Today, I was lucky to experience the best multiplayer experience ever made. After a month of finding the necessary equipment, we finally got all the pieces together and played THE game.
Zelda: Four Swords ($30)3 GBA/GCN Cables ($15)
3 GBA ($120)
6 AA Batteries (?)
3 Willing Players (priceless)
So we started the game and didn't know what to expect. The graphics were below par, but was understandable as it had to match the graphics on the GBA. The cutscene played... and played... and played... UNTIL we were in a field, just me and 2 friends. The 4th Link, or Bob, should I say, tagged along behind me. We proceeded moving to the left and we saw a house that we all decided to enter.
Inside the house, we were greeted with an odd noise and noticed (GBA...) on the TV. So we each looked at our GBAs and we could see each other moving around in the same room. We talked the the villagers and seeing this connectivity with the GBA and cube amazed us right there.
We went out and stumbled on our first puzzle... a boulder. Being smart as we were, we attempted to sever the rock with our puny swords. With our efforts being futile, we tried the next simple response... pushing. Even if 3 of us didn't make a difference, when Bob joined in, the rock gave in and a new path opened. From there, we entered our first dungeon, got our first item (boomerang), and entered our first locked house, with a key.
Though we went slowly, we eventually mastered the controls and were a formidable team, in spite of the opposition. Even as my thumb grew sore from using the itty d-pad of the GBA, my heart was more than content. There are a great deal of clever puzzles and out teamwork felt like we were one. After 2 more missions and several mini-games later, I had to go.
My dreams of multiplayer Zelda were fufilled.
My Rating:
Singleplayer: 2/3 - You lose the major component of fun in this game, teamwork. What's cool is that you get to do more formations, but puzzles will take longer as you must individually control each Link.
Multiplayer: 3/3 - This is what multiplayer should be about, focusing more on teamwork, rather than competition. But if you want a duel, there is a battle mode.
Replayability: 2/3 - There are about twice a dozen mini-games to keep you occupied. The main quest has 22 or so stages, which took my group about an hour or so to complete.
Overall, if you have the friends and the money, there is no reason NOT to get this game. It redefines cooperation.