I wanted to put a note here: I still like the Wind Waker. There are many things I say about it on this channel that are negative, but that's really only relative. There aren't any Zelda games I outright dislike and I wanted to make that clear. Everything I say in these videos is in relation to other Zelda games, which is why I'm harsher on some than others. At the end of the day, I love this series enough to make videos on them all, so keep that in mind.

I remember I purposely named myself “Linebeck” only for him to say “Linebeck? What a weird name. My names Linebeck!”

Zelda is so great in Spirit Tracks. She'll flirt with other phantoms to distract them for you, and if you hit her with a boomerang enough times she'll snap and attack you right back. She's my favorite part about the game.

I reached the forced microphone segment to get the bombs in Phantom Hourglass while with my family in a Burger King. I was too young to know just blowing on the mic works, and the character demanded I yell, so I had to walk outside and scream at the top of my lungs at the DS to progress.

"Tetra being Zelda is never brought up ... she's just Tetra." Well, it's brought up once. Her crew calls her Zelda at the very beginning, and she scolds them and demands that they just call her Tetra.

These two were my first exposure to the series, and I thought for the longest time that they were representative of it. Finding out Ganondorf existed was an interesting experience.

i remember completely focused on avoiding phantoms and being terrified of them as a kid. your age is such a big factor in how hard you find the game.

"I just don't want to be on the train, doing nothing, for hours of my life." mate that aint a video game thats a commute

I can’t get over how you can make Phantom Zelda try and make small talk with the hostile phantoms. It’s adorable.

That hand holding at the end of Spirit Tracks is the best ending to any Zelda game.

Something I really like about Phantom hourglass in retrospect is the fact that the ghost ship was an unexplained part of the Wind Waker before becoming it's own seperate adventure in a later title. I don't know, it helps flesh out the world. That mysterious object turned out to have it's own whole history unbeknownst to Link at the time.

Beating the final boss in Spirit Tracks by controlling Link and Zelda at the same time was the most satisfying and fulfilling moment I've had gaming. The music, mechanics, and character development were all so perfectly utilized in making that moment unforgettable in my childhood.

I didn't hate traveling in Spirit track... I thought it was cool and relaxing before getting to the next destination

Linebeck's moment when he strikes Bellum legit made me feel emotional when it happened.

I honestly forgot how much of a great character linebeck is,

I’d love a “windwaker trilogy” HD remake for switch with windwaker, hourglass and spirit tracks. For switch

Honestly? As a young GenZ whippersnapper Spirit Tracks was my very first Zelda experience. I remember spending literal hours trying to come up with new songs on the flute, or just driving the train and listening to the *downright godly* "full steam ahead" theme. In fact, hearing the sound track again brought amazing memories back and quite a few tears to my eyes. To me it's the most atmospheric game, simply by the virtue of the music (to me the best in the series, the "breathy" flute tunes are dope a fück).

Linebeck’s theme is so great, why isn’t it in SSBU?!

if any zelda games deserve an HD remake its THESE

Being able to draw and write on the map was such an important feature to me that I always count it as a point against a game when the map cannot be written or noted on. Games like BotW really messed up in this department not allowing the player to take notes on the map.

Spirit tracks was my first Zelda game, and to this day is the only one I haven't finished. **Angrily shakes fist at broken DS mic.**

Man, those last words really got me. Having played both of these games in my younger years and thoroughly enjoying both of them at the time, it does kind of sting to know that nothing like these two games will ever be made again. It's even more disheartening to realize that they could have been the best Zelda game ever made.

Spirit tracks' Zelda is without a doubt the best Zelda. It just physically hurts me that spirit tracks is so overlooked, mainly because it means that so little of the Zelda fanbase know about this incarnation of Zelda

When you realize spirit tracks is just full metal alchemist you have someone who wants to return someone’s soul to their original body and for the time being they inhabit a suit a armor, you also have a short blonde dude

Phantom Hourglass was my first Zelda game, followed by Spirit Tracks. Thanks for making this. Nice to know that these titles aren't forgotten.

Fun fact: Nintendo prototyped the wall-merging mechanic from A Link Between Worlds using Phantom Hourglass & Spirit Tracks' game engine

I think Spirit Tracks over world exploration could have been really special if the entire rail system lay in ruins or something, and you had to draw your own tracks between railroads. The amount of tracks you could draw on your map would be limited, and increase whenever you beat a dungeon. This would make exploring the world more of a puzzle as you would have to think strategically about where best to place your tracks, as well as providing a more dynamic progression system seeing as being able to create more tracks would open op the world naturally. Further more, every time you gained access to more tracks you would also be able to make new shortcuts between areas you had already visited, making revisiting those areas more intuitive and much less painful. I realize that this comment is irrelevant and way to long but I just had this idea and really wanted the KZfaq comment section to know about it, even if only one person will ever read it (you). You are very welcome, have nice day.

Honestly, I love Spirit Tracks’ Zelda. She’s so sweet and makes me feel like I genuinely need to protect her. Also, I love that scene where she freaks out about Malladus using her body. Mostly because of the lack of voice acting makes the upset grunting even funnier to me.

Ahh nostalgia. . . Phantom hours glass was my first Zelda game and it BLEW MY LITTLE MIND back then lol. Been a fan of the series ever since

I _really_ get the feeling that Nintendo decided to make the Tower of Spirits be done in segments rather than having to repeat previous floors due to the reception of the Temple of the Ocean King. I remember when Phantom Hourglass game out everybody *hated* that concept so much and then rejoiced when it was fixed in Spirit Tracks. Although I definitely see your point that it pretty much ruins the concept of revisiting a dungeon multiple times if you don‘t get to improve on previous sections.

"Even though he didn't steal anything that important from her" EXCEPT HER HEART!

5:15 Kind of why I loved having the full Gold set, as if the Ocean King was giving Linebeck his treasure he sought, in the form of the ship he loved.

Ooh, shoutouts to the fact that the DS mic was always active on a school bus due to ambient noise making certain things way easier and making others way more difficult

Spirit tracks is unfairly forgotten. Easily the best pre-3ds portable zelda. Wonderful music and story.

yeah I love spirit tracks Zelda!! so full of personality

Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks remastered for switch anyone?

In my first play through, I also was stunned by The Ocean King reveal. Then the re-play had me saying, "How didn't I see the hints?"

I don’t care what anyone says, phantom hourglass is my favourite game, period. This game was my childhood

Literally just re-bought Spirit Tracks this morning so this is a sign I made a good decision haha

“The chancellor is evil” Man where have I heard that before?

It makes me happy to hear someone else who likes the Temple of the Ocean King

But in all honestly how long were people stuck on the map puzzle in phantom hourglass where you have to close your DS to put the marker on your map. I was STUCK ON THAT FOR DAYS

can't wait for the next Retrospective in which you proclaim link's crossbow training as the greatest zelda game of all time! (in all seriousness though thanks for covering these two, spirit tracks is my favorite :P)

ST Zelda is just amazing in terms of jokes, plus she does feel like a character with all the things she does, such as talking to phantoms for you and her getting angry and attacking you if you hit her too many times

Linebeck literally was made in the image of Johnny Depp, I swear to God, it's uncanny

The overworld theme for Spirit Tracks is actually one of my favorite video game themes of all time. Too bad it was so often interrupted with the same freaking enemies at the same exact areas...

OG groose? Linebeck is practically the best Zelda character lol

"Tetra being Princess Zelda is never brought up" Apart from the intro where Nico is holding the very paper slideshow apparatus that makes mention of this, as inconsequential as it is.

“Two halves of an unfulfilled whole” 1:47 Begin: New Horizons The Two Criticism (1) 14:59 The Great Sea (2) Dungeon Design 40:08 22:16 Spirit Tracks, you can’t go off the tracks, while you can go any direction you feel like on sea Phantom Hourglass + Whale Island Spirit Tracks 25:48 - Vast majority of quests involves bringing something to someplace (excessive. 22 times) - Slow train, restrictive tracks *The Silent Cartographer* 34:21 movement and combat + “Refreshingly original” 37:43 + Mapmaking is cool 56:50 Boss 59:24 The Video’s Thesis. 1:02:26 Breathe of the Wild 1:04:00 To Be Continued

The most memorable thing about Spirit Tracks for me was the sound track. I definitely think it was the best of any Zelda game.

Unpopular opinion that I share with probably two other people, but I actually like spirit tracks as my favorite Zelda game. Music, puzzles, combat, all so good

This brings “You complete me” to a whole new level.

"Two halves of an unfulfilled whole" Before watching the video, my take: PH: Better overworld, better sidequests, better warp system, no goddamn flute ST: Better dungeons, better puzzles, better bosses, better music

Always love watching these before I pass out

Spirit Tracks was my first Zelda game ever. Glad I started with the “Weakest Link” 😂

I have never been able to find the words or any way to explain my love for both of these games along with their flaws, this was *THE* best summary and comparison to both I have seen in ages. It was definitely worth the hour of my time, and I'd happily watch it again.

Ugh, the ending got me sad. These were my first two zelda games, and every zelda game I've played afterwards I always thought back to these experiences and how I would love to experience them again. I would argue that these games define zelda more than games like Ocarina of Time, or A Link to the Past. Because while those games have icon characters and scenes that every zelda has, zelda is a series about exploration and discovering a world. Simply looking at different takes on the same story doesn't feel like discovering a world, it feels like playing the same game retextured to look like a different experience. I remember when I first learned about the zelda timeline, I sat there thinking of ideas and possible plots that could continue the timeline these games take place in. It's just so exciting to think of the different villains and ideas these games imply, especially with the technologically advanced settings. Hopefully Nintendo will stumble upon these ideas as they continue to try and innovate zelda.

The puzzle that involved closing the DS to copy the map took me ages. I only managed to solve it when I ragequit and closed the DS to do something else.

Ik this a 2 year old video but the idea of the spirit train making its own tracks is litterally the best thing I've ever heard ever

the fact you gave that clarification in the beginning shows how much you care abut the subject . im now a forever sub. these where big childhood games. Thank you so much for your hard work.

Aw man, this made me sad. Doubly so since I had forgotten *exactly* how incredible Spirit Tracks Zelda is.

People really be sleeping on Zelda from Spirit Tracks. She's such a great character, and actually plays a major role in a game that's titled after her. I wish BotW Zelda had as much presence as Spirit Tracks Zelda had.

I started with this video and then went on to marathon every video you've put out relating to games I've played. These retrospectives are outstanding. I play games at a very surface level. I have fun or I get frustrated and I rarely fully understand why in either case. So its really cool to hear such a deep look into the design elements of all these games. I also love how you're able to do this with such vastly different types of games. (Zelda, Mario, Kingdom Hearts, Sonic). I have subscribed happily, and you can bet you'll have a new patron in the near future.

The quality of these is so consistent, that I think it's gonna be impossible for me not to finish it. It's so refreshing. Thank you for this.

Oh yeah, the one with the train stage in Smash ~Most people who don't really know Zelda that well

Not one, but two Zelda games in one Video. You spoil us King K I've been anticipating this. Thank You.

You're one of my favourite people on youtube, and seeing a video by you come out about these games was so exciting to put into my watch later! I've watched it now fully, and I think you made some really good points and observations! Spirit Tracks is my 3rd favourite Zelda game, and it was nice to see someone talk realistically about it's flaws but also praise it which I don't see often!

I played this with the D-pad mod and it was amazing. I couldn't choose between Spirit Track's Zelda or the character growth of Phantom Hourglass' Linebeck

Well, that ending was depressing.

the clips of you just straight up jumping off ledges were a real treat

I love Spirit Tracks to such an infinite level I cant put it into sheer words. The music and character... so much good stuff... why do people dislike it so much (be quiet I know why, but I still love it anyway)

This retrospective has interested me so much in these two games that I now want to track them down, as I missed out on them the first time. You did a great job on this video, didn't know how interesting these two DS games really were. Thanks.

lineback did steal something, he stole her heart

Ahh you know sometimes I just put your Zelda retrospectives on my other monitor and listen to them while I'm playing a game or something, even if I've already rewatched them so many times. It's just nice to have an hour of Zelda talk and the good points made about the games in the background. They're definitely better than watching most of the stuff on here. Loved this one Btw you're great!

Wow you managed to keep my attention for a whole hour. This video is a masterpiece and shows appreciation for 2 Zelda games I believe are the most underrated out of any of them. Time to watch the other ones you made.

Spirit Tracks hadthe best Zelda personality wise.

Nintendo is secretly working on the TS, "Tri-Screen." It opens up like a brochure.

I get the feeling that i'm the only one that LOVES Spirit Tracks.

Spirit Zelda and Linebeck are singlehandedly my two favourite characters in any Zelda game I have played so far. The absolutely ooze personality and reading their dialogue is an absolute joy Thank you spirit tracks and phantom hourglass.

This retrospective has convinced me to go back and finish these. thanks!

I actually really liked phantom hourglass, I even 100%-ed it. The movement actually kinda works, I forgot that I used the touchscreen to play it even!

59:33 and onward. Wow. This is why I watch this channel. I love the fact that the credits at the end had no music, it really fit with the tone of this section. You seem much more serious than many other reviewers, and touch on games I never would have thought were great. I played Spirit Tracks for a while, and touched a little on Phantom Hourglass. I enjoyed them, but never thought about them this in depth. Your retrospective has really changed my mind on these two games. While I disagree with some of your points, I wholeheartedly agree with what you said in this last section. Very good work. I can't believe that you aren't a bigger KZfaqr than you are. You really deserve to be watched more often. Keep up the good work, I look forward to more analysis.

Watched from start to finish. These two games were my childhood and it is refreshing to know that some agree that they are truly great in their own ways. Having played these games recently again, I can agree with all the points given in this video. Thank you, and kudos to you for a great video essay on these games.

Happy to see that youve hit 100k + subs and that a lot of your zelda retrospectives are gunna hit 1mill views in the future.

Thank you for your take on both, but specially Phantom Hourglass. The exploration and customization of that game is so underrated and it's so fun to me. And character wise, it's one of the best written zelda games, Linebeck is just too good. Even with so many flaws, even after playing almost every game, Phantom Hourglass is the one I revisit the most. And my first (and most finished) Zelda was A Link to the Past so it's not that much of nostalgia...

Thank you for understanding what makes the temple of the ocean king great, and why the tower of spirits missed the mark on making a successor to that dungeon's ideas. So many people hate the temple for the backtracking, and that always disheartens me

I love finding an 1hr+ retrospective video of a game I've never played with someone with a smooth voice to lull me to sleep at night

probably the fairest I've seen anyone be to these games so thanks for that! Phantom Hourglass really holds a special place in my heart so it's lovely to hear someone say something good about it for once. You really brought to light the really actually amazing ideas these two games had which I feel get constantly looked over in favour of shitting on easy targets like the temple of the ocean king. They truly did bring great things to the series- SP Zelda is my favourite iteration of her shes truly adorable and likeable and well.. Linebeck is my favourite character of all time, alongside Link, so I'll forever my grateful to these games

Great video. I loved both of these games, but I agree with all of your points. These were actually the first Zelda games I ever played. The next one I played was Twilight Princess, so you can imagine how much THAT blew my mind.

Those are bold words for someone in Ciela's time stop range.

Your channel comes up whenever I'm looking to see if I should pick up old games. I jump around and to see if I'd to, so I dont really watch your whole video. However I really appreciate the amount of work you put into all of these. Subbed

Thank you for making this video. PH was my first Zelda game, and I always adored it and it's successor, ST. I didn't play WW until much later in my Zelda career, and that may have influenced why I love PH so much, but I greatly enjoyed seeing someone else described all the amazing things these 2 games brought to the Zelda universe that none of the others did. I guess my nostalgia blinded me to the general dungeon simplicity, but I started with those so I enjoyed them on a beginner's level more than most probably did. I really hope these get some kind of remastered port or spiritual (pun intended) successor in the future, but they will always have a special place in my heart. I am glad to see that there are other people that see that same charm in these forgotten epics.

God it's been a while This is a great suprise to find in my feed tonight, gonna savour every minute of this

People may criticize the touch screen only stylus controls but they work beautifully on my Note 8. It also has a built in stylus (SPen) and makes the games feel perfect for this device.

Can we appreciate Niko for narrating the summary(?) of Wind Waker for those who didn't owned the game

OMG, this is a video I wanted to make somewhere down the line, thank you for making it. This is a childhood staple for me and my friend 8 years ago...

I love you and love your content. I watch each video and rewatch my favorites often. You are truly one of my favorite tubers kingk but if you try to say there is no timeline continuity I will fight you. Keep up the great work bud!

If you really like the map-making a whole lot, Etrian Odyssey sounds like the series for you

Great video clicked on it because the Phantom hourglass and Spirit tracks are my two favourite games ever I didn't realise the video was 1hour long but I was hooked all the way through felt like 17 mins then I was shocked to learn it was 1 hour long great video

I remember playing my Ds with phantom hourglass and then going on KZfaq to see people hating on but it this the first video actual highlighting its good qualities and what I liked about it. Good Job KingK :-).