The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Link on a locomotive? Yes, and it works. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks from 2009 followed up on the success of Phantom Hourglass and put the hero at the throttle of a steam engine that races across a sprawling landscape along fixed tracks. This unusual premise gives the game a unique character within the entire series.

The gameplay rests on the proven touch controls from the previous installment but expands them with train travel, during which the player controls speed, switches the tracks and fends off attacks on the rails. An entirely new addition is a companion in the form of Princess Zelda, whose spirit can take over the stone guardians known as Phantoms. The player thus controls both Link and a Phantom at once, opening up entirely new possibilities for cooperative puzzles.

Development was again handled by Nintendo EAD, and the game runs on the Nintendo DS. Besides the stylus, it also uses the microphone, into which the player blows to play a special pan flute that serves to control the tracks and solve puzzles. Visually the game continues the comic-book style of its predecessor but moves the setting from the sea onto land.

The cultural significance of Spirit Tracks lies in its courage to experiment. Combining Zelda with a railway sounded crazy on paper, but the game extracted from it fresh mechanics and a surprisingly strong narrative built on the partnership of Link and Zelda, which is a rarity in the series. The title met with a positive reception and sold well.

Anyone looking for an adventure unafraid to go its own way will find in Spirit Tracks an inventive blend of classic Zelda dungeons, clever cooperative puzzles and a distinctive railway journey.

Why play: A bold Zelda on rails with inventive puzzles and a singular partnership between Link and the spirit of Princess Zelda.