Since I heard about this release way back when, I highly anticipated it, especially since the battery for the SNES version died. Anyway, enough about me and my past, onto the review.
(Note: This is the review for the LttP portion of the game as I have not played Four Swords yet)
Graphics:
The graphics of this game don't exactly push the gba's hardware to the edge, but what they do accomplish is accurately depicting the land of Hyrule as it was on SNES almost 10 years ago. The pixels are smooth and colorful, which make it easy on the eyes. A small and barely noticable problem is that the smaller screen size means you need to "scroll" more than you did on SNES, but that doesn't really cause problems here.
Sound:
While the sound isn't as crisp as the SNES version, I think the gba does an excellent job at cramming the beautiful Zelda score onto a small cartridge. Of course the annoying aspect is the voices added to Link whenever he swings, or falls. And I don't quite understand why he has a kid's voice when he looks around 15. Regardless, the other sound effects are the same as they were.
Gameplay/Control:
The plot more or less boils down to the usual, "Save Hyrule/Zelda/Triforce from Ganon". However, this game does a good job at expanding on this plot by providing a golden land, corrupted by evil, and sealed off by the sages. The formula of this game was so well done, that it was more or less reused for all succeding Zeldas, not counting the GameCube. Overall, I think the controls are nice, with one exception. Making the menu button Select instead of Start is quite unusual. Even though you'll eventually get used to this, there are times you may find yourself accidentally saving or going into sleep mode.
Replay Value:
While the game is no brief walk through the park, it's no epic journey either, which makes its replay value variable. You probably wouldn't want to jump right into a new game after finishing it, but you'll eventually find yourself traversing through the dungeons once again.
Overall:
If you had already experienced everything the game has to offer on the SNES, and you don't see yourself playing the new multi-player game, then this is probably only worth a rental for nostalgic purposes. However, if you want to enjoy a portable classic, or if you're like me and has lost your SNES copy, then definitely put this on your "Games to Buy" List.
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