"Link's journey through the ages!"

Introduction- In early 2001, Nintendo released 2 Zelda games for the Game Boy Color. They were The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons. Both were developed by Capcom and Flagship, and featured compatibility with the Game Boy Link Cable with each other, much like the Pokemon games. Unlike Pokemon, however, they are two separate adventures. This is also the first time a Zelda game was developed by Capcom and published by Nintendo.

Story- Link is summoned to a mysterious castle at the edge of Hyrule. Once inside, Link approaches 3 relics, the Triforce! When he gets close to them, the shards suddenly create a blue aura around Link. He then hears a voice, telling him to accept a quest. When Link awakes, he is in a forest somewhere. He then sees a woman attacked by monsters! But when the monsters see Link, they flee, saving the woman in the process. The woman introduces herself as Impa, a nurse to Princess Zelda. She claims she's looking for a singer named Nayru.
After some time, they come across a rock with strange mark. It seems only Link can push this stone aside so he does so. Once past it, they are greeted by a singer named Nayru and listen to her song. Impa reveals herself as Veran, an evil sorceress bent on taking Nayru's power! After she kidnaps Nayru, Link sets out on a new adventure which will take him through the past and the present!

Gameplay- You control Link in a large overworld called Labrynna, populated by towns, monster, caves, and dungeons. You have towns to buy supplies such as bombs, shields, etc. You get your sword automatically and you mainly use it to kill enemies, cut brushes which can hide caves, money, or other things, and to solve some simple puzzles in the dungeons. There are 8 major dungeons in this game that must be cleared in order to beat the game. Each dungeon has many different puzzles to solve, overrun by enemies of that region of Labrynna, and contains an unique item along with a dungeon map and a compass. There are also time portals in which you can use to travel back in time to Labrynna's past. After going back to the past, things are dramatically different than in the past. A lush, bustling city is now a dilapidated, small village. A dungeon whose entrance collapsed in the present, is now accessible in the past and so on and so forth. Traveling back and forth through time is essential to the game, as many of the game's puzzles rely on time travel. As far as dungeons go, they are very long and enjoyable. Most contain at first easy to solve puzzles which progressively become harder to solve until the end of the dungeon. The end of a dungeon always contains a boss which you must to defeat to clear the dungeon. However, the room to the boss's chamber is locked and can only be opened with the Boss Key hidden somewhere in the dungeon. The controls are simple too. You move Link with the D-pad while you use items or your sword with the A or B buttons depending on your preference.

Graphics/Sound: Graphics are somewhat bland on the Game Boy Color due to simplistic character models and simple recoloring of enemies. Dungeons are well-designed in order to keep the player guessing. The time travel is also not a simple color swap. Both versions of Labrynna show massive change between certain areas in the graphics. Sound is mainly classic Zelda, with many famaliar themes such as when you solve a puzzle or get an item. Because of the Game Boy hardware, some sound effects are a little bland but it doesn't affect gameplay too terribly.

Play Time/Replayability- This is a very long game compared to other GBC titles. It is also one of the best games for it as well. You will spend at least 20 hours or more in order to finish the whole game. Replay time is fairly good as the quest is enjoyable and memorable. The Link Cable option seals the deal.

Final Recommendation- If you're a GBC owner, you must buy this game. This will be one of the best games you will ever own on the system. If you find at your local game store, buy it now!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/30/06