Mostly just commentary on the final boss. I may write a review, because i have a rather complex opinion on the game itself (though i enjoyed it a lot overall)

I loved:
the final dungeon, where you had to keep switching between Phantoms to do different jobs. Added a whole extra layer of complexity to the game, and really made you think.

The trek through the Dark Realm where you have to kill the other trains. It's Pac-Man with trains, and it was win.

The fight with the Demon Train itself, high-speed, train-flanking, rail-switching, cannon-shooting action.

The fight with Malladus and Cole in the beginning. It was awesome having Zelda serve as the human shield against Malladus's beam.

The very end against Malladus, where you had to make his back appear in Zelda's field of vision, so she could shoot it. Complicated, but at just the right amount. A satisfying fight.

I hated:
The middle fight with Malladus where you're trying to protect Zelda. It's like Punch-Out!!, if Punch-Out!! made you restart the damn fight every. single. damn. time the enemy got a hit on you.

Having to use the spirit flute in between that really bad fight, and the more awesome final fight. It completely crushed momentum, and was totally pointless.

So i loved more than i hated, though i'll admit it took me a really long time to tackle that damn middle fight. The ending was rather fulfilling, though a bit cliched at points. The end of the character development was really satisfying, with Zelda finally having grown into her role.

What did other people think?

I can't bring myself to highlight those black spot's :(

I'm getting it real soon so on a scale of 1 to 5 what would you give it?

I didn't find your first hated point to be that bad! In.... in fact, it's really pretty easy if you know how to spin attack

The second kind of reminded me of an equivalent point in Link's Awakening.

I really loved it. The final, final moment of th final battle? The adrenaline rush had my hands shaking

That was what kept getting me. Spin attack wasn't particularly well done with the stylus that you could execute it quickly.Too quick, and i'd accidentally end up just slashing, too slow, and i couldn't fend off multiple attacks. It was pretty easy otherwise, but that was the problem, it was one of those fights that could keep going on forever (and did, in my case) because he wasn't hurting me, and there were opportunities for hearts, but i just couldn't make any headway, because it's all or nothing

@ koyotecat. It's a great game overall, there are just a few parts that frustrate you more than they probably should (or at least did for me). I don't do numbers, though.

I guess I just practced the spin

How about that finsl moment, though? I was all "YAAAAAAAA" and then "O SHIT WHAT?! YAAAAAAAAAAAARGH"

Eh, the train parts were the ones that wowed me the most. Pac-Man mode was jolly fun, and the showdown with the demon train was epic. I figured something like that would happen with Byrne though.

I didn't actually think the demon train was quite as epic as the Ghost Ship. Still awesome, though.

In the Pac-Man part, my wife got through it without ever knowing that blowing your whistle makes you go in hyper-speed when you have the Light Drops. She had a much tougher time as a result. I discovered it by accident, but hoo boy, when I did!

And I guess I jsut have a soft spot for any moment where Zelda helps you out. Her grabbing Malladus on top of the demon train was one of the best moments in the game for me.

I wish we could replay the train parts.

Heh, i didn't know about that at all. I didn't have a hard time in my ignorance, though. I preferred the part where Malladus turned on Cole and ate him :)

I was thinking of writing a more comprehensive criticism myself, but for now I'm just going to bullet point it.

The final battle... I had the same problems as you. Let's just leave it at that.

However, I also had a lot of other issues with the game.

Like, why is nearly every facet of the final act derivative of one or more of the previous games? I find it a bit silly to fight a boss that looks like TP Ganon but is fought like TWW Ganondorf. Also, what's Nintendo's deal with main characters being possessed by evil demons as of late?

Furthermore, the game's ostensibly linear structure bothered me. Though it is not really worse than previous titles in the series, it is the first Zelda that is literally on-rails. It's like a dungeon crawler with a minigame between temples to break up the monotony. I was expecting something with a little more depth than that. Aonuma's original idea of creating the layout of the tracks would have been a great way to add some depth and variety to the game.

Another thing, I was hoping they would really make the most of having Zelda as your accomplice, but no. The train rides would have been a perfect time to build on the relationship between Link and Zelda, but instead she is simply reduced to the task of a lookout. I don't think it was all bad - there are some interesting things about her naive and self-indulgent nature as a child ruler - but I feel Phantom Hourglass was far better written, with a much more intriguing cast of characters. Perhaps the lack of Hidemaro Fujibayashi as writer/assistant director is to blame for this.

Naturally there was a lot I liked about the game. Many small improvements over PH. Overall though, there is no doubt in my mind which is the stronger game, and the sequel does not fare too well by my standards.

i am so so glad for black and white highlighted text

i dont even know why i came into this thread, i must be a masichist or something.

phew.