The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures - Best enjoyed with four

This four-player Zelda connectivity adventure combines gameplay on both the GameCube and Game Boy Advance for a mix of competitive and cooperative multiplayer fun. By hooking up GBAs to the GameCube, the action will move from the television screen (when players are on the overworld map), to the GBA screen (when entering houses and caves). Players work together to brave 24 challenges in eight levels in Hyrule Adventure (1-4 players, multiplayer only with GBAs) or compete in 10 frantic multiplayer versus battles (2-4 players, GBAs required). Takes place in similar environments as the SNES classic Link to the Past, but features updated character sprites, new special effects, and overall improved graphics. The Japanese version included an additional mode, known as Navi Trackers.

Information

Ever since the launch of the GameCube, Nintendo has been giving its vision of connectivity between the GameCube and the Game Boy Advance the hard sell. There are lenty of GameCube and GBA games that let you swap items or unlock secret bonuses between the console and portable versions of a game, but these have largely been token gestures, and the shining examples of Nintendo's connectivity ideals have been few and far between. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures pretty much nails all the bullet-points that Nintendo promised — this is a game best enjoyed with a group of four, and using the Game Boy Advance as a controller has an appreciable impact on the experience.

Four Swords Adventures does an expert job of blending cooperative and competitive gameplay. As owners of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the GBA will recall, Four Swords originated as a nice little multiplayer game that piggybacked along with that remake of Nintendo's seminal SNES adventure. Four Swords Adventures plays much the same, allowing competition and cooperation to coincide. All four Links will be vying for gems that increase the player's fighting power, and they will also be searching for other various bits of treasure. But if you spend your time just backstabbing the other players, you will not get very far, as many of the puzzles require coordination within the group. you will have to push large blocks together, pull huge levers together, stand on pressure-sensitive floor switches in tandem, and fight massive swarms of enemies together — feats that would be impossible with just a single Link.

The game smartly keeps the scale, and thus, the level of commitment needed from all the players, relatively small by making each level self-contained. You can get special power-ups and heart containers over the course of a level, but when you walk into the next level, you will be back to square one — basic sword attack, four hearts worth of health, and no secondary weapon. These levels vary a little in size, but they can usually be completed in under an hour, which seems like an appropriately bite-sized chunk of time.

Pac-Man Vs. was novel, and it was nice to have your own private inventory screen on your GBA in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, but Four Swords Adventures really integrates the GBA into the experience. Every time you enter a building, a cave, some kind of subdungeon, or pass through a moon gate into the shadow realm, the action will break out from the TV down to the screen on your GBA. This can, admittedly, be a little jarring at the start. The first time it happens, it will likely take you a couple of seconds to realize that you need to look down at the screen on your Game Boy Advance — but eventually it becomes second nature. There are also some other uses for this new integration, such as a secret ballot that comes up at the end of each stage where players vote for the Light and Dark players on that particular stage. You could conceivably pull off most of what Four Swords Adventures does without GBAs, but having them there really does create a more dynamic multiplayer experience.

Alternately, if you are not into the whole cooperation thing, the game offers a battle mode where two to four players can simply fight it out. Since the combat is pretty simple, the levels you will fight on contain lots of deadly traps and incredibly lethal power-ups to spice things up. This mode still remains more of a nice aside; the main adventure is definitely the draw in Four Swords Adventures.

The original Four Swords was strictly a multiplayer experience, but the main story in Four Swords Adventures can also be played solo. Since many of the game's puzzles and boss fights require the cooperation of all four Links, the single-player game puts you in control of all four with classic forest green-clad Link leading the pack. The controls here are pretty intuitive, and it is really easy to snap the Links into formation or to control each Link individually. The game is still good fun when you are on your own, but without four different players to accomplish individual goals on their own, it moves a bit slower. What's nice about Four Swords Adventures, though, is that it does not demand that you commit to either the multiplayer or the solo experience, and each time you load up a save game, you are given the option to choose how many players will be in on the action.

One of the differences between the original Four Swords and Adventures is a more persistent narrative. The game starts off with the wind sorcerer Vaati kidnapping Zelda, along with the six maidens who were previously keeping watch over Vaati's prison. Link, heroic as ever, gives chase, and grabs the Four Sword to help him in his battle. Doing so divvies up our pint-sized hero into four different color-coded Links, and then the posse of Link heads out into greater Hyrule to undo the damage that Vaati has done, free the maidens, and, of course, rescue Princess Zelda. Though the story is not as fleshed-out as a full-fledged Zelda game, Four Swords Adventures still includes plenty of interaction with NPCs, which provides for some occasionally clever dialog.

A cursory glance at Four Swords Adventures might lead you to believe that someone had just slapped a Game Boy Player on the GameCube, but a closer inspection would reveal a bit more. Yes, the majority of the graphics were lifted from the Four Swords GBA game, and as such, the sprites can appear a little pixelated. Adventures does improve on the original Four Swords' visuals, making the Wind-Waker-derived visual style even more reminiscent of the cel-shaded adventure of Link. Some of these enhancements are obvious, such as the curls of purple and black smoke that erupt when enemies are defeated, the ripple effects that occur whenever you travel through a moon gate into the shadow realm, or the various fire effects that you will encounter. there is subtler stuff at work here, too, such as the shadows cast by clouds in outdoor environments and a nefarious-looking mist in caves — both of these effects definitely add to the atmosphere. The pieces match up stylistically, capturing the Hyrulean flavor almost impeccably. But the drawback of mix-and-matching GBA and GameCube graphics on the same screen is that there is a stark contrast in the quality, which has a negative effect on the game's cohesiveness.

Make no mistake — four players and four GBAs are an absolute must to get the most out of the game.

The sound design for Four Swords Adventures will be even more familiar to anyone who has played any Zelda game, and especially to those who have played The Wind Waker. Virtually every piece of music, every sword slash, every yelp, and every little chime has been lifted directly from The Wind Waker, or they are simply pieces of The Legend of Zelda canon. An argument can be made that this is just lazy on the part of the developers, but really, these are the sounds that you expect to hear when playing a Zelda game. If the menu screen weren't accompanied by the stark opening notes of the main Zelda theme, or if you did not hear that surprised-sounding eight-note progression whenever you uncovered a secret passage, you'd probably feel just a bit cheated. What's most important, though, is that the sound that's used works.

it is not too surprising that it took Nintendo developing a game itself for the whole connectivity idea to really crystallize. The key to the success of this game is that the game is inherently really good, with or without the hardware novelty. But, to be fair, if you only play Four Swords Adventures by yourself, you will not be getting the full experience. If you have been waiting for a truly compelling reason to invest in a GameCube-to-GBA link cable, this is probably it.

Description

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures is a game for the Nintendo GameCube. It was released on March 18th, 2004 in Japan, June 7th, 2004 in North America, January 7th, 2005 in Europe, and April 7th, 2005 in Australia. Four Swords Adventures is the tenth installment in The Legend of Zelda series. It is also the second game released on the GameCube.

Four Swords Adventures is unique for being one of only two games in the series to allow the player to control four separate Links at the same time. It is the second game in the Series to have multiplayer. Each player (excluding during one player mode) is required to use a Game Boy Advance and link cable to connect to the Nintendo GameCube. During one player mode, the player can use a Gameboy Advance, or just a Gamecube controller can be used and the Game Boy Advance screen will be displayed on on the main television. There are two separate ways to play Four Swords Adventures: Hyrulean Adventure and Shadow Battle. Hyrulean Adventure will take the player through the main storyline and can be played by one player or by up to four players. Shadow battle is a free-for-all multiplayer.

Along with using four different Links to complete the storyline, Four Swords Adventures changed many things in the typical Zelda formula. Each area of the game is separated into different levels. Levels do not connect with each other, and the player will have to leave the level to move to another area. Each level is then separated into three stages. Upon completing a stage, the player will then move to the next stage in the level. After completing the third stage and rescuing the Maiden trapped there, the player will then move to the next level. All levels are also able to be replayed as many times as needed, allowing the player to travel back and play through any stage or level they have completed.

• Intense competition: Engage in online multiplayer action on more than a dozen maps with up to 24 players.
• Engaging story: An all-new single-player mode drops you deep into a war obscured by deception and propaganda.
• Unique gameplay: Become anyone in your army with the new Hot-Swapping feature—take total control of each soldier’s unique skills.
• Varied arsenal: Own the battlefield with more than 30 land, sea, and air vehicles, and more than 50 state-of-the-art weapons.

Story

Prequel from the Manual

Long ago in the inner reaches of Hyrule, an evil wind sorcerer known as Vaati began kidnapping beautiful young maidens, one after another. Nobody could stop Vaati, and the people of Hyrule despaired. Then, a brave young wanderer carrying only a single sword appeared. When the young lad took out his sword, he split into four separate beings. The legends say that these four beings worked as one and defeated Vaati.

The wanderer, united once again, imprisoned Vaati deep in Hyrule and sealed the prison with his own sword. This place became known as the Realm of the Four Sword.

After that, a long time passed. Then, the wind sorcerer Vaati broke out of his prison and then snatched Princess Zelda of Hyrule.

Zelda's childhood friend, a young boy named Link, claimed the strange power of the Four Sword and fought Vaati fiercely. In the end, he succeeded in sealing Vaati away once again.

And so, peace was restored to Hyrule once again. Or so everyone thought.

Introduction

On a stormy day an ominous cloud covers the land of Hyrule, filling the people with fear. Princess Zelda begins to worry that the seal placed upon the Wind Mage Vaati at the end of Four Swords is failing. She invites her childhood friend Link to accompany her while she checks upon the seal with the six Shrine Maidens.

With the help of the Maidens Princess Zelda begins to summon a portal to the Four Sword Sanctuary. Before they are able to enter the portal a dark figure that resembles Link appears. This shadowy figure seals the six maidens and Zelda inside dark crystals, before disappearing back into the portal to the Sanctuary. Left with no choice Link gives pursuit to the kidnapper.

After arriving at the Sanctuary the Shadow Link taunts Link into drawing the Four Sword, splitting Link into four different colored copies of himself. At the same time the seal on Vaati was broken, allowing the evil Wind Mage make his way back into this world. The four Links are then swept away by Vaati's magic before being able to give chase to Shadow Link.

The Links are then awoken by Kaepora Gaebora who informs them what happened and tells them what they must do. The first objective is rescue the six maidens who are locked away in different areas of Hyrule. Shadow Link has spread chaos across Hyrule, transporting villages to the Dark World and setting them on fire. To release the dark seals placed by Vaati and defeat Shadow Link the four Links must collect force gems in order to power up the Four Sword and grant it the power to repel evil.

Hyrulean Adventure

After swimming through Lake Hylia and making their way through the Cave of No Return the four Links rescue the Green Maiden located in Hyrule Castle. The Maiden informs the Links of the four Royal Jewels which are needed to reach the Realm of the Heavens where Princess Zelda is being held. The Jewels were divided among four Knights of Hyrule who were known to have valiantly defended Hyrule. These Knights have mysteriously disappeared and the location of the Jewels is unknown.

Proceeding through Eastern Hyrule and Death Mountain the Links continue to rescue the Maidens in search of the Knights of Hyrule. While exploring The Field in the fourth level the Links come across a Big Dark Stalfos who is actually the Blue Knight of Hyrule. After saving him the Links are presented with the Blue Jewel. The Links are informed that the Knight was cursed and transported to the Dark World by Vaati and his Shadow Links.

The Links then manage to find the Green Jewel near Kakariko Village and the Red Jewel shortly after the Desert of Doubt. Inside the Pyramid it is revealed that Vaati is not the mighty foe behind all of the chaos, but rather someone is using him for their own means. They find the Mirror used to produce the Shadow Links is missing, along with a very powerful Trident. Along with information received from the Gerudo Tribe, the Links learn that a man named Ganondorf left the village and stole the Trident in an attempt to make himself the King of Darkness.

After collecting the Purple Jewel and rescuing the remaining Maidens, the Links reach the Tower of Winds and rescue Princess Zelda. Using the Tower of Winds to access the Realm of the Heavens the Links find the Dark Mirror deep inside The Dark Cloud and stop it from producing more Shadow Links. Princess Zelda then creates a bridge allowing access to Vaati's lair, the Palace of Winds.

At the top of the Palace of Winds the Links find Vaati and defeat him once and for all. Without Vaati's magic to sustain it the Palace begins to collapse and the Links along with Zelda quickly escape to the Tower of Winds. Before they escape the floor crumbles below them and they fall into a dark room. Ganon, using the power of the Trident begins the final fight with the Links. After freeing Zelda from Ganon's grasp the Links use Zelda's and the Maiden's power to defeat Ganon and seal him within the Four Sword.

In the aftermath the Links place the Four Sword back in its pedestal at the Four Sword Sanctuary, and the Maidens form a barrier around the sword so that it will never be touched again. Outside the castle celebration and peace are at hand, and the sole Link is treated as a hero.