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Retro The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

Glom

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Released for the GameCube in 2004, this is the first standalone Zelda title to built around multiplayer. It expands (I presume) on the concept debuted as a bonus adventure in the port of A Link to the Past on the Game Boy Advance.

The story is pretty basic and is almost intentionally trying to repeat A Link to the Past. Evil sorcerer guy, Vaati, kidnaps Zelda and six other magical maidens, imprisoning them in crystals. Link must embark on an adventure to rescue them so he can defeat the sorcerer. But is Aghanim Vaati really the big bad? The twist this time is that as part of said embarkation, Link draws the Four Sword, which quadruplicates him, providing playable characters for up to 4 players.

The game unusually has a level based structure. The quest divides Hyrule into 8 "levels" each with 3 areas or stages or whatever we call them. This breaks down the experience into discrete chunks that is probably more suited for multiplayer. It also completely removes any of the traditional progression elements. Pretty much nothing gained in a level carries over to the next, be it items, heart containers, the powered up four sword.

When playing multiplayer, it is necessary to use a Game Boy Advance for each player rather than a GameCube controller. When entering a house or a cave or in some interior levels certain rooms, the action for the player is transferred to their GBA screen, an early version of the WiiU concept. This allows players to be in different parts of level at the same time, which occasionally is needed to solve puzzles.

The game does offer a single player mode too, where the GameCube controller can be used. In this mode, the output normally given on the GBA is displayed on the TV as a PIP. You control all Links in multiple ways. The normal way is to be green Link and have the other three follow you in a conga line. You can then adopt various formations to solve puzzles or fight more effectively, particularly in enemy ambushes lifted out of Hyrule Warriors. You can also separate the Links moving them one by one. A quick squeeze of L magically brings them all together with your currently selected Link.

In terms of presentation, it is clear this game reused much for Four Swords, which in turn reused much from A Link to the Past. The visuals are very anachronistic for a GameCube game as they mostly look like they belong on the SNES but there are elements taken from the Wind Waker such as the HUD, explosion effects and even some bosses. The contrast between the pixelly look of most of the screen with the smoother look of the Wind Waker assets is kind of jarring. The Phantom Ganon sprite, modelled on his WW appearance looks like a separate piece of paper floating over a different canvas. It's kind of like watching bad green screen.

I managed to pick this up for £90 on ebay. It is my 18th Zelda game leaving only Four Swords yet to be played. I did not expect to like this as much as I did. In fact, I'd probably rank this experience above some more notable single player titles.

The single player mode really works remarkably well. The use of the formations makes operating with the four Links really smooth. It is smoother than Triforce Heroes where during traversal you either have to move each Link individually or totem up. On the other hand, it really needed to get it right because the level design plays much more similar to a single player top down game than TFH which is a much denser gauntlet of multiplayer obstacles. In fact, if I didn't know better I would have believed the claim the game was designed as a single player game with multiplayer added later once they released the opportunity of quadruplicated Link.

The level design is quite delightfully varied. Some are pretty linear gauntlets while others are more interesting navigational challenges. I also really liked the change of pace with the levels that were basically towns where you had to solve a mystery to progress.

The use of the GBA screen was quite clever too. As the GBA screen rooms were sub-layers to the main screen, it meant that you could do things like shoot an arrow out of the door of a house and have it hit a switch outside.

There were some frustrating moments. A couple of times you needed to dig to find a secret grotto but the location was a bit obtuse. In each level, you need to power up the four sword by collecting 2000 force gems, which are mostly earned similar to rupees. This needs to be done in order to activate the goal at the end of the level. They are drizzled on you so it was ultimately never a problem but you can lose them. One room I entered with 1950 force gems only to have a wizzrobe suck out nearly half of them nearly made me rage quit. But I still made it up in the end. I also get easily flustered so I'm not a good judge of what's too frustrating.

Special mention goes to how adorable it is when swapping between Links. The "hey" noises they make it cute and the unselected Links are shown just sitting on the ground with adorable looking sprites.

I would rank this in the middle third of the series, which is higher than I expected given it is a multiplayer. Definitely pleased I sought it out.
 
I really enjoyed reading this thread. Thanks for sharing your experience with FSA. I've been meaning to play it for a long time but haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm glad to hear it holds up. I was one of those rare players who greatly enjoyed TFH. I think that game is supremely under-appreciated. When the online play worked and you got a good group it was a rousing challenge. I greatly enjoyed getting all of the costumes. The levels were surprisingly tough.
 
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I'm slowly making my way through this for the first time with a group of 4. The experience is incredible.
 
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Four Swords Adventures is actually really good, and I wish it would be made available now.
Preferably it's even available in a physical edition. Including the original Four Swords and also Triforce Heroes is probably the only way those are made available in a physical format, so those could also be added (Yeah, I know, never happening)

Without the GameBoy connection, there might need to be workarounds for couch co-op, though.
 
I played through most of this a few years back solo. It's a good game if you're looking for some quick pick up and play Zelda experiences. It's like getting a bite sized Zelda adventures in little chunks. Perfect if you have a busy schedule and you don't currently have the time to sit down for a main Zelda experience.
 
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Loved this game so much. Was kinda expecting Four Swords to make a return for the anniversary in some way this year for NSO... but I guess not :(
 
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Four Swords Adventures is incredible and legit one of my favorite Gamecube games. I really wish they’d rerelease this game and take a page from Square offering a free Lite version to play online and wi-fi with friends who have the full game.
 
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I enjoyed playing it single player back then. If my memory card hadn't died, I would have played all the way through it.
 
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This was fantastic multiple or single player. Which is something that I think Tri-force Heroes totally got wrong.
 
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@Stopdoor @Glom @xghost777 @HockeyBird

I'm thinking I might finally dust this off and play it. I'd really like to play it in multiplayer. I have a Wii that reads GCN discs, the game itself, and GCN controllers. I also have a DS Lite and a DSi, but no GBAs. Is it just as good to play this in SP taking turns? Or much better in MP? If in MP, can we play just two players, and if so, do we need two GBAs and link cables or will GCN controllers and/or DS consoles suffice?

Thank you!
 
I got the game when it was available (for a limited time only™) on the 3DS, but have never played it. I'm always meaning to, but the fact that is focused on multiplayer makes it always not a priority over other Zelda games for me.
 
@Stopdoor @Glom @xghost777 @HockeyBird

I'm thinking I might finally dust this off and play it. I'd really like to play it in multiplayer. I have a Wii that reads GCN discs, the game itself, and GCN controllers. I also have a DS Lite and a DSi, but no GBAs. Is it just as good to play this in SP taking turns? Or much better in MP? If in MP, can we play just two players, and if so, do we need two GBAs and link cables or will GCN controllers and/or DS consoles suffice?

Thank you!
I had an awesome time revisiting it two months ago in single player. All you need is a GameCube/Wii, the disc, a GameCube controller, and a working memory card. It’s level based, so if you are playing with a friend / family member you could swap between levels.

If you want to play multiplayer you can’t use a GameCube controller. It must be two GBAs with two link cables for two players minimum. If you can do it, multiplayer is a great time too. I beat the game with a friend in two player (each player gets two Links). Never beat the whole game with three or four, but it’s an awesome time if you can make it happen.
 
@Stopdoor @Glom @xghost777 @HockeyBird

I'm thinking I might finally dust this off and play it. I'd really like to play it in multiplayer. I have a Wii that reads GCN discs, the game itself, and GCN controllers. I also have a DS Lite and a DSi, but no GBAs. Is it just as good to play this in SP taking turns? Or much better in MP? If in MP, can we play just two players, and if so, do we need two GBAs and link cables or will GCN controllers and/or DS consoles suffice?

Thank you!

Yeah, DSs won't do anything for this game, and you can only use a GameCube controller when playing single player. I guess you don't have a GameCube/Game Boy Player? That's the only other setup I can think of that would emulate a GBA.

You can play it two player, unsure exactly how that works actually though because I assume you can't use the automatic formations you can in single player 🤔

Ultimately, it's actually much less of a co-operative game than Tri-Force Heroes, so I don't think you actually lose too much playing it single player. Tbh, it's even sort of a distraction because there's a competitive angle to collecting gems that makes your goals feel conflicting.
 
I got the game when it was available (for a limited time only™) on the 3DS, but have never played it. I'm always meaning to, but the fact that is focused on multiplayer makes it always not a priority over other Zelda games for me.
The handheld Four Swords is a different game. It's a few randomly generated areas and some boss fights. You can probably finish it in like an hour but it's rather forgettable, more of a Link's Crossbow Training-tier release that gets undue recognition because it was arbitrarily declared a canonical main entry by Nintendo.

Four Swords Adventures on the other hand is only on the GameCube, and is a full level-based campaign with characters and a story beyond "Vaati kidnapped the princess, use the Four Sword to rescue her". It's a much more interesting experience in single player controlling a group of four Links yourself (IIRC the original Four Swords didn't even let you play it solo until the anniversary edition), and is this weird mish-mash of A Link to the Past and Wind Waker assets. It's technically the largest and most complete 2D Hyrule, while at the same time being a very odd take on all these familiar Zelda concepts, all the way down to fundamental gameplay things like only being able to carry one item at a time and no upgrades carrying over between levels.
 
@Stopdoor @Glom @xghost777 @HockeyBird

I'm thinking I might finally dust this off and play it. I'd really like to play it in multiplayer. I have a Wii that reads GCN discs, the game itself, and GCN controllers. I also have a DS Lite and a DSi, but no GBAs. Is it just as good to play this in SP taking turns? Or much better in MP? If in MP, can we play just two players, and if so, do we need two GBAs and link cables or will GCN controllers and/or DS consoles suffice?

Thank you!
You can't use a DS, unfortunately. Nor a GB Micro, for that matter. It's either GBA, GBA SP, or Analogue Pocket.

If you don't have 2 GBAs and 2 cables, you can play the game online with Dolphin, with each player only seeing their own screen.
 
Four Swords Adventures is actually really good, and I wish it would be made available now.
Preferably it's even available in a physical edition. Including the original Four Swords and also Triforce Heroes is probably the only way those are made available in a physical format, so those could also be added (Yeah, I know, never happening)

Without the GameBoy connection, there might need to be workarounds for couch co-op, though.

It must have been after this that the obvious multi-player solution occurred to me. Make it so you can connect additional Switch consoles to serve that role. Theoretically, allowance for cellular phone usage -- for the screen -- could be worked out as well.

And then bring the multi-player Zelda. Unleash Four Swords Adventure.

Also, I still think a Link and Zelda adventure where each has one controller, allowing a quick handoff to make it two-player would have been a perfect choice for Switch. Somehow that wasn't meant to be.
 
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One of my favorite zelda, easily top 3 best 2d zelda. Such a fun adventure with no filler, just pure gameplay and puzzle solving with a great atmosphere.
 
I coincidentally tried it a few days ago. Definitely not a game I'd play single player. They should make an online / local co op version for Switch.
 
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I had an awesome time revisiting it two months ago in single player. All you need is a GameCube/Wii, the disc, a GameCube controller, and a working memory card. It’s level based, so if you are playing with a friend / family member you could swap between levels.

If you want to play multiplayer you can’t use a GameCube controller. It must be two GBAs with two link cables for two players minimum. If you can do it, multiplayer is a great time too. I beat the game with a friend in two player (each player gets two Links). Never beat the whole game with three or four, but it’s an awesome time if you can make it happen.

Oh, I totally forgot this was one of the games you wrote about in your retro write-ups! I do like the idea of swapping levels for sure. I'm heartened to be reminded you enjoyed it a lot in SP. I like the idea of the MP in theory but the thought of looking at a GBA screen size vs. the TV makes me more lean to SP.

Yeah, DSs won't do anything for this game, and you can only use a GameCube controller when playing single player. I guess you don't have a GameCube/Game Boy Player? That's the only other setup I can think of that would emulate a GBA.

You can play it two player, unsure exactly how that works actually though because I assume you can't use the automatic formations you can in single player 🤔

Ultimately, it's actually much less of a co-operative game than Tri-Force Heroes, so I don't think you actually lose too much playing it single player. Tbh, it's even sort of a distraction because there's a competitive angle to collecting gems that makes your goals feel conflicting.

Thank you for the info! Nope, no GCN/GB Player here. That's a really clever workaround though. I like the sound of it being less co-op focused than TFH. I mean I loved TFH personally but I couldn't get on with the SP option at all so I'd definitely want it to be different from that.

Four Swords Adventures on the other hand is only on the GameCube, and is a full level-based campaign with characters and a story beyond "Vaati kidnapped the princess, use the Four Sword to rescue her". It's a much more interesting experience in single player controlling a group of four Links yourself (IIRC the original Four Swords didn't even let you play it solo until the anniversary edition), and is this weird mish-mash of A Link to the Past and Wind Waker assets. It's technically the largest and most complete 2D Hyrule, while at the same time being a very odd take on all these familiar Zelda concepts, all the way down to fundamental gameplay things like only being able to carry one item at a time and no upgrades carrying over between levels.

Everything you wrote here sounds appealing to me. I hope my disc works, I got it ages ago and not sure I ever tested it.

You can't use a DS, unfortunately. Nor a GB Micro, for that matter. It's either GBA, GBA SP, or Analogue Pocket.

If you don't have 2 GBAs and 2 cables, you can play the game online with Dolphin, with each player only seeing their own screen.

That's a neat workaround with Dolphin, too. I didn't realize analog pocket had the link cables option, that's pretty rad.
 


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