Battle Mode

''Take redirects here. For the minigame in Spirit Tracks, see Take 'Em All On!.''

, also known as Multiplayer, is a recurring game mode in. The choice menu appears automatically from starting to play. Battle Mode is played either in Tag Mode or Online Play. Online Play offers many choices concerning the opponent's skill level as well as the ability to play using Friend Codes. DS Download Play is also supported requiring only one gamepak and two DS systems. Results of a game played this way will not be saved.



Battle matches consist of 3 rounds. In each round, players will alternate between playing as Link to playing as a trio of Phantoms in one of the eight maps available. The clock is set for a round to last 60 seconds. However, power-ups exist to lengthen or shorten the time remaining. A round ends when Link is struck by a Phantom's sword. The final round is skipped if the player whose turn is to be Link has the highest score. If Link has the lesser score, the match will end if he gets a higher score.

While playing as Link, the player must turn as many Force Gems into his or her color as possible. Each player has a colored zone. Throwing a Force Gem onto the colored tiles changes its color.

While playing as Phantoms, block Link's paths to Force Gems.

In addition to colored zones, there are 'Safe Zones'. These are the same safe zones used in Adventure Mode. Phantoms can not see Link while he is in them. Throwing a colored Force Gem into a safe zone will change it back to Yellow.




 * Stats are assigned a letter grade and a point scale to each player. Stats also include records of Wins, Loses, and Ties.
 * At any time during a match, pressing X, Y, A, or B will send a Link emotion face to the other player. (Surprise, Happy, Angry)
 * Who gets to choose which of the eight Stages to play will be random.
 * After losing a match, a useful tip will appear on the status screen.
 * Link's manner face, next to the player name is an indication of how often a player drops out of battles. The more grim it is, the more the player drops out, most likely when a loss is imminent. Completing battles, the expression will become happier.
 * If Link scores many points he can move faster while holding a force gem. More points, more speed.

Force Gems
Phantoms cannot see Link while he is in a base or safe zone, but they can see the floating Force Gems. Only Link can move the force gems around. On the flip side; Link cannot see where any of the Phantoms are on the map unless a Force Gem is held up.

Color
The color of Force gems do not denote value. At the beginning of a battle, all Force Gems will be golden. Player 1 will have a red tunic and red safe zones. Player 2 will be assigned blue. Tossing a Force Gem into the blue safe zone will change its color to blue, regardless of its previous color.

It is helpful for players to take their opponent's Force Gem and throw them into their own safe zone to change it to their own color. Doing so will subtract points from their opponent's score to add to the player's.

Tossing Force Gems into safe zones will turn them gold again. This will subtract points from the player whose color was lost.

Size
There are three sizes:
 * Small: Worth only 1 point, can be quickly carried and tossed far.
 * Medium: Worth 5 points, can be carried at a modest speed and tossed a short distance.
 * Large: Worth 15 points, is very heavy and causes Link to walk slow; can be tossed very short distances.

Trading
By placing ship Parts or Treasure in Freedle's boxes, they can be swapped them with the opponent after the match is completed. This only works if both players have items in Freedle's box.

Big Plays
Big Plays are certain conditions that can be met during a match. Not all require a victory. Each time after getting 4 new Big Plays, Eddo's apprentice, Fuzo, on Cannon Island will have a new treasure chest as a prize -- always a Gold Ship Part. First, check the Postbox for a letter from Fuzo.


 * No Items – Win without using any power ups.
 * No Dribble – Win without dropping a Force Gems outside a base or safe zone.
 * Limit – Strike Link within the last 20 seconds of two rounds.
 * Solo – Strike Link in any one turn using only one Phantom.
 * Break – Break 10 or more of the opponent's power ups.
 * Take – Pick up 10 or more power ups.
 * Perfect Master – Complete "Perfect" and "Limit" in the same match.
 * Quick – Win a match, felling Link in the first 20 seconds of two turns.
 * Miracle – Win with a final score of 1-0.
 * Get Everything – Win, turning all the Force Gems your color.
 * Guardian – Win without letting the opponent score any points.
 * Perfect – Complete "Get Everything" and "Guardian" in the same match.
 * No Miss – Win without being taken down as Link.
 * Guardian King – Take Link down 3 times as the Phantoms.
 * Master – Complete "No Miss" and "Guardian King" (not Guardian, as the game erroneously states) in the same match.
 * Battle Master – Complete "Limit" and "Master" in the same match.

Power-ups
These appear in color orbs throughout the stage. A player's own power-ups will be their own color, and are obtained them by walking through the orb. Walking through the opponent's orb breaks it and denies them the opportunity to use it. Both players will be alerted when a power up is activated.


 * Strength Up: Available to Link and Phantoms. Enables Link to move faster with heavier Force Gems. Phantoms receive a larger sword.
 * Speed Up: Available to Link and Phantoms, Enables Link/Phantoms to move faster.
 * Clone: Available to Link and Phantoms. Creates a second Link, mimicking his movement to possibly send Phantoms away chasing it. Creates a fourth Phantom, making Link feel more caught than he may be.
 * Windwalls: Available to Phantoms, activates Windwalls, limiting Link's paths.
 * Shuffle: Available to Both, This will randomly scatter all Force Gems throughout the stage.
 * One Hit Immunity: Available to Link, Allows Link to be hit once without ending the round.
 * 30 seconds Added: Available to Link, Gives Link more time to collect Force Gems.
 * 30 seconds Subtracted: Available to Phantoms, opposite effect of above.

Battle mode in The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks takes on a very different form to its predecessor. Unlike Phantom Hourglass ' battle mode, up to four players play as differently colored Links all at the same time, albeit once again fully playable with only one game cart between them.

Force Gems
The win condition for the players is simple; to finish the timed match with more Force Gems than their opponents. In this version, however, Force Gems are plentiful, spawn randomly around the map, and are collected simply by Link touching them; similarly to Rupees in Adventure Mode. The amount of Force Gems that a player has collected are visible above their Link; even to other players.

Force Gems spawn on the map in random locations; often in groups of two or three, but always in denominations of one. The player can be damaged by a variety of means, however, and this will force them to drop a certain quantity of their Force Gems; encouraging players to endanger each other in order to keep their competitors down and ensure they end the match with the most Force Gems among them. Dropped Force Gems will often be of higher denominations.

Phantoms
Phantoms in Spirit Tracks ' Battle Mode operate almost identically to their Adventure Mode equivalents; walking along set routes until a player crosses their line of sight, at which point they start chasing them. Players targeted by Phantoms will hear the Phantoms' theme, and will have a purely visual Phantom Eye follow them. These can also be seen on the top-screen map, as well as by other players. Phantoms will spawn somewhat randomly across a few set locations, accompanied by a spawning animation that will give nearby players a grace period to steer clear of them. Phantom attacks are not fatal, and simply knock Force Gems out of the player. They will launch the player quite far, though, and will sometimes result in the player being flung into another hazard.

Phantoms have weaknesses, however. They cannot target players on different elevations to them; even players slightly above them on a set of stairs. They will attempt to attack targeted players on other elevations, but are physically unable to ascend or descend stairs, so will generally give up if the player cannot be reached by their sword.

If a Phantom gives up chasing a player, succeeds in hitting a player, has their patrol floor made unavailable (i.e. through rising lava blocking the floor), or falls into a trapdoor pit, they will despawn. They will attempt to respawn as soon as their predetermined random spawn points are available, which can often be almost immediate.

General Mechanics
Every stage will come standard with a variety of mechanics, all of which players can strategically use to their own advantage against other players.


 * Switches and Trapdoors - Every stage has hidden trapdoors, which can be activated by players using weighted switches. These can catch other players off-guard, destroy any Force Gems on top of the trapdoors, and briefly despawn Phantoms.
 * Bomb Flowers - Red Bomb Flowers can be found planted around stages. When picked up, they can be held indefinitely without exploding. When thrown, they leave behind damaging fire, creating further environmental hazards for other players.
 * Powerups - Occasionally, a powerup wheel will spawn on stages. Once touched, it will cycle through all the powerups and randomly give one to the player. These powerups can vary from positive for the player to detrimental to their competitors, to neutral for all in play. Taking damage while the wheel is cycling will cause it to disappear.
 * Thunder - This powerup darkens the stage and summons a ring of electricity around the player. Any players caught in the ring when the powerup's timer lapses will be electrocuted, dropping their Force Gems.
 * Invincibility - This powerup turns Link invincible for a brief time; granting him not only immunity to fire and Phantoms, but also making the player deal damage to others on contact. It does not, however, make the player immune to lava and bottomless pits. Damage in any form will deactivate the powerup.
 * Force Gems - This powerup comes in different forms, and will spawn Force Gems around the player's location; their size and quantity depending on the form of the powerup. While this benefits the player, it also presents a direct opportunity for any players nearby.
 * Trapdoors - This powerup will activate all of the stage's trapdoors at once, including some otherwise impossible to activate trapdoors.

Stages
Before a game begins, the players must pick a stage. Player one will always choose the first stage, but after that the player that has lost the previous match will get to choose the stage for the next.

Some levels vary their size and layout slightly depending on the amount of players in the game.
 * ST: - Perfect for beginners.
 * ST: - Watch out for the lava!
 * ST: - Slide along the floors!
 * ST: - Slide along the floors! This stage is for experts!
 * ST: - Watch out for the hot lava! This stage is for experts!
 * ST: - Watch for invisible foes! For advanced battlers.

Stage Specific Mechanics
Every stage has a unique size and layout, but some share certain mechanics like changing lava levels and slippery ice.


 * Rising Lava - Scorched Battlefield and Fire Arena both share lava as a hazard. This effectively acts as a bottomless pit that will occasionally cover certain parts of the level, harming players that cannot escape it and altering the spawning patterns of some Phantoms.
 * Ice - Frozen Plains and Icy Plains both share ice as a hazard. This is a basic hazard that hampers the movement of players by dramatically reducing the traction that Link has on the ground.
 * Invisible Floors - Shadow Stage features a blue floor that, when stepped on, turns Link invisible to other players; with only colored ripples left by their movement indicating their position to each other. Holding Bomb Flowers and depressing switches can also alert players to each others' locations.

Scoring
At the end of every match, game cart players will have their Force Gem total used to calculate their Rank Points, contributing to their competitive rank as in Phantom Hourglass. After this, the winner of the match will gain a point that indicates every player's placement in a session.