Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/ Seasons review by Termite
*Please note that this review was made to encompass both Seasons AND Ages, and I will post this on both game's pages*
Game Review: Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/ Ages, released May 14, 2001 for the Gameboy Color, are the only two games ( Or at least that I know of ) that are not developed first-party by Nintendo. They are instead developed by a company called Flagship. While this might seem like a death sentence especially considering the popularity and renown of this beloved series, Flagship made a fantastic game worthy of every praise given to the first-party developed Zelda games.
This review is technically covering two different games, but both of them are related. The first is Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons. The second one is Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages.
These two games have mildly related story-lines but you don't need to play both to have a great time ( The only real payment for having both games is being able to unlock some things like the Big-goron sword and battle with Ganon ).
First, story. The game has a typical Zelda story making you go out and vanquish various evil beings residing in dungeons. If you have played a Zelda game before you will know what to expect. Not to say that it is bad, on the contrary it is very good and captivating and is better than the story in most other games but a Zelda fan will know that the story isn't the main attraction.
The gameplay is simply fantastic. You control link from a top-down perspective and th
e controls are like those in Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. The controls are very intuitive and you won't find any problems here.
The enemies you face are also great. You have your old enemies, such as the octorok and others accompanying you to either Holodrum or Labrynna and all of those scary bosses and mini-bosses. They are all very imaginative and many have special little quirks to them that make them unique. The enemies also seem quite well animated considering this is a Gameboy Color game.
The environments you travel around are also phenomenal. From the Maku Tree all the way to the depths of Subrosia I was captivated by the places I was traveling around in this game. The music accompanying these environments is also top notch. Of course the music in all the Zelda games has been great and this one is no exception.
The items Link gets are fantastic. They include things like the master sword and go all the way down to items like "Stinky Bag" which is given to you by an odd long white hand which seems to be stretching out of a toilet ( Gross eh? ). All the classics are here such as the sword's and shields, but some others for instance the Rod of Season's and the Harp of Age's make their appearance as well
The Rod of Season's (Only in t
he Seasons game) and the Harp of Age's (Only in the Ages game) are two items that are really quite interesting and fun to use. The way the Rod of Season's works is you stand on a tree stump and swing it, which changes the season. This is involved in many puzzles and such in the game and really is a joy to use. The Harp of Age's fills the same role by initially allowing you to open up time portals scattered around Labrynna but eventually is capable of simply going through time and plunking you down right were you were either in the future or in the past just by playing it.
Both of the items are great and are part of what gives this Zelda game it's particularly epic feel.
The graphics are rather irrelevant at this point being that it is a Gameboy Color game but I will say that considering when it was made it looks quite nice. The characters and such all have a charm to them that really enforces the atmosphere in the game.
I've already talked about the music but I'll just say that the sound effects are also good, and won't leave you desiring more.
And of course no Zelda game is complete without good dungeons, and this ga
me has them aplenty. Every dungeon is jam packed with keys, enemies, mini-bosses, and puzzles. They will all take a fair amount of time to complete as well, making the game quite long in my opinion. The atmosphere is once again great in the dungeons
Also, boss fights. They are great as always. All the bosses have fun and unique weaknesses which you can exploit to your advantage, giving all the battles sort of a frantic puzzle feel to them. Top regards to the boss fights.
Also, both the games are completely different. They are two completely different games with different story-lines, so I really urge you to get both so that you can get the most out of these masterpieces. As when you have both you can fight Ganon and such, which is always a treat.
As for one of the games being better than the other, they are both equal. Although I will say I'm leaning towards ages slightly, just as a personal preference. Buy them both, I urge you.
Is this game fun to play? Yes, yes and yes. It is one of the best games I've played in my life and I hope you buy it and see why. It's time to dig out that Gameboy Color or Game Boy Advance and wipe the dust off of it, because you are in for a treat!
I rate this game a perfect 10/10
