Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks: choo choo!

I don't think this is as good as Phantom Hourglass. To be more precise, I don't think the general world is as engaging as that in PH, and the train annoys me a bit compared to the wonderful sense of freedom you got in the boat. Having said that, the boat in PH paled in comparison to sailing in The Wind Waker, so it's all comparative. The story is typical Zelda, though it's a bit more self-aware than normal; the plot as to why Link ends up in standard Hero of Time garb is amusing, and it seems to recognise that the series has become clichéd in some ways.

I've already collected hundreds of rupees, I have a shield which I've used once, and I've been to the forest and snow dungeons. I know the settings.

However, the dungeon puzzles in this game are up there with the best, with inventive use of the boomerang and ice flames to freeze pathways on water, the use of a fan to blow keys around, and clearing snow with fire. The blizzard temple boss was pretty hard, though as ever a bit of cautioness meant that I didn't die. The hardest part of the game, in fact, seems to be avoiding the evil trains on the tracks outside.

The one annoying thing about the game is the extensive use of the microphone to play the pipes, blow the fan, and so on. I play the DS on public transport, which is noisy. As a result, the game thinks the microphone is constantly being blown into, and that makes things pretty tricky at times. A sensitivity option would have been good ...