Play The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass first, then The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. That is both the release order and the cleanest story order. Spirit Tracks takes place about 100 years later with a new Link, so you can start there without being lost, but playing Phantom Hourglass first gives the returning ideas, characters and design changes more context.
Choose Spirit Tracks first only if its train-based overworld, longer campaign or Zelda’s active partnership is the feature you want most. The two Nintendo DS games share a stylus-driven control foundation, yet their travel systems and pacing feel meaningfully different.
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The short answer: Phantom Hourglass, then Spirit Tracks
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass released first, on 19 October 2007 in Nintendo UK’s listing. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks followed on 11 December 2009. The order also fits the fiction: Spirit Tracks is set roughly a century after Phantom Hourglass, with a different Link and a new generation connected to familiar people from the earlier adventure.
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There is no requirement to finish Phantom Hourglass before understanding Spirit Tracks. The later game explains its own conflict and introduces its setting clearly. What you miss by starting with it is context rather than essential plot: why certain faces, legends and the series’ touch-screen conventions feel familiar.
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Playing in order also lets you see the design progression. Phantom Hourglass establishes the DS formula with sea exploration and a drawn sailing route. Spirit Tracks keeps the same stylus-first controls, then refines the pacing and adds a partner mechanic in which Zelda’s spirit directs Phantoms.
How the stories connect
Phantom Hourglass continues The Wind Waker’s voyage
Nintendo describes Phantom Hourglass as a continuation of The Wind Waker. Months after that game’s events, Link, Tetra and the pirate crew sail toward new lands. Tetra boards an abandoned ship, disappears, and Link wakes on a mysterious island. The search that follows supplies the game’s central sea journey.
The connection is therefore direct for Link and Tetra, even though the adventure is presented as a self-contained Nintendo DS title. Familiar cel-shaded art and the nautical setting carry over from The Wind Waker, while movement, combat and item use are redesigned around the touch screen.
Spirit Tracks is a later-era sequel
Spirit Tracks takes place about 100 years after Phantom Hourglass, according to GameSpot’s 2009 review and Nintendo Life’s coverage. Its Link is a trainee engineer rather than the earlier game’s sea-faring hero. The story concerns restoring the Spirit Tracks and maintaining the seal on an ancient demon.
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The time gap means this is not a chapter in the same Link’s personal journey. Returning concepts and related character lineages reward familiarity with Phantom Hourglass, but the plot of Spirit Tracks stands on its own. You can follow the objectives, meet the main cast and understand the stakes without knowing the previous game’s ending.
The two games’ core identities
| Category | Phantom Hourglass | Spirit Tracks |
|---|---|---|
| Release | 19 October 2007 (Nintendo UK) | 11 December 2009 (Nintendo UK) |
| Story position | Continues The Wind Waker; follows Link and Tetra at sea | Set about 100 years later; follows a new Link |
| Overworld vehicle | Boat on an open sea map | Train on fixed rail routes |
| Travel controls | Draw a course, then sail automatically and use the cannon | Choose routes, adjust speed, handle switches and obstacles, use the cannon and whistle |
| Signature companion play | Primarily a Link-led adventure | Zelda’s spirit commands Phantoms in dungeon puzzles |
| Design emphasis | Exploration and introducing the DS touch-screen formula | Refinement, pacing improvements and a longer quest structure |
| Multiplayer | Had Nintendo DS online features; Nintendo later discontinued those services | No online multiplayer; local options remain according to Nintendo Life |
What playing Phantom Hourglass first feels like
Stylus movement and combat
Every major action is built around the DS stylus. You draw Link’s movement path, swipe to attack, and trace the boomerang’s flight route before releasing it. The same interface lets you mark the map with notes, symbols and reminders. These controls are simple once learned, but they are unlike button-based Zelda games, so Phantom Hourglass is the natural introduction to the shared system.
Plotting a voyage
The boat does not require you to steer continuously. On the sea map, draw a course between destinations; the boat follows it automatically. During the trip you can operate the cannon and respond to hazards. This creates an exploratory rhythm: plan a route, watch the journey, then investigate islands and dungeons when you arrive.
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The open sea gives Phantom Hourglass a stronger feeling of discovery than fixed rail travel. Its central dungeon and repeated travel loop can also feel repetitive. That tension is important when deciding whether to start here: the first game is more experimental and exploratory, but not always as smooth in pacing.
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What Spirit Tracks changes
Train travel instead of free sailing
The train is the overworld in Spirit Tracks. Routes are laid out as rails rather than open water, so you select a path and manage the trip instead of drawing any course you like. You control speed, deal with route switches and obstacles, fire a cannon and use the whistle. Nintendo Life noted that these journeys can be more interesting than the boat trips in some situations because they involve active decisions, while the fixed tracks reduce freedom and spontaneous discovery.
Zelda becomes an active puzzle partner
Zelda’s spirit can inhabit and command a Phantom in dungeons. Nintendo lists several practical uses: a Phantom can walk through fire or lava, carry Link across hazards and block attacks. You direct Zelda and Link together, using one character to create a safe route for the other. This is the biggest mechanical distinction between the games and the main reason some players prefer Spirit Tracks even when they enjoy the first game’s exploration.
Longer, more deliberate progression
GameSpot’s Randolph Ramsay reported more than 14 hours for the main story in his 2009 review. The game also includes substantial side quests. GameSpot judged that it removed the predecessor’s repetition and pacing problems, calling Spirit Tracks the superior of the two Nintendo handheld Zelda games. That is a reviewer’s assessment, not an objective score for every player, but it identifies the sequel’s clearest advantage: a more controlled campaign flow.
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Which one has the better story?
The answer depends on what “better” means. Phantom Hourglass has the stronger connection to The Wind Waker and the immediate emotional continuity of Link searching for Tetra. If you value a direct follow-up to an earlier console adventure and a voyage with the pirate crew, start there.
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Spirit Tracks gives Zelda more to do than a conventional rescue role. Her Phantom partnership affects exploration, combat and dungeon problem-solving, so the relationship between Link and Zelda is more active during play. Its story is still accessible as a standalone tale because the setting is a century removed and the hero is new.
For a first-time playthrough of both, the earlier game makes the later game’s echoes more satisfying. For a single game, choose the premise that appeals to you: a sea search for Tetra or a rail journey to restore the Spirit Tracks and protect an ancient seal.
Which one has better gameplay?
Choose Phantom Hourglass for freedom and experimentation
- You want to draw boat routes across a broad sea map.
- You enjoy making your own map notes and tracing item trajectories with the stylus.
- You want to see the original version of the shared DS control concept before its sequel modifies it.
- You prefer open-ended travel and island discovery to a prescribed network of routes.
Choose Spirit Tracks for refinement and cooperation
- You prefer train journeys with speed management, switches, obstacles, cannon use and whistle timing.
- You want Zelda to participate directly through Phantom control.
- You value a longer main campaign and more side-quest content.
- You are especially sensitive to repeated dungeon and travel routines; GameSpot specifically praised the sequel’s pacing improvements.
Nintendo Life reached a different emphasis from GameSpot: it described Spirit Tracks as polished and more interesting to travel through in some respects, but less innovative than Phantom Hourglass. Both observations can be true. The sequel improves and expands the formula, while the original feels fresher because it introduced it.
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No. Spirit Tracks is designed to be approachable on its own. The century-long time jump, new Link and separate central conflict prevent it from functioning like a chapter that assumes you remember every event in Phantom Hourglass.
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Play Phantom Hourglass first if you want the best context for the shared world, returning ideas and the evolution from boat travel to train travel. Start with Spirit Tracks if that is the only cartridge you can obtain or if Zelda’s Phantom mechanic is the feature that convinced you to play. You will not need to stop and complete the earlier game to understand the sequel’s main objectives.
Recommended play plans
If you will play both
- Begin with Phantom Hourglass and learn its stylus controls, map-marking system and drawn sailing routes.
- Finish its main story, then take a short break if the repeated central-dungeon visits or boat loop become tiring.
- Move to Spirit Tracks and treat the train as a deliberate redesign rather than a free-roaming boat substitute.
- When Zelda joins dungeon play, practice positioning Link and the Phantom separately before attempting timed or hazard-heavy rooms.
If you only have time for one
Pick Phantom Hourglass for release-order context, the Wind Waker continuation and sea exploration. Pick Spirit Tracks for the longer campaign, active Zelda partnership and the pacing that GameSpot preferred. Neither choice leaves you unable to understand its own story.
Availability and hardware considerations
Nintendo’s product information lists both games for Nintendo DS and Wii U editions. Nintendo says Nintendo DS online features were discontinued on 20 May 2014. It also says purchases through the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS eShops ended on 27 March 2023. As a result, new players should plan around physical cartridges and compatible hardware rather than assume an active digital storefront or working DS online service.
Cartridge condition, regional compatibility, working touch screens and replacement stylus availability vary by seller and date. Current prices and stock are volatile, so verify the exact edition and hardware requirements when buying. A used DS with an inaccurate or damaged touch screen can make drawing routes, boomerang paths and Phantom commands frustrating even when the cartridge works correctly.
What happened to multiplayer?
Phantom Hourglass originally included Nintendo DS online features, but those services are no longer available. This does not remove its single-player campaign, yet it does mean that descriptions of an active online mode are historical rather than a current purchasing benefit.
Spirit Tracks removed online multiplayer and retained local options, as reported by Nintendo Life. If multiplayer matters, confirm that the local mode fits the hardware and second-player setup you have before buying; neither game should be selected today on the assumption that Nintendo DS online matchmaking is still supported.
Final decision
The default recommendation is Phantom Hourglass followed by Spirit Tracks. It preserves release and story order, introduces the common DS control language before the sequel builds on it, and makes the later game’s changes easier to judge. Start with Spirit Tracks only when its train travel, Zelda-and-Phantom teamwork or longer, more carefully paced campaign outweighs your interest in seeing the series’ progression. Both games are self-contained enough to stand alone, but the two-game experience is most coherent in that order.
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