Not content with spending nearly $18 million to distribute squishy Wii Remote Jackets worldwide, Nintendo is offering owners of the recently-released The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) a nifty feather pen stylus.

Those that have purchased the Wind Waker-styled, DS touch screen-controlled adventure need only register their copy at Nintendo.com and fill out a brief survey regarding their thoughts on the game. North American gamers will receive the quill-esque device in 4 to 6 weeks, those in Canada should acquire theirs in 6 to 10.

The company has a history of such giveaways. Nintendo previously shipped pink DS styli to registered owners of HAL Laboratory's Kirby Canvas Curse (DS). It has also offered up demos of Retro Studios' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GCN) and a GameCube Legend of Zelda compilation disc--containing Nintendo's original The Legend of Zelda (NES), Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES), Ocarina of Time (N64), Majora's Mask (N64), and a demo of Wind Waker (GCN)--depending on how many titles gamers had registered at the time.

When it releases this October, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass will be the second Zelda in two years--but, fortunately, its mechanics don't seem rushed. The touch screen control actually works, and I got to try it out firsthand at E3. Explore my impressions.

Most notable is the new map, which can be pulled down from the top screen to the bottom screen with the press of a button, and which can actually be drawn upon with the stylus--hallelujah! This is the kind of so-obvious-in-hindsight design decision that feels like it should be implemented in every exploration-based adventure or platformer on the system.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass has been previewed at GameSpot. The article goes hands-on with a Japanese import copy of the Nintendo DS game.