The Legend of Zelda Part 2

YOU HAVE HAD FAIR WARNING!!!!!!  RIPE WITH SPOILERS!!!!!!!

15. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords (2002 Gameboy Advance)

The Legend of Zelda Four Swords is certainly the most unique Zelda game in the series, the only one that (originally) had no single player campaign.  In addition to that oddity, Four Swords (as you can see from the North American box art to the right) was released on a GBA cartridge that was advertised as, "A Link to the Past" AND a "new multiplayer experience."  This failure on Nintendo's part to adequately advertise their product resulted in many people never even playing Four Swords. Needing two people, two copies of the game, and a GBA link cable to play it is the original game's biggest downfall.  How often did at least two people, a link cable, and two copies of the game ever actually come together?  I'd wager it really wasn't that many.


The game begins inside the Shrine of the Four Sword (right).  Princess Zelda and Link have ventured to the shrine to check the seal that is keeping the evil Wind Mage Vaati at bay.  Unfortunately for them, over time, the seal was weakened and Vaati was able to escape; not before taking Zelda to be his bride though.  In the aftermath of the encounter, Link is instructed by some great fairies to remove the Four Sword and prove that he is capable of rescuing Zelda.  Upon removing the Four Sword, Link is split into Four Links and charged with saving Zelda and the World (Here's a link  to the 4 minute long intro if you are interested in seeing it)!

This Zelda game differs from all of the other Zelda games (except Four Swords Adventures for the Gamecube) in that it does not have a traditional overworld like Hyrule Field in Ocarina of Time or Clock Town/Termina Field in Majora's mask, etc.  Instead you get this:

As you can see, the overworld consists of five main areas: the Chamber of Insight (training area), the Sea of Trees, Talus Cave (ice cave), Death Mountain, and Vaati's Wind Palace.  You select an area from the overworld and venture forth together into each environment.  Upon arrival in the Chamber of Insight, this game ceases to be what many of us consider to be a "Zelda" game.  Considering there are 16 games in the series (soon to be 17), I think we can almost consider "Zelda" games to be their own genre.  This game, while not in an entirely terrible way, turns that "Zelda" convention upside down.

This chamber is meant to familiarize you with the games controls and new item system.  Instead of the traditional large item inventory that slowly increases in size and quality, you immediately have access to all of the items in the game.  Coupled with this, during gameplay, you will encounter the different items throughout each level (sitting on pedestals) and have the option of assigning one to A and one to B.  By using different items (only two per player at a time) you advance through each level until you eventually enter the room with the large floor button.  This button transports you to the Great Fairy who will judge whether or not you are awesome enough to save Princess Zelda.  I find that this system gets to be a bit awkward, especially when you leave the bombs on one pedestal and have to backtrack in order to get them again.

Besides the items, the Links are tasked with getting as many rupees in the level as possible.  The number of rupees you get is dependent on a pretty surprising number of factors: level completion time, number of times downed, how you kill enemies, hidden treasure chests found, etc. At the end of each level, there's a rupee podium where the Four Links are pitted against each other.  Honestly, this entire system feels very odd.  It certainly doesn't feel that much like a Zelda game which

I suppose isn't the worst thing in the world, but it does make the experience feel a little cheapened.  I also don't really understand why the Four Links are competing with each other and working together.  There are no extra rewards for finishing first and it doesn't affect the gameplay or the story at all.  That's another problem with this game, the story is completely non-existent apart from a few short cut scenes at the beginning and the end of the game.  There are no NPC's in the stages, no side quests, no real bonus areas, and honestly nothing that gives you that "I'm playing a Zelda game feeling."  Each level just feels like the same puzzles with a slight environmental twist.  To give the game a bit of credit, I do enjoy some of the sections that involve player coordination.  During gameplay, the links can team up to push objects and take on more difficult enemies.  One instance in particular is the "Hikkun" enemy (pictured below).  These enemies require coordinated sword swings and then coordinated grabs and pulls from the highly convenient handles on the Hikkun's head (eventually pulling it apart).  It's features like that that make it difficult for me to completely dislike this game.


I would say the shining feature of this game are the boss battles.  These battles are the only things that make this game feel like a Zelda game.  I won't spoil these battles for you but trust me when I say that the artwork and battle mechanics are a lot of fun.  Playing with several players makes the game either very fun or very frustrating, be prepared to yell at each other.

The final boss himself, Vaati, is by the far the best part of this game.  His desire to be evil for no reason really makes me enjoy his character quite a bit (and tell me he doesn't look cool).  The final battle features several different forms of Vaati, each offering their own challenge and own unique battle mechanics. (Link to the Final Battle if you want to see what it looks like).



This game was made amazingly better by Nintendo back in 2011 when they released the Four Swords Anniversary Edition on the 3DS.

 It featured an all new single player mode (desperately needed to actually be able to enjoy this game when you want to), three tiers of difficulty, and two new areas that feature stages different 2D Zelda games and an extremely difficult challenge area.  I find myself extremely conflicted over this game.  I can't say that I completely enjoy the experience, but I can't say that I hated it either.  If you truly enjoy the Zelda series, I'd recommend giving it a play through, but I doubt you will come back to it again that often in the future.  If you are lucky enough to have a 3DS, I really hope they rerelease it in the eshop soon, as it has been off of there for some time now.

Thanks so much for reading!  I wonder which game will come next!