There are two ranking the best Zelda games, both were among the first titles I ever played in the franchise growing up, giving them a strong nostalgia for me. Beyond that, I cannot deny that some of their mechanics are less than perfect, especially by modern standards, but this is something that new releases would be perfectly capable of fixing.

Of course, The Legend of Zelda has already produced a number of remakes, with the most recent of these being Skyward Sword HD. Link’s Awakening for Nintendo Switch received excellent reviews, which alone sets a good precedent for any future remakes for the Switch or Switch 2 (including the long-rumored Switch ports for Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker, should they ever actually materialize).

Phantom Hourglass And Spirit Tracks Deserve Modern Remakes

Released In 2007 & 2009 Respectively, Both For The Nintendo DS

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks for the Nintendo DS were among the first Zelda games I ever played. Having never played The Wind Waker, its sequel Phantom Hourglass’ storybook-like recap of its events was extremely useful to the younger me in 2007 in gaining context for the game, and the protests of Tetra against her being called Zelda immediately made a strong impression regarding her characterization. From there, I was quickly introduced to the World of the Ocean King, and embarked upon a sea-faring adventure with memorable characters that enthralled me to the end.

Just a few years later, Spirit Tracks was an equally enjoyable experience for me. The uniqueness of the train-based travel system and the colorful inhabitants of New Hyrule, as well as the many antics of the disembodied Zelda, are just a few of the many memorable aspects of the game. In fact, Zelda’s hysterical reaction to learning Malladus plans to possess her body is still arguably one of my favorite ever video game moments, simply because of its sheer hilarity. The music of the game has also remained with me, particularly the main overworld theme.

However, irrespective of my nostalgia for these two games, I know that they are far from perfect games to play. Both have mechanics which could be frustrating to engage with, especially with the benefit of hindsight and greater experience with video games in general. But even so, that only makes the idea of them receiving remakes of their own all the more appealing. Not only could these issues be fixed, and other modernizations made, but they would, of course, become vastly more accessible to newer generations of players.

The Nintendo DS Zelda Games Have Features In Need Of Changes

Graphics & Gameplay Both Need Updating

Among the more obvious improvements that could be made to both games are their graphics. Although not terrible, both titles are both over 15 years old at this point, and it does show in several respects. Although I am doubtful a full graphical redesign, such as that enjoyed by Link’s Awakening, would be necessary, an updated version of The Wind Waker’s toon style of cel-shaded graphics would be more than welcome. Moreover, there are some aspects of gameplay in both titles that would benefit from some adjustments.

At various points throughout Phantom Hourglass, the player is tasked with drawing various symbols on the touchscreen. While this did teach me the interesting trick of drawing the Triforce in a single motion, the DS’s limited ability to recognize certain shapes could prove frustrating at times; personally, this was most prominent in the final battle against Bellum, where my attempts to quickly draw an appropriately 8-shaped hourglass to freeze time repeatedly failed in the heat of battle. If not removed entirely, a remake could offer a motion control alternative, which combined with more fine-tuned pattern recognition should remedy this issue.

Similarly, it cannot be denied that the train system in Spirit Tracks has its downsides. Reaching distant parts of the game’s map can take time, an issue exacerbated when the rail-bound transport is compared to the more freely-directed sailing of its predecessors. Dark Trains also provide an imable barrier, their appearances often requiring significant detours to avoid a game-over-inducing crash. Of course, both problems could easily be solved in a remake; the Spirit Train’s speed could be increased and the layout of the titular Spirit Tracks adjusted, while Dark Trains could be made rarer and easier to avoid.

Updating To The Switch Would Mean Losing Some Of The Original Games’ Charm

Touchscreen Controls Are Integral To Their Design

On the other hand, it must also be acknowledged that these DS games also have some features that would need to be altered or replaced to match the Switch’s own capabilities. For example, one notable Phantom Hourglass puzzle asks Link to press his map onto a wall marking, a task achieved by physically closing and opening the DS console. Likewise, the immersive ability to physically blow to play Spirit Tracks’ Spirit Flute is impossible without an in-built microphone. Another gameplay aspect that would be difficult to replicate is sequences that take advantage of the DS’s dual screens for varied perspectives.

Of course, it should also be acknowledged that little enough is known about the Switch 2 at present that these problems could actually be non-existent in any future ports, but at least some changes to the original gameplay seem inevitable regardless. As such, I cannot help but feel it would be a shame for differences in hardware alone to forcibly alter the original experience in such a way. But in the end, this would be preferable to the games being totally unavailable on the most recent console and thereby simply becoming less and less accessible as time goes on.

Both Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks were previously made available for the Wii U virtual console, which demonstrated the need for gameplay changes for a proper home console release; notably, the former’s wall-map puzzle was solved by opening the home menu, a completely unintuitive compromise.

Remaking Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, while posing some difficulties, would also serve to bring them properly into the modern age. I am sure that there are many who would relish the experience of playing these games just as I did, especially if they follow on from a new port of The Wind Waker. Despite their issues, these games are certainly underrated at present, and fully deserve the updates needed to capture the interest of those newer to The Legend of Zelda’s extensive catalog of games.