The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (ゼルダの伝説 夢幻の砂時計) comes out tomorrow (the 23rd of June 2007) in Japan. Last night I asked Jon to stop by an import game store down in Chinatown, just in case there’s a slight chance they would have it. Turns out they just got it in. So yes, I own a copy of Phantom Hourglass even before the Japanese release, I’m such a baller… or maybe just lucky. I like to think I’m a baller…

The graphics are wonderful for an NDS game~! It’s probably over-the-top Japanese cuteness, but hey it is the Windwaker sequel. I’m not a cutesy type of gal, but if the game can do cuteness some justice, then I ain’t complaining. Just as long as you don’t see me with a pink DS…because you know that’s not how I roll. I’ve been dying for a new game to play on my DS ever since I stopped playing Pokemon Pearl (US version) so Dylan can catch up. Phantom Hourglass kept me up pretty late. I wanted to solve the next puzzle, but by then it was already 2am and I had work at 10am. As for the gameplay, most of the action happens in the bottom screen and you use your stylus for everything. You ocassionally have to use the mic for certain puzzles. The directional button isn’t really used for much except to pull the menu out. The same goes with the Y, X, and B, A buttons. I only played a bit of it last night and got to the second island.

Some of the puzzles are a bit tricky since they rely on you knowing Japanese. You will need to read the clues to help solve the puzzles, which are of course in Japanese. If you think that’s a little too difficult, I suggest you wait until the NA release of it. According to Gamestop.com the release date isn’t until October 2007.

What surprised me most wasn’t the game but the text interface. I like how the JP version has furigana over the kanji, for younger kids or even for adults who forgot how a certain kanji is suppose to be read. All you do is put your stylus over a kanji and the furigana appears above it. Pretty nifty if you ask me! This is cool for people who want to play Zelda in Japanese, but can’t read all the kanji. So, for all you importing this game, as long as you know your basic kana, you can still make out the more difficult kanji and look it up in a dictionary if you’re stuck. And as for people who don’t know what furigana is you can read all about it on Wikipedia.

As far as I’m concerned, I’m pretty pleased with the game. The music is awesome, although low at times. I guess my only disappointment is the constant usage of the stylus, be it for moving around, attacking, or even solving puzzles. As a New Yorker, this is just not a train game.

Images above: I scanned in the box art: front and back, the cover of the manual and the page with the main characters. I’ll post a video of the opening or something soon.