The Legend of Zelda III: A Link To The Past / Four Swords
Game by Nintendo
Reviewed by Philip Wesley
Save: battery, 3 slots.
Released: 2002
Works with: Game Boy Advance/SP/Micro, DS/Lite
ESRB Rated: E
Quick Opinion: Own

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Opening Snide Remarks: The third installment in the Legend of Zelda series
was actually a bit of a reboot of the series. Although it is apparently
earlier than the previous two games in the series or after them, depending
who you ask at Nintendo.

Oddly, this rerelease of the game includes the multi-player game: "Four
Swords." which requires four Game Boy Advance owners to own this title or
Minish Cap and link them together. Just as we did with the NES CLASSIC
series of reviews, here is the storyline synopsis for A Link To The Past.

"Long ago, in Hyrule, a beautiful kingdom surrounded by forests and
mountains...

legends told of an omnipotent and omniscient Golden Power that lay hidden.
It was hidden in a sacred realm beyond the reach of men, but one day...

...a doorway to that realm was suddenly opened...

Hoping to claim the Golden Power as their own, the people began to quarrel
and fight...

Many sought to enter the Hidden Golden Land...

But none returned, and instead evil power began to issue forth from the
dark portal...

So the king commanded seven sages to seal the gate to the land of the Golden
Power. Many brave knights were lost in the battle to protect the sages from
the tides of evil, but the seal was cast! Evil flowed no more! And the seal
would remain for all time...

Or so the people hoped...

But when these events were obscured by the mists of time, and became
legend...

A mysterious wizard known as Agahnim appeared as from nowhere...

and with strange magic powers he eliminated the good king of Hyrule...

He cast spells on the soldiers and kidnapped young maidens descended from
the sages in order to break the seal...

This destiny fast approaches for the final maiden...

the princess, Zelda..."

That is the storyline of this, the next chapter in the Legend of Zelda
series.

Is this a worthy page in the Hyrule Historia?

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Gameplay Description: The game is split into two kinds of gameplay actually.
This game includes a multi-player title called "The Four Swords" that can
be played with two or more people. This requires a link cable for the Game
Boy Advance and everyone must have a copy of this game. We will split the
game review into two sections due to this.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past marks a return to the top down
world of the first title, but with new twists. This game is much more linear
and plot driven than the open world first game. You start asleep in bed,
where you are awakened by a dream in which Princess Zelda asks you to save
her from the dungeon of the castle. Your Uncle tells you that he is going
to be leaving for some reason and that you should wait for him to return.

He then leaves and you are free to move around the cabin. You find your first
item, the Lamp in a treasure chest in the house. Once you have acquired this,
you set out to deliberately disobey your Uncle who has thrown away his future
to raise you. How ungrateful can you be? Oh, you can also break all the jars
he has by the bed. Honestly, there does not appear to be any kind of proper
facilities in the cabin. Think about that fact and think about what you have
done.

Unfazed by what you have done, the Princess Zelda interrupts you again with
a plea for help. I suppose you should step outside of the cabin then, right?

You step out into the middle of a torrential downpour of rain. Then you
make your way to the palace, talking to some guards, pulling grass, and
doing other things. Once you enter the palace, an event happens in which you
get your sword. Then another event happens and you rescue Zelda. Once you
bring her through another area and event, you end up at a Sanctuary where
Zelda fills you in on the plot. Apparently, the best way to stop Agahnim
is to find three amulets that allow you to get the Master Sword, which will
let you defeat Agahnim and save Hyrule.

This is the first "directed" Legend of Zelda game. Zelda marks on your map
where you are supposed to go and you then must find your way into the
dungeon that contains what you are looking for. In that dungeon, you find
keys, items to use in that dungeon, defeat mini-boss characters and defeat
large boss characters. Along the way to your destinations, you encounter a
lot of interesting Non Playable Characters (NPCs) to interact with that may
need items or give you items. The world of Hyrule is fairly vast and there
are a few things to do. The items you acquire are well utilized and the
story telling, while simple is very well done.

The areas in the game have multiple levels to them and they use this fact
to great effect. In some levels, you may need to interact with floors or
areas that are above or below your current location. The game also has a
bunch of interesting puzzles and traps in the dungeons. The original Super
Nintendo release actually had a pamphlet of hints included that was sealed
by a Triforce Sticker. The abilities that Link has in the game allow you to
choose how you defeat enemies or tackle obstacles. A good example is that
the first "boss" you encounter may be beaten by your sword or you could do
what I always do: Pick up a few of the jars in the area and throw them at
him.

The game is very story driven, but it does allow a great amount of freedom
as you search for ways to make yourself stronger. There are mini games and
hidden secrets scattered around the landscape and after a certain plot
point, you can switch between a "Light World" and a "Dark World" map to
uncover secrets and dungeons.

The level up system from The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is
gone and has been replaced by the ability to upgrade your hearts through
finding "heart containers," and upgrading your other equipment via other
methods. The world you explore is actually much, much larger than it first
appears and a lot of objects that would become a staple of the series are
introduced in this game. The game takes the original concept of The Legend
of Zelda and evolves the concept by clarifying the world in which it takes
place.

There are also "side characters" in the town and game that have slightly
interesting side plots. For example, there is an event that nets you an
ocarina that demonstrates the slight sadness that would eventually
creep into later games in the series.

The Four Swords is a side "quest" where you compete through various mini
dungeons with a band of 2 to 4 people in an effort to complete objectives
and collect rupees. The game awards players with "medals" based on their
performance in each level. The basic idea of the game is to collect
medals and track down Vaati to defeat him. You can use various items from
Legend of Zelda games like The Minish Cap and Link to the Past to get
through the levels. Sometimes you need to work together to get past
obstacles and -despite the difficulty of setting up this multiplayer
quest- it is quite fun. This is an interesting addition, but the main
attraction of this game is A Link to the Past.

Liked: The larger dungeons, the introduction of dungeon traps, puzzles,
and a defined storyline round out the gameplay immensely. The natural
evolution of the gameplay from the first game comes through in a stunning
way. The world of Hyrule is alive and you can interact with it in whole
new ways. For example, there are some curtains that you can spread by
hitting them with your sword, there are some characters that follow you
around and will comment on elements of the area you are exploring. There
are multiple ways to use many of the items that you find. Enemies can be
defeated in multiple ways, and the side characters are interesting. In a
way, the story structure is pretty defined; but what how you accomplish it
is still rather open.

Hated: The idea of linear questing is introduced in this game, but you can
ignore most objectives and just explore. The logic behind the puzzles can
become frustrating for some players. The side characters are not very well
defined and I feel that more could be done with the narrative of the game.

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Graphics Description: The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past has an overhead
view that works pretty well. Items are discernible, the enemies are
interesting, the bosses are large, and the "Mode 7" rotation effects are
nice looking. The Four Swords has a different style to it that is very
similar to Minish Cap and that looks just fine. Link to the Past looks great
and many of the environments are really good looking. Particularly, I rather
like the "Lost Woods" area where you eventually obtain the Master Sword.

There is some reuse of graphic assets where you will have one or two enemy
types that are just a different different colors. The sprite for Link has
some interesting animation to him and the level of detail is fine. Every
thing is visible on all models of the Game Boy Advance and a feature to
lighten or darken the graphics to make up for the original Game Boy Advance
screen is available.

Liked: Everything looks fine and the bosses are pretty big. This is a decent
looking game on the Game Boy Advance and it looks like the Super Nintendo
original. The rain was an amazing feat on the Super Nintendo and the game
still holds up today.

Hated: A lot of reused sprites for enemies. This one is RED so it is weaker
than the BLUE one and not as fast as the GREEN one. This is less about a
lack of creativity as it is about a lack of power in many older systems.

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Sound/Music Description: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past has some
amazing compositions and the tone of the music fits the game very well.
There is a simple majesty to a lot of the music. The sound effects, though,
are where the game starts to falter a little. Weapons sound like they
should and the only really unfortunate addition is that Link now makes a
"yelling" sound whenever he swings his sword. This is a bit off putting and
can quickly grate on the nerves of the player. The rest of the sound effects
work well and add to the experience though.

Liked: I love the music in this game a lot. The theme for Kakariko Village
is amazing. The music uses a lot of synthetic instruments but in a wonderful
way that seems appropriate. The compositions are long too.

Hated: "EYAH! HYAH! YAH!" All of the foley from Link becomes a bit much.
A bit of moderation would be great, thank you.

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Play Control/Game Design: The basic design of Link To The Past is this: Find
an item to find a dungeon. When you are in the dungeon, you find keys, a map,
and another item to find and defeat the boss of the dungeon. When you beat
the boss, you get another item that you must collect to advance the plot and
find the item to get to the next dungeon. Each dungeon has different types
of puzzles that can usually be solved with items that you found in the
previous dungeons or that you will find in this dungeon. In between the
dungeons, you are given a bit of freedom to explore the over world and find
more items to aid you in your quest. There are interesting characters to
meet and the world is full of neat secrets. Walls to blow up, rocks to move,
secrets to dig up, and so forth. The game is excellent in this regard.

Now, the lack of buttons on the Game Boy Advance in comparison to the Super
Nintendo is dealt with in a satisfactory way and is never an issue. The only
real problem with the game is a hold over from the Super Nintendo. The
enemies can attack diagonally, but Link can only swing his sword in four
directions, meaning that there are time where the enemy can hit you but you
may swing and miss them completely. Thankfully, some weapons can be thrown
diagonally.

Some of the puzzles require a logic that is not always clear to the player,
but part of the fun of the game is trying to figure out what the game needs
you to do to get through a puzzle or dungeon. The bosses are interesting and
creative and the over all story presentation of the game has improved greatly
over The Legend of Zelda 1 and The Legend of Zelda 2: Adventure of Link.

Liked: The design is a bit tried and true but it works. The story is fun and
the lack of X & Y buttons does not hinder the gameplay at all.

Hated: I want to hit things with my sword in eight directions and not just
four directions. Although the ability to perform a spin attack later in
the game is an excellent way to counter that handicap.

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Improve: The original game had an open world feel to it that is missing from
this game. While there are a decent amount of side quests and interesting
items to find, a more open approach to game design would be interesting with
the improvements in graphics and sound.

RIYL: The Legend of Zelda series, action RPGs, and dungeon exploration.

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Final Words: This is the definitive version of The Legend of Zelda: A Link
To The Past, for now. The game also features a multi-player mode that is a
bit awkward to set up, but worth the time and effort to do so. While I prefer
the open exploration of the first game, I do appreciate the structured story
of Link To The Past. The music and challenge in the game is just right too.

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Score
Gameplay: ****
Graphics: ****
Sound/Music: ****
Play Control/Game Design: ***
Value: ****

Star Total: 57%

Personal Opinion Merit: 24%

Add the Star Score and Merit Score together for the final % score.

Final Score: 81%

Letter Grade: A

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