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Zelda - Four Swords Gets Tetra's Trackers Bonus
Thanks to 1UP for the news that the forthcoming Legend Of Zelda: Four Swords for GameCube will include Tetra's Trackers as a bonus game. Four Swords makes use of GameBoy Advance connectivity as players compete to collect jewels - entering caves or buildings switches the action to your GBA, "...allowing you to scavenge for jewels that your opponents can't see", whereas Tetra's Trackers, also shown at E3, is another multiplayer connectivity-based title, this time with most of the action on your GBA. The disc also includes a "story-driven single-player campaign" using elements styled from Zelda: A Link To The Past, and the package is due next February in Japan. Elsewhere, 1UP has a Zelda merchandising retrospective that includes various pictures of "obscure items related to the series", including beach blankets and plastic plates.
Right, then. You want Four Swords without a Gamecube? Go get Link to the Past and have fun. Playing it on the GC provides a new environment and way to play. Plus, bear in mind you're getting *four* games on this disc.
Oh, and that stuff about needing an E-Reader to get everything on the SMB3 cart? You don't. You have everything on the cart already. The stuff you get on the E-Reader *isn't* on the cart, it's on the cards. They can create new levels at a later date to extend the life of the cart.
And as already noted, the eReader can add in totally new SMB levels. Totally new. Not unlocked or hidden, totally new levels that haven't even been created yet. (Of course, this assumes Nintendo will actually take advantage of this ability...)
I know it hurts you to spend money, but can you see how there are actual gameplay enhancements here?
Where's this spendthrift attitude over Xbox Live, where you pay a monthly fee for the service and then additional fees for Premium Content?
I might have bought the Mario games, rehashes that they are, but I'm ticked off that to truly use everything on the cart, I have to shell out for a e-Reader. Why? No technical reason, just that Nintendo wants to sell you an e-Reader.
Yeah, some of the cards contain silly things like "scan this card to add a starman to your inventory." But the other cards actually contain data not on the cartridge. And with the way Nintendo has worked the e-Reader stuff in the past, they'll probably continue making cards with new levels for about a year or so. It's really difficult to include levels on the cartridge that weren't designed until after the game was released.
So here's another game that sounds like it should be playable with just two Gameboys but requires a Gamecube (probably). I am not impressed here at all.
Try reading the reviews of the games. There already is a version of 4 Swords for the GameBoy. This version adds new features that aren't possible solely with a GameBoy. Everything on the TV screen can be seen by everyone, but you can do things there (like enter caves) that drop you down to the GBA, where you can do things you don't want the other players to see.
Not going to stop buying games for my GB but I find myself avoiding Nintendo's first-party games like the plague. I don't have a GameCube, I'm not going to get a GameCube, I don't want a GameCube. (I have a PS2 and if I get a second console it'll be an XBox... or considering the likely timing of that purchase, an XBox 2 if it's reverse-compatible at all.)
Suit yourself. You're missing out on a LOT of good games. Although there are good reasons to complain about Nintendo, your reasons aren't. They're legitimately doing something new and interesting here, and you're complaining because it costs money.
You forgot Viewtiful Joe.