Let's face it, Nintendo hasn't exactly been giving their fans what they want during the current generation of consoles. Most fans were severely upset when they first saw that Nintendo had cel shaded the Legend of Zelda series. It was nearly as upsetting as when people began realizing that Super Mario Sunshine isn't half the game that Super Mario 64 turned out to be. One of the biggest upsets though, came last year when Nintendo revealed it's emphasis on connectivity between the Gameboy Advance and Gamecube console. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, except for the fact that they had no major announcements to make that didn't involve connecting the handheld to their main console. The major announcement made was that a multiplayer Zelda game was under development, which required the feature of connectivity to play. When I first saw The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures in action I was very disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the 2-D Zelda games, but I was more hoping for a game that didn't rely on connectivity. I pretty much paid this game no mind until about a month before it's release. It was actually starting to sound interesting, with all the classic elements it incorporates. Upon release, I immediately placed my order for the game. I haven't been able to put it down since.

Most people I've spoken to aren't interested in this game because of the stiff requirements for multiplayer. Each player must have a Gameboy Advance and a Gamecube link cable to play. This is in a similar fashion to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, yet the GBA is used in a much more intriguing fashion. The good news is that if you don't have a GBA you can still play the main adventure by yourself, but it is an absolutely necessary requirement for you to have GBAs for each player if you play with more than one person. Basically, each player takes control of a different colored link. Link comes in four colors; green, blue, red and purple. The bad news is that you do not get to choose which color you play as, and even in single player mode you cannot choose which link leads the rest in the formation. Though color coordination isn't extremely important, it still would have been nice to choose which color to lead. I will always believe that the game could have been pulled off with very minimal loss had Nintendo just allowed you to play multiplayer without GBAs, everything could have fit nicely on the screen.

Story
An evil wind sorcerer named Vaati once threatened the land by capturing the shrine maidens throughout Hyrule. The world was saved by a hero, who seemingly cloned himself three times from the pull of a single sword. This sword, is known as the four sword. Vaati was defeated, and the world was peaceful for quite some time. Then somehow, Vaati managed to escape from his imprisonment to threaten the world once again. Now a new hero, after pulling the four sword from it's altar and releasing the effects of the four sword, must save Hyrule once again. This hero, along with three look alikes clad in different colored tunics sets off to destroy the evil being before he can cause any more trouble. It's your (possibly with the help of some friends) job to save the shrine maidens.

Very few times in history (and I mean only Majora's Mask and Wind Waker) has a Zelda game contained a story within that was actually the caliber of a standard RPG. Sure the plot always sounds good on paper, but the execution isn't always very well, with few to no plot twists and no in depth tasks in the adventure. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures may not have the most involving aspect of plot, but at least Nintendo did something slightly different from their typical storyline, though it mirrors that of A Link To The Past pretty closely. In this game you actually get to meet the Hyrule Knights, and the Shrine Maidens seem to have a bigger role than the damsels you rescued in the past Zelda incarnations. Also, this game seems to have quite a lot more dialogue than Ocarina of Time and A Link To The Past despite it being noticeably shorter than those two games dungeon wise. You will find yourself communicating with more NPCs than you will in most other Zelda games.

Gameplay
What may surprise you is that The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures plays very much like any other Zelda title. You'll still be collecting items, using special items that you find, and fighting off octoroks. Of course, there are many different enemies in the game than octoroks. I was very surprised to see the incorporation of monsters found in the classic games. The main inspiration as far as Four Swords Adventures goes is definitely Link to the Past. This goes much deeper than the overhead view and even the graphics style. You will also be seeing a lot of Wind Waker elements thrown into this title. For example, throughout your quest you will end up fighting more than one boss that will look very familiar to you, if you've already completed Wind Waker that is. It does my heart good to see that Nintendo has also brought back the classic 16-bit Hyrulian Soldier that we've all missed since the SNES game. With the move to multiplayer, there have been some noticeable changes to multiplayer though, so there are enough new elements to prevent this game from feeling like a mere combination of games you have already played before. The GBA integration also adds a few new elements to the game that you will no doubt enjoy.

Though this game is disguised as a cooperative game, it's really a competition between each of the players. Points earned are added up at the end of each level, and the player with the most wins. These points are calculated from the number of times you've died, who nabbed the most heart containers, but most importantly, how many force gems you managed to pick up. Don't misunderstand though, most of the game's puzzles require you to cooperate amongst yourselves. This sometimes requires you to throw each other over chasms, guide each other's aim when trying for far away switches, and you even need each other's help in pulling switches. There are many other instances in the game where you'll need to communicate with one another, and help solve puzzles. The mazes and tricks will require a decent amount of brain power to solve, so you'll probably find yourself often presenting ideas to one another and testing them out amongst yourselves. One of the most unique ideas of teamwork in this game are when you have to guide your teammates, or survey your surroundings to tell them what items to bring. A lot of the puzzles are very basic though and simply require each Link to stand on a switch, or to help pull a lever to trigger something in the game.

Some of the monsters or bosses require more teamwork than others. In similar Zelda fashion, one breed of boss will require Link to reflect the enemies projectiles back at him with his sword. In this game, the old fashion reflection attack has been changed a little bit. During one boss fight, after the first Link reflects the shot, it will shoot to another Link who will have to hit the projectile also until it returns back to and finally strikes the boss. Sometimes the blasts can only be returned by the Link that matches it's color. Other monsters or bosses are color coordinated to a particular Link. When this is the case, only the matching Link can do any damage to them. Some puzzles also require you to use your head a little when it comes to the colors of the Links, as certain blocks can only be moved by a particular Link at a time. The list of color requirements even spreads to the use of the warps to the dark world, which can make for some pretty interesting situations in the main game. Bringing the world of multiplayer to a console Zelda game was one of the best things Nintendo could have done with the franchise, and they prove here that though they have aged, they still have the power to innovate.

Most people do not completely understand the GBA's integration into the game because to them it is only a restricting element for multiplayer. Basically each GBA makes it so that all Links do not always have to be present on the same screen. What do I mean by this? Well in certain caves, holes, or doors the Link(s) you are in control of will leave the television screen, and you will be forced to play from your GBA. What's more is that the other players can be separate from you, and can choose to follow you, go into a different GBA room, or just wait for you to return from the main screen. The music and sound effects from each link while on the GBA are still present on the television, which is actually really cool. There is a difference in audio quality when playing from the GBA though; the sound effects made by someone while playing on the GBA sound muffled on the television purposely to simulate someone actually making noises while inside a different area or in the dark world. This is one of the remote few incidences in which any developer actually thought of a unique way to take advantage of the link option (the only other being in Pac Man Vs. When playing single player, you do not need a GBA because the Gamecube emulates the GBA right on the television screen every time you enter a GBA integrated room.

Nintendo has added yet another new layer of strategy to the world of console Zelda for this release. Each player can only hold one special item at a time, and one carry item. This means that if one person carrying the bow picks up the pegasus boots, than they'll drop the bow and arrow. At first I was confused because I thought that each Link could carry an item when a player is in control of more than one Link at a time, but it seems that this is not the case. The items featured in this game though are very cool to use, and most of them have a charge up effect. My personal favorite special item is the fire rod, but you'll also find bows, hammers, lamps, pegasus boots, and more throughout this game. Each time you complete a level though, you lose any items or heart containers that you found. Basically you have to start over with the beginning of each new level. By finding the great fairy in a level you will be able to upgrade some of your special items to level 2, which gives them new abilities. My personal favorite level 2 item is the shovel, which becomes a detector of sorts for secrets. These level 2 items are often necessary to progress in the game, so it's always a good idea to memorize the location of the great fairy because items don't stay upgraded from level to level. In rare instances you will find upgraded items in treasure chests.

I doubt that the majority of people who purchase this game will be able to round up four GBAs and matching link cables, but Nintendo has you covered. For instances in which you play with less than four characters, the extra colored Links will simply follow closely behind the other character(s) who are in charge of them. This offers more battle options than before, so the extra Link won't just end up being dead weight to the team or individual. When you are in control of more than one link, you can select a formation for them to travel in. When it's 1 or 2 Links following you, you'll have the choice of either lining them up vertically or horizontally with your lead character. When playing solo, you will have even more formation options to choose from for some pretty strategic fighting in the game. When in any alignment, every Link will strike with their swords instead of just the main one you control. This is an effective combat tool, and can be used to set up a "wall of swords" to attack the enemy with. Also, each Link will be able to use special item that you've collected during alignment so this adds to the strategy even further.

One of my favorite aspects of the game are the mini games. Not only are you able to play an extreme versus battle mode (known as Shadow Battle) right from the get-go, but you can unlock various themed mini games as your progress in your game. Usually I care not for mini-games, but then I saw how unique they are, and how each relates to situations inside the main game. These mini games range in name from bucking bronco to volley by golly. My absolute favorite though, is Cucco Wrangling. If you can get at least one other player to play along with you, this is single handedly the most addicting mini game of them all. I have spent a huge lot of time with this mini game, and it alone has been giving me the worst case of gamer's thumb I've gotten since Mortal Kombat 3. Most of the mini games in Tingle's Tower just aren't much fun, but most can be used to train yourself for certain instances in the Hyrulean Adventure main mode of the game. With the mini games aside, Shadow battle is also a welcome feature to the game. This involves each Link battling amongst each other in a field of their choice, the last one standing is the winner. Special items are present in the levels of shadow battle, and this adds immensely to the battles. You can unlock more levels for shadow battle after completing the game.

Graphics
Graphically this game looks a whole lot like Link to the Past, but with added effects and character models taken straight from the original Four Swords on the GBA. Some of the more fancy graphical effects look torn straight from the Wind Waker, which I thought was a very nice addition. Most of the graphical models for the enemies seem to be taken straight from Link to the Past without a hitch, though this does make areas of the game look a little dated at times. The primitive to today's standards graphics work quite well with this game. I couldn't imagine it done any other way. The map screen (used to travel from level to level) looks very nice graphically, though I'd rather this were left out to retain more of the Zelda feel. Most of the pretty visual effects are lost in the transition to the GBA screen, but it's not a problem at all. If anyone thinks that The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures is any ugly game, than just wait til you see the Frozen Hyrule stage.

Sound
I found the music in this game to be terrific, to say the least. Right from the start you should notice that most of the in game music is made up of remixed songs from The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past. These melodies are very pleasing to the ears, and it seems that Nintendo managed to recreate each of my favorite tunes from their past game and update it for the Gamecube. You'll hear everything from the rainy day music, to the dungeon music in this beautifully voiced adventure. The sound effects are also ripped straight from the older games. This actually becomes tiresome, with Links constant yelling and whatnot. I do wish Nintendo had included a few more original melodies in this game.

Controls
The GBA's small little directional pad certainly doesn't cut it for games like this that require the constant compression of a direction on it. I haven't gotten a case of gamer thumb this bad in a while. It comes from completing the game and playing many hours of cucco wrangling. Things are a little confusing in this game at first, especially if you are playing as one or more Links at the same time, but it's fairly easy to grasp, especially for those who have played A Link to the Past on the SNES. It does get a little tiresome looking up from the television to your GBA repeatedly. Non SP owners need to worry much about finding a proper light source for their standard GBA because a lot of the GBA specific rooms are too dark to see without the rays shining directly on a non backlit unit.

Final Recommendation
If you can find at least one friend to play with than you'll have a fabulous time. If you can find more than one, you'll have an awesome time. If you're by yourself, than you'll still enjoy this little title. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures is another legendary installment in the franchise, and manages to bring enough new things to the table to make this one heck of an fun game.

Overall Rating: 9.5

Recommended: Yes