"Great for RPGers and people over 10, bad for 4-year olds who can't do puzzles"

I just got home from slaving over a red-hot oven at Bickfords and I took home my paycheck. What a beautiful thing, a paycheck that is. I cashed it the next day rushed to the mall. With some of the money I bought Zelda: Oracle of the Ages for my gameboy. I don’t know why I did it; in fact I hated its partner in crime, Seasons. I guess it was my friend he told me that Ages required a certain amount of knowledge to complete. That much is true, Ages makes you use your brain much more than the “rush in bash the hell outta everything” Seasons. Another thing I noticed is that the Official Nintendo Strategy Guide works better with Ages (with Seasons it is very sketchy).

+ Story 7/10 +

This story is pretty well done. It starts where you meet Impa in the woods. She asks you to help her, and being the gentleman you are you do. When you come to a rock she asks you to move it for her, but she won’t go anywhere near it. You come to an area and you see the Oracle of Ages singing. It seems that Impa was possessed. The evil spirit leaps out of her body and kidnaps the Oracle. I’ll say the same thing I did with Ages the story isn’t that original even though it’s well done. How many times have you heard “SAVE THE WORLD AND THE GIRL”… the story is the same way with Seasons so don’t expect much from that either. The fun thing about Ages is that you can travel through time. When you change something in the past it changes in the future.

+ Gameplay 8/10 +

Every Zelda game there is (with the exception of Zelda II) has had the same Gameplay. This isn’t any different. Use the control pad to maneuver and then use A and B to use items. I would like to comment on the amount of items there are. There are double the items than there were in the first Zelda gameboy game (Link’s Awakening).

+ Sounds and Music – 3/10 +

I don’t know how many times I have to stress to everyone that Gameboy sucks at music. There’s one catchy tune and that’s the Zelda theme song. I highly recommend that you mute your gameboy and listen to a CD instead.

+ Fun Factor 9/10 +

This game is a really fun game to fool around with. If its fun factor was cut in half it would still be funner than Seasons. Seasons got old after the second dungeon, but this keeps your spirits up to about the 7th (even when you get stuck). As I said before this game makes you use your brain. The only qualm I have with this is that the game is rated “E”. 4 year olds are going to spend their money on it cause it looks cool and in about a half hour they’re going to be stuck.

+ Replay Value – 6/10 +

If you are a hardcore RPG/ Zelda fan and you’re on a long car trip or plane ride, Ages is the ultimate game to replay. If you played it and thought it was okay, I suggest getting something else to fill your cravings.

Legend of Zelda: Oracle of the Ages Overall – 7

If you have a gameboy Advance I would wait and get Breath of Fire when it’s re-release comes out. If you’re playing it on a GBC, this game is perfect for a little fun.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/01/01, Updated 07/01/01