(3DS)
I liked my playthrough of this game quite a bit. I and three friends each got the game on our 3DS’s and got together to play through it. I was impressed with a few of the mechanics that made for greater replay value, and the level design was very good at allowing players to take their own paths. While this game has a couple of major flaws, it is a good time with a few friends.
Remember, this review reflects my experience and therefore everyone else’s as well. If you disagree with any point I bring in this post, then you should reflect on your opinion until you agree with me as I am correct and you are wrong. Thank you for reading!
Level Design
Among the best aspects of this game is the level design. While there are only around 6 courses, they are given huge replay value since they are randomized each time. You only play through 3 areas in a given course, but they are chosen from a larger pool of what seemed like 7 areas.
But what was really great were the branching paths in each area which allowed the group to split up and explore on their own. This made collecting rupees more efficient and made everyone’s experience unique. It also guaranteed that no player was being completely left out due to the others clearing the way ahead of them.
Platinum Keys
The weakest aspect of this game were the platinum keys. In order to progress, you must collect platinum keys on each course. To get a platinum key on a course, you needed to collect 5000 over the 3 areas and boss area. You get rupee bonuses for finishing the course faster, but there are also rupees hidden around each area. The problem with this system is that due to the unclear nature of the bonus, you never know exactly how many rupees you have, and if you don’t get enough by the end, you must start all over from 0 and try again through an entirely new set of areas which eliminates any strategy. My group could not collect enough rupees on the volcano course and gave up here.
I don’t think the concept of collecting rupees in each course to earn keys is too bad, but starting all over after a bad run is far too harsh. Instead, I think there should be a running total of rupees collected in each course. Every time you beat the course, you add to the total. Once your total reaches a certain point, then you earn the key.
I would also get rid of the time bonus on each course except on boss stages. This way full exploration of each course for more rupees is encouraged. Zelda is about exploration after all!
Bosses
The bosses in this game were a little weak. I actually liked all but one of them, but most overstayed their welcome. Each boss seemed to go through 10 phases of the same attack patterns over and over again. Without an indication of how much health remained, this made the process feel endless. In most cases, they should have just given the bosses less health.
The biggest offender, and the only boss I actively disliked, was the final boss. It was just so fucking long and did the same shit over and over again with the stupid flowers and volleyballs. I didn’t feel like its patterns were intimidating enough to belong to a final boss.
Retro Courses
As a final note, I must mention the retro levels which are stylized like older zelda games. My group did not unlock all of them, but the Link to the Past level was cool.
Score
Four Swords Anniversary Edition is a good game with some flaws that make the later parts of the game tedious. While it has nothing on the original Four Swords, I think it is worth a play with a group if you can manage to scavenge four compatible copies of the game.