Common Sense Media Review
By Jinny Gudmundsen
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Daring adventure with inventive puzzles, trains, heroism.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 11+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 7 parent reviews
Based on 32 kid reviews
Kids say this game is a fun and engaging experience suitable for children aged 7 and up, with family-friendly content, mild violence, and challenging puzzles that require logical thinking. However, some younger players may find certain boss encounters and puzzle difficulties intimidating, while the touch screen controls and beautiful graphics enhance the gameplay.
- family friendly
- mild violence
- challenging puzzles
- beautiful graphics
- engaging storyline
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's It About?
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SPIRIT TRACKS is the 15th game in the very popular Zelda series from Nintendo. You do not need to have played the earlier games to enjoy this one. Long ago, the Spirits of Good had defeated a dark evil and contained it by burying the spirit of the Demon King. They shackled the evil by spreading special Spirit Tracks (railroad tracks) over the world and assured its lockup by creating a Spirit Tower. But the evil is awakening and casting aside some of the Spirit Tracks. Evil minions of the Demon King have grabbed the ruling good princess Zelda and separated her body from her spirit. You play as Link, a young train engineer, and together with Zelda's spirit, you embark on a quest to save this land from the evil that threatens it. To defeat the evil, you must travel around the world while conducting a train, solve puzzles set in maze-like environments (known as dungeons), and defeat bad fantasy creatures, including several large ones known as bosses, by using your wits and your weapons.
Is It Any Good?
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is a great game for kids who like long adventures filled with challenging puzzles. The story is quite engaging, filled with fascinating characters and intriguing myths. The dungeon puzzles can be quite inventive because many can only be solved by drawing out a path for Zelda to take while you control Link. Other puzzles involve the driving of a train across intertwining tracks where other trains are also present.
Defeating a wide range of fantasy creatures (with no blood) is usually pretty easy except when facing the larger bosses. Your arsenal is constantly evolving as you add more weapons including a sword and shield, a whirlwind (which you activate by blowing into the microphone), a whip, and a boomerang. The game incorporates many other interactive elements including having you play a pan flute by blowing into the DS microphone. Newbies to this series, and die-hard fans will both enjoy helping Link and Zelda save the kingdom.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what makes a character heroic. What positive charactistics did Link reveal? And how about Princess Zelda?
In this princess adventure, Princess Zelda doesn't wait to be rescued, rather, she joins in on the quest to save the world. Can you think of other games in which a female lead is heroic?
Many of these dungeon puzzles involve controlling the movements of two people instead of just one. Did you enjoy the extra challenge?
Game Details
- Platforms : Nintendo DS , Nintendo DSi
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Nintendo
- Release date : December 7, 2009
- Genre : Adventure
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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