We take a look back at the games worthy enough to be considered the GameCube's best.
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
Released June 7, 2004
Developed by Nintendo
Published by Nintendo
Retrospective by Aaron Kaluszka
The Legend of Zelda during the GameCube era is the perfect example of a franchise done right. Nintendo covered all of the bases: A compilation of most of the series’ previous games; Wind Waker, a game featuring a controversial, yet ground-breaking new art direction; Twilight Princess, an epic, more realistic game catering to fans; and finally, Four Swords Adventures, a 2D multiplayer game showcasing GameCube-Game Boy Advance connectivity. Too often unexplored due to lack of hardware or friends, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures showed gamers the true power of connectivity, redefining how multiplayer games could be played.
Four Swords Adventures allowed Link to walk off the big screen and literally into the hands of players. The GBA provided a second screen of gameplay, permitting players to hide from others or explore different portions of a dungeon. Classic Zelda puzzles were plentiful, each taking on a twist by requiring the cooperation of four different-colored Links, as did the original Four Swords for GBA. Though more linear than traditional Zelda games, the levels were long and maintained fun throughout.
Although Four Swords Adventures could be played in single-person mode, the true experience is obtained with a full complement of four players. Nintendo’s genius shines through in making the game simultaneously cooperative and competitive. Players must cooperate to progress through levels, meanwhile competing for collection of the most Force Shards. Too few games feature cooperative multiplayer, and Four Swords Adventures is able to provide both a sense of team accomplishment as well as good-natured heckling at the player who just couldn’t get to the Force Shards in time. The game also tests patience as players find themselves thrown off of cliffs by their supposed "friends."
Four Swords Adventures proved that 2D gaming is not yet dead and can indeed be more fun than its 3D counterparts. The art and music of Four Swords Adventures hark back to the SNES-era A Link to the Past while adding some special Wind Waker-esque effects, providing both nostalgia and polish. As a bonus to fans, Four Swords Adventures featured a battle mode where the chickens of doom actually became a strategic attack.
Four Swords Adventures, while a general success in game design, also set the stage for possibilities in multi-screen multiplayer gaming, culminating in the dual-screened, Wi-Fi enabled Nintendo DS and the upcoming DS-Wii connectivity. In the next few years, we’re likely to see just what sort of vision Nintendo had with connectivity and how, in some ways, Four Swords Adventures was ahead of its time.
Thoughts From the NWR Staff
Michael Cole: "As long as you have the equipment for it, Four Swords Adventures is a fantastic party game. The battle mode and mini-games are great for short sessions, and the main game's co-op adventure, which varies depending on the number of players, makes it even better for longer ones. Its healthy balance of cooperation and friendly competition was energizing, and the individual GBA screens provided just enough leash length for individual exploration. Losing 10 minutes of progress thanks to dead GBA batteries or a poorly inserted link cable is painful, but Four Swords Adventures is totally worth such minor headaches."
Mike Gamin: "Four Swords Adventures really showed how much fun connectivity could be. It's too bad so many other issues held the concept back."
David Trammell: "I personally loved the fact that the art was borrowed from Link's SNES adventure and upgraded with some nice effects and zooms. The difficulty with this game is getting people together and playing it. I was only able to get the full experience briefly on two occasions. All of my other run-ins with the game were solo. In fact, I've yet to finish it (in hope that I can finish it with other people)."
Jonathan Metts: "This game is definitely best played with friends, but it also holds up well as a single-player experience. It isn't as epic or quite as clever as a main-series Zelda game, but it's still quite challenging. And, against all common sense, the death match mini-game is ridiculously fun and hilarious with four players."
A Dissenting Opinion
Daniel Bloodworth: "While I think Four Swords was a great investment for those willing to try it out, Nintendo shouldn't be surprised that it sold poorly. While 2D doesn't need to die and the GC's power lent itself to the massive number of enemies, the graphical style and music of Four Swords seemed like just a remix of a Link to the Past. I had that feeling throughout the game and really think that Nintendo should have put more effort into it. The equipment requirements of connectivity also made it hard to find players to join in, making it feel like a chore to get a group together. Forcing the game to reset when a link cable got unplugged was a low blow too. Still, I hope Nintendo doesn't give up on the concept and tries again on DS or Wii with online functionality."
History Lesson
Connectivity
The GC-GBA link cable was often derided by critics as a gimmick, and ultimately went the way of so many Nintendo accessories such as the Super Scope and e-Reader. Only two other games came close to showcasing connectivity as Four Swords Adventures did, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles and Pac-Man Vs. A cooperative action RPG, Crystal Chronicles gave players possession of different maps to encourage verbal interaction during play sessions. The Miyamoto-inspired Pac-Man Vs. pit players against each other, realizing dreams of player-controlled ghosts vs. Pac-Man. An entirely different animal from online gaming, GC-GBA connectivity in these games provided enhanced interaction among players unexplored until then.
