Four Swords Adventures Turns 11

Happy birthday to Four Swords Adventures! It was 11 years ago to this day that the co-op Zelda title was released for the GameCube. Four Swords Adventures was the second Zelda title released for the GameCube, coming out almost two years after Wind Waker.

Unlike the majority of Zelda titles, Four Swords Adventures could be played with anywhere from one to four people simultaneously. If multiple people were going to play the title, each would have to plug a Game Boy Advance into the GameCube that would be used as the controller. There were even times in the game where each Link would have to leave the TV screen and venture onto the Game Boy Advance screen.

Four Swords Adventures takes place on the Child Timeline after Twilight Princess. Like Four Swords before it, the game features the wind mage Vaati and the Four Sword, which splits Link into four separate bodies. It also features a new Ganondorf, because Link killed the old Ganondorf in Twilight Princess.

The game ends with Link defeating Vaati and sealing Ganondorf in the Four Sword. After that, he places the blade back into its pedestal, becoming one person again.

Four Swords Adventures is the last entry in the Child Timeline as of the writing of this article, but the Hyrule Historia does say, “There may come a time when the land will have need of the Four Sword once again.” Although most seem to think that Zelda U will be a prequel or direct sequel to Skyward Sword, perhaps Nintendo will surprise everyone by making it an entry at the end of the Child Timeline.

What did you think of Four Swords Adventures? Is it one of your favorite Zelda titles?