"Phantom Hourglass is a first for Nintendo in a few ways. Story-wise, it's the first time a Zelda game has directly referenced elements from a previous title.
Actually, it's not the first sequel. The second Zelda game was the first sequel:
"The Adventure of Link is a direct sequel to the original The Legend of Zelda" Wikipedia [wikipedia.org]
I think it gets flak because it's just a bad game. The level design is often repetitive, the fights annoying and the way you have to start from Zelda's temple every time you run out of lives is really annoying. There have been better implementations of similar gameplay. Playing AoL is like playing the original Metroid, just no fun.
not the first sequel (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, it's not the first sequel. The second Zelda game was the first sequel:
"The Adventure of Link is a direct sequel to the original The Legend of Zelda" Wikipedia [wikipedia.org]
Re: (Score:5, Insightful)
TAoL really gets more flack than it deserves... I love that game...
Re:not the first sequel (Score:1)