The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition

 DS
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Games Master UK
    Nov 20, 2011
    90
    Essential. [Christmas 2011, p.89]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. IGN
    Oct 6, 2011
    90
    It finally offers an easy, accessible way to play multiplayer Zelda the way it was always meant to be played. The cost barrier has been destroyed.
  3. NintendoWorldReport
    Oct 4, 2011
    90
    Despite minor faults, Four Swords Anniversary Collection is an amazing game. I'm shocked that Nintendo put any effort-much less this amount of effort-into a free downloadable title. But good for them.
  5. Official Nintendo Magazine UK
    Oct 4, 2011
    90
    Would have been a nice little bonus on its own but the added extras make Four Swords Anniversary Edition a must play for any Zelda fan who owns a 3DS.
  6. Nintendo Life
    Oct 2, 2011
    90
    A terrific new version of the Four Swords adventure, lovingly crafted and full of content.
  7. Destructoid
    Oct 3, 2011
    85
    A spectacular re-release packed to the brim with more content than most paid downloadable titles; that all of this is available for free is simply mind-blowing. The multiplayer is as deliciously evil as it ever was, but I just wish more tweaks were made to tailor the single-player mode for solo adventurers. If you are able to gather a group, however, you will have a blast.
  8. Universo Nintendo
    Oct 2, 2011
    85
    While the cooperative mode is exceptional, the new single-player experience, despite practical, is very tiring.
  9. Cubed3
    Dec 2, 2011
    80
    Nintendo made a terrific decision bringing in Grezzo once more to work on The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition, since the additions introduced have made for a lot of replay value to a game that you might not have picked up again for a while after beating it.
  10. N-Europe
    Oct 29, 2011
    80
    The break from the single player Zelda norm that we never knew we wanted.
  11. Multiplayer.it
    Oct 7, 2011
    80
    The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords 25th Anniversary is a welcome addition to the DS Ware's arsenal and offers an all-new single-player option to solve puzzles and dungeons. It's not without issues, single player sessions lack depth and you can't actually connect to the Internet to find people to play with, but it's great fun and totally free.
  12. Vandal
    Oct 4, 2011
    80
    Fun and very satisfying, Four Swords Anniversary Edition focus on multiplayer, but also offers a new option, to play it solo, a fantastic addition. It is a pity that there ist not an online mode in the game, yer another chance lost by Nintendo to gear up the series.
  13. Modojo
    Oct 3, 2011
    80
    A short but cool game every DS and 3DS fan should own. Just don't sleep on downloading it, since it'll be free until February 20, 2012.
  14. Meristation
    Sep 26, 2011
    80
    Whether it's free, this game is still fun. The best puzzles in which Link has faced and always meant to be played in company. The touch screen makes it better. It also has added a lot of memories to help you bring out your tears. Memorable.

Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best DS Game of 2011
12
#12 Most Discussed DS Game of 2011
8
#8 Most Shared DS Game of 2011

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 78 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 78
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 78
  3. Negative: 8 out of 78
  1. Skyward_Hearts
    Nov 13, 2011
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. An amazing game, especially for free. I would give it an 8, but because it was free I'll give it a 9. It's a pretty good game, the combat is very similar to A Link to the Past and Minish Cap, but the puzzles are all about working together, which is the really unique part of this game.

    Gameplay:

    Every dungeon is randomly generated, so each time you play you'll get puzzles and map layouts that you've never seen before. This adds great replay value as you can keep playing and still enjoy it. In Zelda standards, the puzzles are extremely simple, but the combat is still very fun. The game was made for multiplayer, having you not only work together with a friend, but also battle them for rupees. Unfortunately it's not online, but the single player mode is still really fun, having you control two Links at once. The game is mostly easy, but has an extremely challenging dungeon called the Hero's Trial, which is unlocked after getting enough Rupees in total. This dungeon took me many tries. The Hero's Trial adds a fine challenge for Zelda veterans and Realm of Memories adds a lot of nostalgia to the game, as well as being a pretty cool novelty level.

    Graphics: Nothing special, although the colours are bright and vibrant and the scenery is nice to look at. Animations look pretty smooth. Good for a gameboy advanced game, but nothing special when put on DS/3DS.

    Sound:

    Personally, the sound effects are great, but I'm not too keen on the music. It's just not up to Zelda standards. That said, it's not bad and it does go nicely with the scenery.

    Replayability:

    As mentioned before, levels are randomly generated, so you can keep playing and playing and getting something new out of this. Replayability is increased if you have friends to play with, but the game isn't online so if you don't, too bad. The goal is to gather as many rupees as possible, you will get three keys to get to Vaati's palace, once you have done this and have slain Vaati, the game doesn't end. You can then replay the levels (which will feel new due to random generation), and try to get more rupees for stronger keys. In order to fully complete the game you must gather a large amount of rupees during levels, which takes quite a few attempts, but stays fun. It took me a total of 22 hours to get the strongest keys and get through the 12-floored final Vaati Palace.


    All in all, this is a great game, you'll have at least 10 hours of fun. If you're a big Zelda fan, you'll probably be able to get 20+ hours of fun out of this game, and even more if you have friends to play with. There's no point in not downloading this, it's free and well worth your time!

    Great game, music could be better and could have benefitted from online. But you can't grumble as not only is this free, but it's a great game with a lot of added new features since the original version, it's not a simple port, it's a full blown remake.

    9/10    … Full Review »
  2. snordorm
    Oct 29, 2011
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. My experience with this game was as follows: I was playing with a friend, and after about an hour of play, we beat Vaati. We were fairly disappointed with how short the game was, but then we unlocked an area called the "Realm of Memories." We then proceeded to enter this area, and we were immediately greeted with original Link to the Past music and graphics in Hyrule Castle. Then, we started yelling and shouting how amazing this was for about 10 minutes until we started playing again and went through levels in the original NES Zelda, and the Game Boy Color games. This game not only brings back memories of playing Four Swords on the GBA, but also memories of every other 2D Zelda game save for Zelda II and the DS games and packs it all together in one great big tidal wave of nostalgia. However, the fond memories this game brings back are not the only good aspects of it. The gameplay is solid, and managed to retain the same fun as the original, while adding a few new twists. I would have liked to see more new items, however. The only new item there was is a Minish Cap which lets you turn small. Also, while going through the Link to the Past area, me and my friend came across a bug where I got stuck in an area and couldn't get out, so we had to redo the entire area again. Besides these minor gripes, however, this game is still a great experience and I'm glad they made it. It's obvious that they were really trying to bring back memories of old games, which fits since it's the 25th anniversary.… Full Review »
  3. SwoopTrust
    Nov 10, 2011
    5
    I don't know, man. maybe it's the music, or the gameplay, but this Zelda just doesn't feel right. Maybe it's because i'm playing it alone?I don't know, man. maybe it's the music, or the gameplay, but this Zelda just doesn't feel right. Maybe it's because i'm playing it alone? Either way, it's dissapointing to see that nintendo reused sound clips from Minish cap, whithout even bothering to record them like in Starfox 64. And the overall game feels sluggish.… Full Review »
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