| Introduction
Yes, I know this has been out a while and to be honest,
I'm not entirely sure why I haven't reviewed it yet
as Nintendo sent it to me months ago when it was first
released. It seems a good opportunity to take another
look at this classic though and as one of the few GBA
owners who haven't actually played what was universally
praised as a close to perfect RPG, I was intrigued to
see just what all the fuss was about.
There's also the fact that this has to be one of
the quietest summers on record for new releases, with
many web sites not having posted a single new review
for weeks now. In addition, actually waiting to review
something can be a valuable experience, as away from
the hype and PR fanfare it's easier to form a more informed
and less pressured opinion on just how good the game
actually is.
GamePlay
Tucked away on this Zelda cart are two very different
games and as the 'Four Swords' section requires more
than a single player (and no one's around the office)
we'll deal with the 'Link to the Past' adventure first.
This is basically an enhanced port of the SNES classic
of some years ago featuring everything we've come to
love about the Zelda universe with all the usual challenges
and frustrations. The developers are careful though
to minimize any 'brick walls' so that even gamers new
to this series will eventually find the correct path
or puzzle solution, given a little time and effort.
One way of discovering alternate solutions is to
tap into the 'light-traveling' feature which allows
Zelda to experience the land during both night and day
and which generally throws a whole new perspective on
things as you discover both people and items appearing
at various times of the day.
There's a lot of game play to be had here too, so
if you haven't had the pleasure of playing the SNES
original then you can expect to play this for some time
but even if you have, it was probably so long ago that
there's a good chance you will have forgotten most of
it anyway.
Next up is the 'Four Swords' section, which is designed
to entice gamers who are familiar with the SNES original
into buying this GBA remake, and I can only suggest
that this would be a very wise move. The reason being
that this new adventure, which takes place in the expansive
Zelda environments we all know and love, is quite simply
one of the finest multiplayer games you're likely to
come across this year.
The plot charges you and a bunch of friends with
rescuing Zelda who's been captured by the evil wind
sorcerer Vaati. What makes this title unique is that
success is based on team work and so most puzzles are
impossible to solve as a lone player. One example is
the pressure pad door where, rather than finding a nearby
object to push on the pad and so activate the door,
you'll instead instruct your team mate to stand on the
pad whilst you run through the open door, flip a switch
and allow your trusty friend to follow you through without
fear of being crushed by the huge boulder that's been
blocking the entrance in the first place.
This feature becomes even more ingenious when you
realize that the cart actually detects how many gamers
are playing and will adapt the game accordingly so a
session of Four Swords with only 2 players will be changed
in such a way that the challenges require only two gamers
at most. Brilliant stuff.
Control
The gaming interface has had little alteration on
its journey to the GBA but why on earth would you tamper
with such a solid system anyway? Those who've had the
pleasure of interacting with Zelda on a previous occasion
will be pleased to learn that the control system is
still incredibly responsive and your collected objects
are easy to locate and use.
New users will find the whole thing so easy to pick
up and so intuitive that they'll wonder why it's taken
them so long to discover this type of game in the first
place. The 'Four Swords' section is a little more challenging
and working together with other players can initially
be a little confusing but a tutorial section in the
first dungeon makes matters a lot simpler.
Graphics
This latest Zelda title is filled with the kind of
top notch presentation that Nintendo are famous for
and both Link to the Past and Four Swords are a visual
feast. Whilst little has been changed in the original
adventure, the standard of graphics and animation is
incredible even with the tiny sprites running around
the various areas. At over a decade old, a lot of titles
would start to show their age by now but this port works
perfectly on the GBA, looking as fresh today as it did
when it was first released.
Sound & Music
The developers have done an admirable job of converting
the soundtrack from the SNES original and while it's
perhaps not as crisp as some of the in-game music we've
sampled in recent titles, it's certainly well above
average and pleasant to listen to. One new, and not
always pleasant, addition to this version is the inclusion
of Zelda sound effects and while some of these such
as the clanging of swords enhance the game play, others,
like the constant grunting which seemingly accompanies
Zelda's every move, tend to irritate after a while.
It's only a minor niggle but after a few hours of playing
you'll see exactly what I mean.
Final Comments
You could argue that Nintendo are simply porting
a rather old classic onto the GBA and if it wasn't for
the level of care, attention to detail and overall entertainment
value, the statement may have some foundation. Fortunately,
what you're getting in this cart is not only an enhanced
classic, but also a whole lot of extras too, with the
four player section of the game being particularly entertaining.
This really could have been released as a title in
its own right and if you're at all interested in multiplayer
games, it really doesn't get much better than this.
That's not to say that the multiplayer is the main focus
as the lone adventure is also very enjoyable, featuring
huge and well designed dungeons with some ingenious
puzzles.
Overall, what you have here is a 'must have' title
for any GBA owner and if you're one of the very few
gamers that haven't snapped up a copy of this already,
now's the time to do so.
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