Four Swords Anniversary: Is Single Player Good?

One of the primary changes to the upcoming Nintendo DS-i remake of Four Swords is the option to allow for a single player mode. This is handled similar to that of Four Swords Adventures where you can switch between two players, setup an arrangement, or have one Link follow the other. In a recent impressions article, the folks over at Nintendo World Report had this to say about the additional single player controls.

Not only is the experience a bit awkward… it quite frankly is not fun to play single player. I’ve played Four Swords Adventures as a single player and a multiplayer game. While the game in general is one of my least favorite Zelda titles, I think the single player mode in particular was awful. Four Swords is a multiplayer Zelda game and is designed to be played as a multiplayer game. Tossing in a single player experience might make the game more accessible… but it’s just not fun at all. I think a lot of Zelda fans, much like they did with Four Swords Adventures, are only going to experience Four Swords as a single player game and thus, it will lose its glitter as being a great game.

I’ve had a chance to play through Four Swords multiple times with both two players and four players. The game seriously is one of the most fun Zelda titles I’ve ever played and as a 4-player experience it’s near the top of my favorite Zelda game list. For those of you who watched the Zeldathon this past July, you would know how much crazy fun Four Swords actually is. In fact, the ability to play and stream Four Swords for the Game Boy Advance was one of the primary reasons I was interested in attending the Zeldathon! It’s a rare experience because of all the annoying hardware that is needed, but it is certainly worth it. I fear that the game is going to lose its multi-player reputation as so many Zelda fans are just going to play it as a single player game and then toss it aside.

I think keeping it as a multiplayer only game would be my preferred way of playing. While I completely feel this game needs to be played in a set location, I would be willing to allow an online multiplayer mode via WiFi just to give fans the four-player experience. Anything really to give fans that experience… as oppose to expanding the games accessibility by making it a single player game. (cringe)

Who knows, perhaps I’m just in the minority. Would you guys prefer it be kept multiplayer or do you like the single player additions? In particular I have question out there for the few of you that have played the original Four Swords with 4-players AND played Four Swords Adventures as a single player game. How would you compare multiplayer Four Swords with single player Four Swords Adventures? Are you like me and much prefer Four Swords? Perhaps you actually preferred the Four Swords Adventures gameplay? Let us know by posting in the comments below.

Source: Nintendo World Report