I finished it today, so here are some thoughts.
The Good:
The presentation of the game. The graphics evoke a light-hearted atmosphere and the characters are well-drawn except for certain close ups of Link smiling. Some of the most often played music tracks stood out despite not following the usual Zelda style.
The control scheme. The stupid rolling movement of Phantom Hourglass was ditched, adding an effective evading maneuver, the spin attack was actually usable and the rest of the things that worked in PH retained their ease of use (boomerang, bow, cannon). hectic phantom
The tower. The tower is the (inverted) dungeon you return to again and again, only this time you don’t have to repeat segments (d’oh). As it doesn’t follow the obvious pattern of the normal dungeons (search for item, use item everywhere in dungeon) and you can get Phantoms under your control it was the part I most looked forward to. The Temple of the Ocean King was more challenging though.
The get-them-all-on challenges. You can optionally go through three successions of rooms packed with enemies to gain different spoils and have some fun. While Zeldas were never combat-heavy, the first games were tough nuts and I’m glad there is the option of seeing how well you can handle yourself (Twilight Princess also did that). An extra point to Nintendo for having bolstered the number of enemies in the last Zeldas, as Ocarina of Time for example was almost empty.
atmosphere
The heart pieces. I was rather glad with the way you get the heart containers (bosses, mini-quests, on sale) as I feel they stroke the right balance.
The Bad
The whimsy and the cliches. The beginning of the game is the worst offender here, as the characters act like an anime’s cast (Zelda does not look like the parable of Wisdom there). The concept of the spirits’ train is a bit… eh and don’t get me started about the big bad escaping with his Demon Train. The dialogue ‘options’ given to Link are atrocious, as they’re three words max and lead to similar responses. Just railroad us; it’s better than choice in name.
The tracks. Going places is actually still fun, but there is no overworld, exploration is minimal and at times backtracking can get tiring. I enjoyed at times transporting people/goods for unspectacular rewards, which gave a rudimentary layer of character to the people you help, but if there were more exploring/sidequest options, I don’t know if I’d cared that much. It’s worth noting that you can beat the game without a single train upgrade, which is logical on account of using the spirits’ own, but it makes a whole mechanic useless. If only you could destroy these invincible dark trains or raise your speed.
The philosophy behind the items. Most of them are a one-trick pony, a problem exacerbated by the lack of an overworld where they could be used. The Whip is a nice variation of the hook and though there’s no groundbreaking item, most items are fun to use (even the Flute), only they are used on tightly defined occasions. I was so disappointed the Bow of Light couldn’t, you know, light a torch. Made it a total mcguffin (together with the Compass of Light, which was expected to be one).
The Ugly
Blowing to use an item more gimmicky than useful, though it’s not a great nuissance. The train could have the option to stop on its own when you reach your destination and don’t have passengers on it. Some times tapping at an enemy multiple times to jump attack them resulted in Link rolling to their buddies after killing the original enemy (seldom). The design of some bosses was big, clunky and unimpressive.
All in all, while I wasn’t too intrigued at first, Spirit Tracks kept my interest, being tight yet barring exploration. Turns out railroaded isn’t a figure of speech. On the other hand I can’t deny that I had a good time, even if I didn’t like certain design choices.
Sand Temples are nifty.