The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Announced on March 23rd, 2006 at the Game Developer's Conference, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is the first Legend of Zelda game for the Nintendo DS. More information was scheduled to be released at E3.

At E3 2006 it was confirmed to be a sequel to The Wind Waker.

The development team for Phantom Hourglass has many returning developers from Four Swords Adventures, many of whom, in turn, were close to A Link to the Past.

Graphics
The games graphics are done in the style of The Wind Waker. However, the majority of the scenes in the trailer show Link using a top down perspective similar to past 2D Zelda games.



Gameplay
As mentioned before, the trailer shows traditional gameplay in the style of The Wind Waker. Link is shown in a field, in a dungeon, on a ship, and battling an octorok. Along with the octorok, the familar moblin and a fairy make appearances.

Story
Tetra (who was revealed as a member of the Hylian Royal Family in the previous game) is lost at sea. Link goes off to try and find her but ends up lost in a storm and shipwrecked on a new region of islands. Link is said to have very limited time for some unknown reason, and guided by a fairy sets off in search of the Phantom Hourglass which can give him enough time to save Tetra, this might remind a bit of Majora's Mask.

Multiplayer
In the multiplayer mode of Phantom Hourglass, players will take turns playing as three Phantom Guards (defense) and Link (offense). The goal is to collect more force gems than the opponent. When a Phantom Guard hits Link, the turn is over and the players switch sides. The multiplayer mode is only for two players, and an online option has not been announced.