Hype! After originally being teased when Nintendo first showcased that Game Boy games were coming to Nintendo Switch Online in February's direct, Oracle of Ages and Seasons have finally made their Switch debut.

Oracle of Seasons & Ages originally came out in 2001 and in my opinion, are two of the most underrated games in the franchise. That statement itself is certainly a topic for debate, maybe for an upcoming retrospective, but it is great to see some older titles from Nintendo's original handheld era come into play. 

Seasons and Ages had some major differences from other games in the Zelda franchise:

  • Animal friends that helped us on our adventures, callable via special instruments.
  • A land that explore that wasn't Hyrule (Seasons is Holodrum, Ages is Labrynna)
  • Introduced the idea of a "linked game". Play both games for an interconnected experience.
    • Either Seasons or Ages can be chosen as the first game.
    • You continue your adventure in the second game by entering a secret code.
    • These adventure continuations result in alternate endings!
    • You can also obtain items that wouldn't normally be obtainable in each individual game.

 
Oh boy, that brings me back.

The two games also have very different playstyles, which really encourages you to play them both and together. Seasons is a game that is more combat-heavy while Ages gets your brain chugging along at more puzzle-based gameplay. Personally, back in the day I picked up Seasons first but I felt that Ages was the better title - I'm sure many people have differing opinions! The two titles also have a completely different main mechanic - in Seasons the entire world changes based on which season it currently is, and in Ages there is an element of time travel that updates the map.


Look at those seasons!

Though with differences, comes some creature comforts. If you had played Link's Awakening, you'd feel right at home with the interface, controls, graphics, and even sounds being identical in most places. That's not a bad thing mind you - Link's Awakening was an incredible title and felt so good to play some top-down Zelda in your hands.

All of that to say that Seasons and Ages is now up on Nintendo Switch Online and you should get playing! I may or may not be a bit of a Zelda fanboy, so take that for what you will.

Fun Facts:

Seasons and Ages both are named after the Oracles in the Zelda series and they also appear as prominent characters in the games - Din & Nayru respectively.

Farore, the Oracle of Secrets, also makes an appearance in the games but didn't get her own title though she was supposed to. Mystical Seed of Courage was the third title but Capcom ultimately canned it due to linking three games together being quite a challenge. The game was supposed to be the game with time-travelling puzzles while Ages was going to make use of color-based puzzles.