Basics - The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Guide - IGN (2024)

Phantom Hourglass is far from a complicated game, but the entirety of it can be overwhelming if you haven't a strong grasp of the basics. You've got to crawl before you can run, flounder a bit before you can swim, and wield that stylus with conviction before you can do anything worthwhile here. Thankfully, we've created this section to help prod you along on your little adventure.

Overview

Little has changed over the decades of this long-standing series in terms of the overall premise and play style. True to its previous iterations, Phantom Hourglass embodies the familiarity of classic Zelda controls and gameplay while departing from the mainstay formulae with impressive new features that make this particular adventure both refreshing and enjoyable. It retains the colorful, cell-shaded flair of its big brother, Wind Waker, and introduces a new touch-based interaction system that may take some getting used to, especially if you're a hardened Zelda veteran.

Taking full advantage of the sensitive touch screen and functional stylus, the controls are linked almost exclusively to the stylus. Nearly everything you want Link to do—be it slash at enemies, talk to someone, pick up a pot, etc.—involves some tapping and dragging of the stylus across the bottom screen. In addition to performing standard movements and combat moves with the stylus, you can draw (much in the same manner as drawing in Pictochat) on the screen to solve puzzles or make notes. You won't be using the control pad for movement at all; rather, the control pad serves as a shortcut to the menu, map or items.

As a side note: if you treasure your DS, it would probably be a good idea to invest in a screen protector for this game. As gentle as you may think you will be, the DS may end up being a little scuffed up from overzealous scratching of the stylus while playing. Don't say we didn't warn you. 'Cause, you know, we did.

Now, let us further cut up this whole concept of touch-based gameplay into easier-to-swallow portions:

Go on, touch it.

And touch it you shall. Don't be shy. Take that stylus and bring it to the bottom screen. Your loyal fairy companion, Ciela, will act as the pointer for your stylus.

Movement

Wherever you want Link to move to on the screen, guide the pointer to that location and Link will go there. The farther away you point the stylus from him the faster he runs. Conversely, if you point just a few centimeters away from him Link will take his sweet time in a slow walk. If you want to keep Link moving in a certain direction, simply hold the stylus at the edge of the screen in that direction.

People Interaction

Whenever you see someone, you can strike up a conversation with them by hitting the person with the stylus. Advance the dialogue by tapping the bottom arrow in the dialogue bubble. Talk to people often! Some could reveal valuable information that may help you.

Environmental Interaction

Pots, barrels, sign posts, bushes, chickens, etc.—these are more than just mere objects for decorative intents. Most of these objects can be picked up and chucked away like bad meat. Tap on a pot, for example, to bring the pot over Link's head. Link will carry it around with him until you designate a location for him to throw it at. While holding heavier objects, Link's normally agile movements slow to a snail-like shuffle. When thrown, these objects break, often times freeing sweet goodies, such as Rupees and hearts. You never know what you might find hiding within these breakable objects. When you come up to tall grass or a sign post, swing your sword to cut it down for more possible goodies.

Drawing

With the DS as your canvas and the stylus as your brush, you draw things to solve riddles, jot notes, or just draw or write anything that will be of some help to you. Sometimes the Walkthrough will remind you to jot down some notes or mark a dot on the map to denote important locations, but beyond all that you should ultimately treat this interactable map as a notepad—an expensive one to be sure, but one that works well nonetheless.

Using items

Equippable items, such as the Boomerang for instance, and consumables, such as yellow potions, are stashed away in the Items menu located on the bottom right of the screen. You can either tap the menu button or use the nifty shortcut already assigned to the right D-pad button. Draw open this menu to select the item you would like to equip or use. The currently equipped item is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen. You can equip only one item at a time.

When it's ready to be used, simply tap the icon to have Link ready it, or press and hold the L or R shoulder button. If you use the latter method, you have to keep the button depressed right until the moment the item is actually used, or it will be put away by Link. The shortcuts come really handy when you find yourself in the thick of battle and need to access such weapons on the fly.

The Stylus Is Mightier Than The Sword

Among its other uses, the stylus also acts as Link's sword. Without it, you may as well doom him to an inescapable fate of countless deaths. Once in possession of a sword, you can simply point at the thing you want to die, and Link will lunge at it with full force. Link is quite the capable swordsman. As such, he has a number of different slicing and dicing moves he can unleash upon his foes.

Targeted Attack

Tap the sighted enemy to cause Link to immediately lurch forward and hack the threat asunder no matter where it is. Generally, this handy sword move is enough to fell most adversaries, but certain enemies may take a bit more cunning.

Slash Attack

Drag the stylus between Link and the enemy for a lethal slash attack. Similarly, slide the stylus toward the enemy for a thrust attack.

Spin Attack

Draw a full circle around Link in one quick movement for Link to execute a 360-degree spin slash. Any and all things standing in the way of this whirlwind of steel will be cut down with little resistance. This multi-target technique is useful for clearing multiple enemies at once.

Defense is the best offense

Or so they say. So, what of defense? How is Link to defend himself against the perils he faces at every moment? First, he would need a shield, which can easily be purchased from the shop in Mercay Island and later from the Goron village shop (if you need a replacement). In Phantom Hourglass, you don't need to manually command Link to raise his shield in defense. Rather the shield is automatically put to use when the sword is drawn, and Link will be able to repel weaker enemies should they bump into him and deflect some projectiles (only from the front). The defensive ability of the shield can be enhanced by collecting the required number of Wisdom Gems and infusing their power in the shield.

All Hands On Deck!

The game takes place both on land and on the high seas. Gameplay on these two different habitats calls for a different set of controls.

Ship Navigation

The good captain assigns you the simple task of navigating the ship. This can be done by just tracing a route from your ship's icon to a designated spot anywhere on the map and confirming the decision. The ship will power toward that spot on its own. Other than deciding its course, you can choose to stop and start the engine—and even jump! Yes, ladies and gentleman, Linebeck's lightweight vessel has the awesome ability to sail over Sea Traps and skip around on the water surface. When sailing, you must take into account that your proposed route will not calculate possible dangers, such as rocks, hostile enemies and other hindrances. Be sure to rotate the camera around so that you could always see ahead the ship and act accordingly.

Ship Extras

Beyond its simple navigation system, the craft was built to get a good handle on any situation. For instance, when you acquire a Cannon for your ship later on, you may eliminate threats as soon as they present themselves and tear down other obstacles. Other things you can acquire for the ship include a Salvage Arm, which enable you to become a true pirate and haul booty from the sea. For more ship-related fun, you can even outfit the ship with different Ship Parts to boost its vitality and sail the seas with style. Check up on the Appendix section for further details on that.

Salvaging Treasure

Later on when you acquire a Salvage Arm for your ship, you will be able to haul treasure up from the bottom of the sea. The entire process slightly imitates a crane type of game, in which you lower the Salvage Arm into the ocean to capture the buried prize. When this happens you assume total control over the Arm via a control panel that slides sideways for sideways movement and a lever that can be pulled up or down for speed control.

Just like anything else you control in this game, the Salvage Arm features its own health energy in the form of yellow diamonds. As you take nasty hits from underwater hazards, you lose one yellow diamond worth of durability. Loss of all the diamonds will render the Arm inoperative. Unlike Linebeck's ship, however, its health will not be replenished automatically. You must take the damaged Salvage Arm to the shipyard mechanic, who will gladly repair it for the price of 50 Rupees. Breaking the Arm to the point of malfunction, though, will cost you extra (100 Rupees). If you are not careful with the delicate equipment, salvage operations can quickly become a huge Rupee-sink (although with any success they will pay off in the end—and in double).

Other Stuff

Health

Your hero's current state of health is shown by a row of red hearts in the upper left corner of the screen. If any harm goes towards Link's way, varying damage will be caused, reducing his health. Avoid hazards, fight smart and keep Link at optimum strength by replenishing his health either by consuming a health potion or with hearts wrested from vanquished enemies, broken pots, etc. When you board Linebeck's floating vessel, it too features its own health, represented by a row of green hearts in the upper left corner when you're at sea.

Do not take the ship's health lightly, as incurring full damage will sink the ship and bring about the dreaded Game Over screen. Prevent this catastrophe by avoiding watery hazards, such as enemies, traps, tornadoes and hunks of rock. The boat's energy can be restored simply by either docking safely at a harbor or picking up hearts from defeated enemies.

Dungeons

A majority of the game revolves around venturing deep within Temples of Ultra Killer Super Saiyan Doom and cleansing them of the evil within. These dungeons of sorts follow a simple pattern of finding key after key to progress further into the dungeon, killing, finding a new item and then using said item to help you defeat the final boss of the dungeon. No sweat, right?

Map

The map will be an indispensable aid throughout your adventure. No longer will you need to find the dungeon maps prior; you will have the full layout of the territory already at your fingertips. Often times, you can even monitor enemy activity by watching the map. Truly it is too vital of a tool for any smart adventurer to be without. The only kinds of maps that do need finding are sea charts, which make the other quadrants of the vast ocean available to your sailing ways, and treasure maps, which reveal the locations of sunken treasures in the sea.

Multiplayer

This guide doesn't feature a thorough examination of Zelda's Multiplayer facet, but that shouldn't discourage you from testing its waters. To play Multiplayer, choose "Battle" on the main menu instead of "Adventure." Then simply link up with other players that have the game or via WiFi.