Wesley Yin-Poole praised the controls for Link and Zelda, as well as the visual quality of the characters, but criticized the train mechanic and its "tired features", commenting that the series needs changes to structure and gameplay rather than visuals. Game Informers Andrew Reiner commented that he has not seen a game that "fluctuates between highs and lows as frequently" as Spirit Tracks. He called it his least favourite title in the series, praising its controls, while also praising the inclusion of Zelda's effect on the gameplay. However, he criticized Zelda's character, describing her as teenage-angsty Hannah Montana than the calm-yet-troubled princess in previous series iterations. He added that this makes the adventure "taken off course". In a second opinion, fellow Game Informer staff member Phil Kollar similarly called the game mixed, comparing its reception to the NES video game Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. He adds that while glad that Nintendo did something different, it hurt the game more than it helped. RPG Fan's Kyle E. Miller commented that he went into Spirit Tracks with "low expectations", expecting a similar reaction to Phantom Hourglass, which he described as "far from amazing". On the other hand, he still found the title disappointing due to the train mechanic, which he states was a "foolish" idea by the developers to build a game around. He adds that while the dungeons and puzzles are good, it all feels "a little tired, brief, and empty", calling it "most likely the series' worst entry". Giant Bomb's Jeff Gerstmann also found it disappointing in some ways, though he added that the flaws were offset by "terrific puzzle design and a great, fun story that feels noticeably different from the standard "save the princess" saga that series fans are used to seeing". GamePros Aaron Koehn praised it for its use of the DS's capabilities, calling the game's offerings a "deep experience", but criticized it for taking too long to get going in the beginning and for doing little to differentiate itself from Phantom Hourglass. RPGamer's Adriaan den Ouden praised the gameplay, commenting that it was "refined" from Phantom Hourglass; on negative side, he criticized its travel as "slow and tedious", also calling the side-quests "weak delivery subquests". Ars Technica's Ben Kuchera praised the train travel, calling it a "solid length" game and praising it for its touch screen usage. He did however criticize it for its