Vooks Forums: Vooks Forums -> Why Spirit Tracks is brilliant

It's been a while. So bear with me on this one. Now there's probably Spirit Tracks (along with OoT) spoilers below even though I've tried to keep them out so you've been woarned

For anyone who has not been living under a rock and keeping up with our increasingly sped up world of video games, you would know that Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, the 2nd Zelda title for the DS came out at the end of last year. Now it had strong competition last year for DS game of the year in GTA Chinatown Wars and Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. The latter especially, when I was done, I had practically pledged to myself that I would vote for it in any DS GOTY polls that I could find. But that was before Spirit Tracks came out. And I'll tell you why this game is so much better than Phantom Hourglass. That's what this blog post is for, see.

Now I'm not here to tell you about the high standard of graphics and gameplay that we come to expect from Zelda games throughout the years. Go to any other Spirit Track review and it'll mention it quite prolifically. Heck I'm not even going to mention the art style, which even though it's brilliant, has already been made famous by another brilliant Zelda game in the Wind Waker and already portable-ized with Phantom Hourglass. No. This game was more about the moments. Something which separates the best Zelda games from the good ones.

Now there will be some Ocarina of Time spoilers here so click away if you're scared for whatever reason (although the games came out like 12 years ago now, so if you haven't played it and are old enough to use these forums then shame on you).

Who remembers that exact moment in Ocarina of Time right after you kill King Dodongo and the Gorons make you one of them? The hugging scene if you will, where Link is scared witless by Goron's trying to crush him with loving hugs. Perhaps not too many of you, but I'll bet some of you do. Now who remembers that moment where after Ganondorf's laughter and a bright flash of light, you are in a bright blue room with an old midget and the camera pans on you and you find that Link is all big and grown up now? I'm willing to bet a lot of you. Who remembers the moment where you walk out of the Temple of Time having just worked out that it's seven years later and you find Marketplace is in ruins and your first though is that everyone's dead? What about when you find everyone and they're all fine in Kakariko Village? Who remember the moment you discover the identity of your ninja like helped, Sheik? When Ganondorf isn't really dead after the final boss fight, and there's another final boss fight with epic music and doomsday like scene to match?

Those are all unforgettable for me. Literally, I typed those off the top of my head. But the most fixed image is after all that. After "the battle's lost and one" to quote Shakespeare. For me it's when Zelda decides that you must be sent back to live your childhood through. When she asks Link for the Ocarina and she takes his outstretched hand in both of hers. The very moment where she plays Zelda's Lullaby on the Ocarina of Time. It makes absolutely no sense for them to be in the clouds, but it just adds to the moment.

Anyway, that moment is important for more than that. That's the very moment the timeline split and a bajillion fanboys decided to take it upon themselves to work out how the Zelda timeline fits, but that's irrelevant. What I want to talk about is the moments in Spirit Tracks that make it extremely memorable to me. Not quite on an Ocarina of Time scale (I doubt any game has done that).

The first moment I want to point out is when you hit the field on your train. And every time you hit the field with your train. Your map comes up ready for you to plot a route and some waiting music plays in the background. Then as soon as you confirm your destination, the real adventurous music kicks in and you just want to drive a train over a field. Reminiscent of hitting Hyrule Field for the first time.

Another thing is the wonderful dialogue between Link and Zelda. I know; I must've gone crazy because Link DOESN'T TALK IN THE GAME. But Zelda is probably the best secondary character since the concept of sidekicks has become involved in Zelda. She kicks Navi's sorry ass, she hands it to Tatl convincingly, she destroys the fairy from Phantom Hourglass, Midna is probably the closest but still no and her own father is no match for her in Wind Waker. I may have forgotten some but Zelda owns them all as a sidekick to Link. And the way they grow as a partnership is quite evident. From the humble beginnings all the way to the huggy/hand holdy ends you grow attached to her typical Princess yet still fighting alongside Link persona.

But I guess the biggest impression made on me in this game is by the ending. IMO it's the best ending sequence to a video game out of all the ones I've played. The actual boss fight is designed a lot like Twilight Princess's but more of a challenge. Pitting your tiny Spirit train against the GIGANTIC Demon train has got to be one of the most enthralling things I've done in a video game and it's a damn handheld title. And after that there's the actual fight with the last boss (who looks a lot like Ganon but isn't him). There's a bit in their which really just smashed the game into my head as brilliant. Once Zelda charges up her power (you have to defend her for a bit) she stuns Malladus and then she tells you to play a song to weaken him. WHA????!!!!! Play a song?! Sounds lame, yes? It isn't. The flute songs before this point are all great in their own right, but they all come together for this duet. Zelda on vocals, Link on flute. It was like Zelda's Lullaby at the end of Ocarina all over again for me. I could post a video of it, but that defeats the purpose. You have to experience this in the game. After that the song actually continues on but ups the ante and becomes the final boss battle theme. And all you want to do after that, is kill that final boss.

I've rambled long enough, and if you've read all that then I congratulate you. But I just wanted to get it out there how brilliant I feel Spirit Tracks is. Please don't let "LOL ITS LINK ON A TRAIN" deprive you of playing this. It really will get you that much more excited for Zelda Wii at the end of this year *touch wood* seeing as the DS Zelda team are actually helping out in the project.

Also for anyone who was wondering where my Games with great music posts have gone (no one then ) I have like a billion games flying through my head and I can't decided which one. So when I do, I'll post.