The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

"This game would DIE without multiplayer"

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure (FSA) is a peculiar game. It brings something very important to the Zelda series: a solid multiplayer. However, the game suffers in other categories, most notably graphics and the actual gameplay (the gameplay, of course, being much more important) and is thus reduced to, IMO, the worst game in the Zelda series.

The story in FSA may as well have been torn from Link to the Past and then meshed with the story from Ocarina of Time. Some new characters are added from to the mix, and by characters I mean Vaati and your three clones. The way this game works is that you are visiting Princess Zelda, when suddenly a dark shadowy figure that looks just like you appears and abducts her and the seven maidens. You then follow this figure, Shadow Link, through a dark vortex and arrive in the Four Sword Sanctuary, where the legendary Four Sword lies dormant. Shadow Link then "tricks" (the game actually gives you no alternative) you into drawing the blade, thus breaking the seal that prevented the sorcerer Vaati from escaping, and splitting you into four multi-colored Links. You continue on like this and must rescue the seven maidens and Princess Zelda from Vaati using each others abilities (note that this is a lot more effective in multiplayer.)

The graphics of FSA are not supposed to be clear-cut and realistic (like Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time) nor were they meant to be completely new or creative like Wind Waker. FSA's graphics are really just the same old graphics ported from Link to the Past (SNES) that have been touched up and made more "gamecube friendly," which means they are 2-D. This is not necessarily a bad thing, for it adds very greatly to the nostalgic effects. These "touched-up" Lttp graphics are combined with some Wind Waker graphics (most notably the graphical effects of fire and explosions) to make a game that looks like it could possibly fit on the N64. However, it should be remembered that graphics were not the main target of the programmers. The game has no slow down, however, and never becomes blocky or glitchy (as it very well shouldn't considering that these graphics aren't exactly state of the art.)

As for the music contained in FSA, most of it was taken directly from the Zelda classics (most notably Lttp,) but that may be a good thing. After all, what could possibly be more nostalgia-inducing than listening to the music that came with the games you used to play on the NES or SNES? I am not sure if anything in the way of music or sound effects are original (except the sound that you hear when you enter or exit a cave; that's new.) As is to be expected, there is no voice acting (why wold you omit voice acting from Majora's Mask or Wind Waker but then throw it into a rip-off of Link to the Past anyways?!)

FSA plays just like Lttp, except with a few twists; now instead of collecting your equipment in dungeons and what not, you find the different pieces scattered around each level, and you can only carry one at piece at a time. Also, these pieces of equipment cannot be carried between levels. This adds a completely new level of strategy to the game that makes it more than just a better looking version of A Link to the Past with different levels; now you have to continually switch between and search for items, thus allowing for some rather creative puzzles to be developed. One of the drawbacks to this is that you can no longer carry heart containers between levels, and the heart pieces which have always made up some of the hardest "extra" quests in the Zelda series, do not appear in this game. Another large change they made in this game is that you now wield the Four Sword, the blade of evil's bane that sealed the sorcerer Vaati away (just replace the words Four Sword with Master Sword and Vaati with Ganondorf and you have yourself Ocarina of Time,) but instead of you finding the mythic blade, you start out with it, but it no longer has the power to repel evil. Thus you must restore this power to the sword by collecting Force Gems (would-be rupees, except they're shaped like triangles,) 2000 of the to be precise. You must do this during each level in order to beat it. In making these changes FSA separated itself from its Lttp-ness, and instead developed its own identity.

The challenge of this game is laughable; it is nigh impossible to get a game over once you've beaten the first couple of levels, for, after each and every level, you are given four force fairies. These force fairies act like normal fairies in the other Zelda games; when you die, it brings you back to life. However, since you receive four of these per level, and since you can collect a few during the level, it will be very hard to run out of them.

The length of this game is actually quite large for a Zelda game; there are eight worlds, each with three levels, two being regular adventure levels, and the third being that world's "Temple." This adds up to twenty-four levels, and they are all (excluding the first few) all rather time consuming. However, this may not necessarily be a good thing. The levels get repetitive rather quickly on solo mode, and you may find it to be more of a chore than anything to finish the game. However, that brings us to the most interesting characteristic of the game.

FSA is the first Zelda game to sport a multiplayer option, and for this is deserves credit. The multiplayer mode makes up for some of the game's repetitiveness, for now you have a friend or two to work/compete with, depending upon your mood. There is one major problem with the multiplayer, however; each and every person who wants to play will need his or her own GBA and GBA-GCN connector cable. On top of this, if you want to freaking see anything on the GBA screen, you'll probably want a GBASP. This gets very expensive very fast. If you do choose to use standard GBA, then good luck seeing half the things that are going on in caves and what not. All in all, however, the multiplayer (if you and your friends can afford it) really helps this title, and indeed renders it a game you may want to buy. Maybe.

Pros+
Very nostalgic (Good only if you are a long-time fan back to the SNES days.)
First multiplayer Zelda (A very important contribution to LoZ series as a whole.)

Cons-
Very repetitive (Most levels lack anything to differentiate them.)
Completely stole its story (OK, so did most every other Zelda, I admit it.)
Multiplayer is freaking expensive (This really detracts from the usefulness.)
The game is easy as hell (Never a good thing.)

All in all, if you are a die hard fan of Zelda and don't mind spending a ton of money on one big nostalgia trip, then go ahead and get this game. Be warned though, this game offers very little more then the multiplayer feature so be sure you have some friends who will play. If however, you are not so die-hard, then I would suggest renting (or even avoiding) this game first. If you are just starting the Zelda series, then I strongly recommend that you stay away from this game, and that you get one of the classics (both Link to the Past [for the SNES] and Ocarina of time fit this category.)

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 03/06/06