-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Side-Quest FAQ
(Or, �Get Winning or Die Trying�.)
By Shannon Spencer Fox (phfaq(at)fracturedreality.net)
Version 0.5
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==================
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
==================
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ph_intro]
2. Side Quests and Minigames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ph_quests]
2a. Fishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ph_fish]
2aa. *IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT FISHING* . . . . . . . . . . . . [ph_import]
2b. Canon Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ph_cannon]
2c. Shooting Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ph_shoot]
2d. Goron Roll-Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ph_goron]
2e. Maze Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ph_maze]
2f. Harrow Island Digging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ph_dig]
2g. Trading Quest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ph_trade]
4. Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ph_faqs]
5. Closing and Thanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ph_close]
6. Change Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ph_chgs]
7. Copyright Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ph_copy]
=============
INTRODUCTION: [ph_intro]
=============
Greetings, everyone, to my sophomore turn at FAQ-writing, this time for
Nintendo's latest entry in the long-running Legend of Zelda series. My name is
Shannon Spencer Fox, author of the RidePOD FAQ for Sony's Dark Cloud 2 on the
PS2, and longtime Zelda fan, since the original NES game.
The reason for this FAQ is pretty simple: Phantom Hourglass has quite a few
tricky minigames in it, and quite a lot of stuff you can collect beyond the
main part of the game. Some of them, such as the proper way to go fishing, can
be confusing at first glance, and some things are just plain difficult, such
as the shooting gallery (easily the hardest one) or Maze Island's frantic race.
Hopefully my FAQ will help clear that up.
And remember, if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or anything of
that nature, please feel free to email me at [email protected] and
I'll either help out as best I can, or see about adding your change to the
FAQ.
==========================
SIDE QUESTS AND MINIGAMES: [ph_quests]
==========================
As I mentioned previously, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, much like its
predecessors, has quite a few minigames and side things you can do to either
build up Link's health, fatten his wallet, and build up Linebeck's ship (for
both posterity and to increase its durability). For reference, the various
sections are broken down as such:
* Difficulty: Obviously how tough the game is. The range is Very Easy, Easy,
Moderate, Tricky, and Very Hard.
* Cost: How much Rupees you have to pay in order to pay, if any, in
order to play.
* Available: When and where this event is available to play, and what item
or steps you may need to have or do in order to play the event.
Quite a few games and quests require either a certain item from
one of the game's six dungeons, have gotten the correct sea-map
piece to get to the island it's on, or talk to the right person.
* Prizes: What you can get, and what you need to do to get it.
* Description: A general description of the event.
* How to Play: How actually to play the game.
* Tips: A few things to try to help win the game as easily as possible.
That said, let's begin!
===============================================================================
+-------+ [ph_fish]
|Fishing|
+-------+------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| | |
| Difficulty: Very Easy to Moderate | Cost: None (except for time and |
| (depending on fish) | luck...) |
| | |
+-----------+--------------------------+--------------------------------------+
|Available: | |
+-----------+ After navigating the fog and getting access to the northwest |
| quarter of the sea, set sail for Bannon Island in the northeast |
|and talk to the Old Wayfarer, everybody's favorite deadbeat dad from Molida |
|Island, in his house on the north side of the island. He'll mention seeing a |
|'mermaid' and his desire to meet them (despite still being married...) He'll |
|also point out that the mermaid won't show up if there are monsters about. |
| |
|Be a gentleman and clear out all the ChuChus and Ropes that are hanging |
|around the island, and you'll see the 'mermaid' appear a bit off the shore. |
|Unfortunately, she'll also disappear if you get too close. This time be a |
|jerk and use your boomerang to get her attention, and she'll reveal she's |
|just a woman in a costume, but she'll give the 'old man of the sea' a visit. |
|Since apparently sponging off old men and listening to their stories is her |
|thing. |
| |
|Go back to the Old Wayfarer and relay the good news, but he won't believe |
|Link, since no mermaid has shown up yet. She obviously went somewhere, |
|though, and that would be to the other 'old man of the sea' currently on the |
|island: Captain Linebeck. Check with him at the dock to confirm the mermaid |
|girl did show up and they talked for a bit, but she quickly left, most likely|
|due to Linebeck not having any stories that don't involve him either running |
|away or cowering in fear. |
| |
|Finally, return to the Old Wayfarer's house, and you will see the prodigal |
|mermaid-girl floating happily in a wading pool next to the old man. The Way- |
|farer is so happy to get a chance to meet with her he'll give you his Fishing|
|Pole, and instructions to talk to him again about all the wonderful fish Link|
|finds. Unsurprisingly, the mermaid-woman indicates she plans to wait before |
|revealing the truth. |
| |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Prizes: Big Catch Lure (after catching a Skippyjack, Toona and Loovar) |
| Random Ship Part (after catching a Rusty Swordfish) |
| Heart Container (after catching Neptoona) |
| |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------+
|Description:|
+------------+ Ahh, fishing. A mainstay of the Zelda series since Ocarina of
Time on the Nintendo 64, and quite a few other adventure-RPGs
as well. Phantom Hourglass continues the tradition with the Nintendo DS's
touch-screen approach, and quite nicely done at that, making fishing a simple,
almost relaxing pastime. If you know how to play properly, that is, but that's
what this guide is for.
There are six different types of fish in the ocean that you can catch, though
not all of them are available at first, and one that shows up on other fish.
They are:
* Skippyjack: The most common, and the smallest fish in the game, they
have a grey-tinged underbelly with a sea-blue back, and
stripes going down the sides. Supposedly are very tasty.
* Toona: These are bigger fish, but still pretty common, they have white
underbellies and a ruddy red upper body.
* Loovar: Usually said in conjunction with the phrase 'why the CENSORED
can I not find a BLEEP Loovar already?!', these fish are even
bigger than Toonas, and about twenty times more rare. I
personally have only caught one myself, after fishing up about
fifteen Skippyjacks and fifteen Toonas. They have a white
underbelly and a pink-maroon upper body, and resemble something
like a whale.
After you've caught at least one Skippyjack, Toona, and Loovar, go back to
Bannon Island and talk to the Old Wayfarer, who's impressed with your
'adventuring spirit', and gives you the Big Catch Lure to go out and catch
the really big fish. You can now find out in the sea...
* Rusty Swordfish: Easily twice as big as the biggest Toona you've caught
yet, these monsters are naturally a lot harder to pull
in... but there's a certain rush you feel when you watch
how they jump out of the water with an almost porpoise-
like arch to their bodies. They have a white underbelly
and a dark maroon back, and the typical sharp sword-like
protrusion on their face.
Return to the Old Wayfarer again and show off your latest catch, and he'll give
you a random ship part for your efforts, and whisper the legendary name of...
* Neptoona: A fish that could probably eat Monstro and Moby Dick for
lunch and still be hungry, this is the big one. Very rare,
obviously, and a struggle to land. White underbelly and
a dark blue back, almost like an orca, with a swordfish
nose on the front.
Return to the Old wayfarer one last time and show off your fish-pwnage, and
he'll reward you with a Heart Container, which (almost) makes all of this
worthwhile.
+------------+
|How to Play:|
+------------+ Once you've gotten the Fishing Pole from the Old Wayfarer, you
will see fishy shadows appearing on the sea map when you're in
control of Linebeck's ship. To start fishing, simply draw a line to one of the
shadows, click on the Menu button in the bottom-left corner, and click on the
Fish icon on the right to start. Note that the icon will be grayed out if there
are no fish close, and fish will move around as you sail, so try to predict
their movements to intercept.
Once you've started fishing, the screen will change to a view of Link standing
on the bow of Linebeck's ship on the bottom, and the open sea on the top, with
a stress meter along the left side. You will quickly see the wake of the fish
traveling along the horizon towards the middle of the screen, followed by the
message 'PULL!' when it bites the line.
********************************
**IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT FISHING** [ph_import]
********************************
Now, there has been an issue of confusion and annoyance for a lot of people,
including myself, as to how to fish properly. It doesn't help that the game
rather misleads you as to how the controls work, and so does Prima's official
guide. From how Linebeck explains it, you draw a quick straight line down
the screen to pull on the line and hook the fish, then continue to draw lines
down the screen to pull back and keep it hooked. However, this will usually
lead you to either lose the fish completely when it bites, lose it when it
starts to pull away, or ruin your DS screen completely.
So what should you do? Don't stop pressing on the bottom of the screen. It
sounds silly, but it makes sense if you think of it as actually fishing:
simply draw the line and hold down on the very bottom of the screen when the
fish bites, and hold down the stylus' point on the bottom when you need to
relieve stress on the line and keep the fish in check. You'll catch fish
every time they bite, and keep them held with barely any effort at all.
Now, back to the guide. Once the fish is on the line, you can start reeling it
in by drawing circles along the screen. All fish start at 32 yards away, and
each circular motion draws them in a yard closer. However, the tension on the
line will start to increase as the fish fights to pull away, and if it drops
down to red, it'll break off and escape. Once that happens, stop circling and
hold the pointer at the bottom of the screen to relax the tension. Lather,
rinse, repeat, until the fish is caught.
However, keep in mind that the fish occasionally try to leap out of the water
and jerk the line sharply in order to get away. When that happens, the words
'LET GO!' will flash in yellow along the top screen. If you're currently
pulling back to relieve the stress on the line, pull the stylus away until
the fish submerges and the words disappear, then go back to holding down. If
you're reeling, this isn't as much as a concern, but I always pull the stylus
away anyway.
+-----+
|Tips:|
+-----+ * Don't feel the need to rush at pulling the fish in. Fishing is
arguably the easiest minigame in Phantom Hourglass, so as long as
you have a bit of patience, it's almost impossible for a fish to get
away, even the larger ones like the Loovar and the Rusty Swordfish.
* Colloquially, the larger the fish, the harder it is to reel it in. If you're
pulling in a Rusty Swordfish, take it slower than if you're pulling in a
Skippyjack. This is especially true for Neptoona.
* While there is no 'right' way to draw circles and reel in the line, smaller
circles usually pull the fish in faster, because you can draw them faster.
Be careful, though, as 'haste makes waste' and all that.
* Pay attention to which way the fish is pulling when you are relieving
tension on it. If you're holding the pointer on the left side of the screen,
and it's pulling to the left, the tension drop will slow to a crawl, or even
start to build again. If you adjust to the opposite side it's pulling
on, it'll start dropping like a stone again. The larger the fish, however,
the more they'll pull from left to right very quickly.
+-----------+ [ph_cannon]
|Cannon Game|
+-----------+--------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| | |
| Difficulty: Moderate to Tricky | Cost: 20 Rupees |
| | |
+----------+---------------------------+--------------------------------------+
|Available:| |
+----------+ After conquering the Temple of Wind on the Isle of Gust, and |
| getting Bombs, go back to Bannon Island and head towards the cave|
|near the middle of the island. You'll see a stone tablet that reads 'Only |
|those with the power to shatter rock will find the path to a new game.' Well,|
|obviously Bombs have the power to do that, so plant one to the left of the |
|tablet to open a hole, and walk through to the other side, where the 'ever |
|cheerful' Salvatore waits 'patiently' for customers. (Maybe the guy should |
|consider a more opportune location... you know, one not behind a solid rock |
|wall.) |
| |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Prizes: Score between 0 and 1,499 points: Green or blue Rupee |
| Score between 1,500 and 1,999 points: Green, blue, or red Rupee, |
| or random treasure |
| Score between 2,000 and 2,499 points: Red or big green Rupee, or |
| random ship part |
| Score 2,500 points or higher: Bomb Bag upgrade, then big |
| green Rupee or random ship |
| part |
| |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------+
|Description:|
+------------+ The Cannon minigame is one of the two shooting-gallery minigames
in Phantom Hourglass, and easily the easier of the two, due to
being able to tap on the targets directly as they float by. After paying Sal-
vatore the 20 Rupee fee, you'll be transported back to Linebeck's ship at the
start of the course, with a series of targets to your left. The ship will
travel along a set path, so the good news is you don't have to worry about
drawing a course. The bad news is you have to be quick to nail the targets
before you pull away, not unlike the original Super Mario Brothers.
+------------+
|How to Play:|
+------------+ If you've gotten this far in the game, you know how to use the
ship's cannon, so tap on each target as they float on by, and
adjust your view as necessary. There's two types of targets on the course,
starting with red and alternating from there:
* Red targets: These are worth only 20 points apiece, but they don't
disappear when they're hit, so you can continue shooting at
them until you pull too far away.
* Blue targets: These are worth a nice 100 points, but of course disappear
once they're hit. They also are usually set a little further
out from the red targets, so your window of opportunity to
hit them is smaller.
There are a total of 23 targets on the course, with 12 red targets and 11
blue targets, and hitting both types as much as you can is the key to winning
the Bomb Bag upgrade and getting a high score in general. Also note that the
course will circle around and head back to the island after the 5th or so blue
target, and some of the targets near the end have an annoying tendency to
spin around, or bob up and down slowly, making you have to adjust your timing
some in order to hit them.
+-----+
|Tips:|
+-----+ * As a rule, I've found that you can generally hit each red target
about five times before you need to worry about hitting the blue
target that follows. If you stick with that, you'll end up with a
total of 2300 points, leaving you with only 200 extra needed to win.
Tricky, but not impossible.
* Colloquially, it's more important to hit a blue target than keep on firing
on a red one, especially given the short delay between cannon shots.
* While this is pretty much personal preference, I find the best angle to
seat the 'camera' at is approximately 30 degrees from the left side of the
ship, giving you plenty of room to fire on the red targets before they
disappear and see the blue targets as you get close enough to fire on them.
+----------------+ [ph_shoot]
|Shooting Gallery|
+----------------+---------------------+--------------------------------------+
| | |
| Difficulty: Very Hard | Cost: 20 Rupees, and perhaps your |
| to 'Break Your DS' | sanity too. |
| | |
+----------+---------------------------+--------------------------------------+
|Available:| |
+----------+ After finishing the Temple of Courage, getting the Bow and Arrow,|
| and watching some plot-development, go to Molida Island to visit |
| Romanos, the Old Wayfarer's previously estranged son, on the east|
|side of the village. Apparently he's decided to take up his father's craft |
|and become an explorer of the world. Unfortunately, he needs money, and to |
|get some, he decided to bilk poor adventurers like Link out of their hard- |
|earned Rupees in one of the most unforgiving minigames ever. |
| |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Prizes: Score between 0 and 1,299 points: Nothing except growing |
| annoyance |
| Score between 1,300 and 1,699 points: Random treasure |
| Score between 1,700 and 1,999 points: Quiver upgrade, then random |
| ship part |
| Score 2000 points or higher: Heart container, then random|
| ship parts, and satisfaction|
| that you never have to play |
| this game again |
| |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------+
|Description:|
+------------+ Arrow-shooting games have been a staple of Zelda even more so
than fishing, so naturally Phantom Hourglass has one for those
interested in boosting their arrow-carrying capacity. Unfortunately, fate and
the designers decided to make it as nightmarish as possible, due to a require-
ment on almost total accuracy, numerous red-herring targets to get in the
way, and a scoring system that makes it almost a sure bet Romanos is going
to be on the next episode of 'Pimp My Ship' once he gets ready to leave home,
and leave behind a solid gold hut for his mother.
Otherwise, it's a standard shooting gallery: your 20 Rupees buys you unlimited
shots for 70 seconds, and Ghost targets rotate onto a series of tracks on the
upper screen. It starts with a single Ghost that stops for a few seconds after
flipping around, ramps up to two Ghosts out at once, and finally several Ghosts
coming out with no stopping, along with Girl targets that will cost you points
if you hit them by accident. Simple, right? ... Nope.
+------------+
|How to Play:|
+------------+ Unfortunately, the shooting gallery eschews Phantom Hourglass's
nifty 'point-and-shoot' system, presumably because that would
have been too easy. As mentioned, the targets appear on the top screen, so you
have to line up the shot on the bottom where the target is at, or will be if
it's moving. It's therefore pretty easy to misjudge its location and miss
completely. It's also not helped by the scoring system, which is as follows:
* Ghosts: Ghosts start out being worth 10 points, then go up by 10 for each
one you hit in a row after, up to 50 points. So it goes 10, 20, 30,
40, 50, 50, and so on. However, if you miss, the bonus disappears,
and the next ghost is worth only 10 points again.
* Girls: Hitting a Girl target will cost you 50 points from your score, and
also break any bonus streak you have with the Ghosts, so they're
like missing a shot and then some. Thankfully, only one appears on
the course at one time, and they only show up in the last half of
the game. Unfortunately, that's also the time when the Ghosts show
up in force, and you need to shoot like a madman.
So, doing some basic math, you have to hit at least 42 Ghost targets without
missing a single shot, and not hitting any Girl targets, within 70 seconds
in order to score 2,000 points and earn the Heart Container prize. It can be
done, but it takes quite a lot of practice and more than a hint of luck.
+-----+
|Tips:|
+-----+ * Above all else, keep your cool, patience, and wits about you. As
mentioned, this game is easy to lose with just one misplaced shot,
but even hitting a Girl can be made up if you get back into the
groove of hitting the Ghosts as they pop out. It sounds hokey and
simple, but it works.
* Since Girl targets only show up one at a time on the course, you can be sure
any new targets that appear when one is out will be Ghosts, giving you time
to mentally line them up before they flip around. Since this game is about
speed as well as neigh-100% accuracy, every second counts.
* Some people on the GameFAQs board report that drawing a line and holding it
before releasing makes it easier to line up the shot before pulling back
the stylus and letting the arrow fly. You can also try pressing and holding
down the stylus along the top of the screen to better verify where it should
fly on the top screen as well. Personally, I use quick little taps, but go
with whatever strategy you feel comfortable with.
+---------------+ [ph_goron]
|Goron Roll Race|
+---------------+-------------------------------------------------------------+
COMING SOON
+-----------+ [ph_maze]
|Maze Island|
+-----------+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
COMING SOON
+---------------------+ [ph_dig]
|Harrow Island Digging|
+---------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+
COMING SOON
+-------------+ [ph_trade]
|Trading Quest|
+-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------+
COMING SOON
===========================
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: [ph_faqs]
===========================
COMING SOON (... when I get, of course, some questions... hopefully, heheh)
===================
CLOSING AND THANKS: [ph_close]
===================
And here we are to the end of the guide. I hope you enjoyed reading this as
much as I enjoyed writing it, and that it helped you at least a little, there-
fore making all of this worthwhile. Again, if you have any questions, comments
suggestions, or whatnot, please feel free to contact me at
phfaq(at)fracturedreality.net, and I'll be happy to help, take your suggestion
or idea into consideration, or whatever.
And now, the obligatory thanks...
* Nintendo, for producing yet another game in one of my favorite series of
all time, and taking the time to really take advantage of the DS's features
to make this outing really unique.
* Prima, for their official strategy guide, and giving me a lot of helpful
information for this guide, and cut down the amount of time spent digging
through the game itself to find certain things out, such as the scoring
tiers.
* GameFAQs, the members of the PH message-board, and specifically whichever
person mentioned the nocturnal habit of Beedle's 'assistant', which was
driving me nuts. And shame on Prima in turn for either not noticing, or not
mentioning that.
===========
CHANGE LOG: [ph_chgs]
===========
10/17/07 - 0.4: First version of the FAQ, and the information on fishing,
the cannon game, and the archery range included.
===============
COPYRIGHT INFO: [ph_copy]
===============
(This is perhaps an empty statement, but for the record...)
�The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Side-Quest FAQ� is copyright 2007
Shannon Spencer Fox, Fractured Reality, Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in any format without the author�s express permission is strictly
prohibited. (Really, just ask. I'll probably be flattered!)
Currently the only website permitted to host this guide is GameFAQs.com, which
you should be reading this on now. If it's on someplace else, please email me
and let me know.
'The Legend of Zelda', Link, and anything else related is the copyrighted
property of Nintendo, Limited.
Thanks again, everyone! Hope you enjoyed this!
Shannon Spencer Fox
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