‘We will struggle together and grow stronger than before.’

Played with BertKnot, in preparation for our Zelda Marathon podcast.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords (2002) was the result of an unexpected and incomplete development. The Capcom team, led by Hidemaro Fujibayashi, had been temporarily transferred from The Minish Cap (2004) to work on the multiplayer section of the A Link to the Past (1991) remaster. Many of the ideas were found in both games, but were primarily intended for a single-player experience. The resulting title was of questionable quality, unable to establish a distinct identity. However, the concept of a multiplayer opus for Zelda franchise was not a bad idea, and a hybrid title halfway between cooperation and competition was conceived. To demonstrate the connectivity between the GBA and GameCube, Nintendo set about developing Four Swords Adventures, which was to be a retelling of the original title, but in a much longer format. With Toshiaki Suzuki as director, the project was overseen by Aonuma and Miyamoto; the latter, in a very characteristic moment, insisted on last-minute changes to prioritise gameplay over story.

     A game-design built around references

The game follows the storyline of Four Swords, and players control reflections of Link as they work together to rescue the Seven Sages and stop Shadow Link and Vaati's attacks on Hyrule. Eight different worlds, each consisting of three levels, unfold throughout the adventure. The latter always features one of the series' iconic dungeons, often from A Link to the Past, while the first two showcase famous locations from the overworld. Remarkably, Four Swords Adventures is a continuous layering of references, borrowing from The Legend of Zelda (1986), Ocarina of Time (1998), The Wind Waker (2002), and all the rest. This approach works wonderfully and has been perfectly analysed by Aonuma, who points out: ‘In bringing together the elements for the Four Swords [Adventures], [Suzuki] looked at, essentially, taking elements from the 3D Wind Waker, [...] finding ways to take elements that people who have played the newer games would then see in this game and be familiar with, in addition to taking some of the older elements from the past 2D games. [...] Four Swords [Adventures] is going to be something that will feel familiar [...] to both the old-school fans and the new-school fans.‘ [1]

The endless interplay of references allows for a smooth and natural progression, which benefits the game's arcade flavour by borrowing puzzles and mechanics familiar to veterans, but also by subverting players' expectations. On several occasions, the game throws in surprises that can catch players off guard – the Flying Tiles were particularly effective. Similarly, the gameplay mix – with side-scrolling sequences reminiscent of Adventure of Link (1987) and Link's Awakening (1993), or those set in the Dark World a la A Link to the Past – rejuvenates parts of the previous games. The boss of the sixth world is Moldorm, who will evoke painful memories for anyone who played A Link to the Past: the boss would often throw the player off the platform, and a fall would force them to climb back up several floors to start the fight again. Here, falling leads to a small side-view pit, making it easy to rejoin the action. The mix of 2D and 3D works to create fresh puzzles, which also take advantage of the two screens the player has to look at, both the GameCube's monitor and the GBA's screen. Projectiles can be fired through doors or ceilings, hitting targets that seem out of reach.

     Exploration between cooperation and competition

In general, Four Swords Adventures manages to use its items wisely, exploiting them as much as possible. As with Four Swords, it is unfortunate that some items quickly become obsolete, and that players are often invited to take the same item, but the effort required to create complex puzzles that work in both multiplayer and single-player modes minimises this criticism. With several players, the linearity of the progression is never a problem, as it fades in favour of the competition between players. Moreover, the title offers levels that are more exploration-oriented – the Village of the Blue Maiden being perhaps the most telling example. The level is an excellent recontextualisation of exchange quests on a level scale: players can split up to collect clues separately and gather the information necessary to continue exploring. In these cases, the level invites closer cooperation and pushes the competitive element into the background. It is this invisible balance that makes Four Swords Adventures so enjoyable: the game always strikes the right tone to keep players engaged, and the level diversity keeps the experience refreshing.

While the final world partially abandons this approach, being a little too dense in its succession of puzzles and battles, all the levels are of a reasonable length, elegantly breaking up the action like a play. The aim is never to put players in a difficult position, but rather to reward them for their knowledge of the series' mechanics: arguably, Four Swords Adventures is a game whose optimal experience may require several players with a fairly extensive knowledge of the series. The ability to anticipate the design of the puzzles adds an exhilarating aspect to the title, and a chemistry between players who can race through the rooms to collect Force Gems. Of course, slower, more deliberate exploration is just as welcome, but this is a different, equally interesting experience.

It is also worth mentioning the presence of two other modes: Shadow Battle embraces the competitive aspect of the title, while Navi Trackers is a completely different mode, exclusive to the Japanese version – it was dubbed and was able to pronounce the players' names, which would probably have been too difficult to recreate in English. In any case, Four Swords Adventures was a love letter to a franchise that was then almost two decades old. It borrows codes that have become standards and sometimes subverts them, ambushing players with friendly mischief. The title alternates between the visual styles of A Link to the Past and The Wind Waker, depending on the sequence, while the music uses iconic themes from the franchise. If the game has few particularly memorable passages – the Village of the Blue Maiden is undoubtedly the exception – it is imbued throughout with a rare sincerity that pays tribute to the series, its creators and its players.

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[1] Eiji Aonuma, GDC Roundtable, 17th May 2004.

Somehow I played this authentically in 2023 with 4 people.

Game was fun, but the way they boot you out of the game with no way of saving progress if one of you disconnect, either by jerking your cable, accidentally turning off your GBA or running out of batteries(since you cant charge while playing), is such an attrocious design choice. Surely there could've been a work-around of some sort if they really tried it.

When nothing goes wrong, though, that's when you get a truly unique couch co-op experience, even if the game is a more streamlined and simple game compared to the other Zelda entries.

I finished this game a lot of time. It sure doesn't come close to Twilight Princess or Wind Waker. The graphics are clearly made for the Game Boy Advance (which is an obligation if you want to play this game with friends since you'll need one GBA per player).

Still, it has it's little charm and it is fun. A lot of the bosses comes from previous game and a lot of Zelda's lore is mix. It takes 10 hours to finish with 20 to 30 minutes per level.

I recommend play it without comparing it to other Zelda's and appreciate it for what it is.

Surprisingly fun simple 2d zelda game that is level based almost like an arcade style zelda beat em up,

The biggest issue is how to actually play multiplayer
needing 4 gbas and 4 connector cables is insane

instead of using 4 gamecube controllers like a normal person.

that's about the only negative I can say other than compared to other zelda games the world story and characters are kind of too simple for my tastes, not that it makes it a bad game or even what its trying to do its just MY taste in zelda games

Es un título que de una forma un poco ortodoxa llegó a la GCN de Nintendo, siendo un gran juego de aventuras, con todas las características que lo enmarcan dentro del universo Zelda, hubiera sido mejor confeccionado e implementado en la portátil de la empresa nipona. A pesar de la extraña decisión de traer Four Swords Adventures al cubo, es un disco con mucha calidad, con una dirección artística memorable y unas opciones multijugador que divierten hasta niveles insospechados. Sin embargo, se recomienda únicamente para los seguidores de las aventuras de Link y de su eterna lucha contra el mal, ya que los demás jugadores lo encontrarán un poco fuera de base, al contener un motor gráfico y una mecánica de juego que no concuerda con la consola en la que fue lanzado.

After playing Four Swords, I honestly was expecting a far worse game than what Four Swords Adventures turned out to be. The collaboration component has been refined and the puzzles are genuinely enjoyable. The game was a lighthearted tone that fits with the multiplayer aspect, and the level based structure (similar to a typical Mario game) doesn't get repetitive.

At the same time, there's no lack of problems. First of all, the game is way too easy. The player would almost have to intentionally die to experience any kind of obstacle difficulty-wise. Secondly, the plot is a basic justification for an adventure and has 0 importance. Plus the level structure could be improved, saving some type of progress as the players advance so that is feels more organic.

Still, it's a game worth trying.

This is a rock-solid game that often gets overlooked or underappreciated. Yes, it's more linear and arcadey than most Zelda games. But there is still so much charm and fun to be had. And I'm talking about the single-player! I never had enough Game Boy-owning friends to be able to play the multiplayer. The Game Boy integration was pretty cool in this game, though most of the time I never used it and stuck to the main screen. Playing as four Links was always lots of fun, the maps are all so unique and satisfying to play. You can really just pick it up and play anytime, and that's why I love it.