Spirit Tracks is STILL Worth Playing in 2023! (And Perhaps 2024!) | FULL GAME REVIEW
Vložit
- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- Aight, look, this video took forever and there's a couple errors I may have made here and there (one being that some of the sections I wrote more like walkthroughs rather than a review on accident), but bear with me please lol.
I recently had the pleasure of replaying BOTH Phantom Hourglass AND Spirit Tracks after YEARS, and was very impressed by how well Spirit Tracks, in particular, aged! So, is Spirit Tracks worth your time after all these years? Watch and find out!
Hope you enjoy the video, and if you do, hopefully you subscribe!
00:00 - 00:26 Intro
00:27 - 00:58 Story Recap
00:59 - 03:47 Tower of Spirits
03:48 - 07:45 Overworld/Writing
07:46 - 09:34 Spirit Flute/Map Screen
09:35 - 10:27 Forest Temple
10:28 - 11:48 Snow Temple
11:49 - 13:59 Ocean Temple
14:00 - 16:03 Fire Temple
16:04 - 18:43 Sand Temple
18:44 - 20:25 Dark Realm/Final Boss
20:26 - 22:02 Conclusion - Hry
Next person that feels the need to comment about ST Link not being related to WW Link DEFINITELY hates puppies and kittens.
This entire video has to be the single hardest cope I've seen since modern pokemon fans.
I mean he technically is though isn't he? Isn't he a descendent of Wind Waker/Hourglass Link?
So you prefer insinuating incest than admitting you were wrong that ONE time ?
Sure, I was wrong, but even if I admit that and pin the comment, you assume that 90% of people online know how to read and still won’t comment the same shit.
@@moemuxhagi welcome to the late 19th century
/j
Spirit Tracks gets left behind in too many Zelda discussions. It is a complete 'hidden' gem and it's easy to pick out people who have never given it a chance. It has some of the best zelda music imo, a creative story, Zelda has a massive personality AND She adventures WITH us. I could go on ~ Thanks for giving it the recognition it honestly deserves :)
Exactly i know so many theorists that havent really played spirit tracks and its so sad
Spirit Tracks IS my childhood. My first Zelda game, and one hell of a gold standard at that.
Saying it is a candidate for best Zelda game of all time (what the video maker said) is a bit much 😂 no game that uses these silly touchscreen controls ever could be but then Phantom Hourglass was better than I expected and ST might be too(haven't played it yet but am about to) but there's no way it could be "best Zelda of all time" when things like MM, Ocarina, Link to the Past, and Wind Waker all exist
@gokublack8342 it’s definitely not the best, but it’s solid for sure. If you liked PH you’ll probably like this game even more!
Phantom Hourglass was my first Zelda game, and my third game period. I want to play both games again.
Millenial here. So jealous.
phantom hourglass was my first, and spirit tracks 2nd. Loved them so much
I never understood why people hate spirit tracks, it was awesome!
Because link gets a train. Why does ign hate sonic unleashed? It did something different.
@@FanaticChain I was lucky that this and ph were the first Zelda games I ever played so I didn’t know the characters and i LOVE them like that I actually prefer this over ocarina of time link and Zelda
Duets game expects you to be a musician
Wait, I’m not the only one who puts ST in their top 5 Zelda games?!
Anyway, great video! You summed up the game’s strengths and weaknesses very well.
You’re not alone!! It’s in mine too! It was my first Zelda game!
Spirit tracks is highly underated. It was the first legend of zelda game I ever played, and while it does have its slip ups, its still one of my favourite zelda games of all time
How does this video only have 6 views? This is a really well put together review. I am one of the unlucky souls who has tried to 100% spirit tracks and its awful if you go for all trains. The bow of light is also only relevant for plot stuff lol.
Not as bad as getting all ship parts for phantom hourglass :0
I remember specifically doing ship parts as a kid and it was MISERABLE lol
this is one of my favorite games and theres no way in hell im going for all the train parts lmaoo
I knew I wasn't that great at exploring, but I never realized just how bad I was. The first time I beat Spirit Tracks I had:
Starting 4 heart train
1 row of hearts
None of the swordsman books
Enough stamps to get a shield from Niko
And somehow, I got to the final phase of the Malladus boss fight, first try. It took like an hour thanks to Malladus phase two (or the part where he spits fireballs).
And then I beat Malladus in like 10 minutes after a second try.
I like the game because it is easy.
I’m so happy there are still people who really love these 2 games. Some of my favorite games of all time.
This person speaks nothing but the truth. This was my first Zelda game, such an experience.
I totally understand the dullness and how stretched out the overworld travels felt, but to be honest in my case, I didn't really mind it (except for the combat, very annoying) because the main theme with the flute was so pleasant to hear, I never got tired of it.
I see a LOT of people saying Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass were the worst games, but I never understood that. I always had a lot of fun playing these games on my old DS. Love the video btw:)
The fact that i'm doing a zelda marathon on twitch and i'm almost done with phantom hourglass and ready to jump to spirit tracks and I come across this video, makes me really excited for when i play spirit tracks:)
Great review! You were able to fit more thoughtful critique into 20-some minutes than some of those multi-hour video game essays. I really think Spirit Tracks is a unique unsung hero in the Zelda series...but unfortunately I'm SO bad at playing the flute that I can never go back to it.
I think both the DS Zelda games are very underrated. Most people barely mention them in discussions of entries in the series, but they are both pretty high up on my list.
also the character writing in spirit tracks , has to be one of the best , every character had their own special personalities and the zelink interactions were the best we've seen in any other zelda game
I remember I would play both Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks a ton when I was younger. But I would just replay the first sections of each bc i wasn't smart enough to beat the game at like.. 6. Flash forward 12 years later I finally sat down to complete Spirit Tracks last Decemeber. And man was it worth it. I played it nonstop for 4 days and I had a great time. Spirit Tracks Zelda is definitely my favorite reincarnation with how silly and witty she is. With its silly moments it had its emotional moments for me too, like Byrne's sacrifice. I think my main issue with Spirit Tracks was the pan flute sections. I had to retry playing the same song over and over again to where it was really frustrating. But really other than that it is a fantastic game. Def in my top 3 zelda games!! I really enjoyed this video and that there has been less DS Zelda slander over the years.
the jump in dificulty is what i rly loved about the last section, it truly felt like a final should feel, it made it memorable
Don't forget the intensive overworld Mini Boss encounters.
Like the Trains when first inteoduced.
Or what about the Rocktite the Gohma like creature.
I know I was scared abd psniced the first time it appeared and whenever I travel through the area it was in I still get a feeling of uneasyness as if I haven't defeated it.
Your comment brings back a ton of memories!!!!
Wow! That video quality it is *Chef's kiss* it looks so smooth!
bro, this game and phantom hourglass and New Super Mario Bros. are so underrated these games were so fun back in the day 😅
Finally some Spirit Tracks love
So refreshing to see a proper review of this game. Most people just brung it up as a side note like they can't even be bothered...
not enough Spirit Tracks retrospectives on this site. Good video.
Man did I put hours in this game back then. I remember grinding the gold parts for the train. I miss the ds games hope nintendo makes a home console again and another ds system.
One thing to know is that if you use the whistle while having the tears of light from the demon realm you actually go a lot faster
The game's many side quests are what justify revisiting locations, the side quest rewards are literally MORE content, mini dungeons, literally a pocket temple of the ocean king etc.
Seeing how much you liked it while also seemingly missing A TON of things I consider as important within the game's design goes to show how solid it is.
Completing the same floors in the Temple of the Ocean King is not an annoyance. In fact, that repetition is what makes it fun.
The point of the Temple of the Ocean King is to speedrun it. You must design a route that is as optimal as you can find and draw it out on your map. Draw out the route, where to nap yellow vases (you have a lot of options if you use your boomerang to get them), when to take which key blocks to where, etc.
When I played this game I ended up with a large collection of notes that allowed me to breeze through the dungeon with ease and great times. I did not even need the Phantom killing sword to feel powerful, as I could make the Phantoms look like complete fools already thanks to pure strategy.
Favorite zelda Game, closely tied with Skyward Sword. Fun characters, the best zelda OST, and the fact that zelda is a fully fleshed out character instead of a simple plot device make this game a masterpiece. Might be slightly biased with nostalgia, but aren’t we all?
Me who sees the tier list and sees minish cap at trash: cries.
I'm just joking, this video is really good and I like your style. I'm gonna watch your game playlists very soon!
Spirit tracks, after minish cap, is my favorite zelda game of all time. Such an underrated masterpiece.
Spirit Tracks is a good game and introduced some cool concepts, but I think the fact that it came right after Phantom Hourglass hurts it a little since Phantom Hourglass is just better imo
Broooo the Sand Temple Boss was my favorite fight in the game 😭😭😭
hey you did a very good job with this format!
Great review, thank you! Keep it up 😊
Spirit tracks is an underated game
Great Review! Very well made!
I love this game so much, definitely one of my favorite Zeldas. This was a fantastic review! Great job!
God tier game. Bought it a few years ago after remembering the fond memories I had with Phantom Hourglass. I love this sweet little game. The music when you're riding the train is the best.
Is Spirit Tracks actually a sequel to Phantom Hourglass though? Aren't the Zeldas in these games two different people? I thought that only this game and Wind Waker were connected?
Spirit tracks is a sequel in the sense that the characters are directly related to the PH and WW characters! Similar to how Majora's Mask is a sequel even though all of the characters besides Link are from Termina
Spirit tracks takes place 100 years after PH with Zelda being a descendent of PH's Zelda, and characters like Linebeck are shown to have direct descendents too
@@Marigold11037 Ah that makes sense, especially with Linebeck's descendant. Thanks for the info.
Great video, you deserve more subs the editing and production is very good
First, I *adore* what I swear is a faint country accent I hear, but I'm actually here fresh from PBG's at the time latest video, (Wind Waker) and I admit- While I'll likely never grow tired of Zelda content I grow weary of the same 3D Zeldas being covered as it's not like there really is any bad ones. You can find someone presenting valid good points for any of them.
I actually keep forgetting the DS ones existed that were a great time of my past. Spirit Tracks really does have what I'm sure is among the most complex "puzzles" in the series mainly in the Tower of Spirits, as well as some of the most fun Bosses that actually can present a challenge specifically because the DS Zeldas are right in between what I consider "True 3D Zelda" and "Top Down Zelda." As for items as you mentioned of the Whirlwind, sure there are a lot of wind archetypes items in the series, but it's the order of the items you get staples or not that can affect things. You're using the Whirlwind for alternate means to progress until you get the dungeon's item proper, the last dungeon's item is a more inefficient tool that can still fill certain shared roles keeping it relevant, and keeping my disbelief suspended. This isn't exclusive to Spirit Tracks of course, but it feels you're getting the most out of each item until you're hard walled by something you need the next item for.
And YES. This game does have it's flaws. As weird as it sounds I wish it's elements were remade into a "True 3D Zelda" but I understand some things can only work because the perspective we got. Constraints bring out creativity. If you truly love something though you can point out it's flaws leading to ways you can make something you love even better in the future.
Even if this isn't your thing for the amount of subs or reception you may have now, I at least would like to see more videos like this from yourself. I really enjoyed it.
dang as i saw the thumbnail i thought this would be a video with maybe 100k views or sum but well that surprised me. Youre underrated, keep up the goated work!
I feel like you gave Spirit tracks a very fair rating- as well as the rating it deserves! Sure, it has its bad moments, but I can’t remember a Zelda game that has introduced so many new mechanics to the franchise, aside from perhaps TotK with the Ultrahand ability.
I have to agree. I love these games and they don't get the love they deserve❤️❤️ thank you for the video, it's nice to know people still love them like me ❤️
Really love the video man, keep it up!
I played the game and phantom hourglass, it's very worth it
One of my faves!! Glad others like it too.
This was always my favourite Zelda game as a kid
Great video!! Absolutely underrated!
Playing ST right now. Just amazing
I’m here before you gain 1k followers. I love these videos! So we’ll done!!
popped up in my recommended. keep up the amazing content i’m sure you’re gonna get big because your content is rlly good
Thank you!
While this game doesn’t have my FAVORITE gameplay style of any Zelda, by any means, it really does have one of my favorite vibes. It has almost a slight Native American feel to it, and it blends SO well with the Zelda universe
i really wanna play this one, it's one of the reasons why im trying to get a 3ds
also, you are underrated as hell. i thought you had at least 1k when i saw this video
Really great! Earned yourself a new sub
Awesome Video Bro! I've already beated the game and I loved it.
Valid af and enjoyable video
Really happy to see that one of my favorite game of all time is finally getting the praise it deserved :)
Spirit Tracks was my first ever Zelda game, and is still my favorite (I haven't played a lot of them, I'll give you that lol). I feel sad seeing it being so underappreciated, sometimes overhated too. Thanks for this video man, it was great.
That soundtrack tho?
Gad DAMN.
YEEEEEEEEA BUDDY WE LOVE TO SEE SPIRIT TRACKS 👏👏👏👏👏
Spirit Tracks was my first zelda game and i absolutely loved it. Its so underrated
I whole heartedly believe this game has the best Zelda of the franchise in terms of story and character development.
Until Breath Of The Wild, she was the Zelda that grew the most into a personality and such. So I, might have problems with the game, the story with Zelda is definitely worth the time to play. Or watch.
Fantastic 🎉
fuck i almost forgot about it, played it on my 2ds on car rides!
I was just thinking about this game and the good times I had with it. This game rocks!
Your footage looks clean
Literally 100% it again this summer, it's a cool game !
Amazing main theme
thank you for talking about this game. its one of my favorite zeldas :) i always thought its way to underated and overlooked
No problem! It was an absolute blast playing through it again after all these years, and felt like it was better than people gave it credit for!
20k views congrats
I absolutely would not recommend COMPLETING Spirit Tracks in 2022 but the main adventure is pleasant enough! So much of the side content consists of way too much back and forth on the train when there's already enough of that in the main quest, though.
These two zelda games along with many other made my childhood so great! remember even my sister playing phantom hourglass and me eventually helping her with the puzzles even though i was younger lol great times!!
I feel like this game’s story is filled with missed potential. As is, it’s pretty cool, with a new villain, a twist hero named Byrne (one of my favorite Zelda characters who desperately deserves more screen time), a futuristic setting from Windwaker, Zelda as your ghost sidekick, and a new species called Locomo helping you! However, even though there is all of this cool stuff the game has going for it, I feel like this game is chalked full of missed potential.
See, this is a NEW Hyrule, the world that Tetra and Link set off to find from Windwaker and break new ground and chatter tradition and they just simply turn it into Hyrule again, but this time they added trains. The trains seem like a really cool twist to the Zelda world, however, they don’t do nearly as much with them. The entire world of Zelda has been INDUSTRIALIZED!! Remember back when Great Britain was facing the industrial revolution and trains were part of that major historical moment? Here, the trains just exist and they are pretty cool… That’s lame! The entire kingdom has been transformed and they don’t do much storytelling with it! I also think they could have gone further as a sequel to Windwaker. Besides Linebeck III and a few other descendants, the game fails to really continue the story of all pre-established characters. I mean, the game didn’t really need to because everything felt so conclusive after Windwaker and the side characters didn’t matter that much, but axing them entirely just kinda goes to show that this game doesn’t care for Windwaker’s story and world as much even though it’s building off of Windwaker.
The dungeons are an improvement from Phantom Hourglass, with that ice dungeon being a particular highlight, but that’s more of an exception than the standard unfortunately because most dungeons are on par with Phantom Hourglass. That’s a shame because most of Phantom Hourglass’ dungeons were so forgettable. It started off so strong, with the first dungeon being a good introduction and then the ice dungeon, but then that’s where the dungeons peak.
The new train mechanic brings some impressive visuals for the DS, but is very repetitive and dull, to the point where I wouldn’t even dare trying to 100% this game! Sure, there are genuinely cool points where you draw stuff on your rail map and you use that to solve overworld puzzles, shooting enemies is pretty fun, and strategically dodging demon trains, but for the most part, train driving is so bland and should have been much faster.
On the topic of 100%ing the game, the game is complete agony to 100% because of the same missions over and over again, like following traffic laws for passengers, catching bunnies, and delivering items fast enough.
The random collectable items are not nearly as well implemented as they were in Phantom Hourglass and ended up barely having anything by the end of the game.
I’d hate to be a downer, but these are some big problems I have that I feel not many address. I do like this game, but it’s a little weaker compared to other Zelda games. I certainly prefer Phantom Hourglass, with its more standard story.
To end on a positive note let me list everything I love about this game! The music, which is actually one of the best in any Zelda game. The gorgeous DS visuals. The great new characters. Highlights include Zelda, Byrne, Cole, and Anjean. The creative concept. Some of the cleaver puzzles. The amazing bosses and one of the greatest final bosses in any Zelda game!
7:24 Had me laughing for so long 😂
Yeah I played phantom hourglass and spirit tracks both in 2023
Woah wtf why do you only have 175 subs bro with this content I thought I was watching someone with at least 500k subs
My first zelda game!
i remember playing this game when it first came out, easy, had no trouble finishing it (several times) but it was a fun game. now more than 10yrs later i randomly felt like playing it again and it was as if i had never even played a single ds game, i felt so old
this video aged well so far
I absolutely love the chemistry between link and Zelda, and this is also such a great link. I remember playing this in my childhood so I replayed it recently and just have to say- I absolutely hate the controls… maybe I’m overreacting but Id rather put it in a solid A tier, simply because of the controls… But the story and soundtrack and (trains) are 👌 but don’t take my word on the controls, I probably don’t have a valid opinion since I loved the SS controls 😭
Don’t feel bad, I play platformers on a Hitbox arcade stick 😂
the first zelda game i ever beat… :)
From one guy with a country accent to another: great job!
This is a very good video
spirit tracks is SUCH a good story. the bond between zelda and link is so tight and we get to see zelda do so much more than we see in other games and interact with her much more. made me so happy.
I had both games , both are good 👍
I would love it if Nintendo remade these games for modern consoles, made them run in the Windwaker engine for the HD remaster, and redid the dungeons to work in a 3d space, well, like Windwaker.
Absolutely! Although i’m not sure how they would approach the touch control features for items like the boomerang… maybe gyro would be cool!
@@GameChatYT It's modern Nintendo, there would be hella gyro.
Bless the algorithm for showing me this video by a smaller Creator because I've always said that Phantom hourglass is a huge disappointment but Spirit tracks is great
My Favorite Zelda for ever
This game has the best Link and Zelda relationship ♥️♥️
And the whips desighn looks great an unique even within Zelda games.
Just look at that snake
I miss playing spirit tracks it was my first zelda game, sadly I can't get an emulator to work well yet, but one day I will play it again
Sick review, but i cant accept ST Link being the Grandson of Wind Waker link cuz i dont want the Royal family tree to be a circle
I loved the DS Zelda games
Sorry, just the flute minigame made it a extreme pain.
Liked your review quite some, wish you would do more of'em when I see your list of zelda game rankings.
Like knowing why LA is "only" an A tier rank and not a A+ for example.
Wished you had talked more about the story and symbolism, and also the chemistry between Link and Zelda which for once felt actually important directly, which imo even Skyward Sword was not getting close at, despite Skyward Sword implying of them being the ancestors of the land of hyrule.
Or named your favorite songs out of the OST, which for me was the overworld theme and the final boss one, with Byrne's theme being close in third place.
Otherwise I agree that this game feels like it has some "leftover ideas" that were not being used for Phantom Hourglass to it. Like I wish you had two types of travels, one on foot and the other on rails so that the Spirit Track theme would not hinder people to enjoy it for what it is. Also I agree on the part that there should have been at least one other boss that is rail focused, like the magma boss breaking out or the ice temple boss spiting fire and ice around on the worldmap, but I guess the devs wanted to take the dungeon items to good use for the boss themselves which is why such feature was only used in the finale.
I also feel like this game gets too much negativity from Zeldafans in general because of the locomotive gimmick, and while I get the issue I don't think it ruins the game. What rather does or at least it makes parts of the game felt lacking is the lack of sidequests or lack of backtracking, which SHOULD be a positive but as you said yourself there was to little about it.
Also there was a postgame dungeon with Dark Link as the secret boss of the game in Hyrule town so.. wished you had mentioned that too.
I always loved Spirit tracks as a kid but only recently played Phantom Hourglass on a 3ds, which... didn't go great. The game was pretty good but the microphone sections just barely functioned on the 3ds.
I had to put my 3ds on my piano and just play as hard as I could just to blow on something because actually blowing didn't work anymore. (my bet is that they used some background noise cancelling to make actual microphone use better but in turn made "blow into the mic" games extremely difficult)
This is a case of the Zelda cycle. When games in the series are universally not quite as loved as the others, they eventually become a trendy pick for most underrated. Happened to majoras, then links awakening, then skyward sword, now these games.
What a great video!
But Lad Breath of the Wild not on S is a Crime!
Im still by the fire music guy since 6 years now he always says I’m improvising but I’m just better
00:32 oof!
please, don’t say it’s WW Link’s grandson. Zelda’s relation to Tetra is confirmed but Link’s isn’t. There’s many theories, but nothing is canon. We can just speculate. :)
Other than that, a really good video. I agree that the whip was a downgrade from the grappling hook, and i loved the shovel in PH.
ST is my top 1 Zelda game, and I see its downgrades in a slightly different way. The fact that certain things make it feel like a chore rather than fun, to me make this Link different from the others, he’s an engineer. It’s not an adventure, it’s his job. :)
Thanks for the video!
I played both DS zelda games as a kid but i only beat them in my highschool years. Couldn't stop time for the final boss in PH and someone deleted my end game save in ST