The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures is an action-adventure game made and sold by Nintendo for the GameCube in 2004. It is the 11th game in The Legend of Zelda series. The game came out in Japan on March 18, 2004, and in North America on June 7, 2004. It was released in Europe on January 7, 2005, and in Australia on April 7, 2005. The Game Boy Advance handheld console can be used as a controller with the GameCube when connected using the special link cable included with the game in North America and Europe.
The game plays similarly to its earlier version, Four Swords. In this game, Link and three copies of him created by the magic "Four Sword" go on a mission to fix peace in Hyrule after discovering an evil version of himself, called Shadow Link, has been made. Nintendo Power ranked the game as the 48th best game for a Nintendo system. It received an average score of 86 out of 100 from Metacritic. In North America, it was the third best-selling game in June 2004, selling 155,000 copies. It has sold a total of 250,000 copies worldwide, including 127,000 in Japan.
Gameplay
The main way to play Four Swords Adventures is called "Hyrulean Adventure," which is a cooperative multiplayer game divided into episodes and based on the gameplay of The Legend of Zelda. Another mode is "Shadow Battle," a competitive multiplayer battle where players fight against each other. "Navi Trackers," found only in the Japanese version of the game, is a multiplayer race where players collect stamps by finding members of a pirate crew.
"Hyrulean Adventure" is the main story mode of Four Swords Adventures and can be played by one to four players. It includes eight worlds, each with three stages and a boss battle. The graphics look similar to those in the earlier game Four Swords for the Game Boy Advance (GBA), but the maps are fixed rather than randomly generated. The top-down view is inspired by A Link to the Past, and gameplay includes effects from The Wind Waker. Enhanced effects like moving cloud shadows, heat shimmer, dust storms, and fog are included. The music is based on A Link to the Past but is changed in some parts.
In "Hyrulean Adventure," most gameplay mechanics from Four Swords are used. For multiplayer, each player needs a Game Boy Advance (GBA) to control their character, and the action shifts to the GBA when a player's character moves off the main screen. Single-player mode can use either a GameCube controller or a GBA. Four Link characters (green, red, blue, and purple) are always on screen, even if fewer players are playing. Extra Links follow the main player but can be separated or placed in formations to solve puzzles or defeat enemies. Players must work together to collect Force Gems to power up the Four Sword. If they fail to collect enough gems before defeating a boss or reaching a dark barrier, they must restart the stage. Once enough gems are collected, players are automatically sent to the dark barrier and do not need to repeat the stage.
In multiplayer mode, players can play minigames at Tingle's Tower, which appears in every world, to earn extra lives. These eight games are unlocked by completing certain stages. Examples include horse racing, hammer tag, monster hunting, and five other games.
In "Shadow Battle," two or more players fight until only one remains. Each player uses a differently colored Link and attacks others with tools. Five stages are available as battle arenas, and five bonus "dark stages" are unlocked after completing "Hyrulean Adventure." These dark stages are similar to the first five maps but include portals to a dark world and limited vision. Items and special objects appear randomly in each stage and can help players. A time limit is set, and if it runs out, the game ends in a tie.
"Navi Trackers" (originally planned as a separate game called Tetra's Trackers) is only available in the Japanese version of Four Swords Adventures (Four Swords +). Players use a combination of the television screen and Game Boy Advance systems to find members of Tetra's pirate crew and collect stamps within a time limit. Each player's Game Boy Advance shows the action, while the television screen displays a map and Tetra narrates the game. A single-player mode allows players to collect stamps alone or compete against Tingle.
Plot
The game occurs many years after Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess, during the "Child Era" of the "Victorious Hero" timeline. It is the last game in this timeline before Breath of the Wild. The game includes a different version of the Dark Lord Ganondorf/The Dark Beast Ganon than the one shown in Ocarina of Time, a detail unique to Four Swords Adventures.
Because Vaati's seal is weakening, causing strange events in Hyrule, Zelda calls Link to protect her while she and the Shrine Maidens open a portal to the Four Sword Sanctuary. Shadow Link appears suddenly and kidnaps the Maidens. Link uses the Four Sword to create three copies of himself but accidentally frees Vaati, causing chaos in Hyrule. The four Links then travel to restore peace. They learn that Vaati's release is part of a larger plan to take over Hyrule. The Dark World appears, abducting people, including Hyrule's four knights, and the castle is captured.
The Links discover that Ganon caused the events by stealing a powerful trident filled with dark energy. To achieve his goal, Ganon used the Dark Mirror to create Shadow Link, who tricked Link into releasing Vaati. With the Dark Mirror, Ganon abducts people to turn them into his followers. The Links rescue the Maidens, retrieve the Dark Mirror, and defeat Shadow Link. In the Palace of Wind, the Links defeat both Vaati and Ganon, using the Shrine Maidens' power to seal Ganon. Peace returns to Hyrule as all evil is removed. Link returns the Four Sword, and the Links reunite. The Maidens then place a barrier around the sword.
Development
At E3 2003, Nintendo displayed two Zelda games that used the Game Boy Advance's linking feature: Four Swords and Tetra's Trackers. In December of the same year, it was planned to release both games together on a single disc called Four Swords +, along with a third game named Shadow Battle. Later, in Japan, Four Swords Adventures was released with three separate games: "Hyrule Adventure," "Shadow Battle," and "Navi's Trackers." In June 2004, "Hyrule Adventure" and "Navi's Trackers" were planned to be sold as separate titles in the United States, while the availability of "Shadow Battle" remained unclear. This plan was later changed to bundle "Hyrule Adventure" with "Shadow Battle" and to not release "Navi's Trackers" in the United States.
Although translations for the PAL version of the game were completed in October, the game was not released in Europe until early January 2005. One possible reason for this delay was to avoid competing with The Minish Cap's sales. The Minish Cap was released before Christmas in Europe because, unlike North America, it would not hurt Nintendo DS sales.
During the early development of Navi's Trackers, it was decided that the game would include a talking system that gives advice to players during mini-games. Players type their names into the system, and the game calls them by their names to tell them when it is their turn.
Reception
In 2006, Nintendo Power ranked Four Swords Adventures as the 48th best game for a Nintendo system. The game scored 86 out of 100 based on 55 combined reviews from Metacritic, and an average score of 85% based on 67 reviews from GameRankings.
GameSpot praised the game’s ability to connect with the Game Boy Advance, stating this feature was a strong reason to buy a GameCube-to-GBA link cable. They noted that using the Game Boy Advance as a controller had a noticeable effect on the gameplay experience. The story was also highlighted, with reviewers pointing out that Four Swords Adventures had a more consistent narrative compared to the original Four Swords. Critics said the game improved the visuals of the original, making the Wind Waker-style graphics more similar to the cel-shaded look of Link. The audio was also praised, with a review stating that the sound design felt familiar to players of other The Legend of Zelda games, including The Wind Waker. GameSpot later named it the best GameCube game of June 2004.
The game also faced criticism. GameRevolution’s review criticized the graphics, calling them a mix of simple 2D sprites from the SNES era and more advanced GameCube effects, which created an uneven feel. They also pointed out that requiring the link cable limited the game’s multiplayer potential because players needed a Game Boy Advance to play together.
Four Swords Adventures was the third best-selling game in North America for June 2004, with 155,000 units sold. It later sold 250,000 copies total, becoming part of the Player’s Choice line. The game sold 127,000 units in Japan. Producer Eiji Aonuma said the game’s sales were disappointing because each player needed a Game Boy Advance and a Link Cable, which made it hard to convince people they needed to buy the game.