I tried a link to the past, thinking it was an RPG. I quickly realize it wasn't it and lost all interest in zelda games. I remember playing the minish cap back in my high school days, during labs or computer class (emulators). I think i got pretty far into it but never finished it.

People hated the art style back then and the sailing could get boring.  Now we're more open to different styles and they've streamlined the adventure and made it possible to sail quicker.  Plus I loved it then and I loved it now.  There's lots of things that were kinda looked down on back then and then appreciated as masterpieces now.  A certain album called "It Was Written", if I recall, was said to be worse than Illmatic.....

Is Phantom Hourglass that bad ? I've never really touched one of the DS games. But it's still a Zelda game with 90+ on metacritics. Is it THAT bad?

It's not THAT bad. Really. Aparently, it's one of the worst Zelda games, but I played it, and it's certainly not a BAD game. It has interesting gameplay mechanics, it uses the Dual Screen and the touch screen pretty well, the graphics are pretty, etc...

But it's kinda short, and the story is nothing groundbreaking. But apart from that, it wouls still be a 7-8/10 for me.

I played one Zelda game in my life and it was called Okami.

Personally I don't think it's a 'bad' game. But for a Zelda game, yes it's kind of bad. It just isn't very memorable and every element that matters in a Zelda game, the world, the dungeons and the bosses and even the story itself, is mediocre. It basically just makes you wish you were playing another Zelda game.

Spirit Tracks is a million times better though, it's just stained by the reputation of it's predecessor.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I think it's great. It features all the core elements that make the franchise great, wrapped up in a complete portable package. The stylus-based combat is interesting and intuitive; the puzzles, which make clever use of the DS hardware, are some of the best in the series; and the art direction, music, and sound are all excellent.

What I've read, here and elsewhere, leads me to believe that the principal sin of Phantom Hourglass in the eyes of its detractors is its accessibility, its "casual" nature. I think controlling Link entirely by stylus was and still is unacceptable for some fans.

I think that's funny though, everybody can have their own opinion and in the end we can all agree it doesn't really matter .

Buy a Wii U.

That gives you access to Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword and Wind Waker HD on disc.

Then all the NES, SNES and N64 ones on VC (you'll need to go into Wii mode for some).

Your DS and 3DS give you access to the rest.

On 3DS you can play both Ocarina and Link Between Worlds. Both 3D an classic style Zelda.