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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Four times the Links, four times the fun



 (The Spokesman-Review)
Ryan Huschka Knight Ridder

“The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures”

••• (out of four)

Nintendo for GameCube, $49.99. Rating: E (Everyone).

Remember that movie “Multiplicity,” where Michael Keaton plays a guy who decides to create clones of himself so he’ll have time to get his work done and still find some quality time with his family?

Wouldn’t it be nice if legendary heroes could do that too? Turns out that’s just what Link – and Link, and Link and Link – will do in “Four Swords Adventures,” a well-conceived multiplayer adventure for GameCube.

In the prologue, our hero is suckered into unleashing an evil wind spirit. Did I mention the magical maidens have been kidnapped? Princess Zelda, too? Oh, drama!

Thankfully, Link also has been blessed/cursed by the arrival of three incarnations of himself to help set things straight. That’s where you and your buddies come in. Using a Game Boy Advance as a controller (one required per player), up to four players take control of the brightly colored quartet.

Nintendo has used GameCube-Game Boy Advance connectivity several times before, but never with such spectacular results. Players not only use connected Game Boys that function as controllers (the GBA’s four main buttons allow for surprisingly deep control), but the action often seamlessly flip-flops from the television to the Game Boy, allowing the four heroes to split up to solve the tricky puzzles found in the dungeons. When the Link clones battle on land, the sword-slashing action appears on the television screen. But duck your Link into a cave or a building, and – zip! – you’re suddenly playing on the GBA screen.

The game’s visual style is an anachronism, copied from the legendary series installment “A Link to the Past.” These animations were top-notch at the time (back in 1992), but now they look ragged. The adventure’s musical score – while perfectly in tune with the game’s epic yet lighthearted themes – sounds a little dated, too.

But if you have enough GBAs and friends willing to flesh out the foursome of Link clones, do not pass up this adventure. Your clones – er, friends – will be glad you didn’t.