The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons is one of two titles released for the Game Boy Color, the other being, both representing the seventh and eighth main installments of the series. Released near the end of the system's lifespan, and its counterpart were said to "send the Game Boy Color out with a bang." In anticipation of the upcoming release of the Game Boy Color's successor, the Game Boy Advance, the games exhibited special features (such as the Advance Shop) when played on the new handheld system.

After completing one of the two games, they can be linked to form a single, linear plot (as opposed to two parallel ones) with an alternate ending. Game-linking also unlocks extra content, such as new items. The game is named after its central character, Din, Oracle of Seasons, and the element that is manipulated by Link in the game, the four seasons.

It was released for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in Japan on February 27, 2013, in North America, Europe and Australia on May 30, 2013,  and in South Korea on April 20, 2016. It was also released for Nintendo Switch Online in North America, Japan, and Europe on July 27, 2023. Both the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console and the Nintendo Switch Online releases are unable to access the special features from the original release when it was played on a Game Boy Advance.

Story
opens up the same as, with Link riding a horse. Spying a castle on the horizon, he goes inside and is sent by the Triforce to help a land being ravaged by the ruthless General Onox. Link is teleported to the land of Holodrum and after a bit of exploring discovers a traveling troupe. After hanging around and dancing with the troupe's main attraction, Din, the sky becomes dark and General Onox strikes. In the ensuing chaos, Din revealed to be the Oracle of Seasons, gets kidnapped, taken to Onox's mountain fortress, and imprisoned inside of a crystal. As a result, the Temple of Seasons falls into the earth and the seasons of the land begin to become erratic.

Link embarks on a quest to save Din and restore order. The young hero learns from the Maku Tree that in order to penetrate to the center of Onox's fortress, he needs to collect eight Essences of Nature.

While in the process of visiting the dungeons, Link spies a shady character moving in the weeds. He sneaks by her and the girl disappears. After some exploration, he uncovers a strange-looking portal. Stepping on it, he is teleported to the lava-hot underground land of Subrosia. Looking to his left, he sees the missing Temple of Seasons. Taking the Rod of Seasons that he borrowed from the Temple itself, he learns seasons from the temple that become useful in his quest to retrieve the eight Essences of Nature.

After finishing the last of the dungeons and destroying Onox and his evil dragon alter-ego, Din is released and the seasons become regular once again. However, the adventure is far from over. The Flame of Destruction is already lit by the destruction Onox caused. Observing Link from afar, a mysterious pair laughs, saying the true evil had yet to arrive...

The adventure carries on in a Linked Game of (or a linked game of Seasons if Ages played first).

General Mechanics
(and its counterpart, ) retain many gameplay elements from (especially the DX version), such as the graphics (many sprites in  and  are reused from ), audio and top-view perspective. As in, items (including the sword and shield) are assigned to the A and B buttons via an Inventory. Unlike certain games of the series, items are not assigned a specific place in the inventory. Collected Rupees, health, and the two equipped items are shown on an interface which consists of a yellow bar running across the top of the screen (similar to the one in, which was located at the bottom of the screen).

, like the great majority of Zelda games, features eight regular dungeons and a large overworld to explore in between. This is done with the help of an overworld map, which is composed of a 14 x 14 grid of squares, where each square represents a single screen. As Link explores the overworld, the "squares" that he's visited will be colored in. Link is guided by the Maku Tree, an important character in both games, who will direct Link to the next dungeon, among other things. , like many games in, features a Trading Sequence.

One particular feature of (and, for that matter) is the fact that certain choices made on the adventure will affect an outcome, later on, making for various possible scenarios in a single play-through. Among these are the animal companions that will accompany Link on his adventure (either Moosh, Dimitri, or Ricky), and the growth Bipsom. These choices affect the passwords obtained for a Linked Game (see below).

Where is said to be puzzle-based,  centers its gameplay on the action; both of which are key gameplay elements in The Legend of Zelda series.

The Rod of Seasons
The Rod of Seasons is the central item of. With it, Link can manipulate the four seasons, allowing him to solve various puzzles on his quest. For example, a path that may be blocked by a large deciduous tree can be bypassed in the winter when the leaves have fallen. When Link obtains the rod, he only has the power to change the season to winter. The rest of the seasons (which allow him to reach new locations in the Overworld) are acquired from the Temple of Seasons as the game progresses.

Linked Game


An important element of gameplay in and  is their unique ability to be linked together to form one linear plot, as opposed to two parallel ones. After one game is completed, the other can be linked to it using passwords provided by the game, or a Game Link Cable. Linked Games unlock additional content not seen in the separate games. Among the most notable changes in a Linked Game is the extended ending (the "true ending") where Twinrova and Ganon are encountered.

In a Linked Game of, new characters appear in Holodrum. These characters will tell Link secrets in the form of passwords, which can be relayed to characters on a completed file of. By doing so, Link can obtain new items not seen in a non-linked game. The reverse occurs if is played first and  second.

Passwords obtained in a Linked Game vary depending on the choices Link made on his adventure. Therefore, passwords identify a specific play-through, assuring that Link will have the same animal partner in the Linked Game as in the completed game, among other things.

Magic Rings
Also, a unique feature of and  is the appearance of Magic Rings to be collected by Link on his quest. These rings, when worn, provide Link with a variety of bonuses and abilities, giving an almost RPG-like twist to the game. Some rings augment his strength and defense; others increase his swimming abilities; yet another prevents Link from sliding on frozen floors. Some, like the Cursed Ring, even decrease Link's abilities, making the game more challenging. Other rings simply change Link's appearance. A total of 64 rings can be collected throughout and, some requiring the use of Linked Games to obtain, or even the use of a Game Boy Advance.

Gasha Seeds
Gasha Seeds appear exclusively in and. They can be planted in patches of Soft Soil scattered across Holodrum (or Labrynna in ). After a while, the tree will mature and Link can collect the single Gasha Nut that the tree will produce. Inside the nut, Link may find various goods, such as Rupees or Magic Rings.

Development
, along with, were the first The Legend of Zelda titles to be developed by a third-party. They were designed by Capcom, which later went on to develop two more titles for on the Game Boy Advance ( and ).

It began when Capcom game director Yoshiki Okamoto approached Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto with a proposal to remake the original for the Game Boy Color. Depending on the success of this first title, Capcom would go on to develop a "more ambitious" sequel, which would be a completely new and original Zelda title built from the ground up. However, the members of the development team disagreed with Okamoto's agenda. The team wanted to skip the remake and begin creating a new Zelda title right away. Thus, they began by having Capcom subsidiary Flagship write a scenario (i.e. story and characters) for the new game. Prioritizing scenario over gameplay caused development difficulties early on. The team was further hindered by the Game Boy Color's narrower screen. Rooms could not be fully viewed all at once, potentially causing players to overlook certain elements inside them. As the project was floundering, Okamoto and the team sought Miyamoto's guidance.

Miyamoto proposed the creation of the "Triforce Series", a trilogy, to supersede the current projects. Each title was to focus on a different gameplay element, each relating to one of the three powers of the Triforce (i.e., Wisdom, Power, and Courage). What was originally meant to be the remake of The Legend of Zelda became the Chapter of Power (later known as Mystical Seed of Power), which was action-based. The Tale of Power was demonstrated at the trade show in 1999; it was the only title of the three to be presented. The demo of the game had Princess Zelda, keeper of the seasons, captured by Ganon, who stole the Rod of Seasons to throw the four seasons of Hyrule into disarray while sending Hyrule Castle and the rod to another realm - a precursor to the plot of. In the demo, Link uses the Rod of Seasons to manipulate the seasons of winter, spring, summer, and autumn in order to solve puzzles. Several characters of also make an appearance, such as the "Mystery Tree" (Maku Tree), "Rikki" (Ricky), "Mable" (Maple), and the "Ulra Tribe" (Subrosians).

The three games of the series would interact with each other for additional gameplay via game-linking system. However, the overcomplexity of coordinating the three games caused the cancellation of Mystical Seed of Wisdom. Thus the series was reduced to two titles: was adapted from Mystical Seed of Courage and  was adapted from Mystical Seed of Power.

Through 's tumultuous development, certain elements of the game hearken back to its days as a remake of the original NES title. Such elements include Gnarled Root Dungeon, several recurring bosses, and the prevalence of Old Men.

Setting
is the first and only title to take place in the land of Holodrum. This land, once calm and peaceful, is thrown into chaos and destruction when General Onox captures Din, the Oracle of Seasons, and buries the Temple of Seasons where the Season Spirits lie, throwing the four seasons into disarray and causing them to change erratically.

Holodrum is unique in that it is the only land to feature the four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and autumn. The world changes with the seasons: lakes freeze in winter, flowers bloom in spring, creeks and lakes dry up in summer, and Mushrooms are ready to be picked in autumn. With the four seasons out of order, Holodrum experiences all four seasons at once, creating a colorful world where all at once Link can observe the whiteness of the snow in winter, the blooming flowers in spring, the lush green vegetation in summer, and the changing colors of the leaves in autumn.

Being relatively uninhabited, Link interacts with few people outside of Horon Village, home of the guardian spirit Maku Tree. On his quest, Link will travel north into the mountains, where he will meet the Gorons of Goron Mountain and the people of secluded Sunken City. But within this one world exists another: the hidden subterranean, lava-filled world of Subrosia. Here, the strange, hooded creatures known as Subrosians live unbeknownst to the people of the world above. Subrosia is, in fact, the new location of the Temple of Seasons, which sunk from Holodrum into Subrosia. As the game progresses, Link must travel to and from Subrosia via NaN Portals to visit the Temple of Seasons and regain the power of the Rod of Seasons.

Timeline Placement
According to, takes place after  and  and before. The Japanese notes that they feature a different Link from the prior games. Early English printings refer to all four games as featuring the same Link, but later printings agree with the Japanese text.

Prior to, and  were situated between  and , with all four games featuring the same incarnation of Link.

Limited Editions
In North America, the first print of the game featured a foil effect on the tree's silhouette on the box and manual. In Europe, a limited edition was released. Limited to 500 copies, it included a copy of both Oracle games, a Boomerang, a shirt, two pins, and two skins for both the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance.

Sales
was commercially successful, selling a near 4 million copies (3.96 million to be exact).

Reviews
was very well received by critics and received mostly positive reviews. Both games received 9.2/10 ratings at Gamespot, and a 10 out of 10 rating of "Masterpiece" at IGN. The games were often credited as being two of the top (if not the best) games for the Game Boy Color. In fact, and  were ranked by Nintendo Power as being the fourth and fifth best games for Game Boy/Game Boy Color, respectively. held a 91,37/100 score at GameRankings.

especially was praised for its vibrant graphics, due to the wide panoply of hues caused by the changing seasons. As such, it is considered to be the more graphically impressive of the two Oracle titles. Gaming Target praised the gameplay aspect of the game, highlighting the use of its "new and fun" items and challenging dungeons.

Fan Reception
was equally praised by fans as well as critics. Both and  maintain a 9.1 user score at Gamespot. However, at IGN, Seasons scored slightly higher at 9.2.

is usually rated equal or higher than by critics and fans, which would appear to make it the more well-received of the two titles.

Trivia

 * In both the chapter book and the adaptations of  and  games,  is the first game in the sequence. This is also true for the timeline as presented in.