The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords for Game Boy Advance is a remake of coupled with an entirely new game,. It was released shortly before. While A Link to the Past is largely a faithful port of the original, it does include an entirely new dungeon and a new quest as rewards for the player playing through the multiplayer-only Four Swords. Aside from these additions, it includes a number of smaller gameplay and dialogue changes, the latter of which are designed to correct a number of minor translation mistakes and inconsistencies with the original Japanese release and to unify the common terms used with the later games.

Four Swords was later released as a standalone entry with added single player option and new stages on the Nintendo DSi, known as The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition, but the Game Boy Advance version of A Link to the Past has not been released again in any form, nor have any of the changes made been carried over to the Virtual Console release.

Gameplay Changes

 * The File Select screen is entirely new and is displayed before selecting one of the two games. When starting a new game, the original File Select screen is not displayed. When starting a new game for the first time on a file, the story of the Imprisoning War and the rest of the prologue is displayed before the game begins. The player can also skip the Triforce sequence before the title screen appears, which was previously only possible in the PAL version of the game.


 * Saving and quitting no longer counts as a "game played" on the Quest History, making it a lot easier to get a "perfect" game.


 * When reloading a save file, it is now possible to start from the same location you left the game. This places Link exactly where he left the game on the overworld, or at the start of a dungeon. It is also possible to "Save and Continue" without dying, rather than simply "Save and Quit.


 * A "Sleep" option is added to the save menu, allowing the player to leave their GBA in a battery saving mode and resume where they left off later.


 * The R button now performs the actions that the A button would originally perform. The A button now functions like Y originally did.


 * When Link's Rupees, Arrows or Bombs are full, the color of the number turns yellow to signify this.


 * The flames from the Lamp can now cause minor damage to enemies.


 * Certain stones and skulls will sparkle on the overworld. If Link strikes these with his sword, they will scatter Rupees. Link can continue striking them until they return to normal.


 * Crows are now more aggressive, but their Dark World counterparts Dactos are less so.


 * Pots can now be shattered using Arrows or the the Golden Sword. This new ability is used for puzzles in the Palace of the Four Sword. Signs can also be destroyed with the Master Sword and its upgrades


 * Link can now dive under the water when using Zora's Flippers. This allows him to dodge enemy attacks.


 * The Flute has a ninth destination point in addition to the original eight. The new location is the top of the Light World equivalent of Turtle Rock.


 * A new enemy, the Like Like, was introduced, and appears in the Palace of the Four Sword and near the Shield Shop to the east of the Pyramid of Power. They will eat Link's shield much like Pikits, but also run away and fly into the sky to stop him from getting it back. They will even eat the Mirror Shield.


 * The shop found to the west of the Pyramid of Power not only sells Red Shields, but also sells Fighter's Shields and, once Link obtains it Turtle Rock, Mirror Shields. This is because Link can now lose his Mirror Shield from Like Likes.


 * A new shop appears in the Village of Outcasts that sells Bees, Fairies and Golden Bees.


 * The Ice Palace dungeon was altered slightly to make the puzzle requiring Link to push a block to a lower floor slightly easier.


 * The cave in the Light World that can be accessed by using the Magic Mirror from outside Turtle Rock no longer contains Goriya, which are normally a Dark World exclusive enemy, and now contains Eyegores.


 * A new quest, known as the Riddle Quest, which is available from a third Lumberjack once the player has obtained ten Medals of Courage in Four Swords and defeated Aganihim for the first time in the current game.


 * A new ability, the Hurricane Spin, is obtained after completing the Riddle Quest.


 * A new dungeon, known as the Palace of the Four Sword, can be found on the eastern side of the Pyramid of Power. While Link can access, he will be stopped by a Pikku and cannot pass unless the player fulfills the requirements of completing the game once and defeating Vaati once in Four Swords on the same save file.


 * A new boss in the form of four Dark Links and four powered-up versions of previous bosses that are considerably stronger and require new tactics to defeat appear in the Palace of the Four Sword.


 * A new ending and credit sequence after conquering the Palace of the Four Sword, including a new Quest Record that displays how many times Link has used certain items.


 * The Chris Houlihan Room is extremely hard to enter due to nearly every glitch in the game being fixed. If Link does manage to access it, Chris Houlihan's name is not mentioned in the game text, just like in the original Japanese version of the game.


 * The Shovel now has its own inventory slot and is kept after finding the Flute.

Audio and Visual Changes

 * The game has a lighter color palette to compensate for the lack of back light on the Game Boy Advance, giving the game a washed out appearance in screenshots. However, the player can adjust the brightness on a file, and switching to "Dark" sets the colors closer to the original release. There is also a "Bright" option, which makes things even lighter.


 * There is an option to speed up and slow down the text speed.


 * The game has a slightly smaller viewing area, sacrificing some height and width.


 * The title screen is altered slightly, particularly the appearance of the Master Sword, and the addition of a "Press Start" prompt.


 * The icons that display at the top of the screen have been adjusted to compensate for the smaller screen area. The pause menu has also been adjusted.


 * The music and sound effects have been altered slightly due to the sound capabilities of the GBA, resulting in some lower quality samples.


 * Link now has a different voice, taken from that of Young Link, and will yell when attacking and falling down holes, and grunt when taking damage.


 * A sound effect now plays when the save menu appears and disappears.


 * Enemies and bosses now flash white and shake when struck, rather than flash multiple colors.


 * Certain sprites found in Dark World dungeons use the same green palette that is otherwise used for the overworld, as opposed to the blue palette used in all the original game's dungeons and the Light World. This has the effect of changing the color of certain enemies, such as Bari and Kyameron.


 * The role of the Witch's Assistant was changed to that of Maple from and.


 * Dungeon names (and their Level, in the case of the Dark World dungeons) are now displayed on the screen when Link enters them in a similar manner to and other games.


 * Faeries are now called Fairies like other games in the series.


 * The Good Bee was renamed to the more accurate translation of Golden Bee.


 * The Seven Wise Men are referred to as The Seven Sages.


 * Among other significant dialogue changes to correct the translation, Link's Uncle does not say "Zelda is your..." when Link receives his sword and shield. This line is however referenced in the Palace of the Four Sword.


 * During the prologue sequence, the blue Soldiers hold spears rather than swords. Originally this was only the case in the Japanese version of the game.


 * Pots make the same sound effect for shattering even if they fall down a pit, unlike the original game.


 * Ganon's arm when holding his trident has been mirrored horizontally. This appears to be a graphical glitch or oversight.

New Artwork
Aside from the aforementioned changes, new artwork was produced to promote and commemorate the new release. Each piece of artwork was based on those created for the original release, but updated with a slightly more modern anime style. Some pieces, most notably artwork for Agahnim, used new poses.