The first ever multiplayer game within the Zelda series was first released as part of a package with the Game Boy Advance port of A Link to the Past back in 2002, which was followed three years later with The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures on the Game Cube.

Since this year marks the 25th anniversary of the series, Nintendo is giving fans a great year to remember, with the Ocarina of Time remake on the 3DS, a special orchestral concert, a special day at the video game festival GameCity and Skyward Sword for the Wii. But fans from now can download the special edition of the Four Swords game, which has been updated from its original GBA incarnation with some nice changes. When you consider that the game is free to download on the 3DS, DSi XL and DSi, this is worth checking out!

You start the game with Princess Zelda being kidnapped by Vaati, an evil spirit who has escaped from his prison that is the Four Sword and after being woken up by some fairies from Vaati’s attack, Link takes ahold of the Four Sword and is split into four different colors (green, red, blue and purple) and you all head out to rescue the princess once again.

After a detailed tutorial from some Stray Fairies at the Chambers of Insight, you set off as the green link and your selected second colored Link of your choice through four main areas within the map, with three stages on each area (two being levels where you reach a goal and one being a boss stage). Each area will take approximately up to an hour to two hours depending on your experience and while it is ideal for gamers traveling or those looking for a quick game, it was a bit shorter from what I was expecting and Nintendo have included some new areas that longtime fans might recognize during their playtime.

One of the other reasons that this is the easiest game to beat from this series is that the puzzles and gameplay mechanics are made to make the mechanics of the two or more controlled Links accessible for everyone. But then, this was originally a free exclusive and so this isn’t a major complaint as I still had a small burst of fun while I was playing it.

While I have not had the chance to play with other people on the multiplayer mode, the developers have included a single player mode that is added to this edition of the game and it sees you playing as the main green Link and selecting one of the three other colored Links that can accompany you on each level.

The gameplay for the single player mode is surprisingly quite effective, as you can switch between the two Links or have one follow the other to push objects, light torches and defeat enemies in some fun and clever ways. At times though, it can be a bit frustrating that one Link tries to destroy the enemies while one just simply follows you and doesn’t do anything and can especially be annoying when trying to figure out how to defeat the boss of each stage. While you can re-spawn with a certain amount of rupees that you can collect from cutting grass, defeating enemies and opening treasure chests, which helps to even out this small flaw within this gameplay mechanic.

But getting through the obstacles and puzzles doesn’t have this issue, as it is these sections of the levels that can be quite fun to solve. For example, the two characters ride a handcart to reach from one end of the level to the other while avoiding enemies and trying to get to several treasure chests that is great to see used differently in each level.

With some nice, colorful graphics, an interesting gameplay and the fact that this little gem is absolutely free to download for 3DS, DSi XL and DSi consoles, this is a great quick fix for all types of fans and gamers before The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is released on the Wii in November. A title almost too good to be free and one of the best games I have downloaded on my 3DS!

Rating:[4/5]