Today’s launch of The Legend of Zelda : Phantom Hourglass for Nintendo DS  marks the arrival of perhaps the deepest, richest story ever to appear on a hand-held video game system. The game requires players to fill up the Phantom Hourglass with sand and give themselves enough time to delve deeper and deeper into the ultimate dungeon. It has received critical praise both in the United States and in Japan, where it launched in late June.

"The storyline for The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass represents a new pinnacle for hand-held video games," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "The touch-screen controls make it easy for newcomers but fresh and engaging for Zelda fans."

Veteran gamers should be able to pick it up and start playing instantly. "The game is a pure testament to both the power and innovative aspects of DS, delivering an overall product that will blow gamers away visually, stylistically and cinematically," says Mark Bozon of IGN.com, who rated the game 9 out of 10, including a perfect 10 rating for its "stunning" graphics. A notoriously critical Japanese publication also gave The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass a near-perfect score: Four judges rated it a perfect 10, while one gave it a 9.

But what about people who haven’t played a Zelda game since the original on the Nintendo Entertainment System  in 1987? No worries. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass has players navigate through the game using only the touch screen. Sliding the stylus swings hero Link’s sword, while tapping other characters starts conversations or battles. Players can even write notes on their maps to remind them of places they should revisit once they gain more items and experience.

If two players want to spend a little time together with The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, they have two options. If they’re in the same room, they can play over a local wireless connection. If they’re far apart, they can use their Internet connection to log onto Nintendo  Wi-Fi Connection and battle in the two-player mode, which lets one player control Link while the other player controls the enemies who are after him.

As a special bonus for Nintendo’s rewards club, My Nintendo members who register the game and their Nintendo DS hardware at MyNintendo.com and fill out a short survey will receive a special Nintendo DS stylus that looks like an old-fashioned quill pen (subject to availability). The epic adventure is rated E for Everyone.

The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii , Nintendo DS , Game Boy  Advance and Nintendo GameCube  systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.4 billion video games and more than 420 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario , Donkey Kong , Metroid , Zelda  and Pokémon . A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company’s Web site at www.nintendo.com.