track, but you do have the ability to control your speed, come to a full stop, or go in reverse if needed. During the action, the upper screen is used to display a layout of the track system. You will need to evaluate the map in the moments when you're given the opportunity to switch tracks or stay on the one you are currently riding. It's important to keep a heads up, because crashing into another train on the tracks ended the demo for us. We aren't sure if this will just restart the train portion in the game, or if it will have some other sort of consequence. Either way, crashing is bad. The train should be an upgrade over the boat, as it is more likely to provide additional puzzles and gameplay depth to Link's traveling around.

At this point it appears that Spirit Tracks is probably going to be a bit more original than some of the more recent Zelda adventures given the new train and Phantom Knight mechanics, but it doesn't aim to be breaking the familiar Zelda mold either. For fans of the series, this is more than likely welcome news. After trying each portion of the show's demo, we were left feeling a good sense of anticipation for The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.