What happens when you put wheels on a steam boat? You turn The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass into The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. While not a whole lot has changed in Link's second DS outing, Spirit Tracks is still a great game.

Matthew Blundon: I wasn't a fan of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and I had major doubts about Spirit Tracks, but upon finally playing it, I was rewarded with a top-notch game. Everything that I hated about Phantom Hourglass was resolved, and the concept of riding a train was fresh and compelling. Sure, the online mode was ripped out of Spirit Tracks, but what we got in the end was a very impressive title.

UNCOMFORTABLE SITUATION!

Grant Buell: Spirit Tracks takes the good and leaves out the bad from its DS predecessor, Phantom Hourglass. The smooth touch screen controls and lovely cel-shaded graphics are still there, but the somewhat laborious central dungeon design is gone, replaced with a dungeon that never forces you to repeat floors. Some of the later floors in this dungeon contain the best puzzles I have ever seen in a Zelda game, period.

These brain-twisters alone earn this game a top spot on my list, but the overworld train system - which makes the overworld feel almost like an overgrown dungeon in itself - helps a lot, as does the greatly increased NPC interaction. There are a lot of things to do and discover in Spirit Tracks, especially for a handheld title. It's well worth suffering through a few design quirks, like the fairly slow train speed, to experience them.