Curse you and your blog Noiseredux!

[racketboy]

Links Awakening was always my favorite handheld in the series

It's the only one I've actually completed (and played a second time!)

[Michi]

Oh, I'm looking for the Oracle's like crazy but can't seem to find them locally now.....

Once Gamestop quit selling the GB/GBC games I couldn't find a copy of Oracle of Ages locally for the life of me. Luckily when the new retro store opened up in town I finally managed to snag a copy

[Flake]

Oh, I'm looking for the Oracle's like crazy but can't seem to find them locally now.....

Once Gamestop quit selling the GB/GBC games I couldn't find a copy of Oracle of Ages locally for the life of me. Luckily when the new retro store opened up in town I finally managed to snag a copy

I bought a copy of Oracle of Seasons from Gamestop literally days before they stopped carrying GBC. Of course, my excitement was short lived when I popped it in for the first time (after sitting on a shelf for months) and it did not work.

Fortunately, the universe created Hobie-Wan for just such a reason...

[sevin0seven]

...Fortunately, the universe created Hobie-Wan for just such a reason...

..and now the world is balance and a better place to live.

[avrame]

I gotta ask, how does the Oracles games compare to Link's Awakening? I still don't know what it was about Link's Awakening, but when I first played it, I was never able to put it down... Was it the pacing? The difficulty? The story? I know I got stuck and bored of LttP a couple of times.

Is Oracles worth hunting down, esp. if I don't GBC anymore?

[Rurouni_Fencer]

I gotta ask, how does the Oracles games compare to Link's Awakening? I still don't know what it was about Link's Awakening, but when I first played it, I was never able to put it down... Was it the pacing? The difficulty? The story? I know I got stuck and bored of LttP a couple of times.

Is Oracles worth hunting down, esp. if I don't GBC anymore?

First of all I need to address this:

I got stuck and bored of LttP a couple of times

BLASPHEMY!! You are NOT worthy...

Now to answer your post -

Short answer: They both play pretty much the same - if you like Oracles, you'll like Awakening (DX); or vice-versa...

Long answer:
The Oracle games are a nice little footnote of the Zelda handhelds, as they were produced by Capcom. Yes, the makers of Street Fighter and Final Fight! Understand also, the fad of their day when games were released in two or more variations, (ala Pokemon Red/Blue) to entice the consumer to first make a choice about what version to go with, before ultimately buying both versions - effectively selling the product twice!

This is where the Oracles games were different - They were two different games; split into two halves telling one cohesive story. Suffice it to say, if you played through and finished one Oracle game without playing through the other, you never truly finished the Oracles tale! Don't worry - finishing one game brought about an ending, but in order to see the true ending, (and fight the *true* final boss,) you needed to buy both Ages and Seasons.

Now, compared to Link's Awakening - it's open to debate. They both share the same game engine and graphics (aside from color) so if both were black & white and you never played either - you probably couldn't tell the difference. Awakening also didn't have animal helpers like Oracles did. If you want my personal opinion - Awakening played just like A Link to the Past and there are many nods to that game, as well as other Nintendo franchises of the early nineties - which makes it my favorite by far! Oracles was nice and innovative at it's time, but to me it lacked character. It played more to the Ocarina fans, just as Awakening did to the ALttP fans.
Also, I should note - Link's Awakening was the first Legend of Zelda game to appear on the Gameboy, and was so popular that Nintendo obviously re-released it as Link's Awakening DX when the Gameboy Color was released.

So, you ask:

Is Oracles worth hunting down, esp. if I don't GBC anymore?

Yes. Yes they are! But don't forget about Link's Awakening or Link's Awakening DX if you have yet to add them to your collection!

[avrame]

Ahh, I got Link's Awakening DX for Xmas the year it launched, love replaying every second of it

As fot LttP, I wasn't to fond of the Dark World portion of the game, It sorta felt like Ghouls and Ghost, have to replay the game again, you know all the areas, but they're just a little different now. Lastly, Turtle Rock was a pain no matter how you look at it

Also, on a side note, wanna watch a speedrun for LA DX, guy beats it in a little over an hour :
http://tasvideos.org/1462M.html

[noiseredux]

great post Rurouni.

[BoringSupreez]

1. A Link to the Past
2. Link's Awakening
3. Oracle of Ages/Seasons

You are playing the cream of the crop amongst Zelda games. Enjoy it.

Oh, I'm looking for the Oracle's like crazy but can't seem to find them locally now. Surprisingly I've never finished Link to the Past, I got stuck on the mountain in the very start of the Dark World and just gave up ( I know blasphemy right?).

My save's been at that point for like 3 years now, I got there and just lost interest. Every once in a while, I try to make progress, but LttP isn't something you can hop into after a year of not playing and make lots of progress. Makes me fell kind of guilty as a SNES gamer though.

[Rurouni_Fencer]

great post Rurouni.

Thanks, noise!
I can't say enough about the Gameboy Zeldas - Next to the original, of course, and A Link to the Past, I feel that they are the best Zelda experience you can get!