Nintendo is steadily bringing its library of classic titles to its Nintendo Switch Online service, and now with the addition of Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games, the door has been opened for some of the company's essential handheld titles to find new life on a modern console. While popular Game Boy Advance games like Metroid Fusion, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga are already available on the service, Nintendo Switch Online shouldn't miss out on bringing the often overlooked two-pack of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past + Four Swords to the service as well.
The Game Boy Advance was no stranger to special treatment as it saw titles like Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3 as a remaster of the NES game, and Final Fantasy 1 and 2: Dawn of Souls, a compilation of the first two Final Fantasy games. The iterations of these games made perfect additions to the Game Boy Advance's library as they could now be played on the go thanks to the handheld system's portability. With Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3 already available through Nintendo Switch Online, this Legend of Zelda series compilation seems like another worthy addition.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past + Four Swords Would Be the Perfect Co-op Throwback
Originally released in 1991, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2002 along with the brand-new title, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. Although it mostly remained the same as its original SNES release, A Link to the Past did receive some visual and gameplay modifications to better suit the handheld console. It also included some bonus content not found in the SNES version, such as a new dungeon that was unlockable after beating the game and Four Swords.
While having this classic title in a portable format was nice, the real draw to the pack was the new, multiplayer-centric title The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. This game took the puzzle-solving, dungeon-crawling aspects of single-player The Legend of Zelda titles and translated them into a co-op experience for 2-to-4 players. Working together to complete each dungeon, players must think strategically with their partners to solve puzzles in randomized dungeons while only being able to hold one item at a time. This gameplay setup forced players to rely on one another in order to succeed and help lay the foundation for several future titles in the series.
Although the ultimate goal was to complete the dungeon co-operatively, the player with the most rupees by the end of each dungeon would be rewarded, and the first to reach the goal would also be granted a Heart Container. This system created an element of friendly competition among teammates that helped keep the gameplay fresh and exciting. Nintendo titles that came after would feature competitive co-op like in Super Mario 3D World, continuing the tradition of pitting friends against one another in what should otherwise be a co-op experience.
Even though the SNES version of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is already available on Nintendo Switch Online, that doesn't mean the Game Boy Advance version along with Four Swords should be disqualified. As an online service, having an online co-op for Four Swords seems like a no-brainer when GoldenEye 007 features online multiplayer via the service. Plus, the existence of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3 in addition to the NES version of Super Mario Bros. 3 on the service shows there's precedent for remasters and ports of games previously available to join the library of Nintendo Switch Online titles.
