The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks
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Game Reviewed: The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks
Publisher:
Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Reviewer: Matthew
Scott
Platform: Nintendo DS
Category: Action Adventure
ERSB Rating: E10+
Game Summary (Warning: Review
contains story spoilers.)
The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks is the second Zelda game to hit
the Nintendo DS. This time, our hero, Link begins the game as an apprentice to
become an official train engineer in the land of Hyrule. The adventure begins
with Link going to Hyrule Castle to take part in a ceremony to receive his
engineer’s certificate from Princess Zelda. After the ceremony is over, Zelda
takes Link aside and tells him that the Spirit Tracks that cover the land are
starting to disappear. Now this brings to question, what are the Spirit Tracks
and why does it matter that they are disappearing?
It is said that long ago when Hyrule was first settled, a
battle took place between the spirits of good and the Demon King. The spirits
of good were not able to destroy the demon king, but they were able to subdue
him into the ground. Giant shackles held the Demon King in place and a tower
known as the Tower of Spirits acted as the lock. These shackles became known as
the Spirit Tracks, also used as train tracks over the land of Hyrule.
Back to Zelda and Link, Zelda asks Link to take her to Tower
of Spirits to investigate the disappearance of the Spirit Tracks. On the way,
the chancellor of Hyrule, Chancellor Cole intercepts them and uses an ancient
dark magic to separate Zelda’s spirit from her body. Cole then steals away with
her body. His plan is to use her body as a host for the Demon King to make his
return.
Thus Link and the spirit of Zelda set out on an adventure to
restore the Tower of Spirits, restore the Spirit Tracks and restore Zelda to
her body.
What Parents Need to
Know
Violence
The game is played from a third person point of view. The
player uses the stylus to point Link in the direction he/she wants Link to go
in and then Link follows. The primary weapon that Link uses is his sword. The
player taps on an enemy with the stylus to make Link attack. Other examples of
types of weapons that Link uses are boomerang, bow and arrow and bombs.
Also, when Link is driving the train, he has access to a
cannon on the train that shoots bombs.
When an enemy is defeated it simply disappears in a puff of
smoke.
Language
No bad language.
Sexual Content
No inappropriate sexual content.
Spiritual Content
As was stated
in the game summary, Zelda’s spirit is
separated from her body because the Demon King wants to use her body as
a host.
This happens towards the end of the game in a battle in which Link has
to shoot Zelda’s possessed body using the bow of light to free her
body.
There is a fortune teller in one part of the game where the
fortune teller asks the player some questions. The player then speaks in to the
DS’s microphone to answer the questions. The fortune teller then gives a hint
as to what to do next in the game.
When in spirit form Zelda has the power to possess stone statues
called phantoms. The player can then use these phantoms to help Link access
different parts of the level.
To get the Spirit Tracks to reappear back on the land,
Link must go through different temples such as the forest temple and snow
temple. At the end of each temple, Link must play a song on his spirit flute
which is done by the player blowing into the DS’s microphone. The song that is
played makes the spirit tracks reappear.
Reviewer’s Thoughts
As for family content, on the positive side, Spirit
Tracks offers a fun and challenging game with no bad language, no inappropriate
sexual content and no blood and gore. On the negative side, however, the game
deals with spirit possession and some other spiritual content that some parents
may not be comfortable with. Please use the above information when weighing out
if Spirit Tracks is a good fit for your family or not
