History YMMV / TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks

* CommonKnowledge: Many people think this is the first game where Zelda was playable. She was actually first playable in ''BS The Legend of Zelda'', a MissionPackSequel to the original ''Zelda 1.''

* AssPull: In contrast to the Master Sword and Phantom Sword from the previous two games, both of which were properly established and had plot arcs dedicated to obtaining them, the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Lokomo Sword]]'s inclusion seems particularly sloppy and ends up raising more questions than it answers, such as why Anjean didn't give it to Link any sooner. Apart from the increased attack power, its only function is to allow you to stun Phantoms without needing to collect Tears of Light, something the Bow of Light already does anyway. And that its existence was never foreshadowed or hinted at makes it come off as though the "legendary sword upgrade" was primarily included out of obligation after the previous two games both had one.

** Demon Trains. They roam the overworld in compact track locations, and if they run into you it's a OneHitKill. Because the entire overworld is on tracks, this makes them ridiculously difficult to avoid sometimes, as well as being incredibly easy to be boxed in by them. Since there's no way to turn around and reverse speed is halved, if you find yourself on the same rails as one you're basically screwed.

** Sir Frosty, the snowman enemies that appear in in the Snow Realm can be a real pain to deal with. They almost always appear at curves on the tracks, meaning that you're fighting with the camera as the train turns, just to be able to attack them. They'll sometimes even appear in front AND behind the train, giving you no time to intercept attacks from both sides.

** Demon Trains. They roam the overworld in compact track locations and if they run into you its a OneHitKill. Because the entire overworld is on tracks, this makes them ridiculously difficult to avoid sometimes, as well as being incredibly easy to be boxed in by them. Since there's no way to turn around and reverse speed is halve so if you find yourself on the same rails as one you're basically screwed.

* AssPull: The Lokomo Sword, in that its existence was never foreshadowed or implied earlier in the game. Anjean seems to pull it out of nowhere to present it to Link, raising the question of why she didn't do so any time before. Not to mention you only get it after finding the Bow of Light, which serves the same function -- letting you stun Phantoms. It's almost as if the developers felt the need to throw in an upgraded sword out of obligation since the other two games both had them, and they didn't put enough thought into when it would make the most sense for Link to have it.

* HolyShitQuotient: The FinalBattle, one of the most epic in the entire franchise, filled with moments that almost sent a lot of fans into a joy seizure.

* EarWorm:
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W_bFLwB0WY The Overworld theme]] a.k.a the theme that usually plays while riding on the train.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CpyO0wrAQs In The Fields]] (the on-foot outdoors theme) will be stuck in your head within just a couple times of hearing it.

** Every Rocktite is a BossInMooksClothing. Consider a GiantEnemyCrab that chases you in a tunnel, able to climb the walls and ceiling, goes ''faster'' than your train, and that it takes three to five hits to its weakpoint to get it to go away. Temporarily, mind you. Now adding to the fun, sometimes it closes its shell, so you need to blow up an ExplosiveBarrel near it to open... but again, it can walk on walls and ceiling and the barrels spawn randomly around the tunnel, so it's entirely possible for it to bodyslam your train without it having opened up once. And because that wasn't bad enough, it's accompanied by smaller Tektites, who make up for their fragility by being fast, dealing as much damage as the Rocktite, and dropping on the train from above, where the camera can't see them unless you move it there. Oh yes, did we mention that you need to control the camera as well? And that you can't ''shoot'' while moving the camera?

* ThatOneSidequest: The Dark Ore sidequest. You have to carry some ore that melts in sunlight halfway across the world map, and the only way to keep your cargo intact long enough is to go through a tunnel - inhabited by a [[GiantEnemyCrab Rocktite]]. Made tougher by the fact that you're also harassed by smaller ones. And getting hit causes you to lose some precious ore, so the bottom line is that you have to fight one of the tougher bosses in the game ''and'' take no more than one hit. There is a bit of a GuideDangIt cheat, though... The boss appears as soon as you enter it after unlocking the track, but only in the direction you need to take with the ore. You can beat it, then go pick up some ore and deliver it at your leisure, since the Rocktite won't ever respawn until you save and quit (the smaller enemies do, but they aren't as bothersome without the big one to focus on).

* UncannyValley: The [[http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/zelda/images/3/3a/Demon_Train.png/revision/latest?cb=20091111023844 Demon Train]]'s face falls into this category.

* FanonDiscontinuity: While the game is well liked, some people avoiding mentioning it because it makes the ending to ''Wind Waker'' less potent. Namely, that the setting for this game is named Hyrule, when in ''Wind Waker'', [[spoiler:the King of Hyrule]] makes it a point that the new land that Link and Tetra would find will ''not'' be Hyrule.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Many of the bosses could have interesting lore behind them, Fraaz and [[spoiler: Skeldritch]] being some of the first that come to mind, but unlike other Zelda games Spirit Tracks never gives any hints about the bosses.

* GoddamnedBats: Most of the enemies you encounter while driving your train, but especially the big spiders (take two hits to kill, and wobble erratically after the first hit), cave bugs (appear in large groups and circle the cave rapidly before diving on you) and the tiny flying elephants that are often difficult to see, let alone shoot. The ranged attackers can become a problem if you're distracted by something else or can't turn to face them quickly enough. All enemies do 1/4th of your train HP per hit, making death by monster-spam a serious danger.

* CounterpartComparison:
** Fraaz is often compared to both [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Twinrova]] and [[VideoGame/TheLegendofZeldaPhantomHourglass Blaaz]], due to how it's fought as well as its theme in general.
** Skeldritch is easily comparable to Stallord, including how the player needs to [[MakesSenseinContext break Skeldritch's spine]] to expose its weak spot and the player needing to attack its head in order to completely kill it.
** [[spoiler: The Malladus-possessed Cole]] is often compared to Ganon. They look very similar in design, arrows of light are required to beat him, and how Link and [[spoiler: Zelda]] perform the killing blow is almost the exact same as Ganon's in ''Ocarina of Time''.
** Link and Zelda in this game have been compared to [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Edward and Alphonse Elric]], due to being a short blond kid and a cute child who possesses a giant suit of armor, respectively.

* AwesomeMusic: Has its [[AwesomeMusic/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks own page]].

* AwesomeMusic:
** [[https://youtu.be/g1KtpD018WY Stagnox's theme.]] It helps that it gets a remix in [[https://youtu.be/XExZ3U1jI_Q Skeldritch's theme.]]
** [[https://youtu.be/2l4fjQBMckE Cragma's theme,]] which is a very good remix of [[https://youtu.be/B0sves087iU Fraaz's theme.]]

* EvenBetterSequel: From a technical standpoint, ''Spirit Tracks'' is a much more improved experience over ''Phantom Hourglass'', having a much fresher (in comparison anyways) plot, overall better dungeon and puzzle design, and as a whole is a much more streamlined experience. Really, the most contested aspect that ''Phantom Hourglass'' does have is more freedom in exploration compared to ''Spirit Tracks''.

** [[spoiler: The Malladus-possessed Cole]] is often compared to Ganon. They look very similar in design, arrows of light are required to beat him, and how Link and [[spoiler: Zelda]] perform the killing blow is almost the exact same as Ganon's in Ocarina of Time.

* FakeUltimateMook: Cragma. He's absolutely everywhere in advertising materials, but the fight against him is extremely underwhelming (shooting him in his weak points, [[EyeScream then shooting him in the eye]], then slashing his head, with little variation between forms).

* AwesomeMusic

* BreatherBoss: Phytops, the third boss, especially compared to the bosses before it. It only has two attack types, an easy-to-avoid projectile attack and a whipping attack that only takes off half a heart, and it's nowhere near as involved to beat as Stagnox and Fraaz.
* BrokenBase: The train. What's interesting about it is that fans tend to like it or dislike it depending on their view of how the franchise should be:
** People who like Zelda games for their puzzle solving, combat and story tend to be OK with it. They consider it brings some fresh air to the series, especially regarding atmosphere, and that it fits in a handheld game.
** People who like Zelda games for their sense of exploration and discovery are the ones who tend to hate it, since they think it utterly kills both characteristics without leaving a trace while adding the stress of constantly trying to avoid the Dark Trains takes all the fun out of the world map.

** Fraaz, for being smart enough to be the game's WakeUpCallBoss.
** Skeldritch. The fight against it is really great, and [[https://youtu.be/XExZ3U1jI_Q his theme doesn't hurt him any, even though it's a remix of Stagnox's.]]

* BessBossEver:

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Byrne.
** Fraaz, for being DangerouslyGenreSavvy enough to be the game's WakeUpCallBoss.
** Skeldritch. The fight against it is really great, and [[https://youtu.be/XExZ3U1jI_Q his theme doesn't hurt him any, even though it's a remix of Stagnox's.]]

** Fraaz. He's surprisingly hard for being only the second boss in the game, and he's the savviest enemy in the game to boot; his main form will aim where the game "thinks" you'll be when his shots reach you - he's the only non-overworld boss in this game to do this accurately - and [[spoiler:after the first form cycle, he'll destroy the torches you were using against him]]. (Phytops will also try to "lead its target" with its goo shots in some parts of its fight but, unlike Fraaz, if you keep moving in the same direction Phytops will usually miss.)

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Many of the bosses could have interesting lore behind them, Fraaz and [[spoiler: Skeldritch]] being some of the first that come to mind, but unlike other games Spirit Tracks never says anything about the bosses.