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The Legend of Zelda: The Four Swords+

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    The Legend of Zelda: The Four Swords+

    Wow, where to begin huh?

    OK, I love all this connectivity stuff -- gives me wood. Just get that out of the way first I love the new Zelda artwork too, and Nintendo have done us all proud with an amazing mix of "traditional" 2D Zelda, new style artwork and some new fancy 3D effects. It works and it works well.

    Right - game comes in a nice, slightly larger than a PAL SNES/N64 box with link cable tucked inside, along with a normal NTSC-J game box with The Four Swords game, containing the usual Club Nintendo stuff and instruction book. Sticking it in the 'cube, with a couple of GBAs hooked up (only necessary for multiple players... more in a bit) presents the now familiar Four Swords logo, along with the instantly recognised (although somewhat slow, ballad like) Zelda-theme playing in the background. Nice SNES-like music too. Nice, I filled up a bit here

    Pressing starts gives a typical menu of options; Four Swords, the Shadow Battle thingy and Tetra's Challenge. Four Swords goes straight into the save stats and then player select. Several configs here, from 1 to 4 players. Single player can play a combo of normal controller and GBA, while multiple players use GBAs.

    Now, the missus and I jumped straight in there. It opens up in similar fashion to the GBA game and plays kinda the same. Don't worry about getting lost, maps etc... because they aren't needed. It seems fairly linear overall, with each level (only got as far as level two, played for a couple of hours) being split into sub-areas. Progress through the areas is a played on a large environment, split into tiles. Players progress through each section, until the boss in Four Swords fashion; solving puzzles, collecting stuff like weapons, fighting bad dudes, etc...

    One thing to note is that, while players can go into tunnels, houses, etc... where play continues (flawlessly) on the GBA, players cannot leave the overall section they're in until both choose to move on.

    2-players control all four Links, with the 'teams' being configurable; e.g. 2 Links per team, but you can grab one off the other team for a 3vs1 configuration. The 'drone' Link will follow behind, you can split then apart (using the select button) for individual tasks or change into a horizontal/vertical formation. Link can be picked up, thrown, set on fire and beaten-up by other players Link is quite an agile fellow too, with a few decent attack moves, like the normal Zelda-game attacks, in addition to a quick-dash attack (quickly press a direction and attack), jump attack and a few others.

    Special weapons come in the form of pick-up points, just like the GBA game. Link can hold just one at a time, so you have to pick carefully. Various things, like the Fire Rod and Lantern, etc... all the usual suspects.

    Graphically, the game is amazing to look at. Lots of zooming in and out on the individual sections. Tons of sprites on screen (even early on, players get attack by around 100 guards!) with some crazy things happening that'll make anybody go "cool!". Gameplay is pretty much like the GBA game, only on a much greater scale. Not as open-ended as I'd have imagined but still mucho fun. Plenty of little mini-games throughout (thanks, Tingle!) and lots of gameplay elements (combos, for example). Not a hardcore RPG by any means...

    Couple of things about the Four Swords deserve a mention. The sound is great -- when everyone is "off-screen", you still hear stuff like you're hanging around outside, with muffled sounds making their way out of the buildings and such like. Sounds great with some massive fighting going on!

    The other thing is the interaction between GBA and the TV. Sometimes, you need to thing about the larger impact of the environment, which is great. Example -- the missus and I were inside the castle, both playing on the GBA and she shot an arrow thru the door to the outside. The arrow goes off her screen (GBA), appears on the TV and hits the switch, opening the way on the GBA. Cool or what?!

    On completing stages, players points and a run down of their rupees, etc... so the rivalry between players is ever present thoughout.

    Language wise, I doubt anyone has too much to worry about. Clues are highlighted, mostly written in Katakana, so a chart/guide will help if you get stuck. Control hints are obvious, nobody will get stuck there. Granted, most of the story is kind of wasted but it doesn't hinder play as it is a fairly linear game so it's not like anyone will be oblivious to what is happening (Rescue the maidens, banish bad guy, etc...) It isn't like LttP-text heavy, just little prompts and hints in game mostly.

    I think that's enough for now, it's all very slick and good fun.

    Haven't tried the battle mode; it looks a bit mad though (overview when selecting game modes) although we did try Tetra's Challenge. It's a little different to The Four Swords, right down the the graphical changes. You can tell it was a separate game at some point. No idea what was going on, seems like a massive collect 'em up where you have to locate certain things to get better points. Lots of little things happening all the time, with Tetra and crew barking all kinds of orders/applause/etc... on screen. Totally lost on me, although it was kind of fun. We got quite a few things, although the stats screen at the end has Tri-Force pieces on so there is obviously loads more to it.

    Er, blimey.... I've typed loads there, quite a lot to digest! Hope others get their games tomorrow... it's all good.

    #2
    Sounds fantastic, hope i get hold of mine tomorrow

    so do you reckon there is enough there for a single player?

    Comment


      #3
      Yea, might be a little repetitive though 'cos it isn't as engaging as the typical Zelda game. Not that that's a bad thing like, but obviously people may expect a title of LttP's calibur when it isn't really like that. Plenty of puzzles and things though, lots of action RPG moments. Juggling the individual Link's is good fun too (single player controls all four!).

      edit: minor edit, poor choice of words

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        #4
        sounds good to me - can't wait, just wish i didn;t have three uni assignments to do in two weeks

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          #5
          Excellent, thanks. Thought you had forgotten us.

          she shot an arrow thru the door to the outside. The arrow goes off her screen (GBA), appears on the TV and hits the switch, opening the way on the GBA. Cool or what?!
          That sounds fantastic. I'm really enjoying the GBA-GC connection at the moment. We'd a lot of fun playing FF: CC and now Zelda is going to be awesome as well. Shame Nintendo didn't have any of them ready (or Pacman Vs for that matter) earlier. Would have been really interesting to see how connectivity would have faired had such good examples been released early in the GC lifespan.

          It sounds as if the language won't be a problem at all, although one or two people seem to be stuck at the same place on level 2. From what I've heard it seems to be a huge game. Many, many levels all split into subsections like you said. More linear than any other Zelda game but with the multiplayer aspect, that had to be the case.

          Curious about the music, is it all remixed LttP music or have they borrowed for them all and added in some new ones?
          One last thing, encountered any bosses yet? I'm dying to know if you really do need to work as a team to pass the bosses. It would really cement the co-operative aspect of the game for me. Although I'm sure there'll be one or two fights over the treasure, kind of like staffs and diamonds in Bubble Bobble.

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            #6
            Nice impressions! Can you save your game if you are playing it on US/PAL Cube with a FreeLoader or are there saving problems like with JPN versions of Made in Wario and Donkey Konga? The game looks lovely.

            Comment


              #7
              Regarding the music, it's all Zelda-stuff, be it remixed, classic or Wind Waker-style. Most of it is like it is coming from a SNES, so you won't be disappointed! Something else I noticed too -- for the most part, it's dynamic, like it changes melody or includes more instruments. You know, like those Mario '64 moments, subtle in effect. It's not all like this though.

              Bosses -- yea, there are sub-area encounters and end of level bosses. So far (I don't consider these spoilers, from the first stage), we have fought a large troop of classic LttP-style soldiers, lead by a typical general type bloke. A cut down shadow battle against the Vaati, where he mimicked Link, using bombs and the end of level dude. The end of level shadow was like the classic Ganandorf battle, where you bounce the fireball back. Only this time, one player hits it and it shoots off towards the other player, who then needs to hit it too. It then heads towards the boss, who hits it back to player one... etc, until he gets belted by it. Together Everyone Achieves More

              I've only played for a few hours and we're into Level 2 now... much bigger than L1, I can't wait to see some of the later parts of the game!

              RE: Freeloader. I'll try it later, I'm playing on a Japanese Gamecube.

              Comment


                #8
                Many thanks for the impressions Mr. Sounds fantastic.

                The postman hasn?t been yet, I imagine he?ll be here soon though, fingers crossed it?ll come today but I?m not really expecting it until next week? you lucky so an so

                I?m primarily going to be playing on single player so it is refreshing to read first hand there is still a great deal of enjoyment to be had. Have you spent much time on the single player adventure or mostly with your wife?

                I?m looking forward to seeing how Nintendo have combined the ?wind waker effects? with the more traditional 2D world. It is a graphical approach I don?t think I?ve seen before so am quite excited to seeing it in motion.

                Looking forward to reading more of your impressions buddy EDIT Ah well, postman has just been, but no Four Swords. Pants, but expected. Roll on Monday or Tuesday
                ----Member since April 2002

                http://www.redbubble.com/people/adamstone

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                  #9
                  I am very intrested in reading how the single player plays.

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                    #10
                    Excellent 1st impressions.

                    I read in the interview in Headlines, that the later stage they playtested (3-4 i think) played an hour solid and still hadn't completed it. Some really large levels later on.

                    Is there a world map? How big is the world to explore. Do you get to co-operatively do stuff on the outside?

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                      #11
                      Yay, done Level 2 now. It took us some time though, getting the area 2... some bloke wanted us to help out, weren't too sure exactly what he wanted initially, but we got there in the end. Took us about 3 hours

                      The Level 2 dungeon is brilliant. It has the LttP music and kind of mimics the first SNES dungeon! More teamwork on the boss, must be mad with 4 people playing.

                      While I said the gameplay doesn't differ too much from the GBA game, L2 moves away from the original Four Swords premise. It's still a little linear, but much less obvious about it (if that makes sense)

                      No world map, TheShend, in a traditional Zelda sense. There is an overview of the world, but set out in levels which zoom in to show the sub-areas. Kind of like, er, Sonic of the Master System or Yoshi's story. It shows the overall progress through the game, with an individual level breakdown.

                      Single player plays just as well, with some clever gameplay balance to stop a single controlled, party of four getting through it quickly. The key is in the weapon usage...

                      I've still got to try Freeloader though, sorry about that. I'll get back later

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                        #12
                        Freeloader results, with 1.04 (the only one I have) -- works fine. Saves to memory card too, on a US and PAL cube.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Phew, mine came today despite a huge postal dispute in Ireland. Looks like the whole postal service will be shut down from tomorrow onwards as a strike looks imminent. I was fearing the worst but I guess I got very lucky.

                          On to the game and what a game. I haven't had this much fun or been so giddy about a game in an absolute age. I've been glued to the telly for the past few hours, only single player so far, multiplayer will have to wait for tonight. You can instantly see that it's meant to be enjoyed as a multiplayer game but the single player game has been terrific so far. The first 4 or 5 screens will immediately introduce you to the new gameplay concepts and also gives you a hint at the kind of puzzles you can expect.

                          One of the first things to strike you is how seamless the GC-GBA connection is handled. Passing under a bridge, exploring caves and visiting houses means control is sent to your GBA screen. Sound effects from inside the cave can be heard echoing from the TV screen, it's these little things that really help sell the connection. The action on the TV screen follows your little team, zooming in and out as you make your way through the caves. It really gives you the impression that you're controlling the same game on 2 different machines. Switching to and fro becomes second nature very quickly.

                          All the puzzles so far have been simple enough with no understanding of Japanese required. It's a true Zelda game so anyone with experience of the world should have no problem. I'm hoping it continues in the same vein as well.

                          Quick mention has to go to the sound. There is a huge amount of LttP stuff here, both remixed versions and exact copies. The first time I walked into the castle, the old LttP theme kicked in and I was in heaven. I hope the Darkworld theme is in there somewhere. Anyone who enjoyed the old 2d classic should definitely pick up a copy of this today, it's simply marvellous. I'm off to play for a few hours.

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                            #14
                            Nice one man, glad you got it before the **** hit the fan! Just wait until later on in the game, the graphics are truly amazing (special mention goes to the fire and the scary skulls in the graveyard).

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                              #15
                              Yeah I can't wait to get further. The level design so far has been excellent, unfortunately I didn't get a chance to play multiplayer tonight but will spend most of tomorrow with a few buddies playing.

                              I threw on Shadow Battle for a while, I've got a GBA and SP, it looks like it could be an absolute blast in 4p. Have you had a chance to try it out yet?

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