The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords: Difference between revisions

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:''This article is about the game. For the item, see [[Four Sword]]. For other uses, see [[Four Swords (Disambiguation)]].''

{{Game

|image= [[File:FS logo.png|260px]]<br>[[File:Four Swords Box.png|260px]]

|designer= Hidemaro Fujibayashi (director)<br>Noritaka Funamizu (producer)<br>Yoshihiro Sudo (producer)<br>Yuko Takehara (sound composer)<br>Hiroaki Kondo (sound effects)<br>Yuki Takamasa (sound effects)<br>[[Koji Kondo]] (sound advisor)

|released= '''Game Boy Advance'''<br>{{release|na= December 2, 2002<ref>{{cite web|retrieved=July 14, 2013 |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20021205102409/http://www.nintendo.com/games/gamepage/gamepage_main.jsp?gameId=1381 |title=<nowiki>| Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past / Four Swords - Games - Nintendo |</nowiki> |site=Nintendo |type=archive}}</ref>|jp= March 14, 2003<ref>{{cite web|retrieved=July 14, 2013 |url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/azlj/index.html |title=ゼルダの伝説　神々のトライフォース＆４つの剣 |site=Nintendo}}</ref>|eu= March 28, 2003|aus=December 6, 2002<ref>{{cite web|retrieved=July 14, 2013 |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20021221112651/http://www.nintendo.com.au/nintendo/games/gameoverview.php?gameid=293 |title=<nowiki>| Games Matrix - Game Boy Advance |</nowiki> |site=Nintendo Australia |type=archive}}</ref>}}

|esrb= E

|pegi= 7

|elspa= 3+

|cero= All

|cb= G8+

|usk= 0

|platforms= [[Game Boy Advance]]

|predecessor = [[The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages]] & [[The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons|Oracle of Seasons]]

|successor = [[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker]]

'''''The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords''''' is a fairly short multiplayer game released alongside {{ALttP}} for the [[Game Boy Advance]], as {{ALttP&FS}}. It was the first multiplayer ''The Legend of Zelda'' game to be released, requiring two to four Game Boy Advance systems with a copy of the game to be linked up. It is the first in the ''Four Swords'' series. The game introduced [[Vaati]] as a new main boss for the franchise. By 2004, ''A Link to the Past & Four Swords'' had sold 1.89 million copies worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rpgamer.com/news/japan/rp033104.html|title=Xenogears vs. Tetris|site=RPGGamer}}</ref>

As part of the [[The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary|25th Anniversary of the ''Zelda'' series]], a remake and port of the game was released for the [[Nintendo DSi]] and [[Nintendo 3DS]] as a limited-time free download, {{FSAE}}.<ref name="Anniversary Edition">{{Cite web|quote= [Four Swords] will be available for free in the 3DS and DSi shops between September 28, 2011 and February 20, 2012.|published= September 13th, 2011|url=http://www.zeldauniverse.net/zelda-news/four-swords-anniversary-edition-release-date-and-new-levels/|title=Four Swords Anniversary Edition: release date and new levels|site= Zelda Universe}}</ref>

''Four Swords'' has many features not seen in other ''The Legend of Zelda'' series games. It requires at least two people to play and uses randomly generated dungeons.

Floors of stages are made of two parts. These two parts are randomly interchanged to produce random floors. To move onto the next floor of a stage, all the Links must reach the warp zone. The faster they reach the [[Warping|Warp Zone]] the bigger the [[Rupee]] bonus. After clearing two floors, or nine floors if clearing Vaati's Palace with the Hero Keys, the Links will be warped to a boss room. After defeating a boss, with the exception of Vaati, a [[Great Fairy]] will appear. Depending on the number of Rupees collected, they will give the Links either a silver key, a gold key, a hero key, or in some cases no key at all. The Link who did the best in a stage will receive a [[Medal of Courage]]. These medals are needed to acquire certain items and a [[Hurricane Spin|technique]] in {{ALTTP}}. The number of players playing the game, as well as which epic they are playing through, affects the type of random areas and items that will appear during a playthrough.

When a Link loses all his hearts, he will be downed. A downed Link is incapable of moving, until he pays a penalty of Rupees to be revived. The more times a Link is downed the greater the penalties become. If a Link does not have enough Rupees to be revived the game ends. If all Links have filled all their heart containers, any Rupees a Link finds will be worth twice its normal value.

The first time through ''Four Swords'', the team of players will struggle through the first three levels for silver keys in order to complete the game. However, after completing the game, there is an option of going back through it two more times. Each epic has a different ending, and to fully complete the game, all three epics must be played.

As can be observed in the plots of the three games featuring the [[Four Sword]], ''Four Swords'' takes place many years after the events of {{TMC}}, and before {{FSA}}. The opening scenes of ''Four Swords'' and ''Four Swords Adventures'' cements the continuity of the three-game mini-series, dubbed the "Four Sword Series".<ref>{{Cite|It is said that the body of who touches this blade will be shattered to pieces. It has mysterious powers... Legends say that when mighty Vaati attacked, a hero arose and saved the people from destruction. They go on to say that by using this sword, the one was as four, and the four combined their strength!|Princess Zelda|FS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite|When all hope seemed lost a young boy carrying little more than a sword appeared. According to the legends, when the boy drew his sword, he split into four, the four-who-are-one worked together to vanquish Vaati. [...] Ages flowed by... The wind sorcerer Vaati broke free of his prison and kidnapped Zelda, the princess of Hyrule. Princess Zelda's childhood friend Link used the power of the Four Sword to defeat Vaati and seal him away once again.|N/A|FSA}}</ref>

''The Legend of Zelda'' series producer [[Eiji Aonuma]] said ''Four Swords'' was meant as the first game in the timeline,<ref>{{cite person|name=Eiji Aonuma|quote=The GBA Four Swords Zelda is what we’re thinking as the oldest tale in the Zelda timeline.|url=http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200405/N04.0517.1915.59084.htm Game Informer|title=A Legend Of Zelda: The Eiji Aonuma Interview}}</ref> leading many theorists to place it before ''Ocarina of Time'', while others thought that its placement may have changed with the release of ''Four Swords Adventures'' and other ''Zelda'' titles.  

According to the official timeline released in {{HH}}, {{TMC}} and ''Four Swords'' take place between {{SS}} and {{OOT}}, while {{FSA}} takes place after {{TP}}.

===Completion Records===

<!-- NOTICE: To update completion records, please edit the Speedrun Records article (http://zeldawiki.org/Speedrun_Records). This table will automatically be updated with the records on that page. -->  

As part of the 25th Anniversary of the series, a special edition known as ''Four Swords: Anniversary Edition'' was made available as a free download as [[Nintendo DSi|DSiWare]] for the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS between September 28, 2011 and February 20, 2012.<ref name="Anniversary Edition"/> It was later made available again as a free download for the Nintendo 3DS between January 30 and February 2, 2014 in North America only, to celebrate the release of {{ALBW}}.<ref>{{Cite web|quote=|url=http://www.nintendo.com/eshop/offers/#4swords|title=4 Swords, 4 Free, 4 Days Only|site= Nintendo eShop}}</ref> The remake features several changes and additions not present in the original, most notably a single-player mode and two new stages, the [[Realm of Memories]] and [[Hero's Trial]]. Due to ''A Link to the Past'' no longer being paired with it, rewards that could be unlocked and carried over from that game are now obtained in the new stages instead.

*Even though {{TWW}} was the first Zelda game to use the cel-shading graphic style, ''Four Swords'' was the first to use the style's accompanying 2D art elements.

*''Four Swords'' is the first game featuring a [[dungeon]] set entirely in the clouds.

*In ''Four Swords'', the player does not get the option of choosing a name for Link, akin to {{FSA}}. This was changed in the ''Anniversary Edition''.

{{GalleryPage|Gallery:Four Swords}}

*[http://zelda.com/universe/game/fourswordspast/ ''Four Swords'' page on Zelda.com]

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