The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
(I'd like to welcome the newest member of the Foundry crew, a New York fella named Rob...or Robification as he's known to others...and umm, himself. His first contribution is a review of the Gamecube title, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. You'll be seeing a lot more of Robification...and a few other new recruits...in the coming months, so let's give him a big hug, and a tug on his wee-wee, and welcome him to the fam - SC)
I am the type of person that will buy certain games without looking at screen shots or reviews with certain expectations in mind. I will buy any box that has the name(s) "Mario", "Zelda", "Final Fantasy", or "Grand Theft Auto" on them. These are games which, in my opinion, define the console they are played on.
Zelda has always been a cornerstone for Nintendo. Whenever you see the name 'Zelda' on a new game pack, be assured you're buying a game with innovative game play, graphics, and of course, mind numbing puzzles that'll make you yank your hair out within the first hour of play. Zelda has always been cutting edge. That is why this one is an utter disappointment.
I took my brand new
Zelda game home, took a piss and got my snacks ready; if you're putting a new Zelda game in the console, you sure dont want to move away from the TV for at least 2 or 3(or maybe 8) hours. I hit that power button, looked at my TV in amazement to see the greatest Pokemon graphics ever(and i dont mean the cartoon. I mean the gameboy game...come to think of it, if this game were for
Gameboy Advance, I would have rated this with a 5 instead of a 2).
The game and went through a gameboy video quality intro. I thought it was pretty cool that they made the beginning look like the original NES Zelda game when I realized the game is all in 2D, birds-eye-view. No cutting edge graphics here.... But surely I'm missing something. This is Zelda, after all. The puzzles must be complex. The story line will get better. Zelda can not possible be about saving 6 "maidens" who aren't even hot.
Within four hours of playing the game, I got over half way through the entire quest. The puzzles were somewhat challenging, but not impossible. I didn't lose any more hairs(and thank god... at my age, you normally have more hair on your balls than your head). This is definitely not your normal Zelda game. It is well suited for kids. It will make them use their minds so you may have hope that they dont grow up to be retards. It just did nothing for me.
In all fairness to the people at Nintendo, this is an adventure to be played with up to four friends and a game boy advance hooked up to it. I do imagine that would bring a whole new dimension to the game. I dont think I've ever seen a multi player adventure. However, for someone like me who would rather do other things with friends, the game sucks. I'd rather spend my time playing other games.
With all this said, I do find the game entertaining and will spend my time completing it. It doesnt, however, by any stretch of the imagination, live up to the legacy that is Zelda. If you're buying the game with no expectations, it is a game you may enjoy. I suppose I expected to much.
