I enjoyed
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass immensely, and I picked it up because of the creative use of the touch screen to do all of Link's commands (which works surprisingly well).
Everything about this game was great; the combat, story, characters, exploration, and bountiful secrets made this a truly great
Zelda experience to behold. There is only one glaring flaw to this game, and it's what caused me to put it down indefinitely...
The Temple of the Sea King
Throughout the game, whenever you complete a dungeon, you get a few grains of sand added to the Phantom Hourglass, the titular item that is the focus of the game. The Phantom Hourglass' only purpose is to protect you while you are in the Temple of the Sea King, an area that you must return to after you complete a dungeon and is required in order to progress in the game and story.
Each time you return to the temple, you must go down several floors until you reach the next room/chamber where you will find a map that will show you your next destination and move the plot along. The problem is, each time you enter the temple, you start on the first floor
and must go all the way back down to the previous floor that you acquired a map/plot point and then go several more floors down.
However, you don't have nearly enough time in the Phantom Hourglass to get you all the way safely.
Instead, you must find secret passageways and alternate routes that are only accessible once you've acquired certain items in order to skip certain floors. You must then use your memory in order to remember how to overcome certain floors, as well as face new puzzles and dangers in previously unexplored floors.
This may not seem like a big deal, but I would always
quest to new areas and return to old areas once I acquired new equipment to unlock certain paths and secrets. Exploring the Great Sea is a blast in this game, so when it came to return to the temple, I had no clue how to proceed.
I know that I could probably look up a guide or watch a walkthrough, but at this point, I'm cool with just remembering all the cool adventures I had on the Great Sea and never having to return to the Temple of the Sea King
for the ninth time.