Why do you not like the DS Zeldas? Personally thought Spirit Tracks was awesome.

But for Phantom Hourglass, it's probably one of my least favorite. No memorable dungeons since they are so easy, you fly past all of them. Also rolling by doing a circle motion was really stupid. All in all, the game just felt like a lesser Wind Waker. The only new addition was controlling by touch but that feeling of novelty wears off pretty quickly.

Spirit Tracks was original. Had new and cool items. Dungeons were actually somewhat challenging. Story is good. Tower of Spirits is one of the best dungeons in a 2D Zelda game. Controlling the different types of Phantoms with Zelda is fun and unique to the series. Had an awesome soundtrack. It was an improvement to Phantom Hourglass in every way. There is a lot to love in my opinion. The bad thing was sometimes when you are traveling by train and you encounter those enemy trains, they can get REALLY annoying.

I can agree with the combat. Tapping on enemies to kill isn't much fun. But I guess that's the only way it would work with a Zelda game that only utilizes the touchscreen, which I'm sure was a design choice from the beginning. Dungeon design is boring? Definitely in PH.... not sure about ST. All I remember about ST was enjoying every second of it so maybe I'll have to go back and replay it to get what you mean there. Btw, playing ALBW right now and the dungeon designs are pure bliss, even though they have been kind of a breeze so far. Still, the level design is awesome there.

I also thought Spirit Tracks was actually very good. Before the HD remake, I thought Wind Waker was actually weaker than it.

I liked the DS's stylus-controls and the camera angle, and I liked Spirit Tracks's world and story. I even liked the train. I agree Phantom Hourglass was mediocre though, but Spirit Tracks was quite original with imaginative dungeons, cool new items and one of the best end-games in any Zelda game. It's actually my #2 favorite handheld Zelda (discounting ALttP and OoT remakes) after Link's Awakening before the Oracle games and definitely before Minish Cap. We'll see if A Link Between Worlds is able to knock it down a spot.

So far I'm liking ALBW of course. It's gameplay is basically flawless and the wall-merging mechanic is quite brilliant in it's way of giving new... angles to solve puzzles. Level design is good, but not very complicated yet. Those mini-dungeons you have here and there remain the best part, the one inside Death Mountain where you have to drop down from platform to platform for a total of like 100 meters searching for different exits was genius (the 3D effect there, OMG).

But I still can't really get over the fact that a lot is exactly the same as in ALttP. The lead-up and intro to Lorule was awesome, but then I realized that it to has it's dungeons in exactly the same place. They even have the same names! Why? Unless some retconning of existing lore I don't yet know about is going to take place, I didn't think Lorule and the Dark World were supposed to be the same place. It would have been the perfect opportunity to do something different, that includes the enemies there.

You finished it already?

Forgive me for not reading it yet before I finish it myself. Just went into Lowrule.

I'm only 2 hours in now in ALBW, and am enjoying myself immensely ^^ I haven't played more because I'm exploringmy 3DS as well :D

Let me break down my view of the DS Zelda games:
Combat - A low point for both games.
Exploration - A high for Phantom Hourglass, and a low point for Spirit Tracks. Both methods of travel are rather boring.
Puzzles - A high point for both games.
Overall - Phantom Hourglass gets a passing grade, whereas Spirit Tracks is a bad game. Charming and potentially likable, but poorly designed. Could not force myself to finish it, and that's rare for a Zelda entry.

Just finished ALBW and it's definitely up there with the best.

Faith restored in Nintendo.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Look what arrived this week:

:)

http://www.gamrreview.com/review/90755/the-legend-of-zelda-a-link-between-worlds-3ds

I wanted to give it a much higher score, but new gamrReview rules state that we gotta drop all scores and use 9 as a sort of ceiling. I wanted to give it a 9.6. Seriously.

Hey, thanks for sharing this!

So glad to hear you enjoyed it :)

Where does ALBW rank with the other games, do you think?

For me? Best handheld title, beating even Minish Cap, the ORacle games, and Links Awakening.  

It's also my third favorite.  Link to the PAst is my favorite, with Wind Waker in second, but this a close third, then Twilight princess in fourth.