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2002 · Game Boy Advance

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords

Four colours, shared obstacles and a competitive rupee total: cooperation opens the route even when everyone wants the biggest purse.

Source & original artwork ↗
Nintendo artwork, archived by Zelda WikiImage source ↗1316 × 1920

Before you set out

Your journey, at your pace.

Original 2002 GBA multiplayer adventure, requiring two to four players. The 2011 Anniversary Edition adds solo control of two Links and extra areas.

  • Agree who carries each pedestal item.
  • Rupees fund revival, so protect the team's supply.
  • Bring every player to the exit before advancing.
Begin the walkthrough ↓

From the beginning to the final encounter

A path through the story.

Story routes, puzzle solutions, boss tactics and collection planning. Linked references provide additional room maps and individual collectible locations.

0 / 21 steps completed

Saved in this browser, across languages. No account needed.

01

Learn the shared controls

0 / 3 steps

Make the party work together.

Route and puzzle solutions

  1. Practise carrying and throwing a partner before beginning a scored stage. Agree who stays on a switch and who crosses first.

  2. Inspect the available item pedestals when entering a new puzzle. Give each player a clear role instead of having everyone exchange equipment at once.

  3. Before leaving a room, recover separated partners and check accessible rewards. A coordinated exit is safer than racing ahead alone.

Chapter references

Checkpoints

A useful detail

Say who moves first before anyone throws a teammate.

02

Sea of Trees

0 / 3 steps

Earn the forest's first key.

Route and puzzle solutions

  1. Explore the forest's branches and check the ground before charging through cut vegetation. Keep a route back to the party while collecting scattered rupees.

  2. Use the supplied tools to move between isolated platforms and operate paired mechanisms together.

  3. Strike Big Manhandla's buds with the matching coloured Link. When levers appear, pull them together to expose the next targets.

Chapter references

Checkpoints

A useful detail

A coloured obstacle belongs to the matching Link.

03

Talus Cave

0 / 3 steps

Complete the ice challenge.

Route and puzzle solutions

  1. Approach icy corners slowly and counter the slide before reaching an edge. Do not throw a teammate onto a platform that the receiving player has not checked.

  2. Keep the Pegasus Shoes for the boss encounter and line up each charge before running.

  3. Ram Dera Zol into the icy wall, then slash it while frozen. In the later phase, coordinate the colour information visible to the players.

Chapter references

Checkpoints

A useful detail

Stop dashing before an unprotected edge.

04

Death Mountain

0 / 3 steps

Claim the third opening key.

Route and puzzle solutions

  1. Wait for lava hazards to finish their cycle before crossing. Leave enough room between players so one mistake does not send the whole party into danger.

  2. Assign the distant-switch task to a player whose tool can safely reach it, then regroup before the boss.

  3. Return Gouen's projectile with the Link matching its current colour. After the boss disperses into flames, find and strike its vulnerable body.

Chapter references

Checkpoints

A useful detail

Wait for a safe landing rather than rushing across lava.

05

Open Vaati's Palace

0 / 3 steps

Turn three victories into the final route.

Route and puzzle solutions

  1. Finish Sea of Trees, Talus Cave and Death Mountain to earn the initial key set. Review the stage-selection screen before choosing Vaati's Palace.

  2. For higher key tiers, replay the regions with the required rupee goals. Efficient collection matters more than winning a race against teammates.

  3. Check every participating player's access before starting the palace route. Different key sets open different challenges.

Chapter references

Checkpoints

A useful detail

Golden and Hero's Keys belong to later replay challenges; they are not required for the first ending.

06

Cross the palace

0 / 3 steps

Reach the wind sorcerer together.

Route and puzzle solutions

  1. Read each room as a cooperative puzzle: identify the exit, the switches holding it open and the tools needed to connect them.

  2. Use the Cape for its intended gaps and control movement around fans. Avoid committing every player to a collapsing floor at once.

  3. Recover health and choose the arena's equipment before beginning Vaati. Save the party's coordination for the colour-dependent phases.

Chapter references

Checkpoints

A useful detail

Changing your carried item can solve a room that looked blocked; the equipment is not a permanent dungeon reward.

07

Vaati and the rescue

0 / 3 steps

Release Zelda and complete the first quest.

Route and puzzle solutions

  1. Send bombs into Vaati's tornado and detonate them near him. Repeat until he drops within sword range.

  2. In the later battle, pass the changing-colour projectile between the matching Links to create a stun.

  3. Read the colours shown by the exposed arm targets and coordinate attacks on the corresponding sides. Do not assume every projectile follows the same colour rule.

Chapter references

Checkpoints

A useful detail

Call out the projectile's current colour; a volley can change the required player.

Collection field guide

Plan your final discoveries.

Use these routes alongside the edition-specific counters. The references link to individual locations and additional maps.

Higher keys and Anniversary bonuses

  1. Replay the three regions for the higher key sets and the expanded palace challenges. Keep the rupee goal visible while planning which optional branches to explore.

  2. In Anniversary Edition, finish the Realm of Memories for its sword reward and the Hero's Trial for its advanced technique. These areas are not part of the original GBA campaign.

Chapter references

Beyond the ending

Your route to 100%.

Progress is measured by keys and successful cooperative runs, not a permanent heart collection.

This is a collection roadmap with editable counters and links to detailed locations. The bar measures completed checklist goals, not a percentage read from your game save.

Multiplayer original; linked A Link to the Past rewards belong to that game.

Choose your adventure

Compare editions & modes.

See what changes before choosing your checklist. Each column uses the edition’s own collection targets.

Game Boy Advance

Multiplayer original; linked A Link to the Past rewards belong to that game.

Anniversary Edition

Adds solo play and two bonus realms.

Collection targets by edition
Goal & referenceGame Boy AdvanceAnniversary Edition
Finish the main story ↗IncludedIncluded
Silver keys ↗33
Gold keys ↗33
Hero’s keys ↗33
Hardest Vaati’s Palace clear ↗IncludedIncluded
Realm of Memories ↗Not includedIncluded
Hero’s Trial ↗Not includedIncluded

These are checklist targets, not an overall completion percentage. “Not included” means the goal is absent from that checklist. Hardware-dependent extras and additional runs are listed below.

Explore & collect

Your collectible atlas.

Keep track of individual locations and return to the ones still waiting for you.

No integrated coordinate map is documented for this edition. Use these detailed location references with the checklist below.

  1. Clear the three regional stages and defeat Vaati.
  2. Replay for better rupee totals to earn the higher key tiers.
  3. Finish the hardest Vaati route, then check edition-specific bonus areas.
0 / 5 collection goals completed

Saved separately for this edition, in this browser.

Finish the main story

Follow the story chapters above, take every boss reward and reach the ending.

Locations & reference ↗
Additional challenges and special requirements
  • Medals and local score records can be pursued beyond the key progression.
Take your progress with you

One file for all games, editions, map marks, story checklists and the N64 companion. Download it on the old address, then import it on the new one. Nothing is uploaded.

Keep the source close

Sources & further help.

Independent route notes written for this archive. For a specific room, collectible or alternate version, consult these credited references.

Game artwork and characters © Nintendo.
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