Zelda - Four Swords Gets Tetra's Trackers Bonus

Thanks to 1UP for the news that the forthcoming Legend Of Zelda: Four Swords for GameCube will include Tetra's Trackers as a bonus game. Four Swords makes use of GameBoy Advance connectivity as players compete to collect jewels - entering caves or buildings switches the action to your GBA, "...allowing you to scavenge for jewels that your opponents can't see", whereas Tetra's Trackers, also shown at E3, is another multiplayer connectivity-based title, this time with most of the action on your GBA. The disc also includes a "story-driven single-player campaign" using elements styled from Zelda: A Link To The Past, and the package is due next February in Japan. Elsewhere, 1UP has a Zelda merchandising retrospective that includes various pictures of "obscure items related to the series", including beach blankets and plastic plates.

Re:Wow!

[Per Wigren]

I'll start.

Metroid Prime? F-Zero GX? Starfox Adventures?

Re:Wow!

[Anonymous Coward]

I have a gamecube, my best friend has a ps2, and another friend of mine has an xbox. Personally, for me, I'm glad I bought the gamecube. It's the console to own if you're going to own only one console, in my opinion.

There's not a game company out there that comes close to the quality of nintendo with it's first party games, or even its exclusive third party games. You want a list of must owns in my opinion, for the gamecube?

Metroid Prime: *the* best console game this generation, period. So far above and beyond anything else that's out, it's not even funny.

F-Zero: best futuristic racer, bar none. Nothing else comes anywhere close to it.

Ikaruga: one of the best shooters ever made.

Zelda Wind Waker: not as good as Ocarina in my opinion, but still one of the absolute best 3rd person adventure games out.

Pikmin: a fantastic re-imagining of the RTS genre, in a way that is absolutely perfect for console play. Turning what would be a cursor in a "normal" RTS into a game character was simply brilliant.

Mario Golf: one of the best casual, 4 player party games out for any console.

Eternal Darkness: brilliant blend of the survival horror and rpg genres. In close competition with metroid prime for best console game this generation.

Resident Evil remake: this is the way resident evil always should have been. It's RE freed from the constraints of the less powerful consoles it was originally out for.

Skies of Arcadia Legends: an improved version of one of the best console RPGs of all time.

Mario Kart: DD - The best co-op play you're going to find this generation of consoles. Two people per cart = insane fun.

Mario Sunsine: screw the naysayers. This is a brilliant platforming game. It's huge. It's hard. The camera control has a learning curve and a couple of rough spots in the game, but that's more than made up for the fact that Mario controls better than any character in any other platform game. Putting him through his moves is beyond satisfying.

Animal Crossing: yes, I'm a 32 year old man, and I love Animal Crossing. I think it's pure genius. Bite me.

In a market saturated with clones, even Nintendo's titles that aren't much more than updates of N64 titles shine out with a rare originality.

To top it off, as far as 3rd party games that are available on all 3 consoles, in any review you read, the gamecube version is usually in a close 2nd to the Xbox as far as which version's port faired better. The gamecube's hardware is better than the PS2. PS2 fanboys, get over it. The XBox is better hardware than the gamecube, but in my opinion, most of the Xbox's exclusive titles suck.

There troll. Happy now?

Re:Wow!

[DavidLeblond]

You forgot Viewtiful Joe.

Re:Pisses me off

[AndyBusch]

Right, then. You want Four Swords without a Gamecube? Go get Link to the Past and have fun. Playing it on the GC provides a new environment and way to play. Plus, bear in mind you're getting *four* games on this disc.

Oh, and that stuff about needing an E-Reader to get everything on the SMB3 cart? You don't. You have everything on the cart already. The stuff you get on the E-Reader *isn't* on the cart, it's on the cards. They can create new levels at a later date to extend the life of the cart.

Re:Pisses me off

[Jerf]

Oh, and that stuff about needing an E-Reader to get everything on the SMB3 cart? You don't. You have everything on the cart already. The stuff you get on the E-Reader *isn't* on the cart, it's on the cards. They can create new levels at a later date to extend the life of the cart.

No, the part where you can scan in new powerups at will is *certainly* programmable into the game.

Re:Pisses me off

[AndyBusch]

Sorry. Point taken. I was referring to the levels and demos, rather than the somewhat goofy powerup cards.

Re:Pisses me off

[StocDred]

And is that all you're complaining about? That you can't select infinite powerups from within the SMB3 menu? Bravo, sir.

Boy, if that's all Nintendo had to do to keep your attention...

Re:Pisses me off

[StocDred]

Do you have any idea how the GC Four Swords works? Everybody plays on the TV, but if one player ducks into a cave or house or something, that player switches to the GBA while the other 3 remain uninterrupted on the TV. Game Boys and a TV are required elements, so the game has more screen real estate to play with.

And as already noted, the eReader can add in totally new SMB levels. Totally new. Not unlocked or hidden, totally new levels that haven't even been created yet. (Of course, this assumes Nintendo will actually take advantage of this ability...)

I know it hurts you to spend money, but can you see how there are actual gameplay enhancements here?

Where's this spendthrift attitude over Xbox Live, where you pay a monthly fee for the service and then additional fees for Premium Content?

Re:Pisses me off

[edwdig]

I might have bought the Mario games, rehashes that they are, but I'm ticked off that to truly use everything on the cart, I have to shell out for a e-Reader. Why? No technical reason, just that Nintendo wants to sell you an e-Reader.

Yeah, some of the cards contain silly things like "scan this card to add a starman to your inventory." But the other cards actually contain data not on the cartridge. And with the way Nintendo has worked the e-Reader stuff in the past, they'll probably continue making cards with new levels for about a year or so. It's really difficult to include levels on the cartridge that weren't designed until after the game was released.

So here's another game that sounds like it should be playable with just two Gameboys but requires a Gamecube (probably). I am not impressed here at all.

Try reading the reviews of the games. There already is a version of 4 Swords for the GameBoy. This version adds new features that aren't possible solely with a GameBoy. Everything on the TV screen can be seen by everyone, but you can do things there (like enter caves) that drop you down to the GBA, where you can do things you don't want the other players to see.

Not going to stop buying games for my GB but I find myself avoiding Nintendo's first-party games like the plague. I don't have a GameCube, I'm not going to get a GameCube, I don't want a GameCube. (I have a PS2 and if I get a second console it'll be an XBox... or considering the likely timing of that purchase, an XBox 2 if it's reverse-compatible at all.)

Suit yourself. You're missing out on a LOT of good games. Although there are good reasons to complain about Nintendo, your reasons aren't. They're legitimately doing something new and interesting here, and you're complaining because it costs money.

Re:Pisses me off

[PainKilleR-CE]

Nintendo's marketting is really pissing me off. I own a GBSPA and I don't regret it, but their shameless attempts to make you buy extra crap for it is infuriating, because they cheat and make things that have no technical reason to require a Gamecube, or a Gameboy, have them.

You're right, sometimes there's no technical reason for the requirements, though there may be asthetic reasons. For instance, with FF:CC you probably don't want to stop the game every time one player needs to access a menu when playin

Re:Pisses me off

[Guppy06]

"but their shameless attempts to make you buy extra crap for it is infuriating,"

Obligatory Penny Arcade link [penny-arcade.com]

Ah, Nintendo

[AndyBusch]

Yes, Nintendo's a bit of a niche market, but because of that they can generate cool stuff like this. Plus, they market it right. Other companies would probably try to sell each of these as its own disc, and fail. Nintendo will take a number of experiments and bundle them together, or add an experiment to something else (Pac-Man Vs.).

It's an environment where the developers are allowed to fool around and they may not come up with a viable product, but generate innovation in the process.

DUH

[M3wThr33]

Anyone who couldn't tell they'd bundle them should not be allowed near games anymore.

As for those merchandising things?
Except for the board game, I have all the other things mentioned. Of course, to compensate, I have the Super Mario Bros and a Donkey Kong board game, along with a Tetris one, too.

Say what you want to...

[Anonymous Coward]

... but Four Swords was *the* most fun game I played at E3 this year. Kept going back so I could try all of the levels in that demo. It was a blast even playing with complete strangers. While it might be a little of a hassle to get 4 gbas and 4 people crowded around a gamecube, the people who are able to get the set up are going to have a ton of fun next year.