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 a direct sequel to Four Swords, and it incorporates the same graphical style as the Four Swords. It is the only console Zelda title to date to incorporate multiplayer elements into its main campaign. And because of its single player elements, Four Swords Adventures is also the first game in the series to allow a single player to control more than one Link at once, and it utilizes various methods to allow the player to make use of the four Links, such as formations. Also, it is the only title to break locations and temples up into succinct, separate stages and levels which can be replayed even after beating them once. The game itself, though an innovation in Zelda gameplay, is heavily inspired by the music, graphics, and locations of A Link to the Past.

Intro
The story picks up sometime after Four Swords, when Link and Zelda successfully managed to seal away the evil wind sorcerer Vaati in the Four Sword. Peace was believed to have finally been restored to Hyrule. However, one night, an ominous cloud covers Hyrule, throwing fear into the people of Hyrule. Zelda then calls upon her most trusted childhood friend again. She wants to check up on the Four Swords again, fearing that the seal placed upon Vaati might have weakened. Inside the castle they meet up with the gathered six maidens, whose purpose is to protect Hyrule as well as the Four Sword Sanctuary. With the help of the maidens Zelda summons a portal to the sanctuary.

However, before they get a chance to enter, a dark figure that looks like Link appears. The Dark Link seals away the six maidens and Zelda in a dark crystal, before he retreats into the portal leading to the sanctuary. Link is left with no choice but to follow. Arriving at the sanctuary, the dark Link taunts Link into pulling the Four Sword, resulting in Link splitting in four again. Likewise, the seal on Vaati is broken, and he slowly creeps forward with a maniacal laugh. The four Links do not get a chance to follow the Dark Link before being thrown away from the scene by Vaati’s magic.

Hyrulean Adventure
The four Links are awoken by Kaepora Gaebora, who calmly informs them of the situation and what they must do, which is to first rescue the six maidens. Shadow Link, as he calls him, has spread chaos in Hyrule, scorching villages and throwing them into the dark world. Traveling across Hyrule they witness the chaos brought about by Vaati and Shadow Link, and in order to release the dark seals placed by Vaati the four Links must collect force gems in order to properly power up the Four Swords and grant it the power to repel evil.

After rescuing the Green maiden, she tells the four Links about the four Royal Jewels which is needed to reach the in Realm of the Heavens, where Zelda is being held. They were divided among four Knights of Hyrule, known to have valiantly defended Hyrule, but they have mysteriously disappeared. The four Links eventually find them, who reveal they have been cursed and thrown in the Dark World.

It is revealed that the one who is ultimately behind everything is a mighty foe who is not Vaati, but rather, someone using him. Once the four Links reach the part of Hyrule which has been transformed into the Dark World, they discover from the White Maiden that there was once was a Dark Mirror in which an ancient tribe was sealed. The mirror was being kept away from the world in a Temple of Darkness. They believe the mirror to be the source of the Shadow Links. Rumors also reach them of a King of Darkness named Ganon.

Upon reaching the temple where the mirror is being held, their suspicion is confirmed, as the Mirror has indeed been stolen. The Red maiden who is rescued there, reveals that she knows of a man named Ganondorf of the Gerudo tribe, but finds it unlikely that he is the cause of the recent events. Following his footsteps, it is revealed that Ganondorf had obtained a powerful ancient weapon which would make him a King of Darkness.

After rescuing all six maidens, Link heads towards the Tower's location which has been cursed by the power of darkness, making it Frozen Hyrule. Pushing through the snow storm, they liberates the final Knight, who tells them to rescue Zelda and save Hyrule from the darkness, after giving them the last of the Royal Jewels. The Tower of Winds is called forth using the power of the jewels, giving the party entry to the Realm of the Heavens. Once the party has climbed the Tower, Princess Zelda is finally rescued. In the Realms of the Heaves, the four Links makes their final battle with their dark doppelganger Shadow Link as they secure the Dark Mirror. Princess Zelda uses her power to create a rainbow bridge, allowing them to enter the Palace of Winds.

Inside, they encounter Vaati. This time they finally manage to completely defeat him. With Vaati gone, the Palace of Winds starts to collapse, as it’s relying on his magic to keep itself in the sky. The party retreats back to the Tower of Winds. Once there, they hear the voice of the culprit behind everything, Ganondorf, who mocks Vaati attempting to stop them. The party escapes the palace and down through the Tower of Winds, which at this point has also started to collapse. Just before reaching the exit, the floor beneath them collapses, and they fall into a dark room. Ganondorf then appears as a patch of darkness. Zelda tries to seal him away but fails, and once again Zelda is taken captive. Assuming the shape of a pig and the final battle between the four Links and Ganon commences. Midway through the battle, Zelda is freed, and together they defeat Ganon. With the combined power of the six maidens, Ganon is ultimately is sealed away in the Four Sword.

In the aftermath of the journey, the Four Swords is laid to rest again in the Four Sword Sanctuary, and the four Links joins into one single Link. The six maidens and Zelda form a pyramid like barrier around the Sword, so that no one might touch it again. Outside the Castle, celebration is at hand, signalizing peace, and Link seem to be greeted by the crowd as a true hero.

Timeline Placement
Four Swords Adventures is a direct sequel to Four Swords, making it the last story in the Four Swords trilogy. It is also generally taken to feature the same Link of the previous title, as the game's opening scene tells that Link saved Zelda the last time, referring to the current hero and princess, while the old hero (the one appearing in The Minish Cap) remains nameless.

If the Four Sword Series is not considered a story in its own continuity, its placement in the main timeline is not clear. At the Game Developer’s Conference in 2004, Eiji Aonuma said that Four Swords is what he considers to be the oldest tale in the timeline, with this game being the sequel.

Some take this statement to be an accurate denotation of the game's placement, making it come before even Ocarina of Time. This statement is, however, a subject of much controversy, as many believe that the ties to A Link to the Past contradicts it being taking place before Ocarina of Time. This game also seem to give another back story to Ganondorf, as well as the origin of Ganon's trident. It also references a Gerudo male being born every hundred years, just as in Ocarina of Time, making it possible that more than one Ganondorf has existed in Hyrule history. Coupled with the distinct events and behavior of this Ganondorf, he is generally believed be a different one from Ocarina of Time, just as multiple Links and Zeldas appear in the series.

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.
 * Hidden in the game's files is a streaming audio file named "smw.ast". Playing it with the appropriate Winamp plugins (vgmstream) will reveal that the file is actually the Super Mario Bros. theme, specifically the secret theme found in Super Mario World. Video of the discovery can be found here.