Four Sword



The Four Sword is a magical sword that has appeared in three games so far (Four Swords, Four Swords Adventures, and The Minish Cap) making it one of the most well-known weapons in recent Zelda history. The gem in its hilt changes color according to the copy of the wielder; in both Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures, the sword is seen with a green, red, blue, and purple gem in the hilt. However, in The Minish Cap, the sword only has a green gem in the hilt, as there literally is only one copy of Link.

The Four Sword has the ability to split its wielder into four copies, making it possible to move larger stones out of the way, or hit several switches simultaneously. The Four Sword can also be used to "seal" evil powers away in itself, which is what Link did to Vaati, and later Ganon.

History


The Four Sword has a long history behind it, told in The Minish Cap. The sword began its existence as the legendary Picori Blade, bestowed by the Minish upon the Hero of Men. With the Picori Blade, the Hero sealed away the monsters that had been plaguing Hyrule. The sword became revered by the people, and the grand prize at the annual Picori Festival sword fighting tournament was a chance to touch the sacred blade.

The Picori Blade was broken by Vaati and reforged by Melari into the White Sword. Link, who needed the sword to defeat Vaati, collected the Four Elements and transformed the White Sword into the Empowered White Sword. Once he collected the final Element, the sword became the Four Sword. Link used its power to create four clones of himself and defeat Vaati.

Sometime afterwards, Vaati invaded Hyrule again, kidnapping beautiful maidens. He was defeated by a wanderer wielding the Four Sword, who trapped the evil sorcerer inside the blade. The people built a shrine around the blade to protect it. Time passed, and Princess Zelda, guardian of the seal, began to suspect that the seal on the blade was weakening. As she was explaining the legend of the Four Sword to Link, Vaati broke the seal and kidnapped Zelda. Link wielded the Four Sword and sealed Vaati away once again.

Some time afterward, Zelda again began to suspect that something was wrong with Vaati's seal. She summoned the Shrine Maidens to strengthen the seal, but they were kidnapped by Shadow Link. This forced Link to draw the sword again, releasing Vaati in the process. Eventually, a new villain was revealed behind this scheme: Ganon. Link defeated Ganon and sealed him inside the Four Sword with the help of Zelda's Light Ball.

Holy Sword
According to The Minish Cap manga, the Four Sword was the Holy Sword and not called the Picori Blade.

Strength
The Four Sword is just as powerful as four Empowered White Swords. When the Four Sword splits Link into four, each Four Sword held by the four Links is equal to one Empowered White Sword each.