The Skinny:

• Developed by Nintendo EAD
• Published by Nintendo
• Nintendo DS/DSi-exclusive adventure game
• Singleplayer Mode
• ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+
• Estimated sticker price at launch: $34.99
• Release Date: December 7, 2009

The green-wearing boy wonder Link has yet to hang up his sword and boomerang for good, and if it’s any indication, we’ll be seeing plenty more of him starting with the upcoming handheld The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. A regular Nintendo fixture since the dawn of video games, Link returns hundreds of years after the Phantom Hourglass storyline, which sashayed onto the DS console in 2007.

In the story, Link and Tetra have washed ashore on a populated island they decide to form the kingdom of Hyrule upon. Unfortunately, the island is weighed by a dangerous history—a demonic monarch that tried to overtake the land was defeated by good spirits and imprisoned in the tower of spirits, chained by the “spirit tracks” that stretch across the land. Following the expository events, Link has just completed his engineer training and awaits being granted his diploma by Princess Zelda. However, during this time, there is discussion of “spirit tracks” made by Chancellor Cole, who is unhappy with Zelda for not taking more serious priority in the occurrence. Zelda tells Link about her suspicions toward Cole, and tells him to meet her on the spirit tracks in secret where the adventure kicks off.

The biggest deal being made about this installment is getting to play alongside Princess Zelda herself for the first time ever in the history of the franchise. Yes, no longer will you have to slay giant evil spiders and survive deadly traps in order to catch a glimpse of sexy blonde royalty. Nintendo has confirmed that Zelda will be assisting Link throughout the game by possessing those scary Phantoms that like chasing you and affecting many areas of the storyline. It’ll be interesting no doubt to see what kind of disposition is given to one of the most famous damsels in distress. Controls-wise, Zelda’s movements will be directed by drawing a path on the touchscreen while Link continues to use the full functionality of stylus-to-touchscreen movement.

After winning coveted prizes like the Gamescom Best DS Game of Show award, there’s bound to be plenty of perks to playing Spirit Tracks. Bringing back all the key Zelda elements that made Phantom Hourglass a successful and well-polished experience, it’s hard to mess up the formula in this rendition. Spirit Tracks aims to bring gamers a similar experience to Phantom Hourglass by reviving the Wind Waker method of exploring-and-traveling gameplay cemented together by a rescue mission storyline. Additionally, Nintendo has stated that they’ve improved some gummy parts of Phantom Hourglass that they’ve integrated into Spirit Tracks; instead of trying to get Link to somersault by drawing circles, all that is needed in Spirit Tracks is a simple two taps on the edge of the touchscreen. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say by the looks of it Spirit Tracks is the spitting image of Phantom Hourglass except for the additional of the luminous, floating Zelda and the train travel. Regardless, this is no doubt one game every DS gamer should have circled and highlighted a thousand times over on their lists to Santa.

Hankering for more Zelda? Us too. Join us in our comprehensive review of the game when it hits North American stores December 7, 2009.