Of all the time spent piecing together snippets of information with regards to The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, the first of the series’ appearances on the Nintendo DS, nothing concrete has been known about the title’s interesting suffix - until now.

According to a translation from the latest issue of Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu, over at NEOGAF, Link will have to tackle the caverns of an underwater shrine that is under a curse which slowly drains his health while he is inside. The only way to keep his energy topped up is to use the Phantom Hourglass, an item that will protect him from the damage of the curse for a limited period of time.

As the game’s protagonist and hero plunders throughout the game world, he will set sail to explore different islands using a sea chart to find “sands of time.” These precious grains can be used to refill the receptacle central to the game’s plot and offer Link extended protection from the deadly curse he faces.

Link searches out the precious sands of time, pity the map’s upside down!

We already know that Link’s motivation is the kidnapping of his pirate friend, Tetra, so we assume that collecting enough “sands of time” will be crucial to tackling the final dungeon. This writer isn’t sure about the idea of losing health and being rushed to complete certain objectives, but until more information is released will remain enthusiastic and carry on looking forward to Phantom Hourglass with anticipation.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, a sequel to the GameCube’s The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (and sharing the prequel’s distinctive cel-shaded graphical style) is set for release before the end of 2007.

What do you guys make of the new information?