The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition

I couldn't tell you how excited I was to finally get my hands on this game. Four Swords Anniversary Edition was released as a free download on DSi and 3DS to commemorate the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, and once again to celebrate the critical success of A Link Between Worlds. However, it was removed from the shop shortly after release both times and has never been re-released since. I'm a huge fan of the Zelda series, but I completely missed the limited availability of this title. I could technically have played the GBA original, but then I would need a second player with their own hardware, and I would miss out on all of the extra content. Luckily, I did finally end up getting my hands on the game.

When Four Swords originally came out on the GBA packed in with A Link to the Past, it was the first of its kind. While it still looks and feels like a Zelda game, with its engine even being reused for The Minish Cap, the series-staple sprawling solo adventure was replaced with smaller chapters focused on multiplayer cooperation. Since then, Nintendo has made a sort of side-series with the same structure, releasing two other full titles based on the concept. I found that Four Swords did a good job of condensing the action and puzzle-solving from the main series into bite-sized chapters, and the game is loaded with charm. Collecting rupees as I explored the randomly generated stages felt rewarding, and the variety of equipable items scattered throughout each map kept me excited for even the most basic tasks. Plus, Anniversary Edition added a few new levels, including some based on older games in the series that were a delightful bit of fan service.

Unfortunately, the game has some major issues that kept me from enjoying it fully. As the original game was multiplayer-only, it is fantastic that this version implemented a way to play alone, letting you play as two Link's that you can either control simultaneously or separately. Without this update, I probably still wouldn't have been able to play the game. However, it is only adjusted to work for solo play, not balanced to be fair to solo players. Puzzles were never an issue, but the number of enemies in some combat scenarios could be absolutely atrocious. With nobody else to draw their attention, I often wouldn't have an opportunity to attack or defend properly, resulting in a lot of frustration. Four Swords Anniversary Edition also seems to retain the same exact engine that it had on the GBA. The second screen is now utilized for some simple status information, but the whole thing feels a little primitive for the DSi and 3DS, especially when you look back at how much better The Minish Cap played on the GBA with only some small updates to the engine.

With that said, Four Swords isn't a bad game, and it's still more than capable of carrying the weight of the Zelda name. I found it to be well-crafted to support some good multiplayer fun, supposing you can scrounge up enough people and systems with the game downloaded. I'm still thankful for the opportunity to play solo, but without a group of Zelda fans ready to go, it ends up being a pretty subpar experience.

The game is no longer being distributed, but you can learn more about it here (as of 6/25/21): https://zelda.fandom.com/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Four_Swords_Anniversary_Edition

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