Rating: A-
A surprisingly large, and surprisingly fun, portable adventure.
Continuity in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda games can be a muddled, confusing mess, but Spirit Tracks is unambiguously presented as the sequel to both 2003's Wind Waker and 2007's Phantom Hourglass. Set "about 100" years after its predecessors, the game's clear lineage means it benefits from both those games' strengths -- but it also suffers from their weaknesses.
Of course, many of those strengths and weaknesses are wholly subjective, as Spirit Tracks belongs to a distinctly separate spur of the Zelda series from the "main" console titles like Twilight Princess and its forthcoming sequel for Wii. Spirit Tracks has a cutesy art style, employs entirely stylus-driven controls, makes no mention of Ganon, and features a heavy emphasis on traveling by vehicle between numerous points of interest scattered across a huge world map. It's a long way from the sober, traditional odyssey of Ocarina of Time and its ilk, though that's not necessarily a flaw. Zelda is often at its most interesting when it deviates from expectation, which is why quirky side stories like ]it elevates the game well above being merely "Phantom Hourglass on a train."[/b]
Which is good, because Spirit Tracks carries the flaws inherent in Phantom Hourglass in tow as well. Nintendo has tweaked the stylus-driven controls a bit, and while they work well they suffer from maddening imprecision at times. The final dungeon item you collect is especially egregious in this regard, as the interface combined with the 3/4 overhead camera perspective transforms the tool from merely uninteresting to actively annoying -- especially since the game's camera constantly auto-centers on the wrong areas when you activate it. The camera's behavior is also a nuisance while riding the rails, as it insists on rotating 90 degrees every time the train corners (which is frequently). These bends, naturally, are where most hazards lurk, and the camera's insistence on turning away from the enemies you're trying to fend off lets them land lots of annoying, cheap hits.
Fortunately, Spirit Tracks is nowhere near as toothless as its predecessor, so these issues amount to minor irritants at worst. It's a deceptively meaty adventure with enough novel twists on the Zelda formula to keep it from feeling phoned-in. It's definitely a game that rewards casual play -- not in the sense of "casual games," but rather in the sense that it's packed with events and quests that you'll completely miss if you simply rush from dungeon to dungeon. The loose, upbeat banjo-and-whistle melody that plays as you ride the rails says it all: Relax, take it easy, enjoy the ride, see the sights. And while I miss the traditional overworld design of the core Zelda games, there's something inherently fun about rambling across the countryside on a steam engine, unlocking new tracks by completing side quests, and filling a little book with station stamps at each stop along the way. The end result is a charming side story that, like Link's Awakening and Majora's Mask, forges its own unique personality -- something the medium could certainly use a little more of these days.
I suppose it's pretty much a given that Nintendo fans are always going to buy the latest Zelda game, but Spirit Tracks doesn't simply coast along on its legacy. Like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, it's a direct follow-up to a recent release that exceeds its predecessor in every way. And while it may not hit the soaring heights of Mario's latest, it's a fine game in its own right.
