7. Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure
Why Its Controversial: You might have done a double take when you saw Legend of Zelda just now but wait: controversial doesnt necessarily mean ultra-violent. Four Swords was a stand-alone co-op experience on the Gamecube, that used the Gameboy Advances connectivity to allow control of multiple Links at once. Features included co-op battles, unique strategy elements and multi-layered puzzles designed for more multiple players. It really was another in a long list of Nintendo innovations and as a result, it was the third best-selling game in North America in June 2004 (shifting 155,000 units). The controversy comes from the fact that, if players wanted to properly experience this four-player mayhem, then they needed to each have access to four GBAs and four copies of the game, which racked up to a pretty hefty pricetag. As a result, many complained that getting a game together was just too difficult and as such never had access to the intended experience, effectively wasting their money. Nerd rage, am I right?
Why It Influenced Gaming for the Better: You mightnt have even realised this, but since the original release of the Four Swords Adventure, weve seen this concept imitated in the unlikeliest of places. You might remember Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, the Avengers game in which you control four (out of a huge roster) Marvel heroes in either a single player, or co-operative campaign you could go so far as to say that this, with its four player co-op emphasis, follows the Four Swords formula to the letter. How about Left 4 Dead? Its different sure, but its focus on player co-op arguably echoes what Nintendo did with their Four Swords adventure. With online capability being what it is today, its easy to find other players to group with and the concept of multiplayer co-op is going from strength to strength. Im not saying that Nintendo completely conjured the idea, but arguably they were the very first to properly define it.