Publisher: Nintendo
Ages: seven and up.
Parental
Advisory:
Fighting
In a fresh new approach, the Zelda legend thrives in a cooperative and competitive adventure that supports up to four players. Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures not only continues the Zelda franchise in an entertaining new title, but offers compelling gameplay that melds the capabilities of the GameCube with the Game Boy Advance. It's an innovation that works beautifully.
Up to four may link their Game Boy Advances (GBAs) to the Nintendo GameCube to join the fun. When characters enter a building or dive into a cave, the action switches from the TV to the Game Boy Advance. And when characters emerge, the action shifts back to the TV. It's an approach that takes some getting used to, but works well. And as a Zelda game, the title offers competition for force gems and special items, but also asks players to cooperate to move massive blocks, trigger switches, and slay bosses.
It seems that long ago, the evil wind demon known as Vaati was defeated and imprisoned with a magical seal. Vaati escapes and abducts Princess Zelda. To thwart Vaati's vile forces, legendary hero Link turns to the mystical power of the Four Sword to split himself into four copies of himself and Links embark on a quest to collect force gems and save Zelda.
Four Swords Adventures seamlessly blends elements from past Zelda games, and fans of the series will recognize items, characters and enemies from past Zelda classics. The game serves eight huge worlds in its adventure mode, and players can simply fight their friends in a shadow battle mode. The game also offers an in-depth single-player mode that lets a player control all four Links. While single-play is first rate, it's the multi-play that is the most fun.
The controls are intuitive and easy to learn. On the other hand, the graphics are more like those for the GBA than for the GameCube and may disappoint some
In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, Nintendo's vision for combining its hardware platforms comes together to offer an involving and entertaining multi-play experience. If you love Zelda and own the necessary hardware, be sure to check this one out.
6/21/04 www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff
