Was there a GBA Zelda...?

Well? Was there? ...Oh yeah, there was. The Minish Cap. I forgot about that one.

Just kidding. I did start playing it again, though, after beating it once three years ago then never touching it again. I must say something: so far, I think it is better than Phantom Hourglass.

Ooh, there's a segue for ya.

Now, I'm not saying Phantom Hourglass is bad. But the main dungeon, the one where you have to trek through the same parts over and over and over again until you beat the game is absolutely fucking terrible. For a game that (to me) is supposed to appeal to casual gamers as well as traditional Zelda fans, that dungeon is absolutely ridiculous.

I'm not saying its too hard; I'm saying it's too fucking repetitive.

The rest of the game is brilliant, if not a little easy. Now, Minish Cap is no difficult game, either; it's certainly not the hardest Zelda game ever. Hell, it is certainly one of the easier Zeldas. But, there are some great puzzles to be had in Minish Cap: switch from regular size to small, then try to traverse Hyrule Castle Town. Not easy, is it? You have to weave in and out of buildings, go over rooftops, avoid puddles (which are basically bottomless pools to you in that form), and watch out for Cuccos along the way.

What's your average puzzle like in Phantom Hourglass? "Five rooms ahead, you must hit the switches in this order: 3, 1, 2, 4. Um, you should probably write that down." And then you write that down, and then guess what? Five rooms later, you hit the switches in that order.

Holy shit. That was unexpected.

Yes, the controls are pretty good (although rolling is a bitch) and yes, the boss battles, while easy, are fun as fucking hell, but come on. The puzzles were fucking lame in Phantom Hourglass.

And what is it with me and thinking that all the portable Zelda's since Link's Awakening are forgettable as hell? It's probably just nostalgia talking (Link's Awakening was my first Zelda and all), but the other portable Zelda's just haven't been that good, I don't think.

And as far as consoles go, we absolutely need another Majora's Mask. Jesus that game was good.