The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

"Proof that 2D games are still as fun as they ever were."

The Legend of Zelda. Every gamer has heard of this series. I can hardly fault any of the Zelda games Nintendo have made since the first one appeared on the NES all those years ago. The three 3D Legend of Zelda games have been extremely successful, and with good reason as well. However, Nintendo have decided to bless us with a 2D Zelda for their latest home console for a change – The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures.

You probably know about the latest Game Boy Advance Zelda released which is The Minish Cap, which featured a young boy named Link who had to seal away an evil sorcerer named Vaati. He succeeded by using a legendary sword called the Four Sword which split its wielder into four. Vaati was sealed inside the Four Sword and it was kept in the Four Sword Shrine, away from harm.

The Four Swords game that was packed into the Link to the Past cart for Game Boy Advance takes place after The Minish Cap's storyline. It was a multiplayer only game whose story revolved around Vaati breaking free from his seal and a new hero arising to take the Four Sword and seal him away again. A hero named Link did the job.

But it didn't end there. The story of Four Swords Adventures tells of the maidens and Princess Zelda who guarded the Four Sword Shrine being kidnapped. The Princess' friend Link pulls the Four Sword from its resting place, splits into four, and goes in chase. On his journey, he encounters many dangers, travels through familiar locations, and has to deal with his dark self…Shadow Link! It's up to Link to discover the meaning behind this tough foe and save Zelda and the maidens.

There are many differences to how this Zelda game is played than previous instalments in the series. The first major difference is that you are in control of four Links at once. You lead the original green-suited Link to wherever you want him to go, while his three clones follow right behind him, coloured red, blue and purple. With having four Links, there are advantages. You can arrange your group into different formations, which will help you in combat, as well as solving puzzles. By flicking the C-Stick left, right, up or down, you can set your Links to stand vertically, horizontally, in a 2x2 square, or in a diamond formation. If you use the horizontal formation, you'll be able to push big stones that need four Links to push them upwards or downwards, while if you use the diamond formation, you'll be able to take out enemies from all four sides a lot easier. There are tons of uses for each formation which you'll come across throughout the game.

One other difference is how you progress through the game. Instead of being able to explore the land to your liking like in any other 2D Zelda, such as A Link to the Past or The Minish Cap, you must go through set levels. Each level consists of three areas which you must get through in order to pass that particular level. In almost every area, you will face a boss at the end who'll try to hinder your progress, so there's always a challenge waiting for you. In some areas, you won't just be facing enemies. On one or two occasions, you'll be exploring the likes of villages and speaking to many people, solving their problems and travelling back and forth to other people to gain entry to other parts of that area. These sorts of levels and ones filled with enemies can both take up plenty of time and really get you thinking on how to pass certain sections.

I don't think the level idea is a bad one at all. Zelda works in both ways – as either a level-based game, or as a free exploration game. Obviously, seeing as this is multiplayer, the levels are more appropriate with this one.

A couple of other notable differences are that there are no rupees, and no item selections. You won't be able to go into shops and buy things such as shields or magic potions. Instead, the enemies drop Force Gems. These gems are what give the Four Sword its magic power, and you must collect at least 2000 of them by the end of each level's area so that you can destroy the barriers which deny entry to the next area. If you don't have 2000 by the end of that level, you are given the chance to go back to the start of that level to search for more gems, and are warped back to the barriers once you reach 2000.

You also can only hold one item at a time. Once you pick up an item such as a boomerang, bow, or Pegasus boots, you can use it by pressing the A button. But if you want to use another item, you must find it on the level and switch it for the one you are currently holding. This means you cannot select which item you want to equip from the menu. But it's not such a big deal. Different items are scattered about different levels as certain enemies and puzzles will appear in different areas, so it's a case of finding the item then knowing what to do with it. There will be other times where there are many items and you have to figure out what item to use to bypass a certain part of that area.

If you've played Four Swords, then you should have guessed that this game is multiplayer too. Thankfully, there is a single-player option, which is actually still great fun. You can play using your GameCube controller, or by connecting a Game Boy Advance to your system via a GC-GBA link cable. If you want to play in multiplayer, everyone taking part must have their own GBA and link cable. If you can rack together all the gear, you will have a brilliant time. As well as helping each other out to solve puzzles and kill enemies, you can still fight each other and take part in mini games to win more Force Gems.

What I haven't mentioned yet is that the adventure is just one of the modes on offer. As well as being able to play Hyrulean Adventure, the main game, you can also play Shadow Battle, where you fight your buddies in multiplayer. You must defeat your buddies and be the last standing to win. You start on the TV screen and if you enter a house of cave, your Link will move down to the GBA screen. No one but you will be able to see what you're doing, so you can lure others inside while you get ready to pounce, or sneakily wait until the others have beaten each other up so you can finish them off. You can unlock more arenas by getting through the main game too.

Graphically, Four Swords Adventures is great. It takes the style used in the original Four Swords game and enhances them a little further. Some parts will look a little pixellated in places but there are some great effects which have been taken from The Wind Waker. Older gamers will also get plenty of rushes of nostalgia from playing this too, as there are many tunes from A Link to the Past which play prominently. You'll be humming along in no time at all.

Four Swords Adventures is a remarkable game. It's brilliant to see that Nintendo still care about 2D games. With all of the power going into each new video game console, 2D games are becoming less and less. Four Swords Adventures is proof that 2D games are still as fun as they ever were. Zelda veterans will more than likely get through the game rather easily, but it's still worthy of a purchase. Replay value is high, especially if you can actually rack up the gear to play multiplayer.

Well done to Nintendo, though. They still haven't produced a poor Zelda game. Let's hope they never do.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/04/06, Updated 06/18/06