Helios said:
I don't think playing it alone ruins the experience. There are elements that are uniqe to both the single-player and multi-player mode, and I personally enjoyed it as a "action Zelda" with stage selection. As for a re-release, yeah, I wouldn't mind that, but since I already beat the game I think I would like a new game in the series more. |
I have to disagree. First off, this is one of my favorite games of all time, and my favorite multiplayer game period. When I bought it a couple years ago, I picked up several cheap GBA's and link cables, and then, every once in a while, convinced friends to give it a go, slowly making my way through the game, always in multiplayer, but generally with a different set of players each time.
It is absolutely ingenious for multiplayer, and every facet of the game has been honed for this experience. I've tried playing parts of it alone a couple times, and I've also of course played 2-player, 3-player, and the full 4-player set, and I can tell you that the difference in enjoyment between 1p and 2p is exponential; moving up to 3 is an even better experience by far, and, when you can manage 4, be prepared for a unique kind of bickering co-op where you try desperately to coordinate your efforts to reach the end of the dungeon without falling into chaos.
The real innovation of the game is the clever overlap and tension between cooperation and competition; as you may know, there is a final screen after each level that ranks the players, and your points are determined by the force gems you have collected, how many enemies you defeated, and, in an interesting twist, everyone votes after the level, choosing the most helpful and least helpful player on the team, and those players lose and gain gems, respectively. In other words, you have to work together to get through the level, but you also want to try to beat the enemies and find the force gems first. However, if you are too greedy and start being a nuisance, you will get voted down by the group, so you have to walk a thin line between a team strategy and your need to win.
You've got to experience this with 3 or even 4 players. It's madness; halfway through a level, you might end up with someone pissed off because another player keeps accidently hitting them with bombs; or someone can't keep from using the fire rod in a tight space, so everyone keeps running around on fire; one teammate is bound to get angry and pick up another to throw them in a hole, then that player might just happen upon a secret area with force gems and get the last laugh. It can turn into a bizarre group therapy, with everyone trying to coax one player back into the fold after they've felt slighted by some double-cross involving force gems. You will undoubtedly screw over your teammates here and there when there are large force games at stake, but you will need everyone coordinated to make it though, so you'll only be apologizing for it later if you go too far.
It's also the perfect game for a Zelda series fan, with so many references to all the previous games in the series. I even has side-scrolling underground sections like in Link's Awakening. Anyhow, you've got to play it multiplayer, or you'll really be missing out on the experience.
More on point: yes, they either need to re-release this for Wii + DS, or, even better, make a sequel. I'd also be ecstatic over a port with a few new maps.
