Product Description

Long ago, a valiant hero defeated an evil wind demon known as Vaati and imprisoned him with a magical seal. Over the ages, the seal weakened. Now, Vaati has escaped and abducted Princess Zelda and the six Shrine Maidens. To thwart Vaati's vile forces, legendary hero Link turns to the mystical power of the Four Sword to split himself into four colored copies of himself. The four Links embark on a quest to collect Force Gems and save Princess Zelda. Their journey will take them through enemy-infested lands and puzzle-plagued dungeons. Four Swords Adventures seamlessly fuses many elements from past Zelda games into an all-new adventure. Zelda veterans will recognize items, characters and enemies from Zelda classics like Link's Awakening, A Link to the Past, The Wind Waker and more. This game really is a dream come true for any Zelda fan!

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7741 in Video Games
• Brand: Nintendo
• Model: 45496961855
• Released on: 2006-06-15
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platform: GameCube
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .75" h x 5.50" w x 7.50" l, .32 pounds

Features

• Using the power of the Four Sword, you'll split yourself into four different Links. You'll need all four to compete against each other as you work to save Princess Zelda!
• Players will work together to face 24 challenges, in 8 levels of Hyrulian adventure
• Battle against your friends in 10 frantic multiplayer battles -- just connect your Game Boy Advance for up to four people
• Collect items and money through battle or using the classic boomerang throw to steal from opponents
• Includes Link Cable for connecting GBA to GameCube

Game Informer Review

While Zelda advocates will find solace in the inventive puzzles, archetypal boss battles, and familiar story arc that runs through every inch of gameplay, the main attraction and allure of this game is quite out of character for this hallowed franchise. As the name so cleary implies, this adventure shines the most with four people playing at once. Granted, you will get a sizeable charge marching through the dungeons by your lonesome, but this title is designed with the intent of having players communicate to solve puzzles and get rowdy as the competition rises.

Much like Square Enix's Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles release, you do have the option of using the GameCube controller in single player, but a Game Boy Advance is mandatory for multiplayer. I really didn't see the reason why I had to use my GBA in Crystal Chronicles, but it does make sense for this game. The TV screen is essentially the
overworld and main area. All four players can interact here, and the screen will pan out and zoom in depending on where the characters are in relation to one another. When one person enters a cave or house they will disappear from this screen. At this point, the person needs to look at their GBA. As odd as it is to have to look up at the TV, then down at your handheld, it grants each player freedom to do as he or she wishes and not stay huddled up together. Of course, the Internet does the same thing, but until Nintendo realizes what this is, it looks like we're going to have to tolerate the GBA/GC connectivity gimmick.

If you do happen to have four friends who are Zelda fanatics and GBA owners, you are going to have the time of your life playing this game. The majority of puzzles revolve around all four characters working together as a team. You may be asked to throw switches at precisely the same time, stand together to pull a large lever out of a wall, or coordinate attacks against a dungeon boss.

As an avid Zelda fan that counts the days before each release, I walked away from Four Swords with mixed feelings. I love the retro gameplay, unforgettable melodies, and gorgeous visuals. However, with the quest broken up into stand-alone levels, the design feels more Mario than Zelda. Losing all of your hard-earned items and Heart Containers at the end of each stage is even more defeating. Outside of the brilliant gameplay, Zelda has always struck a chord with me for being a seamless adventure where anything was possible. Chopping the quest up kills the buzz and aura that surrounds it. I also found that many of the stages didn't offer enough action, especially when you have four people questing together.

All told, as a Zelda game, it doesn't come close to reaching the towering peak of brilliance that this series has established over the years. It's definitely shot from the same cannon, but it's a different type of game. While I can still picture the perfect Zelda multiplayer game that doesn't sacrifice the integrity of the series, Nintendo has chosen to move in a different direction where gimmicks take center stage. Questing with friends is an enjoyable experience, but it's also one that will have you longing for something much deeper.

Concept:
Classic Zelda gameplay that stresses teamwork among four players

Graphics:
Mouth-watering Link to the Past-styled graphics and Wind Waker-esque effects

Sound:
You'll be humming these tunes until the day that you die

Playability:
Words cannot describe just how ingenious some of the puzzles are. The boss fights will also hit home with fans of the series

Entertainment:
A great party game, but nowhere near as complex as a typical Zelda adventure

Replay:
Moderately High

Rated: 8 out of 10
Editor: Andrew Reiner
Issue: June 2004

2nd Opinion:
Four Swords Adventures is so many things at once that finding the right words to describe why I love it and hate it all at the same time is difficult. For example, I love the old-school 16-bit-styled graphics combined with the punch of today's particle effects and the gaudy number of enemies the GameCube can process on the screen at once. However, my enjoyment of the title is greatly hampered by the whole connectivity aspect. Why give me this gorgeous full adventure and then have the gameplay switch back and forth between the two screens, basically forcing the player to use a GBA (or at least look at a little window that pops up onscreen if you play without one)? For one, I find the whole thing annoying, and more importantly, none of the switching back and forth actually makes the game any better. All my complaining aside, it is a pretty fun multiplayer experience. However, I think the game would have been better if it just stuck with the classic Baldur's Gate multiplayer formula, and created a better, more far-reaching Zelda quest.

Rated: 8 out of 10
Editor: Andy McNamara


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From the Manufacturer
The Legend continues on Nintendo GameCube in an all-new epic adventure for one to four players. Fusing cooperative and competitive action, Four Swords Adventures features a unique gameplay system that incorporates both the television and the Game Boy Advance.

When you enter a building or dive into a cave, your character switches from the TV to the Game Boy Advance. When you emerge, the frantic action shifts back to the big screen. To thwart Vaati's nefarious forces, you'll have to master new skills and techniques never before seen in the Legend of Zelda series.

Features:

• Up to four players can link their GBAs to the Nintendo GameCube to join a fun and frantic competition for Force Gems and special items while cooperating to move massive blocks, trigger switches, and slay mighty bosses.
• Explore eight massive worlds in the Hyrulean Adventure mode, or fight your friends in Shadow Battle mode until only one Link remains!
• A rich single-player mode allows you to assume control of all four Links and command their every move by seamlessly switching among battle formations.
• A high-resolution, top-down play perspective features dazzling visual effects like vivid colored lighting, silky-smooth water ripples, swirling smoke, and stylized weather effects.

Long ago, a valiant hero defeated an evil wind demon known as Vaati and imprisoned him with a magical seal. Over the ages, the seal weakened. Now, Vaati has escaped and abducted Princess Zelda and the six Shrine Maidens. To thwart Vaati's vile forces, legendary hero Link turns to the mystical power of the Four Sword to split himself into four colored copies of himself. The four Links embark on a quest to collect Force Gems and save Princess Zelda. Their journey will take them through enemy-infested lands and puzzle-plagued dungeons.

Four Swords Adventures seamlessly fuses many elements from past Zelda games into an all-new adventure. Zelda veterans will recognize items, characters, and enemies from Zelda classics like Link's Awakening, A Link to the Past, The Wind Waker and more. This game really is a dream come true for any Zelda fan!

Bottom line: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures is a massive Zelda masterpiece that's just as fun for a single player as it is for four adventurers.

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Customer Reviews

Great Multiplayer Fun
Zelda Four Swords is extremely similar to SNES' "A Link to the Past"; only with a linear, unexplorable world map. If you enjoyed that game or some of the other old school Zelda titles, this will be VERY fun for you.

To put it bluntly, you will want friends. In this game, you can only carry one item at a time. It's a good idea to tell your friends to grab items you think you'll need down the road to solve puzzles. This is the sole reason why the game feels easier the more people there are to help you... you spend less time backtracking to swap items.

The game is presented in stages, so if you are looking for a Zelda game with a huge, freely explorable world, or if you just like to play alone, you'll have problems with this one. As for replay value, once you beat the stages there is little else you can do. The battle mini-games are fun, but do not last long. However, Four Swords is an enjoyable game with great music, and will remind you of the SNES Zelda.

Built for four players
This game was made for four players. I do not recommend it unless you can get four people together to play it. It is not a fun game to play single player, or even with two people. It was designed as a four player game.

Unfortunately the cost of playing this game w/ 4 GBAs is pretty prohibitive, so few people have played this game the way it was meant to be played. If you can get together four people with GBAs and link cables, this is definitely a game you should play. I managed to convince three other people to buy GBAs and a link cable to play this game, thinking that more similar games would come out for the GC. Unfortunately all we got was the very mediocre Crystal Chronicles. I have a feeling the prohibitive cost of playing this game limited its sales enough to stop N from releasing any more similar games.

Now assuming you can get four people together w/ four GBAs this game really shines. The coordination needed to do some of the puzzles and bosses really gets people vocal and its lots of fun. There are also a ton of mini games that occasionally we'll still play even after beating the game.

There is definitely a darkside to this game, which can be both good and bad. If there are any competitive people in your group, beware. You're going to have to set some ground rules or chances are you'll have a brawl break out sooner or later. The competition for rupees can be pretty fierce, and this is compounded by the game mechanic that lets you steal rupees from each other so easily by just attacking. And you'll get nowhere in the game if you don't cooperate, so without some sort of ground rules you'll get nowhere as people just kill each other for rupees over and over. I sort of wish Nintendo had put in a mode to prevent rupee stealing (sort of like a coop mode).

The game is very short. You can beat it in around 10-15 hours with rupee competition. This isn't that bad though, as it's usually hard to get four people together at the same time so you can make the game last for a while (such as playing once a week).

I gave the game 4 stars because of the prohibitive cost of the game. Nintendo could have released this w/o the need for GBA if they wanted, which would have been awesome. Guess they were trying to sell the whole connectivity thing.

Great Fun, Loved it
This game is not like Wind-Waker at all. It is more like the Legend of Zelda for the NES, which I thought was great. The graphics are not super great, but if you love playing Zelda on the NES you will love this game. We didn't play with the Game Boy Advance, but just played the one player game. It's very addicting and fun for everyone. Don't bother with the book, go online to find out clues for some of the more complicated puzzles.
Don't pass this one up, especially now that it's on sale.