The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

Four Swords Adventures (ゼルダの伝説 4つの剣+, ) is the eleventh installment of the Zelda series. Four Swords Adventures is the only direct sequel to Four Swords, and is the only console Zelda title to date to incorporate multiplayer elements into its main campaign. Speaking of firsts, Four Swords Adventures is also the first game in the series to allow a single player to control more than one Link, and is the only title to break locations and temples up into succinct, separate stages and levels. The game itself, though an innovation in Zelda gameplay, is heavily inspired by the music, graphics, and locations of A Link to the Past.

Story
"Long ago in the inner reaches of Hyrule, an evil wind sorcerer known as Vaati began kidnapping beautiful young maidens, one after another. Nobody could stop Vaati, and the people of Hyrule despaired.

''Then, a brave young wanderer carrying a single sword appeared. When the young lad took out his sword, he split into four separate beings. The legends say that these beings worked as one and defeated Vaati.''

''The wanderer, united once again, imprisoned Vaati deep in Hyrule and sealed the prison with his own sword. This place became known as the Realm of the Four Sword.''

After that, a long time passed...

''Then the wind sorcerer Vaati broke out of his prison, and snatched Princess Zelda of Hyrule. Zelda's childhood friend, a young boy named Link, claimed the strange power of the Four Sword, and fought Vaati fiercely. In the end, he succeeded in sealing Vaati away once again.''

''And so peace was restored to Hyrule. Or so everyone thought..."''

Swiftly and suddenly, dark clouds covered all of Hyrule. Ominous clouds that filled all those who saw them with fear, and a sense of dread swept across the land. Princess Zelda, worried about the seal that bound the wind sorcerer Vaati, called Link and the six maidens who guard Hyrule and the Four Sword Sanctuary to make sure Vaati's seal remained strong. Princess Zelda and the six maidens were taken by dark forces, and, in order to save them Link drew the mystic blade, accepting the destiny of the hero and setting Vaati free once more.

The four Links rescued Zelda and the maidens and defeated the wind sorcerer Vaati. But there were still monsters about, the tower was crumbling, and Zelda sensed a tremendous power approaching.

It was Ganondorf of the Gerudo tribe, the man once destined to be the mighty guardian of the desert. His goal had been to use Vaati to remake Hyrule into a land of darkness. It was he who had stolen the magic Trident, which turned him into a demon, and the Dark Mirror, struck down the Knights of Hyrule who defend the royal family of Hyrule, and used the power of darkness granted to him by the Trident to cover the world in shadow. He had lost his humanity and become Ganon using the Trident revived from ancient times. Zelda, the maidens, and the four Links combined their powers and sealed Ganon away from the world.

Timeline placement
Four Swords Adventures is a direct sequel to Four Swords, making it the last story in the Four Swords trilogy. It also seem to feature the same Link of the previous title, as the game's opening scene tells that Link saved Zelda the last time, apparently referring to the current hero and princess.

If the Four Sword Series is not considered a story in its own continuity, is not clear its placement in the main timeline. About the Four Sword game, Eiji Aonuma said it was meant as the first game in the timeline, leading many theorists to place it before Ocarina of Time, but its placement may have changed with the release of Four Swords Adventures.

Many believe this game to feature the story of the origin of Ganon's trident, thus placing it before A Link to the Past, also considering the many similarities between the games. This game also seem to give a new backstory to Ganondorf, at first leading many to consider it as his origin in the Child Timeline, but this was made unlikely with the release of Twilight Princess, that's confirmed to take place in the Child Timeline and apparently tells the rise of Ganondorf as master of evil in that timeline. Many theorists also believe this game to feature a totally different Ganon than previous games, thus making possible to place the series in any place in the timeline.

Actually, there's still no confirmed placement for the Four Swords saga in the main timeline.

Gameplay
This title is unique in having two main styles of gameplay, Single Player and Multiplayer. Even as a Single Player game, there will be 4 Links to control. The game mechanics ease this feat by having 4 set Battle Formations for the Links to battle with. When not in formation, one can choose to have the remaining Links follow him or stay seated until switching between them. As a multiplayer with 4 players, each player will control their own Link. A competitive atmosphere is achieved by the stages ranking and rewarding everyone upon completion, as well as the ability to attack one another. With fewer than 4 players, one may pick up an extra Link to control.

The GameCube controller can be used only in Single Player. Multiplayer requires the use of GameBoy Advances. While off of the main screen, the player will be able to see game action on the GameBoy Advance screen.

Shadow Battle is the multiplayer battle mode, an alternative to the multiplayer co-op gameplay. The Links battle one another in death matches.

The Japanese version features a mode that follows the story of The Wind Waker called Navi Trackers and included Japanese voice acting for Tetra and her crew.

Reception
Four Swords Adventures is the least successful game in the series, selling a mere 250,000 copies in North America.

Trivia

 * Four Swords Adventures, alike to Four Swords, has no option of choosing a name for Link.
 * This is the only two-dimensional Zelda game to feature regular Gerudo members, besides Twinrova and Ganondorf.
 * This is the first two-dimensional Legend of Zelda console game since A Link to the Past. It is also the first two-dimensional console game to feature Tingle.
 * Unlike traditional Zelda games, acquired items cannot be kept.
 * The four Links can only have one secondary item at a time and must sacrifice one secondary item for another (e.g. dropping the boomerang to acquire the slingshot).
 * Bracelets and Heart Containers are only used for one stage.