ゼルダの伝説 4つの剣+ #1

The Legend of Zelda #6

by Akira Himekawa

Link, now a Hylian Knight, serves Princess Zelda at Hyrule Castle. When Shadow Link kidnaps Princess Zelda, Link once again must prepare himself to defeat the forces of evil. To do so, he needs the legendary Four Sword, but getting it means releasing and then battling the ancient evil Vaati. The Four Sword also splits Link into four different versions of himself, and these new Links aren't team players! Rescuing Zelda, beating Vaati, and getting his wild alter-egos under control isn't going to be easy!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Video Games, Adventure, Comics Manga

Comic

First published August 4, 2009

About the author

Akira Himekawa is the collaboration of two women, A. Honda and S. Nagano. Together they have created nine manga adventures featuring Link and the popular video game world of The Legend of Zelda, including Ocarina of Time, Oracle of Seasons and Four Swords. Their most recent work, Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, was serialized in Shogaku Rokunensei.

Reviews

[Nora Cayetano · Rating 2 out of 5]

Creo que estoy siendo demasiado dura con una adaptación a manga infantil de uno de los juegos menos reconocidos en la saga de Zelda… ¡pero no puedo evitarlo!

Link, un caballero del reino de Hyrule, nunca ha sido bueno trabajando en equipo ni siguiendo las órdenes de su comandante, pero es uno de los mejores y más reconocidos héroes a la redonda. Su amistad con la Princesa Zelda es lo único que pareciera ablandarlo.
Un día, presintiendo que algo maligno se cernía sobre el reino, la princesa y sus doncellas acuden al santuario en donde descansa la espada en la que fue sellado el malvado hechicero Vaati, y Link las acompaña. Una vez ahí, la princesa y las doncellas son secuestras por una sombra misteriosa que se hace llamar un héroe del pasado.
Al tratar de rescatar a su amiga, Link toma la espada de la leyenda y se precipita a luchar contra la sombra. Pero lo que no contaba era que la espada lo dividiría en 4 diferentes Links y que, al ser retirada de su pedestal, liberaría al temido Vaati.
Con la princesa desaparecida y el reino a merced de las sombras, los cuatro Links deberán aprender a trabajar juntos si quieren ser los héroes de la historia.



Bueno, primero que nada quisiera comentar que me da risa cómo es que a la amiga a la que le compré el manga sólo le interesaba tener en su colección los títulos en los que apareciera Vaati. ¡Y no la juzgo!: yo estoy haciendo lo mismo aparentemente.
Ya después de eso comento que es como una mezcla de los juegos The Legend of Zelda: For Swords y The Legend of Zelda: For Swords Adventures. Ambos juegos vienen siendo aventuras multijugador que no se vendieron tanto como Nintendo esperaba, pero que para mí son especiales porque son 2/3 de los juegos en donde aparece mi villano favorito de toda el universo de Zelda: Vaati.

En el primero de los juegos, tenemos una trama en la que solamente Link y Zelda son los que acuden a revisar que el sello que mantiene atrapado a Vaati. Al llegar ahí se dan cuenta que han llegado tarde y que Vaati ya ha escapado. Pero los planes del mago de los vientos no involucrar solamente sembrar el pánico, no: secuestra a la princesa y se la lleva a su palacio en los cielos, con la idea de casarse con ella…

*sigh*.
Oh. Be still, my Little shipper heart...






Como la espada que mantenía atrapado a Vaati es lo único que Link tiene a la mano, guiado por una misteriosa hada, decide que es momento de empuñarla, aún y si con eso se divide en cuatro, como el héroe de la leyenda que tuvo que multiplicarse a sí mismo para contener la ira de Vaati.

En The Legend of Zelda: For Swords Adventures la historia es más o menos la misma, sólo que aquí es donde se menciona a las doncellas que acompañan a Zelda y es en este juego donde también es Shadow Link quien se lleva a la princesa, no Vaati (que como quiera es liberado, gracias a Link).


Sea como sea, el manga contiene elementos de ambos juegos, más del segundo que del primero (o eso es lo que he puedo decir al terminar sólo con la primera de las dos partes).

El manga no está tan mal. Te entretiene, pero no tanto como los juegos. Claro que la razón para que los juegos fracasaran en ventas se debió a los obstáculos que uno tiene que sortear si los quiere jugar: se requieren cartuchos extra, cables de conexión, amigos de verdad interesados y esa clase de cosas. Los mangas permiten que la historia se conozca más.

Puede que mi mayor problema con el manga resida en las ilustraciones. Akira Himekawa ha demostrado ser un equipo creativo capaz de cosas hermosas y buenas adaptaciones. Pero mientras que algunos cuadros lucen así:






Otros se ven molestamente cómicamente infantiles. (Pero me callo, porque no encontré imágenes buenas que expusieran mi punto –más que la siguiente, que es el arte de que va previo a un capítulo:


Red Link en su mejor momento



y, claro, es un manga enfocado al público infantil. Por eso me CALLO).



Ya finalizando, las personalidades de los Links me causaron un poco de problemas: el verde es el motivado; el morado es el Sasuke Uchiha serio del equipo; y el azul y el rojo son el temperamental y el inocentemente optimista, respectivamente...



Estoy más acostumbrada a ver al rojo como el héroe malhumorado e impulsivo y al azul como el intelectual del equipo. Creí que esta versión podría ser una excepción que bien se puede pasar por alto (sobre todo por el asunto de que los dibujos son a blanco y negro)… Pero no. Ambos me parecieron pesados e insoportables y todos mis headcanons chocaban entre sí.

¡Ah! Y hablando de headcanons: parece ser que esta adaptación es el origen de la parejita de Shadow Link x Violet Link… The more you know ✩



Así que no lo considero una pérdida total de tiempo y/o de dinero. Pero no siento especial interés de conseguir la segunda parte. Tipo, sé que en algún momento de mi vida lo haré y la leeré y la colocaré junto a sus hermanos en mi librero, pero no es algo que me muera de ganas por hacer.

[Collin Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Link must draw the Four sword when Zelda and her hand maidens are kidnapped by the forces of the evil wind mage vaati! But then he splits into four versions of himself! Each one reflecting one of his character traits! The four of them must learn how to band together to defeat vaati before its too late! So many exclamation marks!!!!!

While I would haves loved to see an adaptation of links awakening connecting to the Oracle manga (they ended that with him going off on more adventures so they could have used that link for the koholint adventure (and no I won't shut up about how bad I want a links awakening manga)) this is still a good installment to follow the Oracle manga with. It's loads of fun to see the different versions of link interact with one another, as well as to see shadow link cause chaos. There's good character drama here, too, with this ending at the heroes low point in a very literal way. It can get confusing keeping track of the links since this isn't colored but they each are drawn slightly different across the eyes so it's usually pretty easy to follow anyways. All in all a fun first part!

[Alex B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I myself have been a huge Zelda fan sense I was 5. And this book gives the sense of comedy, and adventure. I gotta say, I love the 'breaking the 4th wall' moments in the book. This manga series really builds character and lore on Link then It would in the video games (due to not talking and all). This is one of many books in the Zelda manga series, and I can't wait to read the others.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept of a black and white series with four identical characters only identifiable by their color is perhaps a stretch.
Their personalities do begin to pull them apart but it is often quite difficult to keep track of which Link is which, especially so since Green and Blue are so much alike and Red and Violet are both quite like one another.

The story descends quite readily into a bickering pile of Links who refuse to work with one another. It actually fits the game quite well since it was intended to be a cooperative multiplayer experience and was designed with a competitive edge to it.

The art work is always fantastic, but in this book the panels are often cluttered with one or two too many Links to allow much else.
Eventually they are mostly separated and this is where the actual story-telling begins to take a bit more presence and redeems the goofy antics and perceivable flaws of the rest of the material.

Good if you are into silly banter. Poor on narrative and subject depth.

[Macs Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably the best of the Zelda manga I've read so far. The plot is captivating and feels like a massive puzzle despite never having played this particular game. This comes down to a large cast of characters who each contribute to the solution in varied ways. Four Swords was definitely the "cool" manga to have in my third grade class!

[Edward Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books ever, but one thing I didn't like was how fast the story goes because in the games (and yes I know it's ment to take longer but I still wish it would have showed the struggle it takes to defeat the enemy's ) it takes way longer so that's why I dated it a four

[Cha Cha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is from the video game Four Swords. I thought that it was awesome.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

The story is very basic and not impressive, but regardless this was such a cozy read for me and the art is so cute.

[Juliette Sarrazin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Magus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable if a little predictable. Good for what it is! The artwork looks very expressive and dynamic.

[Mega · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, out of all of the adaptations that I was gonna be experiencing when reading through these Legend of Zelda mangas, I never thought that Oracle of Seasons would be the one that would win me over the most of the bunch so far, but thankfully, it did, and I am very happy with that. Not only did it still fit in the proper Zelda staples and elements of the universe while also feeling like a proper enough adaptation of the game, but it also took things in a different direction then I was expecting, leading to a genuinely really fun and entertaining read all the way through that definitely soared to the top to become my favorite of the bunch. And on top of that, Oracle of Ages also managed to be great too, what with it not being quite as good as Oracle of Seasons, but also taking its own approach when it came to telling its story that was really interesting to see, while also having plenty of great moments and all of the same great characteristics the series is known for as well, making for yet another solid entry in this solid series. Unfortunately for me though, the Oracle saga is now over, which means we now have to move onto the next adaptation in this Zelda manga series, and the one that I was getting to next wasn't necessarily one I was all too excited to jump into, that entry being The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords manga....... Volume 1. Because apparently this game was just SO BIG, it needed two parts.

Honestly, out of all of the manga adaptations in this series that The Legend of Zelda series had gotten, this was one of the ones that I was least excited for. That's not to say that I thought it was gonna be bad, or that I hated it, as I did enjoy both Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures whenever I played both of those a good couple of years back, but they are also the kind of games that don't feel like they really would fit well in this kind of series. Yes, they do still have the standard Zelda plot, enemies, items and all that jazz you would expect them to, but they are also severely lacking when it comes to any proper story or character moments beyond what is initially presented to us, since those games are primarily just multiplayer chaos and nothing more, so it made me wonder, how the hell were they going to adapt those two games into a manga, let alone two volumes of one? Well, I was about to find out by checking it out myself, and now that I have read the first volume of this thing, I gotta say, as a whole, it's pretty good. It is definitely yet another drop in quality compared to the previous two manga adaptations, not being nearly as fun, entertaining or interesting when compared to the Oracle saga, but it still manages to be pretty solid on its own either way, giving us more of what we love out of these stories while also doing a good job at adapting the game so far, and even with it throwing in its own twist on the formula that did make things more interesting to read through.

The story is, once again, pretty much exactly what you would expect, following along the Four Swords storyline pretty carefully and not having too many surprises or detours in said storyline to make it anymore interesting, but it works well enough for what it is, and the fans of the original game will still get a kick out of it regardless, the characters are pretty good, where the main four Links that we follow around this time are great, with each one having mostly one-note personalities, but each of these personalities are not only great to see in action, but they bounce off each other wonderfully to make for a wonderful main team here, although that can't be said for the rest of the characters, because aside from Shadow Link, none of the other characters here are really all that memorable, lovable or interesting, which was kind of disappointing, the writing was pretty good, to where most of it is what you would expect, but they manage to provide enough funny moments and exaggerated lines of dialogue to where you can't help but smile reading through it all the same, the art is great once again, giving us a new art style to fit more in line with Four Swords that, while not being nearly as good as the art styles from the previous mangas, does fit well and has plenty of great looking panels and character expressions that can be seen throughout the whole thing, and the action is also pretty good to, to where it isn't anything nearly as amazing as what we got in some of the other manga, but most of it is generally very fun, action packed and entertaining, which is all fine by me.

However, with all of that being said, as I had already previously mentioned, I didn't end up enjoying this part of this adaptation so far compared to the other ones we have already discussed, and there are a couple reasons for that. For one thing, most of what you get here is mostly what you would expect from one of these mangas, both if you have played the original game and know this series really well, not doing anything too new or amazing when compared to the previous mangas aside from the fact that there are four Links now, which does help distinguish this story a lot more, but still, if you are one who is not that big of a fan of Four Swords, Zelda, or these kinds of stories in general, you probably won't like this one either. What also doesn't help this book's case at all is the fact that, in general, this entry just feels like it has a general drop in quality compared to the previous adaptations. I wouldn't say that anything here is bad at all, as it is still being helmed by the same two people from before, and they each still do a great job here with what they have to work with, but everything here from the story to the characters to some of the action scenes, all of it just feels like a downgrade compared to what we had before, even in the Oracle saga, and if you have read these books, then you probably know what I mean. Even how this adaptation changes up what we got in the original game here too isn't really all that interesting, mostly just being a series of situations that the four Links get into until the last couple of chapters, when the four of them get separated and now have to try to reunite, while also learning some important lessons along the way. Those last few chapters are definitely the best part of the whole package, but they don't necessarily save it too much from everything else, despite it all still being great. Then again though, this is only Part 1 of this particular adaptation, so who knows, maybe they are saving all of the good stuff for Part 2, so we will just have to wait and see. But anyways, there is one more quick little complaint that I wanna bring up before I get to the final thoughts, that being that it can be hard to tell which Link is which sometimes. To the manga's credit, they do a great job at making each Link feel distinct enough to where you can figure out which is which most of the time, but sometimes, it can be kind of confusing, especially given the fact that you have no colors to base anything off of here. Again though, that's only a very little complaint, so it isn't really anything too important.

Overall, despite a general drop in quality compared to the previous adaptations, as well as it having most of the typical problems you would expect from one of these manga, Part 1 of the Four Swords adaptation was still really solid all around, giving us a simple, yet still pretty satisfying start to this chapter in the Legend of Zelda universe while also giving us plenty more of what we love from the series, and some new choices and directions that the series takes which we have also never seen before at this point, which made it so that I had a really good time reading it all around, what with its simple, yet still fun and entertaining enough story, a set of great main characters and some.... not as good side characters, paired up with some pretty good writing all around, mostly the same great art as always and plenty of fun action scenes throughout that will keep you entertained and reading all the way up to the very end. I would recommend it for those that are huge fans of the original Four Swords games, as well as those who are big fans of Zelda and these kinds of stories in general, as while it may not reach the same heights as that of some of the other adaptations so far, it still does enough write to where you will still be able to enjoy a lot of what it has to offer, which is all I care about at the end of the day. But anyway, before I go ahead and end off the review, can we talk about how there is a fourth-wall breaking joke in this manga? Seriously, there's a part where one of the Links addresses the reader directly, which I definitely was not expecting from a series like this at any point. Let's hope that's the extent of where they will take that kind of humor though, or else this series will end up becoming shitty, and that would be terrible.

Book #20

[cobwebbing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just reread this last night after multiple nightmares in a row because it's the ultimate comfort food. I originally read it back when it released; I was twelve years old at the time (I'm twenty-four now) and it's definitely partly the nostalgia talking but this duology is one of my favorite manga series of all time. The artwork is beautiful as always from this team, the writing goes above and beyond the source material, and what's ultimately a simple story shines thanks to the quirky characters.

I've seen the criticism levied that it's difficult to tell the Links apart (it's in black and white, after all) but in my opinion Akira Himekawa did a great job of distinguishing them generally with their mannerisms and details like their eyes, eyebrows, etc. The only two Links I think are really forgivable to mix up are Blue and Green as their designs and personalities can have some overlap (angry and determined with fittingly narrowed eyes) but even they have details like the shading and eyebrows tweaked accordingly.

Shadow Link is my favorite because of course he is but Red is a close second. They're both really charming and sympathetic in drastically different ways.

The themes about selflessness and teamwork are predictable but appropriate and sweetly handled. If I had to give one criticism it'd be that Vaati and Ganon are a bit weak as villains. That's hardly unique to this particular Zelda mythos and it might just stand out here because Shadow Link is such a good anti-hero so it makes them seem that much weaker.

I can quote way too many parts of this from memory, to be honest. It's no exaggeration to say that it's shaped my work as a writer and I love it dearly.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I played some of the early Zelda games on my NES and Super Nintendo, I was never a huge fan of the franchise. I was more partial to the cutesiness and happy worlds of Mario and Pokémon, especially since the former had some excellent multiplayer games, such as Mario Kart 64. Still, I decided to give this manga a chance...and I was disappointed. A lack of color makes the whole four Links thing confusing, and the story wasn't all that fun. The artwork, however, was good, so I have to give the artists kudos on that. If you're a longtime Zelda fan, you likely will feel differently.

[Everett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was such a step up from both Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of ages and I felt like I was actively having fun when I read this, which isn't something that I always feel when I read, even with books that I liked. I felt very engaged the whole time, I thought the story was enjoyable, and there was a good balance between serious fights and interactions and comedic moments. I can see this book in particular being really good for young children because of the humor, the cutesy art style, and the fact that it's a pretty straightforward story. For all the rest of the Legend of Zelda books I had to do pretty extensive research after reading them so I would feel confident about the story and so I had enough knowledge to write my reviews. There were some times I had loads of questions about things that weren't explained in the book, but when I did a quick google search I was able to figure it out and not make a fool of myself in the review (Not like it mattered or anyone cares, because you don't need to have played the games before to enjoy the books). Of course I'll still do some extra research just to better understand the game and the characters, but I don't feel like I need it. Pretty much everything was explained and there aren't any holes in the story that make me feel like I'm out of the loop.

I really liked the four Links working together and I thought that Himekawa did a good job crafting each of their personalities and making sure that they fit well together while also getting each of their moments to shine. Obviously we have green, which is who we see as the "main Link," even though in reality there wasn't a main Link. Green retains the "brave leader" personality so it makes sense that he would be seen as the original, and green is the iconic color for Link's outfit anyway. Then we have Vio who I think I'm most like, and I liked that he was a bit more laid back than the rest of them. He balanced out Blue's hotheadedness, Red's breakdown, and Green's persistence. Next is Blue, who was amazing and perfect in every way, and then last but not least is Red, who was my favorite Link. He spends a fair amount of time getting weepy over the smallest things, and it was hilarious because it provided a bit of comedy in those in-between moments. I also really loved Blue and Red's relationship, and I thought it was really sweet. Maybe it's just me, but they seemed like the closest pair of the group, and it was really sweet, because those personalities are almost polar opposites.

I find Dark Link to be an interesting villain, and as of right now he's one of the most intriguing villains in the Legend of Zelda manga, and the only person who could compete would be Majora. I don't 100% understand how he came to be, because Vaati had been sealed, but he was able to open the seal and wreak havoc. This might have been explained but I'm too lazy to go back and check. Answers are never completely straight when it comes to Legend of Zelda lore, so sometimes you just have to accept things at face value and not think too deeply into things. I really like Shadow Link as an antagonist because everything he does feels personal, because he looks like Link. Even though he isn't Link or a split part of Link, he still acts like he is and uses that to his advantage. If he had been any old phantom, his taunts would have had little affect on Link because he would of just been another phantom, but by taking Link's appearance he can manipulate him into being scared of himself.

The only part of the book that really felt flawed to me was the montage/dream sequence after the four Links got split up. It would have been fine if I could tell them apart, but since this book doesn't have color, it felt like it was the same Link jumping around. And I did think that during my first read through, and when I was still confused when finishing it, then I realized my mistake and reread it. Sure, it's not impossible to tell the difference between the four of them: they all have different eyes, their clothes are shaded differently, they each act differently, and Green's sleeves are colored black (even though when Link first split into four they all had black sleeves before it randomly changed). I guess in hindsight it would seem really obvious that they were different people, but the transitions between Links were so muddled together that I can't blame myself, because it did feel like a muddled dream sequence. And to be fair, from reading reviews I can tell that plenty of people got the Links mixed up, so I don't feel bad that I got them mixed up as well.

++Potential spoilers ahead++

Although the scene of them being split up wasn't my favorite, I do think it effectively introduced the fact that there was a bigger threat than Vaati and Shadow Link. It was cool how as you went through it you learned a bit more about him: first with Blue being warned by the strange figure (whom we never see of again) that there is another enemy, then Vio hearing the name "Lord Ganon," and then seeing an ominous silhouette of Ganondorf once Green gets out of the pyramid. I don't entirely know why we saw Ganondorf's profile, seeing how he isn't in the story as a human, nor is the name Ganondorf mentioned, and in the book it's never even revealed how Ganon came to be. The only reason I could think that it was included was because he's iconic, and it served as a sort of "big reveal" for fans of the series. It was fine that way; i liked it, but it didn't really make sense to the story. Although, I will admit that the little Deku Scrubs marching around going "Hip, hip, hooray! Three cheers for Ganon!" was pretty cute.

I really enjoyed this book! I thought it was a fun adventure and I'm excited to see how the story continues from here. Obviously the four of them have yet to be reunited, but at the very least our favorite duo, Red and Blue, couldn't stay apart for long. I don't know what's going to happen now that Vio is on a different path, but it still seems like there's a bit of him inside who is looking out for the others, even though it's a given that Vio won't be on the same side as Shadow Link for long. Come on, Link always has been and always will be objectively good, and there's no changing it. Anyway, I can't wait to see what happens in the next book, and being the person I am, I'm looking forward to seeing Ganon the most, although so far none of the Ganon fights in these manga have really stood out to me, although I did love Link and Ganondorf's fight in Ocarina of Time Part 2.

[Hazel C Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing story. Best read with the second part as a singular story. Most of the Zelda Mangas do try to accurately try to tell the story of the games, but for the game of Four Swords Adventure, there isn't really a story to follow, meaning the writer could focus more on the story than appealing to fans. An amazing story about teamwork, the 4 links are distinct enough that I still find myself referring to this when people ask me about the personalities of the characters. The best of any of the Zelda Mangas; any fan of Zelda or Magna in general needs to read this.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great storyline and illustrations! I love the variations of Link!

[Krystal Caloia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good but since it was in black and white, it was a little difficult to tell which Link was which sometimes.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 6, an adaptation of a GameCube game from 2004.
When a shadow version of himself kidnaps Princess Zelda, Link draws the legendary Four Sword to try to save her. However, the power of the sword splits him into four disparate parts of his persona; Green, Red, Blue and Violet. The four Links must learn to work together if they're to defeat Shadow Link and the wind mage Vaati.

Whilst this is another enjoyable adventure for Link (even if the continuity between these stories is ropey at best) this is the first book of this series that I've read where the game mechanics are too obvious and feel like the story had to be written around them.
On top of that is the fact that one of the most important elements of this story, clearly derived from the game, is that the four (well, five) Links are multi-coloured. Why is that problematic? Because this book is illustrated in black and white. Although Himekawa endeavours to identify the different Links in several ways, including giving them distinct personalities, none of them ever really make it easy to tell which Link is which.

Despite all that, I did enjoy the concept of the different Links, including Shadow Link, and how one of them is lured from the side of good to the side of evil, showing that there is subtlety and complexity to Link, who could easily just be generically good and heroic.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *

[Blaine Bentley · Rating 5 out of 5]

To start off, my only complaint is that this book wasn’t in full color. With Link separating into four different Links and the only differentiation is the color of their clothes, it would have been nice to have it in color to visually see who was who. The manga did a great job of giving each Link a different personality, so it was easier to differentiate in the dialogue and facial expressions of the Links. However, it still would have been really beneficial to have more of a visual indicator of color.

I really liked this one when you look at it from an adaptation perspective. In past ones it was fun to have them incorporate the dungeons/bosses into the story. However, these felt very rushed in general. Other stories had tried to cut out the dungeons from the story, but they suffered from not having Link grow/progress. Link was just stronger at the end with no show of his progression. In this story, I feel they did a great job of leaving out the dungeons, which kept the pacing perfect for the story. At the same time, they added in their own elements that allowed Link to grow and progress and we could see that progression/growth. I think having the Links separate, although not in the game, so beneficial for the story and it really made a better story in my opinion. I also loved the idea that shadow Link would try to convince one of the Links to go evil. Overall this made for a really compelling story and it didn’t feel like I was reading a video game, as the others have.

[Celebandùne · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10

The legend of Zelda: Four Swords Manga interestingly enough does not adapt the Four Swords game, but the Four Swords Adventures game. To be honest, the premise of the games are basically the same and Four Swords Adventures is the more complete and interesting of the two games, but it was still an interesting factoid for me to mention.

As usual, something is up in the kingdom of Hyrule, and Zelda asks the solitary hero Link to help her with the tending of the Temple of the Four Sword, where the evil sorcerer of Winds Vaati has been imprisoned ages ago. Somehow, a shadow version of Link is there to cause some ruckus and kidnaps the princess, forcing Link to draw the Four Sword and free Vaati in the process. Also, Link splits into four aspects of his personality, each one wearing a differently coloured garb. The four have a hard time collaborating and Shadow Link manages to flee with Zelda, as Vaati flees as well. The sorcerer additionally imprisons the six maids that have the power to seal him back in place, and now it is up to the four Links to free them again. Which is harder said than done, considering Link is not used to team-work at all...

The first part of the manga left me with a good impression so far, but besides the platitudes of the story, I take a big issue with the black and white format of it, considering that it is really hard to tell the four Links apart, unless the author explicitly mentions or points out the colour of one of the protagonists. Shadow Link has a lot more personality than expected, and each Link is quite interesting to follow, especially since each one of them is also sent on their own separate adventure. The first issue, all in all, is promising, now on to the second one...

[Solbin · Rating 5 out of 5]

ALERT SPOILERS MAY BE IN REVIEW ALERT
Overall very funny with five different Links running around (dressed in Green [original], Red, Blue [ surprisingly the hotheaded one], Purple, and a Shadow Link). Only problem (in the beginning, that is) is that Link doesn't know how to work on a team. But soon, the problem shifts over to people mistaking other colored Links for the green Link. E.g: Tinkles mistook Vio (the purple link) for Green (the main link) after meeting Green first and stumbling upon Vio while on his hunt for Force Gems to become a fairy (I know). Meanwhile, Team Link is trying to defeat Shadow Link, Vaati the immortal demon, and Lord Ganon.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Boy I have wanted to read these for a while. I've read two graphic novels before, but I've never tackled a manga! (Unless you count the beautiful little one in the back of the Hyrule Historia I suppose)

This was SO MUCH FUN TO READ oh my goodness! I know these are meant for younger audiences, and I'm considered a bit "too old" but I ENJOYED MYSELF OKAY!? The art is just so cool and the story was really entertaining. I think Red's facial expressions are hysterical and I just love Vio so much. I thought it was really funny when Red broke the fourth wall after he thawed Blue haha.

Just a lovely read! Super fun!

[J-Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story!

My only complaint is that I had a hard time telling the four Links apart at certain moments. Since it is a black and white book, I couldn’t rely on color to differentiate between the four of them; instead, I had to rely on facial expressions and the couple times they call eachother by name.

Each variation of Link has their own specific personality and actions, and I think the way they are depicted was adorable! Growing up, I never played this Zelda game, so I was pleasantly surprised with the story.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Link is now a Hyrule Knight and serves the Princess in this volume. This series can be a little hard to follow as they are not numbered but this is the 6th installment of 9 in the series. Princess Zelda is kidnapped and it's up to Link(s) to use the 4 Sword. Adventures as usual lead to many side-quests but the lighthearted adventure flows well in this 2-part story. I found myself less captivated throughout it, as it was not as much of a page turner as the previous volume but still a worthwhile adventure.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The legend of zelda four sword part 1

Link is a hylian knight that serves princess Zelda.
When the 6 maidens and princess Zelda is kidnapped by shadow Link.
Link most take the four sword and split himself into four Link.
But it not that easy for the four link most overcome their differences, to be able to work as a team.
And be able defeat Vaati and shadow Link.
To save princess Zelda and 6 maidens.
Or is it something more powerful lurking in the shadow?

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a joy to read and has a good mix of funny moments and serious ones. I love the different personalities of Link being split up and believe that was a great creative choice to make. The only thing that was getting on my nerves was the being able to tell the Links apart. It got easier as the book went on, but even then, the close ups are hard to tell apart sometimes.

I love the joke about the “Quiet One” if you know what I mean. 😹 I can’t wait to see that redemption!

[ChaosStrolling · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another fantastic read that made me want to ply the game!
Getting to see Link and Zelda being friends, especially as kids, is so cute and heartwarming. The monsters/demons in this book are genuinely a little scary, especially the bug related ones. The kids being transformed into toys to be transported into the dark world is horrifying. There are great moments of self reflection and comedy between the 4 Links, I’m so ready to read the next part!

[Javier Galíndez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Link Azul y Link Rojo se me hacen un equipo tan hermoso, supongo que porque son opuestos.

Shadow Link se me hace muy atractivo, pero no se me olvida el mal trato que le da a Zelda.

En esta versión, Link tiene un papá que pertenece a la Guardia Real de Hyrule y es igual de hermoso que Raven de Oracle of Ages.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another legend comes and goes; however, our hero, Link is in Hyrule from a different era. Vaati, from the Dark World, comes and invades Hyrule to take it over. Meanwhile, Link grabs the Four Sword and transforms into 4 separate individuals to fight as one. By the end, they are separated from one another and try to rejoin as a team to defeat Vaati.

[Quinn Swartzendruber · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 Links and Tingle? This was a fairly silly Manga that was entertaining. The fact that the Links were supposed to be distinguished by color in a black and white Manga was a little annoying, but oh well.