The Dungeon’s Boss: Games Played: Zelda Spirit Tracks and Puzzle Quest Galactrix

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks: Much of what was wrong with Phantom Hourglass has been avoided in this game: the central dungeon which is returned to throughout the game no longer requires you to play through the same floors over and over again. I would still count Phantom Hourglass as a better game, however, because it featured that wonderfully amusing character Linebeck, and because Spirit Tracks introduces the extremely dull train transportation and the flute item which must be played via the DS’s unreliable microphone.

I would also like to address a broader issue which is most apparent in Spirit Tracks, but has been a problem in the Zelda franchise since at least Ocarina of Time, and that is the erosion of interesting over worlds. Spirit Tracks‘ gameplay largely consists of the player completing a dungeon, returning to the Tower of Spirits where a couple special dungeon floors must be solved, and then heading out to yet another dungeon. I would like to see a stronger emphasis on the “other stuff” I had to do in games like Link to the Past between dungeons.

Puzzle Quest: Galactrix:… Accessing Data… here’s a painful fucking game. Galactrix takes the now established Bejeweled+RPG formula, and brings it into the dystopian future where… Accessing Data… DS games have evolved the need for load times. Additional Galactrix features include wildly unbalanced boss battles that require the player to grind for days before having a hope, a common puzzle type that depends on luck rather than skill or character level, and… Accessing Data… frequent menu navigation which queues up more load screens.

I found Galactrix, new, in a video store for $5, and that’s a great deal, even for a game I have come to hate. Despite my feelings toward the game, I can’t help but play it compulsively, the gameplay is extremely addictive. I have found the key is to constantly remind myself to stop clenching my jaw while waiting through load screens.