For the last few years Nintendo has been in hard sell mode over the Gamecube/Gameboy Advance connectivity possibilities. At 2003’s E3 Nintendo went so far as to put all their focus on that connectivity. Despite their best efforts and claims however, there hasn’t been a single piece of software to come out that leant any credence to the fact that this link-up really was something revolutionary; or that it even offered anything new in terms of gameplay.
It may have taken 3 years, and a few mediocre titles, but FINALLY Nintendo has that piece of software that lets the gaming world know this connectivity thing has the ability to make a game that much more fun. In my heart of hearts I think Nintendo agrees with me on this, because the GBA/GCN link-up cable is included with The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures.
I wondered why Sony was so quick to jump on the connectivity wagon with their PSP, and now I see why. Get a group of 4 friends together with Gameboy Advances, plug this sucker in, and you’ll experience something you’ve never experienced before.
Four Swords is both a co-operative and competitive game. You’ll need each other to complete every level, but at the end of each level you’ll be ranked, and the entire room will know who really kicked all the ass during that level. All players will be scooping up gems, killing enemies, and avoiding death, to decide who gets to lay claim to being #1 during each mission. Hopefully you have a group of friends that understands you need each other, because if you all spend time hording gems and kills, you won’t last very long playing the game. You’ll need one another to push blocks, open up doors, beat ridiculously large numbers of enemies, and the list goes on and on. Rest assured this is more of a co-op game then anything else.
Nintendo went the extra mile to make sure players didn’t horde all items, and abilities by erasing anything you’d built up from level to level. So regardless of how many power ups you collected on Level one, you won’t carry any of that over to Level 2. Smart way of making sure all players are always on an even level (something which rarely happens in these sorts of multiplayer games). Each level is self contained, with specific missions, and can usually be beaten within half an hour (provided you’re all playing together).
The biggest feature of Four Swords and its GBA connectivity is that you feel very much like you’re playing your own game, despite the fact you’re playing on one Gamecube. Because of the connectivity you’re able to enter dungeons, buildings, or dimensions and not have to worry about how that impacts your fellow players (and vice versa). Any time you enter a room that takes place on a different level then the main area being displayed on the Gamecube, you disappear off the screen on the GCN, and start playing on your GBA. It does take a little getting use to in the beginning, but eventually you’ll know exactly when to look at your Gameboy, and when to look at your Gamecube. It’ll become second nature before you know it.
|
|
If by chance you’re still not interested in any way in playing nice with your friends Nintendo decided to give you a battle mode that allows you to fight it out for all the gems in each level. The battle mode has of a lot of dangers, not to mention killer power-ups that make it feel like a completely different experience. There isn’t a whole heck there, but there’s just enough in that battle mode to offer you something else to do.
If by chance you don’t own a Gameboy, of have any friends that own Gameboys you need not worry. There’s still a way to play the title by yourself and complete all the missions. The single player game lets you control four Links, and line them up in any necessary formation to complete all puzzles that may come up, (in addition to controlling each Link individually). Same logic applies if you only have 1 friend with a GBA; each one of you will control 2 Links. The more people you have playing the game the easier the game becomes, and the faster it will play itself out, because some of the interruptions you’ll be doing if you’re playing by yourself, (like say having to control each individual Link), don’t have to be done in larger groups.
Besides everything that’s already been mentioned, Nintendo took further steps to make the game accessible to anyone wanting to play it at any time. You’ll be able to load up Four Swords and have the option of playing by yourself, or with friends, from the last known save point. Which means you can play a little with your friends, when they leave you’ll be able to continue on with Zelda by yourself, and when your friends come over again you won’t have to go back and play from the last level you played together – you can just pick up from where YOU left off.
What I’m sure will be the biggest knock on the game is the visuals and sound. To anyone glancing at the game it’ll look like a straight Super NES port, but in actuality there’s quite a bit going on there that’s taking full advantage of the Gamecube graphically. Quite a few effects have been lifted from Zelda Wind Waker and transplanted here. The sound is probably not all that impressive either, but to anyone familiar to the Zelda universe it’ll have a distinctively good feel. Truth be told, that’s not what drives the fun in this game, so you’re about to hear me say something I rarely say: Ignore the graphics and sound, because they mean nothing in the grand scheme of things.
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures is the first true title to put connectivity on display. It provides you with an experience you’ve never had with 4 friends, and it truly puts the emphatic exclamation point on the idea that this is a new fun way to play games. With so many Gameboy Advances out there already, you’re more then likely going to have a harder time finding a Gamecube to play this on, then finding friends with GBA’s to play with. Ryan and I had a great time playing Four Swords, and I am personally hoping this shows off what can be done with this kind of connectivity, and gets developers going on new ways to make use of it.
If Nintendo gives us more of this fun, we won’t have to shake our heads in disappointment every time the word connectivity is mentioned in a sentence.
