Reviews

Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

By Corey

The Legend of Zelda is back, and Zelda is actually in the game! Not an important part, but she's there. Anyway, the first thing you'll notice when you turn the system on is that Capcom is involved. What gives? Are the Oracle games just a last ditch attempt to cash in on the Game Boy Color or do they really live up to the rest of the series? I think you know the answer to that question.

Graphics: 9

Seasons definitely pushes the GBC to the limit. The different seasons use plenty of colors to pull out the full effect of changes. The characters, as small as they are, are detailed about as much as possible for such small sprites. My only complaint is that Link is the same as he was in Link's Awakening DX, being basically all green with color from his shirt leaking into his face at times.

Gameplay: 10

This is where Zelda games shine. I'm not going to explain how the whole game works because if you've ever played a Zelda game, you already know. If you haven't played a Zelda game, the Oracle Series is a perfect time to do so especially if you like Action/Adventure games.

All I've heard since the two games have been released is, "Which is better, Ages or Seasons?" Both games are excellent and you should buy both, but this review is about Seasons and I'll tell you why this game is different from the other. Seasons is more action oriented. You'll find a ton more enemies and traps that will lead to you coming close to death a lot. Also, the puzzles are a lot less difficult. Overall that means Seasons is slightly easier because of the fact that you know what you are supposed to do most of the time. You will probably have more deaths in Seasons though, if you happen to die at all.

The only thing that should be noted is the use of the Rod of Seasons, since that is what makes this game especially unique to all the other Zelda games. When you acquire this item, you'll be able to switch seasons whenever you find a magic stump. This will allow you to freeze/dry lakes, make snow bridges, bloom special flowers that launch you onto higher cliffs, grow vines that let you climb walls, and a whole lot more. One other item that isn't used as much as the rod is the Magnetic Glove. This lets you repel or attract metal. What you do with this thing made it my favorite item in the game. That's probably because the lack of a Hookshot though.

Sound: 8

The sound is fairly well done. At least some of the sound effects and songs, like the normal Zelda overworld theme, are re-used from Link's Awakening. I could be wrong about that though. The music kind of gets a little boring late in the game, but that's almost expected.

Lasting Value: 9

Seasons is fairly lengthy so it'll take a while to beat. It has much more replay so if you use the password system with Ages since you'll be coming back to this one for small mini-quests. You can always try to track down all 64 magic rings, though you do need both games to so also. So I guess you can say that the big replay comes from owning both games.

Bottom Line

Seasons was my favorite of the two Oracle games solely because of the action aspect. Both are great games so you should try and get both. If you can only get one, get Seasons if you want more battles and slightly less difficulty.

Final Score: 10 out of 10