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System: GameCube Developer: Nintendo/Capcom Publisher: Nintendo Players: 1-4 Save: Card Genre: Action

Nintendo's latest Zelda game is a sequel based on the multiplayer side-quest found in the Game Boy Advance remake of A Link to the Past. In this game, 4 Links play as a team to defeat evil in a 2-D world based on the graphical engine of the aforementioned A Link to the Past. To play this game with two to four players, GBA-GCN connectivity must be used. This game was developed jointly by Nintendo and Capcom and was published by Nintendo.

North America: 06/07/2004
Japan: 03/18/2004
Europe: 12/31/2004

Screeshots: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5

Four Swords Adventures is an action-first Zelda game with very little plot progression and absolutely no RPG-style character upgrades. This is not your normal Zelda game and it doesn't pretend to be one. The game runs on a modified graphical engine from the SNES Zelda game A Link to the Past that also includes some Wind Waker-inspired graphical effects.

In this game there are four different coloured Links on screen at all times. If 4 people are playing, each player will control one link. If fewer than 4 people are playing, the Link's will be controlled in various group formations.

Multiplayer mode must be played using a Game Boy Advance as a controller. The Game Boy Advance is used as a display when Link enters underworld areas (houses, caves, etc.) while over world areas are displayed on the television screen. One player can enter the underworld while the others are in the over world.

This game is very fun to play; it's a constant non-stop action fest. Think of it as an arcade-style Zelda game. It's best in multiplayer mode but an excellent single-player game as well.

Surprisingly, where this game fails is in connectivity. While the whole connectivity concept of this game does provide great game play, I am convinced that this game could have had a multiplayer mode without the need for connectivity. This game plays best when four people are using four GameBoys all linked up to the GameCube. The problem with this is that most people just don't know enough people to play the 4-player mode. If you think about it, having a 4-player game of Four Swords Adventures is just too hard to organize.

Score - 8.0

It's not a classic!

Page by Player Guy Forever

08/08/2004