It must be stressed that both Ages and Seasons are completely different games. They have different quests, items, dungeons, bosses, and lands. It is best to buy both games and pick one to play first. Upon completing that game you will be given a secret password that you can use in the other game. This will allow you to transfer rings that you have acquired in one game to the other and open up new areas of exploration in both games. Let’s say you’ve beaten Oracle of Ages and used the password linking system to start Seasons. While playing Seasons you’ll come across some characters that will give you additional passwords to put into Ages. So, you can then go back to Ages and more quests will open up in that game and they’ll give you a password to put back into Seasons letting that game know you’ve completed those quests. As you can see this linking system really adds substance to both adventures. To avoid spoiling any surprises that’s all I will mention about the linking system, but suffice to say to get complete enjoyment out of the games you will want to use this innovative feature.

The first game I decided to play was Oracle of Ages. I didn’t have any valid reasoning for picking this game first other than it came in a blue box and blue’s my favorite color. Really it doesn’t matter which game you play first since both are so much fun, but Ages tends to be a little more difficult so if you want to ease into playing both games perhaps you would want to start with Seasons.

Oracle of Ages harbors a more traditional Zelda story than Seasons, one of time travel. Through various acts by Link, Naryu (the Oracle of Ages) is kidnapped by Veran, the evil sorceress. With the power of Naryu in her grasp, Veran is now able to manipulate time at her will. She vanishes in a blinding light and it’s now up to Link to gather the eight scattered essences of time to help vanquish the evil that is slowly growing in the land of Labrynna. In order to help him on his quest Link will acquire the Harp of Ages early on in his quest. This device will activate dormant time portals that are located at key locations across the land. Upon entering the portal Link will be whisked back in time. In order to return to the present Link can use the same portals. As the game progresses he will learn new tunes to play on his harp so that he can easily travel between time periods at will. This will become vitally important in order to gather key items and progress further in the game. You see, the landscape in the past is not the same as it is in the present. Trees, lakes, rocks, and other structures may exist in the past, but not in the present, or vice versa. Also, things you change in the past, like planting a tree, can have a direct impact on the way the land appears in the present. Only by exploration and experimentation will you be able to solve the game’s many puzzles.

As far as gameplay is concerned, both titles play nearly identical to Link’s Awakening. You can assign one item to the B button and one item to the A button. Generally I use the B button for the sword and the A button for whatever item is needed for the current situation. Speaking of items, both games have their own unique items, but they also share a number of traditional ones like bombs, power bracelets, and potions. New to the games are the many rings that can be found. Upon locating one of these rings you can take it in to have it appraised at the ring shop. Once the ring is identified Link can wear it to make use of its special powers. In total there are 64 different rings that can be collected. Some are only in Ages and some are only in Seasons. Some of the rings can only be acquired by linking the two games via password or by physically linking the games with 2 Game Boy Color systems and trading fortunes. Only one ring can be worn at any one time so you’ll have to choose wisely. One last note, if you’re playing the games on a Game Boy Advance a special shop will appear. In this shop you can buy rings for 100 rupees, so it may be slightly easier to acquire rings in that manner.

Of course the dungeons are completely different in both games, but the compass and map are standard fare. The dungeons are often the crux of the games since that’s where you’ll often find the cool new items and weapons as well as recover the essences, thus progressing the story. While both games feature excellent dungeon design, I really must give a nod to Oracle of Ages for its amazing use of puzzles throughout the game. These dungeons will really test your thinking skills and may even frustrate you until you realize what must be done. The intricate design of each dungeon is simply unparalleled in any other Zelda game, which is a bit surprising since Capcom developed the game for Nintendo.

Graphically both games impress. They look slightly better than Link’s Awakening DX, with more details readily evident in the overworld and dungeons. The use of color in the games is magnificent, with a lot of dark purples and reds signifying the underlying evil. The graphical design really helps set the mood in both games. In Ages the past is darker and almost antique looking whereas the present is filled with bright colors. In Seasons the color palette changes depending on which season you’re currently playing. There are some very short cinemas in both games that add to the story and look excellent. These games are the pinnacle of good graphics on the Game Boy Color system.

Those of you worried that the traditional Zelda theme song has been cut from the games need not worry. It’s back sounding just as good as ever. Some of the music has been recycled from older games, but there are plenty of new musical tracks to keep the games fresh. In fact, both games really offer up some fantastic melodies that will inevitably penetrate your brain causing occasional sleep deprivation (hey, it could happen!).

This is probably the best example of two companies coming together to make two truly epic games. Both Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons are ridiculously fun from beginning to end. The innovative password linking system makes owning both games even more rewarding. These two games will provide you with many hours of enjoyment and are worth every penny they cost you. Whatever you do, don’t pass up these two gems. For those of you saving up money to buy the Game Boy Advance, the first two games I’d buy for the unit are Ages and Seasons. Even though they aren’t 32-bit, none of the launch games for the GBA can compare with these two masterpieces.