I haven't been the biggest fan of Nintendo over the past few years, but I am rather fond of their little GameBoy Advance doo-dad. With the addition of a $40 Afterburner internal light (professionally installed, of course), this device has become the perfect portable game console, as well as something much more: a time machine. While the grown-up consoles are all pushing the boundaries of photo-realistic virtual worlds in video games, the GameBoy Advance is happily scaling and rotating its charming little sprites like it was 1992.

The early 1990s still hold some of my fondest gaming memories, as I'd waste the hours away playing classics like Super Metroid, Final Fantasy III and Super Castlevania IV. The 16-bit era is alive and well thanks to the GameBoy Advance, and developers have been quick to cash in on this wave of nostalgia by porting as many Super NES titles as they can. Some of these ports are nothing but lazy money-grab affairs, but a handful have turned out to be worthy purchases (think Final Fight One and Super Mario Advance 2).

Nintendo has already released a handful of high-quality SNES-to-GBA ports, including the various Super Mario Advance games. Their best 16-bit effort has been noticeably missing from the GBA landscape though, until now. Developer Flagship (from Capcom) has finally ported The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past to the GameBoy Advance for a whole new generation of game players to enjoy. The game is a pixel-perfect port of the SNES classic and matches the original almost note for note in terms of music and sound effects. It was one of the top titles on the SNES, and by default it is one of the best titles you can get for the GBA.

Link to the Past is not just another lazy port (*cough* Contra Advance *cough*), as it is the most faithful rendition of an SNES game I've ever played. Flagship has even included a bonus multi-player adventure entitled Four Swords which, aside from providing the first multi-player Zelda action, unlocks a few nifty bonuses in the main game. This isn't as cool as it might initially seem for reasons I'll divulge later on, but suffice it to say that this game belongs in the collection of every single GameBoy Advance owner without exception.

A Link to the Past is the third game in the Legend of Zelda series and is unquestionably one of the finest adventures ever produced in the gaming world. The game takes the Zelda franchise to new levels of depth and complexity with dozens of magical items to collect, two huge worlds to explore and challenging, multi-tiered dungeons to conquer. There are lots of little secrets to discover and some truly devious puzzles to solve. Combat itself isn't too challenging, though you'll still need the right tools to defeat the games' many boss monsters. On top of everything else, the game is just flat-out fun to play, even ten years after its original release. This is truly a game for all eras and ages.

Most SNES games translate very well to the GameBoy Advance with respect to visuals and Link to the Past is no exception. It is a pixel-perfect port that looks identical to the original in just about every respect. The only changes you'll see deal with the interface, as there is obviously less room on the GBA screen for elements like life bars and inventory menus (for instance, it no longer says "LIFE" above your hearts, and the item selection box is on the right side of the screen instead of in the center). Flagship has done a good job in this area and after a while you won't even notice the changes to the interface.

While the GameBoy Advance is certainly capable of better visual performance, Link to the Past is still a fine-looking game filled with bright colors, appealing characters and a wide variety of detailed environments to explore. Link to the Past eliminates the single-screen model that is used by other games in the series in favor of more continuous scrolling, which opens up the game and imparts a greater feeling of freedom. Animation and sprite detail are pretty decent, though there are many other SNES games that eclipse Link to the Past in these areas. Not the best-looking game today but there's still a lot to like.

The graphic quality in Link to the Past is no surprise, but the sound quality certainly is. While most SNES games suffer mightily when ported to the GBA, Flagship has done the impossible by recreating this game on the GBA with almost no loss in sound quality. That might not sound like such a big deal, but cheesy music and wimpy sound effects certainly would have marred this great adventure. To my ear, the music sounds identical to the Super NES version of the game, from the tinkling Triforce on the title screen all the way to the ominous Death Mountain theme. The music sounds absolutely fantastic on the GameBoy Advance, so fans of the SNES game should have nothing to worry about.

Similarly, the sound effects have translated extremely well, from falling rain to wet footsteps to the classic mystery jingle that accompanies an exposed secret. There's even some great stereo separation (with headphones) just like Metroid Fusion. The only negative I can mention is that Flagship decided to add voice samples to Link in the form of yelps and screams from the N64 Zelda game, Ocarina of Time. While they sound okay, Link yells every time he swings his sword. What the fuck were you guys thinking? It's extremely annoying, especially early on when you need your sword to do everything. You learn to tune it out after a while, but it's still a lame-ass feature that shouldn't be there.

In addition to Link to the Past, this cartridge also contains an all-new multiplayer game entitled Four Swords. It supports from two to four players, though you'll need a truckload of GBAs and game paks to pull that off. Players need to cooperate with each other to solve the various puzzles they'll encounter as well as to fight off boss monsters. The dungeons will change to accommodate the number of actual players, so you won't find any four-player puzzles in a two player game. Neat. Four Swords features some really nice graphics and the same great sound quality from Link to the Past. Although the game features the new "gay" Link from the upcoming Wind Waker game for GameCube, I must admit he looks a billion times less offensive in sprite form.

But aside from that, I can't really comment on the game. Why not? Well, it's multi-player only, which means you can't even get past the title screen without at least two GBAs and two game paks, not to mention the link cable. I refuse to buy an extra game pak just to test out this bonus feature, and the only guy I know in real life with a GBA lives dozens of miles away in the impregnable fortress of suburbia. Translation: I can't play Four Swords. This wouldn't bother me all that much, except for the fact that playing Four Swords unlocks more goodies in Link to the Past. I'd kill someone for new content in Link to the Past, so you can see how much this displeases me. I wish I could offer an analysis of the game one way or the other but I am unable to at the current time.

But in the end the multi-player foibles don't phase me all that much, as Flagship has delivered the best port the GBA has yet seen in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. With identical graphics and music, nearly perfect sound effects and a very welcome save-anywhere feature, A Link to the Past is the ideal game for adventurers on the go. It is one of the finest adventure games ever produced, and I personally feel it is the best Zelda game by a wide margin. This game receives my highest recommendation, and I don't see how any GameBoy Advance owner could go without this fantastic game. Get it right now, I guarantee you will not be disappointed*.

*Note: Not a guarantee.