The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
Four Swords made its first appearance on the GameBoy Advance port of A Link to the Past. However, while this game may sound the same, this title is completely different than the GBA version. It's longer, it looks better, and it has a four-player battle mode. So how does Four Swords Adventures stack up against the rest of the Zelda collection? Continue reading to find out.

Graphics:

Ok, they are definitely not up to par with what the Gamecube can handle. But honestly, I don't care. The game mixes the graphical styles of what are, in my opinion, the two best Zelda games to date. Of course, the games I am talking about are A Link to the Past and The Wind Waker. While the design of the four Links and some bad guys look like they are from The Wind Waker, the design of other bad guys and the levels look like that of A Link to the Past. Also taking from Wind Waker are the special effects such as explosions. Nintendo managed to create a perfect blend of both graphical styles, which gives classic Zelda fans a nostalgic feeling for days of the SNES era.

Sound and Music:

The music is this game is definitely the best it could be. Nintendo took all the classic Zelda songs we know and love and threw them into one game. Most of the music is taken from A Link to the Past, but you'll encounter tunes from other Zelda games as well, including the original Death Mountain theme from The Legend of Zelda. The sound itself is wonderful too. All the explosions, swords swinging, and Link's screaming after falling down a pit sound just the way you would want them to. As with the music, most of the sounds were taken directly from A Link to the Past, which was definitely a smart move by Nintendo.

Storyline:

It's kinda hard to tell the story without spoiling anything, so I'm just going to give you the basic premise of the game. Long ago, in the inner reaches of Hyrule, an evil wind sorcerer named Vaati began kidnapping beautiful young maidens. Then, a brave young wanderer carrying 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 snatched the 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. These events are told on the A Link to the Past/Four Sword game for the GameBoy Advance. Now, yet again, Vaati's presence threatens the land of Hyrule. The story, while not as in depth as Ocarina of Time or The Wind Waker, is still interesting. It is told nicely by the maidens you rescue throughout the game, along with the owl from Ocarina of Time. However, in an interesting plot twist, you find out that Vaati's presence is just the vanguard of a bigger scheme. What is this plot twist? Well, you'll just have to play the game to find out.

Gameplay:

The gameplay takes place in two different modes. One mode is the story mode Hyrulean Adventure. The other is the battle mode called Shadow Battle. I'll begin with story mode. You can either go through Hyrulean Adventure by yourself or with your friends. If you choose to go by yourself, then you will control all four Links using a formation system. This system is easy to use, and is essential to doing the majority of the stuff in the game. If you choose to go with friends, then each of you will have control over a Link. While going alone is actually quite fun, going with friends is definitely better. Along your journey, you will work together as a team to conquer your hardships, yet you will compete with each other to collect force gems. The game is split up into levels, each of which contains three areas to go through. Two of the areas are the path to a dungeon, and the third area is the dungeon itself. At the end of each area, you will get to vote for who was least and most helpful to you. The game will also take into account how many times you died, how many enemies you defeated, and how many force gems you collected. Once the game tallies up all the different scores, a winner for that area is crowned and they get their color Link marked on the map for that area. Personally, I prefer to have two separate files. One file for going through the game by myself, and another for going through it with my friends. This way you can experience controlling all Links at once in one file, while having the joy of competing with your friends in another. Now, onto Shadow Battle. Shadow Battle consists of ten arenas to battle in. Each arena is littered with traps, items, and other various things useful for inflicting damage on your friends. As with any battle game, the last person standing is the winner. Shadow Battle is extremely hectic and fun, and in a split second you can be suddenly down for the count. Both gameplay modes of Four Swords Adventures are definitely worth playing, and while Hyrulean Adventure is meant for multiplayer, it is still extremely fun with just one person. However, you will need friends for Shadow Battle, as it requires at least two people to play.

Controls:

The controls are practically the same as they were in the GameBoy Advance version of A Link to the Past. The only new addition is the use of the L button, C-stick, or the D-pad to control the formations of the four Links. Of course, you will only have to use this if you are going through Hyrulean Adventure by yourself. Seeing as how A Link to the Past had great controls, there isn't really a problem with them in Four Swords Adventures either.

Replayability:

This is where I'd say the game takes a bit of a blow. While the story mode is multiplayer, I'm not exactly sure how many times you or your friends will want to go through it. The only unlockable things in the game are five Shadow Battle levels, all of which are unlocked once you beat Hyrulean Adventure. So basically, Shadow Battle is all that may keep you coming back for more. Now, this isn't a bad thing either. Shadow Battle itself is so fun and action packed that it WILL keep you coming back for more, I guarantee it. Hyrulean Adventure itself is fairly long. It's practically a full fledged Zelda game, on par in length with A Link to the Past.

So, in conclusion, Four Swords Adventures is definitely worth your money. It's amazing how, even though the game is meant for multiplayer, it's still remarkably fun by yourself. Whether your playing Hyrulean Adventure alone, playing it with friends, or killing each other in Shadow Battle, Four Swords Adventures truly deserves the honor of being a Zelda title, and a great one if I may say so myself.
Graphics: 9.7/10
Sound and Music: 10/10
Storyline: 9.0/10
Gameplay: 9.5/10
Controls: 10/10
Replayability: 9.0/10
9.0
Out of 10