The Legend of Zelda : A Link to the Past & Four Swords

Nintendo and Capcom developed The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords for Game Boy Advance, with Nintendo publishing it in North America in December 2002, Japan in March 2003, and Europe later that March. The cartridge pairs a revised handheld version of the 1991 Super NES adventure with Four Swords, a separate original multiplayer game and the series’ first multiplayer-focused release.

A Link to the Past remains a one-player quest through Hyrule and its Dark World. After Princess Zelda calls to him, Link searches for the Master Sword, confronts the wizard Agahnim, and ultimately battles Ganon. Exploration, sword combat, dungeon keys, puzzles, and a growing set of tools such as bombs and the Hookshot still structure the adventure.

The Game Boy Advance edition adapts the Super NES game for the smaller screen and controls, while retaining its overhead perspective, large connected world, and inventory-led puzzle solving. It also adds spoken Link samples associated with Ocarina of Time, revises some dialogue and item placements, and introduces additional content beyond the original release.

Four Swords has a different premise: Vaati escapes from the Four Sword, captures Zelda, and Link draws the blade to split into four color-coded Links. Two to four players travel together through dungeon stages, seeking the Great Fairies before challenging Vaati. It was multiplayer-only in this original Game Boy Advance cartridge; the later Anniversary Edition’s solo mode was not part of this release.

Its stages ask players to cooperate on switches, blocks, enemy encounters, and routes that are tailored to the number of connected players. At the same time, each Link competes for rupees and personal score. Partners can carry one another, race for rewards, and occasionally get in each other’s way, giving Four Swords a deliberately competitive edge within its cooperative progression.

Unlike the fuller inventory in A Link to the Past, a Four Swords player carries one usable item at a time and swaps it at pedestals. The game also introduces the Gnat Hat, which shrinks Link to reach small passages. Dungeon layouts are assembled afresh for play, and each selected area culminates in a boss encounter after its earlier sections.

Playing Four Swords on original hardware requires two to four Game Boy Advance systems, a copy of the cartridge for every participant, and Game Boy Advance Game Link Cables. Save data links the two games: learned sword techniques carry between them, and completing both adventures unlocks the Palace of the Four Sword dungeon in A Link to the Past.