Revisionist history

“Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past” has commonly appeared on lists as not only the best game of the Zelda series, but one of the top games of all time.  While I wouldn’t quite go that far, it certainly is a worthy addition to the line, and an inspiration to many games of the 16-bit era and beyond.  You’d think that a portable update of this game would be something Nintendo would chop at the bit to put out.  Well, given that the world is still waiting for the first two games in the series to become portable, it’s a bit of a miracle that this version ever came out, complete with a new side to the game.

First, let’s cover the familiar face here.  This game, A Link to the Past, is actually a prequel to the first two Zelda games, and thus it involves the predecessors to Link and Zelda.  Of course, because designers of games really aren’t that creative with names, they are also named Link and Zelda.  If not for the fact that every first-born male in my family, to date, has Edward in his name, I’d be much more vocal about the lack of sophistication in Hylian names.  At any rate, this Link is trying to prevent your standard-issue Evil Wizard, this time named Aganihm, from opening a portal to the Dark Realm, where the infamous Triforce lies in wait, corrupted by the wishes of the thief Ganondorf.

To nobody’s surprise, we have here the classic “save the princess and the world” plot.  To be fair, though, “The Legend of Zelda” series has never been about its groundbreaking plot arcs.  Indeed, the Zelda series has always been about epic adventures, and epics, since the original Homer decided to get off his duff and write this stuff down, have been about doing the simplest stories in a larger-than-life fashion.  I think that fighting across two dimensions, a normal one and a mutated and twisted Dark World, marks this as an epic in grand tradition.

In fact, an astute gamer will notice that many details in this game were later stolen outright for future games.  All genres too – for example, “Final Fantasy 6” (or Final Fantasy 3 to the unwashed masses) played off of the triad of mystical power, and the effects when that is disrupted into a corrupt and twisted world.  Honestly, after playing this game, you can go over about a dozen different games that borrowed concepts, major and minor, from this game.  Perhaps that is the true measure of a classic.

The control scheme of the game is very strong, although it by default isn’t as strong as the original’s controls.  Since the GBA only has two action buttons in reach of the right thumb, instead of the Super Nintendo’s four, the shoulder buttons on the system actually become required usage, as do the select and start buttons.  This can be a bit of a problem if you are over the age of 16 and your hands are too large for the system.  Thus, this remake does tend to favor those too young to really appreciate the game when it first came out.

The graphics are tweaked only slightly, but rather fortunately so.  At first, you’ll be suckered to believe that the graphics are exactly the same as the original version.  Indeed, the smooth frame rate and the sharp details are all still there from the original.  It manages to get shrunk down without any loss of graphical quality.  The tweak, though, is only noticeable if you compare the two versions together.  The Game Boy Advance version actually uses a brighter color palette.  In other words, Nintendo and Capcom (who worked together to bring the game to the GBA) decided to learn from Konami’s lesson in “Castlevania: Circle of the Moon,” and made this game easy to see in most lighting conditions.  If they had a Nobel Prize for Gaming, this clever thought would have taken it home.

The music as with all portable games, doesn’t quite hold up compared to the rest of the game.  Even after you consider that the Game Boy Advance is vastly superior to every earlier portable system, but the simple fact remains that the system is still reliant on the same mini-speakers that come with Radio Shack “build your own radio” kits for children and psychotic recluses.  Even though the music is restored in perfect measure, you are still listening to it on something I made in 5^th grade with aluminum foil.  While still notable, the game’s music is best played out on a large home stereo system.  Learn how to connect your GBA to one on your own time.

Of course, this is just the old hat portion of the package.  Nintendo and Capcom saw that while it would sell, building a marketing campaign around one simple classic wouldn’t be enough.  Thus, they came along with the additional presentation, Zelda: Four Swords.  To be perfectly blunt, this is right up there with the idea to start selling sugar, caffeine, and crack in that sweet elixir, Mountain Dew: Code Red, as great marketing ideas.

This game , surprise of surprises, also features Zelda and Link, but no clue as to which generation.  Honestly, does it really matter?  Zelda brings Link to see the Four Swords, which supposedly has the power to divide a soul into pieces.  This somehow seems like the kind of thing you wouldn’t want lying around, but there it is, sealing Vaati, the Wind Mage… until it naturally comes loose.  Stupid government contractors.  This allows Vaati to get out, so naturally he decides to be a villain and kidnap the nearest female, which conveniently is Zelda.  Link, seeing the plot unfold before his eyes, picks up the only weapon handy, the Four Sword, and splits into four versions of himself.

Basically, this is a simplified version of the classic Zelda games, with the bonus that it is a multiplayer game.  Actually, it’s biggest flaw is immediate – it is only multiplayer, and everyone has to have it in their GBA.  So pester your friends until they actually get a copy as well, and then pick your Link.  The first player gets to wear green – Classic Link.  The second player is clad in red, and becomes Fire Link.  The third player dons blue, and becomes Aqua Link.  Finally, the fourth player wears purple, and becomes Showtunes Link.  This player might as well just give in and start singing any Frank-N-Furter piece from “Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Anyhow, once you figure out who gets stuck looking up to Christopher Lowell, you take your team of Links into action.  The premise is simple – you and your companions have to collect enough rupees to bribe fairies, who are apparently sick of this communist claptrap the other Zelda games forced upon them, into giving you the keys to Vaati’s demesne.  Once there, you beat upon his Wind Mage skull like you caught him hitting on your spouse.  Simple enough – you work as a team, get cash, and try to beat any enemies that come at you.

The interesting dynamic that develops is a cooperative competition.  You are all trying to get as many rupees as possible, with the winner getting a token to designate his victory.  Purple Link may also be doing this to assert their virility, but we won’t discuss that here.  At the same time, though, you have to keep your companions not only alive, but thriving.  For one thing, it costs you rupees to revive anyone.  Not only that, but if everyone has full life, all rupee collections are doubled.  So you do have to choose – leave your friend to his fate and get the cash, or preserve him and let him potentially get it?  It does make the game interesting.

The only real trouble is that, because this type of game is rare, almost nobody is going to be used to how it’s played.  More often than not, this will result in some number of Links sword-fighting over rupees.  In the end, though, I’ve noticed that the game presents a variant of the Prisoner’s dilemma.  You profit the most if you work together at all costs… except when they least expect it.  It’s not a question of avoiding dirty play.  It’s rather a question of knowing when to play dirty.

The graphics of the game, while strong, do fall slightly short of the main presentation.  In this one, Link appears even more cartoonish, as if the programmers think people will universally enjoy the upcoming Celda abomination.  I think you need not guess as to my opinion on the matter.  The enemies and backgrounds are also simpler, albeit very clean.  Most likely, in order to make the game flow more smoothly, the designers used a simpler scheme.  While I wish Link’s head didn’t resemble a constipated turnip, I guess having the game run smoothly is a fair trade-off.

The control of the game is where this really shines, though.  First, the game moves silky smooth, no matter how many people are hooked up.  Second, the controls are kept deliberately simple, which results in two different aspects which are brilliant.  First, the controls are actually much easier to handle than Link to the Past’s controls, and as such it’s actually more comfortable for people who can pass as adults to play Four Swords.  Second, stripping down the controls means that the various Links can only have one item to back up the sword, and they have to work together to use them well.  Indeed, there is quite a bit of strategy needed just to get through the levels, and nobody really has a monopoly on the action.

As you might expect, the sound is a bit of a problem.  Perhaps the biggest problem is that the systems synchronize everything except the music.  Therefore, if more than one person has the volume on, you’ll hear what roughly sounds like an epileptic monkey on a sugar rush playing a grind organ.  While you have an off-chance of having them roughly in synchronicity, it’s best if only one person has the sound on.  In all truthfulness, the designers probably should have stuck with effects only, which would not have been nearly as distracting during play.

Of course, the big question that many people will have is, how much effect does one game have on the other?  Sadly, very little.  The only effect to carry over from Link to the Past to Four Swords is that, once you get the Master Sword , you can fire a beam from your weapon in Four Swords when your life meter is filled.  You’d think that there would be some benefit to beating the game, but you’d also think that we could come up with a competent person in government.  On the flip side, a new dungeon opens up in Link to the Past once you clear Four Swords, but it appears somewhat late in Link to the Past, and doesn’t really add anything to the classic game.  It sadly adds nothing and could really be done without.

In the end, this game is made for two groups.  One group is those who, for some reason, do not have a copy of the original version.  Whether you never bought it, you blasphemer, or lost it, and should perform Hari Kari to preserve your family’s honor, or watched as aliens decided to take it instead of probing you, you should take this opportunity to own it now.  The others are those that don’t mind shelling out for a new, and excellent, four player game bundled with a decent facsimile of a video gaming classic.  Maybe nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, but at least it’s still fun.