ell, it finally happened. The Legend of Zelda series finally spawned a multiplayer game. And one using Wind Waker-esque cel-shading, at that. And despite some flaws, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords paved the way for a whole new franchise of multiplayer Zelda games. Now prepare to be immersed into multiplayer action as you and three of your friends use the power of the Four Sword to defeat a new villain and rescue Princess Zelda!
 
 

Four Links, ready to fight evil

The Story:

Long ago, an evil wind mage known as Vaati terrorized villages and kidnapped maidens that captured his fancy. Then one day, a travelling hero appeared and declared to defeat the wind mage. With but a single sword, the boy confronted Vaati and, after a bitter struggle, defeated the wind mage and imprisoned him within the sword. The sword was then enshrined deep within the forests of Hyrule, and the boy disappeared. The villagers were confused at how a single boy could defeat such a powerful villain, but the maidens, who had witnessed the battle, told them that the boy, by waving his sword, had managed to split himself into four bodies. The four heroes defeated the wind mage, sealed him within the sword, and rescued the maidens. From then on, the enshrined sword which contained Vaati was known as the Four Sword.

A great period of time has passed since then. One day, as Princess Zelda walked around Hyrule Castle, she sensed trouble brewing at the Four Sword Shrine. Having this special ability to sense danger, she enlisted the help of Link, a young boy who Zelda trusted. The two of them went off to inspect the shrine, only to find that the seal had been broken. Vaati had finally escaped from the Four Sword! He kidnapped Zelda and brought her his Palace of Winds, knocking out Link in the process. Three fairies then appeared to awaken Link, prompting him to pull the Four Sword from it's ancient resting place. Now, Link had been split into four, all of whom were dedicated to rescuing the princess and putting Vaati back in his place.

The Game:

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords is actually one GBA cartridge containing two games. The first is a remake of the SNES classic, A Link to the Past. The most notable changes in this remake are the adding of Link's voice (voiced by the same VA for OoT/MM Link) and the text being completely changed. The ALttP remake also contains extras, not previously in the SNES version, which could be unlocked through the actual Four Swords game.

The second game on this cartridge is the actual Four Swords game. Four Swords makes Zelda history by being the first multiplayer Zelda game, playable by 2-4 friends. You and your friends control the different Links in the game, using GBAs connected by a GBA link cable. You and your friends progress through three levels, using items to defeat enemies and solve puzzles, while collecting rupees. And that's where it becomes a competition. Although collected rupees count for the team overall (so the whole team can get certain prizes even if just one player collects rupees) there is also a hidden indiviual rupee counter for each player. The player that collects the most rupees by the end of a level is awarded a Triforce medal. Ten of these medals unlocks the secret Riddle Quest in A Link to the Past.

In addition to that, if the team collects a certain amount of rupees by the end of a level, they'll be awarded a certain key. Three keys will unlock the final level, Vaati's Palace, where players will confront past challeneges as well as new ones. Defeating the final boss, Vaati himself, will unlock a brand new, difficult dungeon in A Link to the Past, called the Palace of the Four Sword. There, players will have to use all of their skills to defeat the challenges that await them.

Of course, being the first multiplayer Zelda, Four Swords has its faults too. You cannor play Four Swords by yourself, you must have someone else play with you, which is the main reason why not so many people have played Four Swords. However, Eiji Aonuma (the creator of Four Swords and new producer of the Zelda series) has promised to clean this up in the next multiplayer Zelda game.