Spirit Tracks



The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is the fifteenth installment in the The Legend of Zelda series, released in 2009 for the Nintendo DS. It is preceded by Phantom Hourglass and succeeded by Skyward Sword. The Hero of Spirits is the main protagonist and Chancellor Cole is the main antagonist. New Hyrule's monsters are the villainous faction.

It is the fifteenth game in the series, and the third and final in the Adult Timeline, a direct sequel to Phantom Hourglass, set one hundred years later in a new continent founded by Tetra and Link, dubbed "New Hyrule." New Hyrule has its own ancient legends, including the tale of the Demon King Malladus trapped under the earth by shackles that trains ride on known as the Spirit Tracks. The seal is beginning to weaken as his followers try to resurrect him, and Link must journey throughout the land with the help of Zelda's spirit to save everyone.

Synopsis
''It is set in the new-found Hyrule, 100 years after the events of Phantom Hourglass. A new Link appears wearing a conductor's outfit and hat. This New Hyrule is the same land discovered by Link and Tetra years ago. It's suddenly brought to Link's attention that the Spirit Tracks are not just train tracks that lay over the land, but chains that hold the evil Demon King underground. Link and Zelda go across the land trying to stop the evil Chancellor Cole and his Demon Train from taking apart the tracks, but then come face to face with Malladus. Link uses the Lokomo Sword to stop him for good, saving New Hyrule.''

Summary
Following the events of Phantom Hourglass, Link, Tetra, and the other pirates come across a new land that is ruled over by the Spirits of Good, who were responsible for sealing the land's tyrant, Malladus, into the earth after the concourse of the War that happened between Malladus and the Spirits of Good with the railroad tracks called Spirit Tracks that spiral and work their way all over the vibrant landscape. In this new land, Tetra founded the new kingdom of Hyrule. A hundred years later, in Hyrule Castle, Princess Zelda is seen handing Link a diploma, honoring him as an official Royal Engineer. At the same time, however, Zelda also slips Link a personal message stating that she has been suspicious of Chancellor Cole, Princess Zelda's right-hand adviser. After learning such information, Link sneaks Zelda out of the castle and meets up with Alfonzo, his master who trained him into being a Royal Engineer. He helps Link and Zelda escape the castle and get on a train, when suddenly, the tracks disappear, causing the train to crash. Chancellor Cole and his assistant, Byrne, then confronts the three: taking down Alfonzo, Link, and even Zelda, giving the Demon Train enough time to disrupt the natural order and structure of the generation point of the Spirit Tracks, the Tower of Spirits. Chancellor Cole takes away Zelda's body, yet her spirit appears after Link reawakens in Hyrule Castle, where only Link can see her. When Link meets Zelda as a spirit for the first time, Zelda gives him the Spirit Flute, a magical flute that has strange powers. Zelda then asks Link to take her to the Tower of Spirits to find out why the tracks disappeared, until she realizes that the tracks are gone, and the only way to get to the tower now is by an old tunnel in the back of the castle.

When Link and Zelda reach the Tower of Spirits, they meet a strange old woman named Anjean, who calls herself a Lokomo. Anjean speaks to Link and Zelda about Malladus and as to why the tracks disappeared, then explains that the only way to restore the Spirit Tracks is to obtain Rail Maps from the Tower, which will reveal Spirit Tracks to four of the five temples across the land, all of which require a restored power base to provide adequate protection and added strength to the Spirit Tracks in their realms. It is up in the tower that Zelda realizes that she can possess Phantoms, which are the guardians of the tower. Lastly, Anjean tells Link that if he goes to Gage, a Lokomo like Anjean, and by playing the Spirit Flute, Link and the Lokomo of the first four respective realms can restore the power to the rail map, thus revealing the path to the temples. Anjean then grants Link the Spirit Train, the sacred locomotive docked at the bottom level of the Tower, which Link uses throughout the rest of the game.

The temples visited are the Forest Temple (in the Forest Realm), the Snow Temple (in the Snow Realm), the Ocean Temple (in the Ocean Realm), and the Fire Temple (in the Fire Realm). Once Link and Zelda restore the last of the Spirit Tracks, the last thing that they need to do to prevent Malladus from resurrecting is to lock him back under the altar at the top of the tower. Link and Zelda climb the tower, only to meet, fight, and defeat Byrne again. He escapes back to Cole at the top of the altar, however, so Link and Zelda follow him. Just as they reach the top of the tower, Malladus' resurrection is complete, and Zelda cannot return to her body because Malladus is occupying it. Byrne asks Malladus for powers that he always dreamed of, but because he once served the Spirits, Malladus will not give him the power. Instead, using his magic, he knocks him unconscious. Hastily, Cole and Malladus escape on Malladus' train, the Demon Train, and go back to the Dark Realm, where the Demon Train came from. Anjean then comes up to the top of the tower, and shows Link and Zelda that she was not killed by Byrne.

Link takes Byrne to his train, and Anjean tells Link and Zelda the final possibility to destroy Malladus. Link must go to the fifth (and at the time unexplored) temple, the Sand Temple from the desert, and obtain the Bow of Light, a weapon the Spirits used in the War that happened between Malladus and the Spirits of Good. The Bow of Light has the power to split the soul of one from their body. Anjean then gives Link a Force Gem, a particular one that reveals previously unknown tracks far into the desert between the Fire and Ocean Realms.

Link obtains the Bow of Light from the Sand Temple, only to find that Anjean can't find a way into the Dark Realm, halting the adventure further. Byrne then tells them about a Compass of Light that is below the altar. That compass reveals all places in the world linked to the Dark Realm. Link and Zelda proceed to go to the Tower of Spirits for the final time to obtain the Compass of Light. Anjean then gives Link the Lokomo Sword, which was also a weapon the Spirits fought with, but Anjean thinks Link is the one who is meant to use it. The sword is said to be full of energy.

Link and Zelda obtain the Compass of Light, revealing that a place linked to the Dark Realm had been west of Links home village all along. Link travels on the Spirit Train to that exact place to find a portal that leads into the darkness and attempts to destroy Malladus once and for all.

Link and Zelda find the Demon Train in the Dark Realm, and a battle across a track road begins. Link fights using the train on his own, and eventually, makes the Demon Train come to a halt, giving him a chance to go on board. Anjean gives Zelda a Phantom armor which she possesses and can use to help Link in the next battle. They both climb on top of the train to find Cole and Malladus. Cole then starts up the train and begins to attack them, while Malladus is on the end of the train firing lasers. Zelda and Link eventually reach the front of the train and Zelda grabs Malladus, giving Link the key opportunity to shoot him with the Bow of Light. Malladus is being split from Zelda's body, until the Demon Train crashes, leaving everyone in the land of Hyrule again.

Malladus' spirit leaves from Zelda's body, giving her a chance to retrieve it. At first, she is unable to due to the fact that she has been separated from her body for so long. Malladus is about to come back and possess Zelda's body until Byrne shows up and stops him. Byrne tells Zelda that she has to focus her power in order to return to it. She finally gets her body back, but Byrne (because of his interference) loses his life after Malladus uses his magic to kill him. Malladus then decides he must stop Link and Zelda, and takes Cole's body. He then transforms into a giant beast and attempts to destroy them. However, Link and Zelda team up and fight against him. Link then deals the final blow in his forehead with the Lokomo Sword. Malladus dissolves into light, returning the world back to normal. Anjean comes to the battlefield, and uses magic to give life back to Byrne (not for an immediate revival, but for him to return several years later). Anjean then explains what she wanted Zelda and Link to do. Lokomos were placed on the Earth not only to watch over the Spirit Tracks, but mankind as well. Anjean believes that man doesn't need guidance anymore, so she and the other five Lokomos return to the heavens with Byrne. Anjean entrusts the land to Zelda, and tells Link he must help her watch over it.

Right before Link and Princess Zelda hop on the Demon Train, the latter asks the young hero about his future. Depending on the option chosen, there will be a slight difference on the post-credits scene. In all three possible cases, this scene begins with Zelda writing a book, with the Teacher accompanying her. If Link tells her that he'll continue being a train engineer, the final scene shows the princess hearing the Spirit Train whistling; she approaches the window and greets her savior as he navigates through the Forest Realm. If Link tells her that he'll remain as a swordsman instead, the final scene shows Zelda approaching the window to see Link practicing his combat abilities, although he is accidentally injured in the process. Finally, if Link tells her that he's still unsure regarding either career or skips the scene, the final scene simply shows Zelda continuing with her work.

In any case, when the epilogue concludes, the game screen aims at the sky to indicate that the story is finally over.

Trivia

 * The Whip, one of the game's items, makes a return in Skyward Sword.
 * Also, in Skyward Sword, at the end of the third dungeon, the Lanayru Mining Facility, the sand in the boss room drains after defeating Moldarach and reveals the room has a similar design to the main hall of the Tower of Spirits.

Continuity

 * Spirit Tracks ' place in the Zelda Timeline is well defined by numerous direct references to its two prequels: The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass. It is, after the aforementioned titles, the third entry in the Adult Timeline which, like the parallel Child and Downfall timelines, has heavy its roots in the events of Ocarina of Time. Link does not appear to be a direct descendant of the hero from the earlier games in this story arc, even though Spirit Tracks clearly follows the same storyline, occurring roughly a century after the events of Phantom Hourglass.
 * In this game, an incarnation of Zelda is once again portrayed as the sole ruler of the Kingdom of Hyrule. She is the great-great-granddaughter of Tetra from The Wind Waker and Princess Zelda V of the new kingdom. A brief cutscene shows a stained glass portrait of Tetra above Zelda's throne, and as Zelda herself tells to Anjean in the Tower of Spirits, the people living in the newly established kingdom are aware of their heritage and the connection to the old Hyrule. The soldiers protecting the kingdom wear green clothes, a reference to the signature clothes of the Hero of Winds, also from The Wind Waker.
 * The only recurring character from the two preceding games is Niko, a former crewman of Tetra's pirate ship. Niko has reached his elderly years and resides in Aboda Village, sharing a house with Link. When he sees Link dressed in his green garb, Niko mentions that it reminds him of an old friend. Link also meets Linebeck III, who is a direct descendant of Linebeck whom Link traveled with in Phantom Hourglass. The Anouki tribe living in Anouki Village, as revealed by one of its inhabitants, descends from the people that had migrated from the Isle of Frost, a place found in the World of the Ocean King in Phantom Hourglass.