Legend of Zelda Fans Surprised By New Release For Underrated Entry

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Austin King is the Senior Editor of Gaming at ScreenRant and has been with the site since 2020 with a focus on RPGs and tabletop games. He previously managed content for Geek to Geek Media, and has served as a writer for sites like Nintendad, Geek Fitness, and more.

In addition to his work at ScreenRant, he also hosts the Dragon Quest FM podcast and is the author of several books, including co-writing Nimbus (a #1 bestseller in 2013). His latest is the nonfiction The Dragon Quest Book, available now.

He's written about pop culture, video games, and genre studies over the course of his career. You can find him on BlueSky, X, and at Dragonquestaustin.com

With a series like The Legend of Zelda, there's bound to be some games that get overlooked or go underappreciated. Games like Breath of the Wild and Ocarina of Time get plenty of laurels, and rightfully so, but there are plenty of good Zelda games that seem to fly under the radar, even among Zelda fans.

And that's why it's cool to see one of those underrated games finally getting some love, even if it's not necessarily the re-release I would've personally hoped for. Fans over on Reddit seemed pretty thrilled overall by the announcement, and I'm hoping it means we'll get additional releases for this Zelda game in the future.

The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Added To Nintendo Music

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass soundtrack has been added to Nintendo Music, which you can check out if you've got an NSO subscription. Whatever you may think of the DS game, Phantom Hourglass has some great music, so this is a nice addition. It's also a surprising one, since it feels like Nintendo has ignored the DS entries for quite some time now.

It's a real shame, honestly. Wind Waker might just be my favorite Zelda game, and while the follow-ups on DS weren't on that level, I found both Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks to be enjoyable. Even as I'm writing this, I keep staring at both of them on my shelf and feeling the temptation to replay them again.

Maybe this release on Nintendo Music means we'll get the games re-released as part of DS library on NSO, or maybe Nintendo will release some glorious all-in-one version on Switch 2 that contains all three games. That seems unlikely, but with Zelda's 40th Anniversary being this year, I guess anything could be on the table.

It’s An Underrated Zelda With Some Great Tunes

Phantom Hourglass, as a seagull flies beside him.

If you've never played Phantom Hourglass but have NSO, then do yourself a favor and check out the soundtrack. There are some good tunes on there, with "Linebeck's Theme" being a fan-favorite (and rightfully so). The sailing theme is also great, and it can be nice to just have playing in the background.

It's cool to see Nintendo adding the underrated Phantom Hourglass unexpectedly to Nintendo Music. It'd be nice to get some other Zelda games on there as well, but this is a win for sure. And with The Legend of Zelda turning 40 this year, it's a great time to go back and reminisce through music.