Thoughts on these games? Decided to play them after finishing Link's Awakening and I think I ended up enjoying Seasons even more than LA. I'm currently playing through Ages which I heard was more difficult but I didn't really notice until the later dungeons (getting filtered hard by Jabu Jabu atm). Seasons also felt more like a full adventure, while I'm not really getting the same feeling from Ages.
I still have to try Ages, currently halfway through Seasons but since I started it immediately after Awakening, I got a bit bored of Zelda.So far it has not been a bad game, but something about the pacing of Awakening worked much better for me.
>>12123331Loved them when they first came out, though I've always preferred LA, which is my favourite Zelda game. I've played LA probably 30 or more times, oracles maybe only 5 or so times each. Replayed both of them last year. I made the mistake of playing Ages first, then a linked game of Seasons. I always preferred Seasons in the past, but this time around I massively preferred Ages. Doing a linked game of Seasons made it feel incredibly easy and short, and I found Ages to be much more preferable in terms of exploration, puzzles, progression, and pacing. Overall, great games, best handheld Zeldas after LA.
They're the technocrats Zelda. Technically good, full of content, but ultimately soulless.
>>121233312 halves of a whole game held back by trying to make more money off multiple versions during the pokemon fad.
>>12123401Its true, and the soullessness hits pretty much as soon as you start playing, they just aren't "real" Zelda games and you can feel the difference.
>>12123910What a garbage take. Seasons in particular is soulful as shit. You are an absolute cretin.
>>12123331really great games, wish i played em sooner. pretty annoying to 100% especially if you count getting all the rings but just playing through them they're both some of the best 2d zeldas imo. ages sometimes has more annoying parts between the dungeons (particularly getting into mermaid's cave) but the dungeons themselves are all very well made starting from moonlit grotto onward.
>>12123401>SoullessFuck off. This pair of games is actually unique. Nobody else has even made a pair of games like this before or since. Continuity between the games regardless which you play first, cross game secrets, cross game secret boss. The games separately are better than 95% of GBC games as it is in terms of size and quality.
Complete garbage. Ages in particular is one of the most tedious slogs I have ever sat through. Link's Awakening was already a bit of a patience tester with the slow menus and frequent item swapping and for some reason instead of deciding to improve that in any way, they doubled down and made every single square of the overworld map a puzzle that requires you to swap items too ontop of doing the same thing to every room in every dungeon and adding mechanics that require frequent backtracking. It was so bad I just could not bring myself to do Seasons afterwards. I heard it had less puzzles so I was hoping it'd at least be a less painful experience. I gave it until after the second dungeon and while it wasn't nearly as egregious, it was still pretty bad and not even the slightest bit entertaining.There's a secret sauce to the way Nintendo does Zelda(used to, certainly not anymore). Ignoring the Capcom logo, you can immediately tell they didn't make this game. Dogshit game design aside something is always off in Zelda clones, even the better ones like Crusader of Centy and Alundra just are never quite as good. You can have similar combat and puzzles but theres an intangible element that makes something like Link to the Past a masterpiece and keeps these other games from reaching the same status and only Nintendo knew what that was. I'm not even particularly a Nintendie, I'd love to play a Zelda-like game made someone else that is just as good if not better than what Nintendo ever did, but I've been left disappointed by all the ones I've tried.
>>12123960Seasons is a LOT less tedious than Ages. I played them in the opposite order from you and the whiplash was absolutely there. Seasons is more Link's Awakening-esque.
>>12123960I found your post to be too long, therefor I did not bother to read it.
>>12123331I vaguely remember that Ages was supposed to be the puzzle heavy game with less action, and Seasons was the action heavy game with less puzzles, and you have to do both, but that was a long time ago so I might have mixed it up. I liked Ages more because I didn't like the season change gimmick as much as the time travel gimmick but I liked both more than LA.
>>12123401They feel like romhacks. Really, really ambitious romhacks, but still romhacks.
Ages is pretty gay so I can understand thinking these games are shit if Ages is your only reference, but Seasons is a seriously good Zelda game. I'd say it's in the top 3 along with OoT and Z1. I can't imagine liking Zelda and not seeing Seasons as the perfection of the 2D formula. It has so much going for it: really good dungeons, nice art style and colors, a big lively world to explore, a shit ton of content and collectibles, awesome secrets, awesome bosses... I could go on and on. Even the combat is surprisingly deep and nuanced with stuff like multiple ammo types, all the stuff the rings let you do, etc.Man, even just typing this out makes me want to play it again. Fuck it, I'm gonna buy a green GBC and a copy of the game next week, now I've got the itch.
>>12123331i personally like LA more but i love them. i do like seasons more than ages but that might just because it's the one i played first years ago but it only has my favor more slightly.
they're more challenging in general, but lack the heart-fullness links awakening has for example. fun for once, not fun on replay. i was at the last dungeon of seasons currently till i got bored with it. exploring the world and characters falls a lot shorter in these games. it feels too "gamey" for the lack of a better word. and thats not really a bad thing, it's for people that enjoy that aspect of the games.
>>12124318Ages has more plot than Seasons, if that's what you were missing.
>>12124179based seasons chad. daily reminder that seasons started as a remake of zelda 1 and a lot of the assets/mechanics were carried into the final product. that's why the first dungeon is inside a tree on a little island and the boss is a green dragon, among other things. it's the closest we ever got to a real Z1 sequel.
>>12123331The best 2d zeldas along LA
>>12123960You have ADHD. Take your meds
>>12124404it's been a while, i might finish seasons quickly and try ages again, because i'm in zelda mood anyway right now. so you might be right.
Seasons > a freshly taken turd > AgesSorry Nayru, I love you and all but your game is the most tedious one.
>>12123401Are we really shitting on Seasons now?These two are the best Zelda games.
>>12123401>>12123910>it doesn't have ugly programmer art, so it's le soullessPiss off ya runt, Oracles were the good Zelda games before the Minish Hack made Squidward Sword and Sex Breath
>>12124140You know what else is an ambitious romhack? Majora's Mask.Came out in the same year too. Nobody had it better than a Zelda fan in the 2000s
>>12125079*good Fujibayashi Zeldas
>>12123960>Oracles bad, ALttP good
>>12125102I once saw a post that described ALttP's artstyle as turds covered in ice cream sprinkles and I don't think I've ever heard a more succinct and accurate description of any game. The rubber clown combat is bad enough, but the ultimate issue is that the game is too ugly for a mother to love.
>>12123331One thing that stood out to me that people rarely mention is that the game keeps your arsenal relevant all the way through the end
>>12125127Oracles have the best itemization of any Zelda games. They perfectly balance the idea of having an ultimately finite set of equipment while still being able to find treasure that has variety and value. So many of the games fall into this trap of, "well you're supposed to be on an epic adventure but uhh, you only find like 5 useful items and the same small pool of resources over and over". All sorts of seeds, ammo, rings, upgrades, optional equipment items and so on. And unlike a lot of the later titles, you aren't able to just cut grass for 2 minutes and load up on goodies. When you find something as simple as a stack of bombs, it has value, because it isn't too easy to acquire without spending money that also takes effort to obtain. Oracles are one of the few entries that actually motivate you to explore off the beaten path for resources. There were a few times I needed to leave dungeons to buy something I had forgotten. That never fucking happens outside of these games and Zelda 1.
I was considering giving them a try but now I'm not so sure
A step down from LA, Seasons is less of a pain in the ass than Ages in terms of mechanics, though Seasons can get annoying too. Linking up the games is compelling, but it is dumb how you only get the conclusion to one of the subplots by playing Ages to Seasons and not vice-versa. Also the final dungeon to the linked game is incredibly underwhelming. I was expecting a truly epic dungeon to finish a giant two game saga and instead it’s like one brain teaser room before the boss.Capcom got their act together for Minish Cap though and I think it is much more enjoyable game
>>12125084God I fucking hate WW so much
It seems that some people can't make the difference between soul and soulless, so let me clarify things>Link's AwakeningInventive, came up with the art direction and game mechanics>Soul>OraclesA subcontracted derivative copy of LA, while technically a good copy still just a copy>Soulless
>>12124410For me Zelda just works so well as a handheld series, I enjoy most of the console games as well, but LA will always be the best Zelda game in my opinion.Followed by Season and then Ages. I even had my ringtone set to Song of Storms from Seasons for such a long time.
>>12125750>make the differencegood morning saar.
name a reason LA is better than the oracle games besides "I played it first", or "its made by nintendo" challenge: impossible
>>12123331i remember really liking them. I've tried to replay them a few times but with zeldas i always get bored halfway through in replays. seasons had the stronger gimmick but for me ages was the better game overall, i remember the dungeons being more interesting. imo recycling so many sprites from LA was a huge mistake and makes the whole game feel like a romhack even though probably a lot of effort went it it. should've redone link's sprite at the very least
>>12126251This. I like LA as much as I like Seasons but but I've never seen anyone come up with good arguments as to why LA is better aside from "muh nintendo" and "muh it came first". LA showed its age AS SOON as Oracles came out.Don't tell me you people love it when the game stop you dead in your tracks whenever you pick a power up or hides the sword power up behind a hide and seek game without any clues at all.Capcom made better Zelda games than Nintendo ever did.
>>12126251i mean i like it better myself, mostly just for the great atmosphere but like, there's no reason if you like it you wouldn't like the oracle games either. i did minish cap before em though and i didn't like that game very much personally.
>>12126473imo minish cap has the same problem as windwaker, too short and not enough dungeons. if they wouldve just gave them the same amount alttp or oot has theyd be GOATed. I dont even mind the triforce hunt/kinstone padding that everyone whines about but its not a replacement for dungeons.
>>12123401I agree, a lot of bells and whistles but lacking the pacing of awakening.
>>12126478kinstones were such a shitty replacement for traditional secrets and tge oracles ring system
Ages is a masterpiece and the best Zelda game ever
>>12126251it has emotions and charme. as the modernist zoomer would say, it has soul. moments like pic related are what seperate each games
>>12126251I think it comes down to the same failing as Banjo Tooie.Making the adventure bigger, adding lots of new features, doesn't necessarily make it better.The heavy emphasis on dual-world mechanics like from Link to the Past, but tightly integrating them into navigating the world map on a regular basis through weaving, can also become tedium and make a solution feel forced if there's no clever angle to it.The Oracle games were just a lot more dialogue and cutscene heavy than were really necessary, making the experience feel overly scripted than is really appropriate for a handheld game of the time. It would've been fine for a console game, though.
>>12126561Bigger is always better, shitty excuse
>>12126564quantity isnt quality. i thought this was established around here already, why do we have to remind you all the time?
>>12123331They're really good although the overworld theme gets really fucking old when played alongside Link's Awakening. I also don't care for the whole linked game thing, it's annoying.
>>12126564Post hand.
>>12123401Zoomies were a mistake
I actually really hate the twinrova fight
>>12123331>Seasons also felt more like a full adventure, while I'm not really getting the same feeling from Ages.how is that remotely true? ages actually has a plot and story. seasons is just a series of 'go-heres'. Probably just because you played it first.
>>12127360i kinda like it but what's stupid about it is how you don't even know if you're doing proper damage to her. if you don't know you have to shoot her with the mystery seeds between phases you're gonna slash at her for like ten minutes assuming she has a lot of health before looking it up. might also be true with veran, don't remember if the sword just plinks off her. although at least they give you a hint for that one.
>>12127378I don't think the story or lack thereof has much to do with it, Seasons is just more open to exploration whereas Ages was more restrictive in that regard, at least in the first half of the game.
