Four Swords Anniversary Edition is out!

Today marks the release of The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition on the 3DS eShop and DSiWare. The multiplayer-only GBA game with 4 colored Links is now available with wireless play and a brand new single player adventure. Oh and did I mention it's free?

The game is available free for download from today until February 20, 2012 so anyone with a DSi, DSiXL/DSiLL, or 3DS then what are you doing reading this article? Boot up your dualscreened handheld gaming device and download that sucker! NOW!

I wish I could join in on the fun but all I've got is a DSLite. :( I'm a sad panda.

Legend of Zelda: Four Swords - Gameplay Trailer

During my 3rd year in Highschool, a friend of mine lent me his Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the GBA and in return I let him borrow my Mega Man Zero cartridge. We went on to trade more games over the summer.

To be honest, the only Zelda game I had played before that was Oracle of Ages which I didn't find very fun. When I played Link to the Past I thought the graphics where butt. why did Link have purple hair? I knew the GBA could do better than that (during that time I didn't know Link to the Past was originally on the SNES). Still I found a great deal of enjoyment from that little game and really opened my eyes to the Zelda franchise. But there was another game on that cartrige. It had a nicer sprited Link, a sword that could split 1 hero into four, and a kick ass intro. There was a problem. I couldn't play the game alone and always wondered how that game played. That game was The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords.

After around 2 years, I was finally able to play Four Swords with other people via an emulator. I didn't knew very few that owned a GBA. They didn't have a link cable nor did we really have the same games so emulator was the only way to go with this. I gotta say that it was a blast.

With Four Swords coming to DSiWare and wireless communication now the norm, this is the perfect time to have a Zelda Four Swords LAN Party.

Aside from the main Four Swords game, there looks be a ton of new content. From new areas and puzzles to a NES looking stage and a original Gameboy area.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition

Nintendo has set a release date for The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition, a port of the 2004 Gamecube title The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. Scheduled for release on September 28, 2011, the game will be available for download on the DSi, DSi XL, and the 3DS. The download will be free until February 20, 2012.

Four Swords Adventures was a great little Zelda title on the Gamecube but it was not meant to be played alone. However getting other people to join your game was a bit of a hassle. What with each person needing to have their own GBA and each needing it's own GBA Gamecube cable. The Anniversary Edition is said to have a "enhance new single=player mode" but since you can connect to other players wirelessly now, I'd say it's time to kick some Ganon butt!

Source [Destructoid]

Kirby Mass Attack

Looks like the DS hasn't been completely forgotten yet.

Known as Atsumete! Kirby in Japan, you take control of not 1, not 2, but what looks to be up to 7 (maybe more) Kirbys at the same time. From the trailer, it looks like you control them via the touchscreen. You can attack, jump, or direct the little marshmallows by tapping, draggin and flicking the touchscreen using the stylus.

I'm glad to see that Nintendo is still giving the DS some love by releasing new games for it. To all you 3DS owners, don't forget that it's backwards compatible with DS games.

Kirby Mass Attack is schedules for release on September 19, 2011 in North America.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5T9eVfuiOo&w=560&h=349]

Hands on - Nintendo DSi XL

I currently own a Nintendo DS Lite and was never really interested in trading it in when the DSi came out. Nintendo then announced that the DSi will be giving some steroids to grow into the DSi XL (LL for Japan) with bigger screens and... thats it.

Conceptually you'd think it wouldn't matter cause it'll still be sporting the same resolution and the games will look stretched out. But after seeing and handling a DSi XL for the first time, the bigger screens do make an impact. Navigating the touch screen is a breeze with all the free space and the games do look impressive on the bigger screens compared to my DS Lite.

Now I have heard complaints that games that use sprites don't look all that good since they're stretched out and you can point out each pixel but I have also heard that games that use 3D graphics look superb on the XL. The whole stretched sprites thing doesn't really bother me enough to make me not like it but I completely agree with the statement of 3D games looking better on the XL.

I won't go out and trade in my DS Lite this very moment but I gotta say that if you don't have a DS/DSi and you don't mind the girth of the XL but want to play on the bigger screens then consider getting the XL. I can honestly say that the XL is an easy recommend for me and with the 3DS already out, I'm sure the prices for these past generation Nintendo handhelds will go down in a heartbeat.