Piece of Seasonal Magic (Zelda (GB))

Member Name: Dringostarr

Product:	Zelda (GB)
Date:	06/11/01 (169 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Its Zelda, Its the best 2D Zelda games, It is gorgeous

Disadvantages: A bit hard

This opinion is a Zelda opinion but on Oracle of Seasons rather than Link’s Awakening as you might expect under here.

It has been many years since Mr. Miyamoto made Zelda, Ocarina of time being his last one (Majora’s Mask was made by a different team) so are we ready for a new Miyamoto adventure? Well no, instead two Gameboy Colour games are being developed than none other than the horror specialist Capcom. 2? Did I just say two? Yes indeed I did The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons and The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages both released at the same time and both developed by a completely different company.

Skeptical? I know I was but these two Zelda games have turned out to be two of the best Zelda titles ever made. The one I’m reviewing for you now is Oracle of Seasons and what a game it was, the graphics are perfect, the sound is happily familiar and the gameplay is spot on. How to Capcom ensure that this Zelda title would be able to not just keep pace with Miyamoto’s own 2D Zelda experience but surpass it as the best 2D Zelda games ever! Simple take on of the finest 2D ones (The Legend of Zelda Link’s Awakening 1993) and add to it as much as possible. Fans of the original Gameboy adventure will be pleased to here that this game keeps very faithful to it even the music at the beginning is decidedly similar, the battle system is virtually identical and so is the way you hold items. The game is also amazingly bigger than Link’s Awakening (not quite as large as Oracle of Ages mind) which was a huge game as it was, if you are worried about length then you’ll have no problem here.

The idea is that the Oracle of Seasons (Din) has been imprisoned you must rescue her and restore the seasons in the land of Hondoom (Hyrule/Termina now yet another world) , which have been thrown in to chaos by her kidnapping. Well what this game does do that gives this game more originality and variety than Link’s Awa
kening is the rod of seasons where puzzles can be worked out by altering the seasons for example you can’t get to an area due to a lake but change the seasons to winter and the lake is frozen over so you can get across the lake. Graphically the game is brilliant using a wide range of colours and immense detail, it does look similar to Link’s Awakening but with much more detail and a more varied look. Also fans of the entire Zelda series will spot certain things from those games such as the song of storms playing windmill bloke and Malon and Talon from Ocarina of Time.

So what does this game got to do with the other half Oracle of Ages? Well lets get one thing straight these games are not the same they are not like Pokémon Red and Blue which only had minor differences these two games have a different storyline, characters, puzzles, dungeons basically everything. What Oracle of Seasons can do with Ages though is link, linking the two games up opens up a brand new “FINAL” level which will present you with a brand new ending also many secrets and items can be swapped between the titles. Please be aware that not both games are needed these are both stand-alone titles although by having both the full package comes avalible.

So you can’t afford both, it would be best to have both as they are both some of the finest Games ever on a console as powerful as a calculator so you can only choose one, which one? Well Ages has a bit more of a puzzle element than Seasons and Seasons involves a bit more action (the differences are very minor) Ages is also slightly longer but not by much. Whatever title you choose you won’t be disappointed but if you are brand new to the world of Zelda it might be wiser to choose Seasons if you’re a Zelda veteran then Ages might be the better choice.

Sadly this game won't work on your good old Black and White Gameboy as they're both Gameboy Colour only but if you haven't
got a Gameboy Colour then this is a great reason to get one or even Nintendo's brilliant Gameboy Advanced.

One thing is for sure if you have a Gameboy Colour you need to own this game.

Dringo

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