Nintendo’s “connectivity” boondoggle was a cumbersome, unwanted mess that created a world of sad children tangled in a deadly knot of excess cables. Its one redeeming feature was that the games themselves weren’t too shabby — especially this one. You wouldn’t think a multiplayer Zelda could be gleeful, madcap fun, but that’s because you lack vision. (And by “you” I mean “I.”) Like Mr. Fenlon says, this is a much more interesting party game than Mario Party or in fact any other game with “party” in the title. However, we also came to the conclusion during yesterday’s call-in Retronauts that it bombed hard enough (through no fault of its own!) to never ever be followed up in a meaningful way. Well, OK. Kohler came to that conclusion. I only agreed because I’m hoping to fake out Nintendo, to trick them into proving me wrong just for spite. Here’s hoping!
The DS would have been an absolutely perfect place to continue the series.
Oh yes, I agree. The DS would’ve been perfect for this kinda game, not being tied down by the requirements of multiple GBAs hooked to a box or to each other. With the right programming, it could even make a good Wi-Fi game; a big part of why I enjoyed Phantasy Star 0 was because it was a DS game where the online mode actually friggin’ worked. Of course, knowing Nintendo we’d probably only get local play because of “camaraderie” or whatever crappy excuse that works better for a country where the population’s closer together.
I may have been turned off by GBA Four Swords because of arbitrary multiplayer locks on LttP’s new single player content, and I didn’t really get into 4SA because it’s better served as a multiplayer game, and I couldn’t really get a group together for either one, but I always liked the idea behind it. I’d really like this to get another chance on a handheld format.
I feel like this is so obvious it doesn’t need to be stated… but then again, it hasn’t been obvious to Nintendo. Pity, because the wireless connectivity potential between DS and Wii shouldn’t have been squandered entirely on a clunky-looking Crystal Chronicles game.
Sigh…I really wanted to love Echoes of Time because I could dress my low-poly characters up like black mages and dragoons and stuff, but the horrible puzzles, laggy Wi-Fi, terrible interfaces, and isometric platforming were dreadful. The really bad stuff started at the library, but it was the cemetery level and its enemies harmed only by one spell type/magic speadshooters/miasmaesque crap that finally made me bail. Going melee on monsters while wearing red mage clothes isn’t worth all those terrible puzzle roadblocks!
I also got pretty annoyed with how semi-frequently my selkie’s double jumping would make him fall through solid ground. He was certainly no Kain in that department. Oh well, at least I had the sense to play the DS version. Dual screens on a TV screen has gotta be even more awkward, as well as the realization that your playing what’s essentially a mostly straight DS port (with some additions and subtractions) on a Wii.
It sucks that the DS and 3DS characteristics doesn’t work on TVs unlike the Game Boy with Super Game Boy and Game Boy Player. One of my favorite party games is playing Warioware Twisted on the Game Cube with Game Boy Player.
It seems so unfair that Nintendo went to the effort of creating the most ubiquitous hand held and console of this generation, gave them the ability to communicate with each other wirelessly and then neglected to re-release this game. Is it short sightedness or are they just mean?
maybe then the 3DS would be a logical next step as I too feel that 4 swords adventures is a great match for the DS, but the 3DS even more so, as it has improved online access and would make it easier for those that actually want to play it to find a party
I enjoyed the multiplayer mode in Phantom Hourglass. Though that was just a simple single match type of multiplayer not the dungeon raiding type of Four swords.
I guess FSA’s failure was probably due to all the confusion. I remember personally that I thought FSA was just a higher resolution port of the Four Swords mode of Link to the Past. Especially since Warioware was ported to the Gamecube only a few months before FSA.
Good article, great game. Nitpick: The author keeps calling it ‘Adventure’, rather than ‘Adventures’.
Btw, Parish: I wouldn’t be so sure about there never being a revival. Aonuma does keep mentioning it in interviews. And when I asked him about a possible 3DS version at E3 2010, he said: “It would be a great fit for the system’s expansive communication abilities. I can tell you that it does have my attention. I hope I can reveal soon if and how I have fit the different pieces of the puzzle – the need for new concepts for Zelda on 3DS as well as my inclination to expand the Four Swords concept – together in my head.”
Of course, I don’t know what was lost (or adlibbed) in translation and irregardless, it sounds like a typical non-commital wouldn’t-it-be-nice answer these Nintendo types are famous for, but still: I wouldn’t rule anything out quite yet.
Yeah, looks like I forgot an s or two. I’d love Nintendo to bring the series back with online play, but at this point I don’t have much faith that they’ll ever implement a system that’s as user-friendly as XBL/PSN/Steam.
And if they do bring it back, I really hope they go with randomly generated dungeons. FSA probably had the better mechanics overall, but if they go hog wild with the design of the original FS it could be an incredibly replayable game.
Hello! I replied to the previous blog spot about the earlier subscribers issues there but since you might have missed it :
I can’t find your email, so could you please email me back on the mail I post now so I can order them? Thanx in advance :)