I love the idea of games that complement each other. I'm looking forward to finish Oracle of Ages after this one. This is the second time I played Oracle of Seasons and it's a pretty good game. It takes the "skeleton" of Link's awakening and tries to expand on that game.
It doesn't succeed on that, though. The game is more of the same with few variations on subitems and overall level design. That doesn't mean it isn't enjoyable (I wouldn't suggest to play the GBC Zelda games back to back). The game has good pacing that combines well with the tame difficulty. There's a bunch of puzzles (I'd like to highlight level 8 that has an annoying but creative puzzle) and could use more enemy variety that starts to get weary by the 7th dungeon. There's also one of the most cool features that are the "pets" that help Link progress in the overworld. It's a shame that they're only useful for brief amount of gameplay given the scope of the game. But even being a relatively small game, it still pushes its limits and has a second map, an underworld with peculiar creatures.
The game shines on the story it's telling. I read somewhere that usually they made the game first, meaning the devs worked on the map, enemies and dungeons first before the story. But Capcom wrote everything before that and it shows. Oracle of Seasons is packed with charming characters and funny dialogues. Also the drawings displayed on game start and on the credits sequence are gorgeous.
My main complaints are: the graphics that are the exact same as Link's Awakening and the bosses. The boss fights are either too easy or too cryptic. The worst part is the final boss that is underwhelming to say the least.
Aside from that, it's a fun game definitely worth the time. The seasons gimmick is great but it's arguably underused. The music for most dungeons is gloomy and I liked that. Overall a pleasing game that has its qualities and could use some improvement.
By now, before continuing the story on Oracle of Ages, I would still suggest playing Link's Awakening first because it is simpler.
Edit: here's my review of Oracle of Ages. I'm also updating my grade from 4 stars to 3 and a half.
It doesn't succeed on that, though. The game is more of the same with few variations on subitems and overall level design. That doesn't mean it isn't enjoyable (I wouldn't suggest to play the GBC Zelda games back to back). The game has good pacing that combines well with the tame difficulty. There's a bunch of puzzles (I'd like to highlight level 8 that has an annoying but creative puzzle) and could use more enemy variety that starts to get weary by the 7th dungeon. There's also one of the most cool features that are the "pets" that help Link progress in the overworld. It's a shame that they're only useful for brief amount of gameplay given the scope of the game. But even being a relatively small game, it still pushes its limits and has a second map, an underworld with peculiar creatures.
The game shines on the story it's telling. I read somewhere that usually they made the game first, meaning the devs worked on the map, enemies and dungeons first before the story. But Capcom wrote everything before that and it shows. Oracle of Seasons is packed with charming characters and funny dialogues. Also the drawings displayed on game start and on the credits sequence are gorgeous.
My main complaints are: the graphics that are the exact same as Link's Awakening and the bosses. The boss fights are either too easy or too cryptic. The worst part is the final boss that is underwhelming to say the least.
Aside from that, it's a fun game definitely worth the time. The seasons gimmick is great but it's arguably underused. The music for most dungeons is gloomy and I liked that. Overall a pleasing game that has its qualities and could use some improvement.
By now, before continuing the story on Oracle of Ages, I would still suggest playing Link's Awakening first because it is simpler.
Edit: here's my review of Oracle of Ages. I'm also updating my grade from 4 stars to 3 and a half.