The community’s obsession with the Four Swords Anniversary Edition ROM is symptomatic of a larger failure in game preservation. Fans have launched multiple petitions and social media campaigns urging Nintendo to:
To understand the value of the ROM, one must first understand the game’s strange origin. Four Swords originally debuted in 2002 as a multiplayer-only side mode included with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on the Game Boy Advance. It required two to four players, multiple link cables, and multiple cartridges—a logistical nightmare.
