The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

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The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD3
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release date(s)	March 18, 2004 June 7, 2004 January 7, 2005
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer (GBAs needed for 2-4 players)
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone
Platform(s)	GameCube
Media	GameCube Optical Disc
Preceded by	The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Followed by	The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Credits • Gallery

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (ゼルダの伝説　4つの剣+, Zeruda no Densetsu Yottsu no Tsurugi Purasu, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords+) is the eleventh game in The Legend of Zelda series, for the Nintendo GameCube. It is the sequel to the multiplayer-only The Legend of Zelda: the Four Swords, released for the Game Boy Advance on the same cartridge as a port of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Like the first Four Swords, the graphics are sixteen bit and four Links are used. However, the game is 1-4 players instead of 2-4. The first game was multiplayer only to promote the link cable. However, the GBA can be used for specific areas such as caves which can either be projected to a GBA or on a small window onscreen. Multiplayer is only possible using Game Boy Advances.

Contents 1 Visuals 2 Gameplay 3 Reception 4 Trivia

[edit] Visuals

The game is based heavily on ALTTP, so it implements the same 16-bit graphics.

[edit] Gameplay

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures expands on the concept introduced in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords Game Boy Advance game. It is the only episodic Zelda game, and after each mission or episode the equipment that you found, including the extra heart pieces, will be lost to the player once they start the next mission. There are three modes the player can partake in in Four Swords Adventure, the main one being Hyrulean Adventure. Shadow Battle is a multiplayer battle mode.

It is the only official Zelda game not to have an inventory window, limiting the player(s) to only one secondary item. Most other games have a drop-down inventory window and most games since Ocarina of Time have allowed for three other items summoned using the yellow buttons or analog stick. Even A Link to the Past, which this game is based on, allows for an inventory window.

It appears to revive the save limit of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, saving only when stages have been completed instead of whenever the user(s) wish(es).

Although based on ALTTP, the game implements the analog stick, reserving the D-pad for formations.

One potentially annoying feature occurs whenever a secondary item is acquired, which will always be accompanied by a complete description even when the item has already been used.

[edit] Reception

The game did poorly commercially. The game was intended to increase the sales of the series after The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker sold fewer than expected (around 3 million copies). Four Swords Adventures did much worse at only 250,000. Reviews were generally positive, with a Game Rankings average of 84.52%. To date, however, it remains the worst rated Zelda game of all time (excluding the Game Boy Advance re-releases of The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link). It is also the worst selling Zelda game and the only one in the series not to reach one million copies sold. Had Twilight Princess also sold poorly, Nintendo speculated that the Zelda series would have been ended.

[edit] Trivia

• A thwomp appears in Death Mountain.
• Navi is acquried during the game