Alright you ever get into a game series and say, "Wow, there's more than five games?!" That's how it can feel for the Zelda series. People only know of the big titles: Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, Breath of the Wild, Majora's Mask, maybe Skyward Sword if you're feeling it. The smaller ones can get pushed back compared to those game changing releases. What makes them so important?

Let's tackle the easy reason, timelines. The Zelda series has a strict timeline mettled into the lore. Everything starts with Skyward Sword to Minish Cap to Four Swords to Ocarina of Time. After that, the timeline splits into three: the Hero Dies, the Hero Returns the Sword, and the Hero Keeps the Sword. All of these timelines matter because they all merge back together with the help of Hyrule Warriors. I WILL EXPLAIN WHY HYRULE WARRIORS IS CANON IN ANOTHER CHAPTER!

What does this have to do with Phantom Hourglass? In the Hero Keeps the Sword timeline, there are three games. Wind Waker comes first, establishing that the land of Hyrule has flooded to keep the evil from spreading. A new hero is found and he saves the day. The next game is Phantom Hourglass, portraying the SAME hero as the one in Wind Waker. This hero is one of the only ones who is in two games. The other is Majora's Mask with Ocarina of Time. Interestingly, they both go through some sort of same story: defeat Ganondorf in game one, get transported to a strange land and help restore peace to that land in game two. This doesn't answer the question however, what makes Phantom Hourglass so important?

It's not so much that it has to do with the main character, Link, but it has to do with the side characters and the villain. Bellum is our main baddie for this game and he's a giant squid with a giant appetite. He feeds on life force, which every living thing needs to live. It's kind of like the soul to each living thing. Without it, you turn to stone and eventually die. Life force is also the thing that powers the Phantom Hourglass. It's a physical manifestation of life force!

This type of force is so important because it's the only reference to the Triforce we get the entire game. In the Temple of the Ocean King, there are a few floors where you need to carry triangles to pedestals in the shape of a Triforce to open a door. The Triforce reacts to the life force being placed into the pedestal.

So... if every living thing has life force... that means anyone can wield the Triforces! The reason why Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf all possess the Triforces of Courage, Wisdom, and Power respectively is because their descendants have the life force of the ORIGINAL wielders of the Triforces! We were all trained to think it was because Zelda is a goddess, Ganondorf has Demise's essence, and Link... just has the soul of the hero. What is that soul? It's the life force of the OG hero. That's why it's so important, it explains the passing of the Triforce pieces from hero to hero.

It also establishes the existence of spirits. There are three fairies in this game, each representing the Spirit of Power, Wisdom, and Courage. These special fairies each have their own powers. Power has offense, Wisdom has defense, and Courage can sense danger (also find weak points like how Navi can in Ocarina of Time). These spirits give us a sense of each Triforces' powers as well. They directly reflect on the fairies and what they can do.

Finally the Triforce is not just a mcguffin! We can point out the different powers they have based on everything Phantom Hourglass has given us! This game is also just amazing and does not get the appreciation it deserves.