The lands of Labrynna and Holodrum cry out for a saviour. The forces of evil are gaining power. The Triforce summons you.
As Link, take up your sword once more to determine the fate of two worlds, in the Game Boy Colour classics. Wield the powers of the Oracles to traverse time and control the seasons. And link your quests to reveal the hidden truth in an epic meta-adventure that is greater than the sum of its parts.
A lot of people dislike this section, but I always enjoyed it. It reminded me a little of Dalton's Ship in Chrono Trigger, except without the random battles. I thought it was some fairly enjoyable puzzle-solving gameplay.
Wow I didn't know people hated this part! I liked it too! Shook things up a bit.
Just finished Seasons. I can see why people aren't as big on these games...I enjoyed it, but it's a few dungeons shorter than your standard Zelda, and the progression isn't nearly as clean, both inside dungeons and across the overworld. It does have a few cool items, a decent challenge, and a good number of little diversions, though. I also like how it seems there's a post-adventure world. Is there a lot to see outside of Horon Village during that peace time? I noticed my book of secrets is, like, empty.
I probably won't start Ages right away, but I may get to it this month.
I can sort of see that, but I think both of these games are pretty beefy and well designed. I'm not sure if I agree that it's shorter than your average Zelda either, at least by dungeon count.
I think what gives the Oracle games a special place in my heart is the extremely clever way they link up. It makes it feel like one really grand adventure. If they were standalone titles, I wouldn't put either above Minish Cap, but with the "two halves of one game" thing, I'd rank them both higher. The numerous secrets and unlockables are pretty addictive and a great idea.
@TriforceBun "Beefy" I can agree with. Not only are there two overworlds, one of them has four different versions. But honestly that's part of the problem for me, and why I hesitate to praise the design (at least up to the franchise's high standards). It's a bit too complicated for its own good, I think. The Changing Seasons mechanic adds an extra layer of speed bumps, and there's a lot of real estate to try to keep in the back of your mind, especially your first time through. Even after finishing the game and collecting all the tools, maneuvering around the overworld can be kind of a pain because you have to keep retreating to stumps to change the season to get certain places.
I certainly liked the game, and I even appreciate a lot of its more daring concepts. I just don't think it comes together as cleanly as most games in the series.
@Shadowlink I guess that's about right. I checked my 3DS Play Time app and saw almost identical play time stats for Link's Awakening and Oracle of Seasons. The thing is, I spent at least 3-4 hours completely lost in Seasons, looking for the next dungeon or small key. I had no such troubles with Link's Awakening (or any other Zelda that I can recall).
Not bad points. I think a few little alterations would've gone a long way--such as permanently removing stone flowers and mushrooms when you initially get rid of them (the same way the game handles a few of the rocks you pick up). LA sort of started the more puzzle-driven, item-requiring overworld but I do think the Oracle games might lean a little too heavily in that direction.
Even so, I just beat Seasons last night and greatly enjoyed it overall. The dungeon design is solid and I remember Ages' dungeons being even better in terms of puzzles, so I'm eager to fire up that one today. Playing a linked game is a really neat experience.
I'm in the sixth dungeon of Seasons. The fifth dungeon was very short...took me less than an hour last night. The item you get from it was cool. Getting to it was...tedious.
I also got the Noble Sword prior to entering the sixth dungeon. Zelda trade quests don't baffle me!
I *thought* that thing was available about then! My memory really is going, my first thought was I had to get the Smith in Subrosia to help out with that, but that got me my Iron Shield instead.
Then I got stuck with the engine grease, couldn't remember what to do with it, thought "screw it", and moved onto getting the Playstation gems to access the 6th dungeon.
Then I saw your comment which inspired me to start scouring the map. When I remembered where the grease had to go I smacked my head. One quick trade later, L-2 sword, yeah baby.
I'm near the end of the seventh dungeon in seasons as of last night. I hope to beat it by the weekend. But I wanna be sure to tackle more side quests so Ages is even better.
Sixth dungeon down. I got stuck for a long time until I realized that the trampoline on the second floor could be pushed. The rest of the dungeon wasn't too bad.
It says on the eShop that these games will be $4.99 until the 20th. Am I to assume correctly that they'll be going up in price? Better jump on them now I suppose.
