What I meant was that Oracle of Ages/Seasons and Minish Cap--technically not made by Nintendo--were fun, and, well... less can be said for PH.
This brings me to another statement of utmost angst, one which has simmered inside me for some time but was brought to a full broil by the comparitive mediocrity of Phantom Hourglass. I'm just going to get it all off of my chest now so that I'll feel better and never have to bring it up with such severity again.
Am I the only one who thinks it's an incredibly bad sign that the brains behind Twilight Princess--basically the best videogame ever--have publicly lamented how it turned out? And then they spin around and act like Zelda's newest DS offering--statistically the lowest-scored official LoZ game in recent times--is some sort of godsend? I can tolerate a pithy timewaster like Flash Focus or Wii Fit here and there when it's handled properly, but I really don't know if I want to be part of the Nintendo future I'm seeing now: Namely, one where what used to be just a "game" (say, Super Paper Mario) is now considered hardcore in light of all the empty, so-so installments that surround it. I just feel insulted that Nintendo's new "games for everyone" philosophy comes across as viewing what was once an average gamer like myself as some pesty, obsessed hanger-on from the last generation whom they must occasionally sate with proverbial dogbones in the form of half-arsed sequels and the occasional--*gasp*--actually good game. I can cut the Wii some slack for still being the new kid on the block, but the DS has been on the scene for four years, and even after beating games like Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, I still feel that their GBA ancestors had more substance (seriously, can those carts hold more than a DS card? Or is it the two screens and touch control that eat up all the extra space). If my favorite franchises are going to turn into Brain Age with swords and jumping, go ahead, Nintendo, and cater to rest-home residents and housewives, because I've just about had it.
And one last note: Innovative controls can be fun, but that's no excuse for a lack of depth (i.e. PH's bland dungeons, sucky music, and near-zilch plot). I feel like in ten years, we're gonna reach the point where you can beat all Nintendo games in two hours without losing once, but since you control everything with your left kneecap, it's magically game of the year material.
