The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (Game Cube, 2004)

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures is a highly polished and perfected game. It doesn't focus on eye popping visuals or next-gen graphics. The point of the game is fun. It's what Nintendo is best at. This is a true Zelda game full of all the baddies, items, weapons, sounds, characters, and settings that you would be familiar with if you played another Zelda title before. It looks like a graphically superior Game Boy Advance game, with little touches of special visuals all around. This is by no means a detractor, but when you play multiplayer and the screen is swarming with enemies, you'll appreciate its uncluttered simplicity.

This game is best played with three other friends that own Game Boy Advances. When all linked up, it improves the gaming experience. You use the GBA for control, and there are times when only you can see what your player is doing because it's shown of the GBA screen. It's pretty cool since there is a competitive element to the game. You'll hear your friends say, "Hey! Where'd you go?" Only to find you in some secret cave filling your bag full of gems. You of course have to co-operate to complete a level, but it's a lot of fun to pick up and throw your buddies avatar and use him as a weapon.

Yes, there is a single player portion of the game, and you can play without a Game Boy Advance. It's fun, don't get me wrong. You won't miss out if you don't have a GBA, I just highly recommend it.

There are not many other games to compare it too since it's a different experience with its enhanced connection ability. I guess you could compare this game to the Gauntlet series. They have a similar playing style. You view from above, hack away at enemies, and solve puzzles.

My one negative note is the cost factor required to play this game with three friends. They all have to have a GBA and a link cable! All that gear adds up, and unless your friends are loaded, it'll be hard to coerce your friends to pony up the dough to buy what's needed to enjoy the multiplayer part of the game.

With that said, it’s fun. Loads of fun, tons of extras, very replay-able, and lots of hardware is needed to play this game to its fullest. The money is well spent, though. You'll enjoy it.