New Features For Legend of Zelda

Nintendo promises a lot of new features for the latest Zelda DS game

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks sets hero Link on a new adventure and provides players with a new story, more puzzles and even a new mode of transport. In this game, Link voyages by train, which offers up new possibilities for problem-solving.

While navigating dungeons, Link is accompanied by a new companion, the Phantom, a hulking suit of armour that responds to his commands. Players can tap the Phantom to take command of him, then draw a line on the Touch Screen to direct him where to go. The stout Phantom can walk through fire or lava, be used as a platform to carry Link above dangers, or even run interference to block Link from harm.

When Link conducts the train, players get a combination of action and real-time puzzle solving as they determine which track to take and how to best manipulate their speed. When on the train, Link must plot the best route to the end of the line around ever-moving obstacles. While en route, Link might need to fire an onboard cannon at enemies who attack the train or sound the whistle to scare animals off the tracks.

Other key new features in The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks include:

  • Play the Spirit Pipes: Playing the Spirit Pipes takes advantage of the special features of your Nintendo DS. Just use the stylus to move the pipes from left to right and blow in the microphone to play a note just as you would in real life.
  • Link gets cracking: Used by fearless explorers of many an era, the Whip is a real adventurer’s tool. It can deliver a short, sharp shock to an enemy when used offensively, or as a method of accessing new areas if used inventively.
  • It’s all about teamwork: Link’s old foes, the Phantoms, are back in force, but this time Link has a secret weapon – Zelda’s spirit! Zelda’s spirit can take control of the Phantom so that Link and Zelda can use the power of the Phantom for their own purposes.

  • Blowing up a storm: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks introduces a variety of new items and weapons for Link to use including the new Whirlwind weapon. Aim it by tapping the stylus on the Touch Screen to set its flight path, and then activate it with a quick blow into the Nintendo DS microphone.
  • All aboard: The story opens with Link as an apprentice train engineer and it’s not long before he hits the open rail behind the wheel of a locomotive. The tracks will take him to many distant places in his quest to replace all the spirit tracks in the land of Hyrule.

As with The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, players can draw notes on the in-game maps using the stylus on the Touch Screen. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks uses simple navigation, so with an inquisitive nature and a sense of adventure, players can use their stylus to discover a world of fantasy and fun.