Phantom Hourglass
- This article is about the item. For the game, see The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.
Games | ||
Location | ||
Uses | Protects Link from the Temple's curse | |
The Phantom Hourglass is the namesake item of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. It is needed to navigate through the deeper sections of the Temple of the Ocean King due to its power to repel the dungeon's life-draining curse.[1]
Properties
The Phantom Hourglass' timer starts upon beginning the Temple of the Ocean King, and counts down as long as Link is not standing in a Safe Zone or any of several special rooms in the dungeon. If struck by a Phantom, one minute is lost. If time runs out, Link takes damage when outside of Safe Zones.[2]
The Phantom Hourglass contains Sand of Hours, a substance made of Force Gems of the Ocean King.[3] It initially contains 10 minutes worth of sand, but its capacity can be increased by defeating the bosses, which yields 2 additional minutes of sand, and by finding sand in underwater chests, which yield 1 additional minute of sand. Its maximum capacity is 25 minutes. Pick-ups can be found within the Temple of the Ocean King to replenish the Sand of Hours by 30 seconds. These are scattered throughout the dungeon's many floors in set locations and are dropped by Wizzrobes.
The Phantom Hourglass' power can only be restored by sunlight, therefore the timer resets upon leaving the dungeon.[4]
Location
The Phantom Hourglass is automatically acquired upon returning to the Temple of the Ocean King after completing the Temple of Fire. A brief conversation between Link, Ciela, and Linebeck occurs on what to do to overcome the dungeon's curse. Oshus then appears and tells Link to claim the Phantom Hourglass sitting atop a pedestal in the Temple of the Ocean King's lobby.
Story
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Spoiler Alert! This section describes a subject that is sensitive to plot development. |
The Phantom Hourglass was made so that Oshus could journey into the temple in search of Bellum.[5] The sand in the hourglass, the Sands of Hours, is the physical form of life force.[6] This is absorbed by the temple rather than Link's own life force. Since bosses are made of stolen life force, defeating them gets extra time for the Phantom Hourglass.[7]
Due to Oshus' status as the Ocean King and association with the Phantom Hourglass, Golden Chief Cylos immediately trusts Link upon seeing him with it.[8]
The Phantom Hourglass is later made into the hilt of the Phantom Sword to power it.[9]
At the end of the game, when Tetra's Pirate Crew insist that Link and Tetra's adventure was just a dream, Link pulls out the Phantom Hourglass, now empty, which serves as proof of the events.
Gallery
In-game render of the Phantom Hourglass
Scene artwork from the game's credits
See also
References
- ↑ "You now hold the legendary Phantom Hourglass, [Link]. As long as you carry it, this temple cannot drain the life from you." — Oshus, Phantom Hourglass.
- ↑ "You are only safe as long as sand remains in the top of the Phantom Hourglass. When all the sand has drained to the bottom, your life, too, will be drained." — Oshus, Phantom Hourglass.
- ↑ "The sand inside the Phantom Hourglass is called the Sand of Hours. The beast you defeated in the Temple of Fire held some grains of it. It is said to be made of Force Gems of the great spirit, the Ocean King. It gives deep strength to whoever holds its power. From now on, you must defeat monsters and collect their Sand of Hours. For the more sand you place in the hourglass, the longer its power will last." — Oshus, Phantom Hourglass.
- ↑ "No. Once the Sand of Hours has drained, its power is lost. It needs the light of the sun to restore its mystical power." — Oshus, Phantom Hourglass.
- ↑ "I had only one option. My ocean of strength had drained to just a puddle. Using my last ounce of strength, I cloned myself, just as Ciela did. Then I made a humble home on Mercay Island. I used the Sand of Hours to make the hourglass and enter the temple. I studied my foe, searching for ways to defeat Bellum, and waited for my chance." — Oshus, Phantom Hourglass.
- ↑ "His name...is Bellum. His evil ran so deep that it leeched the very life force from me. As you know, every creature in this world possesses a sacred power. This power is called life force. The Sand of Hours is a physical manifestation of that power. And that is what brought them here." — Oshus, Phantom Hourglass.
- ↑ "Even among the monsters born of the Sand of Hours, some are especially evil. The Phantoms who roam my temple take after the evil of their master. Supernatural strength, wrapped in plate armor... virtually invincible. They prowl the temple, searching for victims. No one can harm them. Of course, they were created to be untouchable." — Oshus, Phantom Hourglass.
- ↑ "Slow-toe!! Is that not the Phantom Hourglass that you carry?! It certainly means, most certainly and undoubtedly, that you know old Oshus. We go way back, that old codger and me! He took good care of me, that's for certain!" — Golden Chief Cylos, Phantom Hourglass.
- ↑ "You got the Phantom Sword! The Phantom Hourglass powered it up!" — In-game description, Phantom Hourglass.