Recently, The Legend of Zelda Four Swords got an updated rerelease on the 3DS eShop. But because until now guides for the game are scarce and its difficult to find the solution to some of the puzzles as a result, i've decided to write a mini guide of sorts which could hold you over until more in depth walkthroughs have been written. Here's the first guide to the Legend of Zelda Four Swords, 25th Anniversary Edition.
Secrets/Unlockables
Master Sword (shoots sword beams): Complete the Realm of Memories
Realm of Memories: Defeat Vaati for the first time
Hero's Trial: Collect 30 000 rupees in total. They can come from any level in the game.
Hurricane Spin: Beat the Hero's Trial for the first time
Golden Key: Collect 3000 rupees in any one level
Hero Key: Collect 5000 rupees in any one level
More of Vaati's Palace: Collect all three Golden Keys
True final dungeon: Collect all three Hero Keys
Boss Guide
Note: This guide is assuming you're playing through the single player mode. Multiple people playing at once will find these bosses much easier.
Manhandla (Plant from Sea of Trees)
The first boss you encounter in the standard level order, and unfortunately, the most annoying one bar Vaati in single player.
First of all, he'll have four heads. These will then open to reveal flowers in a certain colour, and the Link wearing that colour clothing will have to go up to the flower and attack it with his sword to damage it. Enough hits to one flower will destroy it (giving you about sixty rupees in the process), and destroying all four will advance the battle to the next phase.
This is the annoying one. There'll be two handles on each side of the boss, and both must be pulled back for the boss's core to be exposed. However, the core can only be attacked by the colour of Link that matches its colour, and the boss will generate one or two 'heads' that move around and shoot nuts at the player characters. This makes the whole thing a sort of 'divert the boss's attention' game, and one which is quite a bit harder with only one moving character being controllable at once. Still, if you can do this and attack the core a bit, the boss is defeated and you get the first key to Vaati's Palace.
Delus Zol (Talus Cave Boss)
Of all the foes you'll face, this is probably the easiest one, being slow, not particularly hard to dodge and having a fairly simple weakness that doesn't initially involve colour coding.
You'll first find the boss stuck in a block of ice at the far side of the room. No, it doesn't break out on its own, so you have all the time in the world to make sure both characters have the Pegasus Boots and are ready for the boss fight. When you want to start the fight, attack the ice block until it breaks.
The boss will now bounce around the room in a fairly simple pattern (it's basically a square, and he doesn't really aim for Link). You have to charge him when he's on the floor with the Pegasus Boots to knock him backwards. Then do the same again and again (when he's knocked back, use the boots again immediately to keep sending him back) until he lands in the ice and freezes again. Attack with your sword, and he'll break out and fight Link again.
Next, he might cause some icicles to drop from the ceiling, so just avoid them. He'll later split into four, as you've guessed one's the real boss and the other three are non solid illusions. The real one has a shadow, so charge it to destroy the fakes and knock him back into the ice as usual.
Finally, when he's about to be defeated, he'll become a small round thing with four orbs attached to, him each of a different colour. You must now attack the orb that corresponds to the colour of Link you're controlling, but you can only see the orbs of the other colours. This makes it a bit of a memory game, switch to a different character to see what orb to attack, then switch back and attack it to damage the boss. Soon enough he'll be defeated.
Great Flame (Death Mountain boss)
Not a very original boss this, he looks way too similar to Hot Head from Link's Awakening and Fryguy from Super Mario Bros 2. Still, I'd say this boss is pretty much the 'annoying' one, since while he doesn't do a lot of damage with each attack, most of the ones he does do send Link running around the room with his back side on fire and waste significant amount of time when they hit.
His main attack is to fire orbs which are coloured the same as one of the playable characters. Said version of Link must hit the orb back at the boss, at which point they'll either hit or change colour again, so the other Link must hit the orb back. Eventually, the boss will be hit and all the flames will fly around. Most of them are 'fake' (die in one hit), but one is really the boss and must be hit as much as possible until he reforms. Repeat the process while avoiding the nigh on meteor storm of raining flames that he fires and he'll eventually be defeated.
Vaati
Vaati, being the final boss of the game (in fact, this was his first ever appearance in the Zelda series as a whole!), is a bit trickier than the others and is kind of like a final exam boss so to speak, a mixture of elements taken from each boss you've fought so far as to test your skills from throughout the main adventure.
However, he has two forms, and the first is just... well, there. Here, he possesses a statue of himself and flies around on a whirlwind, trying to suck up Link and steal his rupees. Considering the arena hands out bombs like they're candy, I'm sure you can figure out what to do here... throw the bombs into the tornado so they hit Vaati!
Unfortunately, this part is kind of luck based because he sometimes throws bombs away from himself at Link, while other times they'll explode with just the right timing to damage him. But keep at it (and for the love of God stay away from the whirlwind when he moves around the arena) and you'll 'defeat' him, supposedly ending the battle and revealing some warp tiles and stuff...
Oh, did you really think that was it? As I said at the start, two forms, and a final boss which only has one isn't much an opponent, is it?
No, he then attacks in his true form in an arena set among the starry sky. This is where he starts using attacks which resemble each of the earlier bosses, his first being to shoot orbs of various colours that have to be deflected by the respective Link. He'll also grow two arms, which have flowers on the end. You know, like the Mandhandla boss. Attack with the right colour of Link, and he'll take damage, but mess up and he'll set you on fire.
Finally, he'll generate a whole bunch of bombs, including one of the same colour as one of the Links. Said version of Link must bat it back at the boss to damage him, while watching out as to avoid the attack, wherein he'll shoot the whole ring of bombs at once.
Eventually though (and you don't need to even counter every type of attack once), he'll be defeated and sucked into the Four Sword, sealing him away and bringing you to the game's ending.
General Puzzle Tips and Stuff
Level Tips/Advice
If you're stuck in the first Link's Awakening style area in the Realm of Memories, remember that there's a crystal on a column that has to be picked up and set down in different areas. Doing this generates enemies (to defeat for a key), removes the cement blocks found around the level like on the other side of some pits, and some other stuff.
Remember that you can pick up and throw Link across a pit while controlling a different one. This is essential in the NES Legend of Zelda graveyard area with lots of tiles that send you bouncing around, you have to throw Link over quite a few of them to get to otherwise unreachable areas.
You have two characters remember! Indeed, many puzzles in the bonus areas require one version of Link to be doing something on one side of the room, and the other something else on the other side. For example, one of the Hero's Trial dungeons has you hit an eye switch with one Link and cross some bridges that appear with the other.
Stuck on that block puzzle in the Tal Tal Heights part of the Realm of Memories? Here's a good hint... you aren't trying to move a statue onto the switch at the lower far left side, it's impossible. Instead, have one copy of Link stand there, then move the statues and the other version of Link onto the other switches. Also, each Link should be the other side of the area while doing this as to faciliate actually moving the statues around.
If you're stuck on a puzzle in one of the Realm of Memories dungeon sections, which has six switches which don't seem to do anything, you have to hit two specific ones at once. Before you came in, the switches you need to hit had a rupee standing on them, the ones you didn't had a black rupee on them.
To access the part of Death Mountain with a bunch of stone blocks and some treasure chests, you need to reveal all the treasure chests. This makes a large rupee appear and also opens the door into the sealed room.
Remember that not all possible areas have enough rupees to get the Hero Keys or even Golden Keys. Don't be afraid to return to the map screen and reset the level if you get a badly designed area without enough.
You are never going to reach 5000 rupees purely via in level rupees. So you'll need to also rely on level end bonuses, boss defeated time bonuses, the rupees that appear once you kill a boss and respawning enemies in levels. This means you should hope for a bunch of tough enemies to be randomly generated, like Moblins, Wizrobes, Gibdos or even Darknuts and repeatedly kill them for a few thousand rupees.
When carrying the crystals in levels, put them on a pedestal every now and then to reduce the amount of backtracking required if you drop it. Otherwise you will learn to hate this game mechanic due to the randomly spawning monsters that can easily block paths or just get in the way.
Enemy Hints
To defeat archer Moblins more easily, use the sword beam constantly. You'll knock any arrows out of the air, and be able to defeat them from a safe distance. You can also do the same by spamming arrows from the bow.
If you're having problems with enemies like Moblins and Gibdos, stand the other side of a stone block to them and attack them through the block. You're now safe to their attacks and can pick them off at your leisure.
Utilise the environment! If you want to defeat Red (respawning) Stalfos more easily, as well as easily take care of Moblins and Ball and Chain Soldiers, stand the other side of a pit and shoot them full of arrows or sword beams from a safe distance. You can also try and knock them into pits, which kills them instantly.
If you're really, really desperate, stand in a corner and swing the sword like a lunatic until everything's dead. Takes away most of the fun from the game, but it worked in Zelda 2 times, and it works to much of an extent now.
The magnet can be used to pull another character across a pit by having the one with the magnet stand on the safe side and the other one on the other side. Get the magnet user to hold the magnet button on, and move them across the bottomless pit. Now change back to the other character and press X to teleport the magnet user to your current location.
Finally, the four normal levels have multiple possible layouts due to being semi randomly generated. If your'e not doing too well, quit the level, come back and hope the random number generator works in your favour this time.
Secrets/Unlockables
Master Sword (shoots sword beams): Complete the Realm of Memories
Realm of Memories: Defeat Vaati for the first time
Hero's Trial: Collect 30 000 rupees in total. They can come from any level in the game.
Hurricane Spin: Beat the Hero's Trial for the first time
Golden Key: Collect 3000 rupees in any one level
Hero Key: Collect 5000 rupees in any one level
More of Vaati's Palace: Collect all three Golden Keys
True final dungeon: Collect all three Hero Keys
Boss Guide
Note: This guide is assuming you're playing through the single player mode. Multiple people playing at once will find these bosses much easier.
Manhandla (Plant from Sea of Trees)
The first boss you encounter in the standard level order, and unfortunately, the most annoying one bar Vaati in single player.
First of all, he'll have four heads. These will then open to reveal flowers in a certain colour, and the Link wearing that colour clothing will have to go up to the flower and attack it with his sword to damage it. Enough hits to one flower will destroy it (giving you about sixty rupees in the process), and destroying all four will advance the battle to the next phase.
This is the annoying one. There'll be two handles on each side of the boss, and both must be pulled back for the boss's core to be exposed. However, the core can only be attacked by the colour of Link that matches its colour, and the boss will generate one or two 'heads' that move around and shoot nuts at the player characters. This makes the whole thing a sort of 'divert the boss's attention' game, and one which is quite a bit harder with only one moving character being controllable at once. Still, if you can do this and attack the core a bit, the boss is defeated and you get the first key to Vaati's Palace.
Delus Zol (Talus Cave Boss)
Of all the foes you'll face, this is probably the easiest one, being slow, not particularly hard to dodge and having a fairly simple weakness that doesn't initially involve colour coding.
You'll first find the boss stuck in a block of ice at the far side of the room. No, it doesn't break out on its own, so you have all the time in the world to make sure both characters have the Pegasus Boots and are ready for the boss fight. When you want to start the fight, attack the ice block until it breaks.
The boss will now bounce around the room in a fairly simple pattern (it's basically a square, and he doesn't really aim for Link). You have to charge him when he's on the floor with the Pegasus Boots to knock him backwards. Then do the same again and again (when he's knocked back, use the boots again immediately to keep sending him back) until he lands in the ice and freezes again. Attack with your sword, and he'll break out and fight Link again.
Next, he might cause some icicles to drop from the ceiling, so just avoid them. He'll later split into four, as you've guessed one's the real boss and the other three are non solid illusions. The real one has a shadow, so charge it to destroy the fakes and knock him back into the ice as usual.
Finally, when he's about to be defeated, he'll become a small round thing with four orbs attached to, him each of a different colour. You must now attack the orb that corresponds to the colour of Link you're controlling, but you can only see the orbs of the other colours. This makes it a bit of a memory game, switch to a different character to see what orb to attack, then switch back and attack it to damage the boss. Soon enough he'll be defeated.
Great Flame (Death Mountain boss)
Not a very original boss this, he looks way too similar to Hot Head from Link's Awakening and Fryguy from Super Mario Bros 2. Still, I'd say this boss is pretty much the 'annoying' one, since while he doesn't do a lot of damage with each attack, most of the ones he does do send Link running around the room with his back side on fire and waste significant amount of time when they hit.
His main attack is to fire orbs which are coloured the same as one of the playable characters. Said version of Link must hit the orb back at the boss, at which point they'll either hit or change colour again, so the other Link must hit the orb back. Eventually, the boss will be hit and all the flames will fly around. Most of them are 'fake' (die in one hit), but one is really the boss and must be hit as much as possible until he reforms. Repeat the process while avoiding the nigh on meteor storm of raining flames that he fires and he'll eventually be defeated.
Vaati
Vaati, being the final boss of the game (in fact, this was his first ever appearance in the Zelda series as a whole!), is a bit trickier than the others and is kind of like a final exam boss so to speak, a mixture of elements taken from each boss you've fought so far as to test your skills from throughout the main adventure.
However, he has two forms, and the first is just... well, there. Here, he possesses a statue of himself and flies around on a whirlwind, trying to suck up Link and steal his rupees. Considering the arena hands out bombs like they're candy, I'm sure you can figure out what to do here... throw the bombs into the tornado so they hit Vaati!
Unfortunately, this part is kind of luck based because he sometimes throws bombs away from himself at Link, while other times they'll explode with just the right timing to damage him. But keep at it (and for the love of God stay away from the whirlwind when he moves around the arena) and you'll 'defeat' him, supposedly ending the battle and revealing some warp tiles and stuff...
Oh, did you really think that was it? As I said at the start, two forms, and a final boss which only has one isn't much an opponent, is it?
No, he then attacks in his true form in an arena set among the starry sky. This is where he starts using attacks which resemble each of the earlier bosses, his first being to shoot orbs of various colours that have to be deflected by the respective Link. He'll also grow two arms, which have flowers on the end. You know, like the Mandhandla boss. Attack with the right colour of Link, and he'll take damage, but mess up and he'll set you on fire.
Finally, he'll generate a whole bunch of bombs, including one of the same colour as one of the Links. Said version of Link must bat it back at the boss to damage him, while watching out as to avoid the attack, wherein he'll shoot the whole ring of bombs at once.
Eventually though (and you don't need to even counter every type of attack once), he'll be defeated and sucked into the Four Sword, sealing him away and bringing you to the game's ending.
General Puzzle Tips and Stuff
Level Tips/Advice
If you're stuck in the first Link's Awakening style area in the Realm of Memories, remember that there's a crystal on a column that has to be picked up and set down in different areas. Doing this generates enemies (to defeat for a key), removes the cement blocks found around the level like on the other side of some pits, and some other stuff.
Remember that you can pick up and throw Link across a pit while controlling a different one. This is essential in the NES Legend of Zelda graveyard area with lots of tiles that send you bouncing around, you have to throw Link over quite a few of them to get to otherwise unreachable areas.
You have two characters remember! Indeed, many puzzles in the bonus areas require one version of Link to be doing something on one side of the room, and the other something else on the other side. For example, one of the Hero's Trial dungeons has you hit an eye switch with one Link and cross some bridges that appear with the other.
Stuck on that block puzzle in the Tal Tal Heights part of the Realm of Memories? Here's a good hint... you aren't trying to move a statue onto the switch at the lower far left side, it's impossible. Instead, have one copy of Link stand there, then move the statues and the other version of Link onto the other switches. Also, each Link should be the other side of the area while doing this as to faciliate actually moving the statues around.
If you're stuck on a puzzle in one of the Realm of Memories dungeon sections, which has six switches which don't seem to do anything, you have to hit two specific ones at once. Before you came in, the switches you need to hit had a rupee standing on them, the ones you didn't had a black rupee on them.
To access the part of Death Mountain with a bunch of stone blocks and some treasure chests, you need to reveal all the treasure chests. This makes a large rupee appear and also opens the door into the sealed room.
Remember that not all possible areas have enough rupees to get the Hero Keys or even Golden Keys. Don't be afraid to return to the map screen and reset the level if you get a badly designed area without enough.
You are never going to reach 5000 rupees purely via in level rupees. So you'll need to also rely on level end bonuses, boss defeated time bonuses, the rupees that appear once you kill a boss and respawning enemies in levels. This means you should hope for a bunch of tough enemies to be randomly generated, like Moblins, Wizrobes, Gibdos or even Darknuts and repeatedly kill them for a few thousand rupees.
When carrying the crystals in levels, put them on a pedestal every now and then to reduce the amount of backtracking required if you drop it. Otherwise you will learn to hate this game mechanic due to the randomly spawning monsters that can easily block paths or just get in the way.
Enemy Hints
To defeat archer Moblins more easily, use the sword beam constantly. You'll knock any arrows out of the air, and be able to defeat them from a safe distance. You can also do the same by spamming arrows from the bow.
If you're having problems with enemies like Moblins and Gibdos, stand the other side of a stone block to them and attack them through the block. You're now safe to their attacks and can pick them off at your leisure.
Utilise the environment! If you want to defeat Red (respawning) Stalfos more easily, as well as easily take care of Moblins and Ball and Chain Soldiers, stand the other side of a pit and shoot them full of arrows or sword beams from a safe distance. You can also try and knock them into pits, which kills them instantly.
If you're really, really desperate, stand in a corner and swing the sword like a lunatic until everything's dead. Takes away most of the fun from the game, but it worked in Zelda 2 times, and it works to much of an extent now.
The magnet can be used to pull another character across a pit by having the one with the magnet stand on the safe side and the other one on the other side. Get the magnet user to hold the magnet button on, and move them across the bottomless pit. Now change back to the other character and press X to teleport the magnet user to your current location.
Finally, the four normal levels have multiple possible layouts due to being semi randomly generated. If your'e not doing too well, quit the level, come back and hope the random number generator works in your favour this time.
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