Yeaaah didn't enjoy myself here. The puzzles and dungeons of 2D zeldas are probably my least favorite aspect of the series so making a game that focuses around that in particular is already fighting a rather uphill battle. This game plays like Links Awakening, and despite releasing EIGHT YEARS later a lot of the same QoL issues remain, such as the constant switching of inventory items. Sure, the game boy only has 4 buttons and a D-pad, but they could have done something like consolidating the map and menu to start and have select be used to cycle between selected items or something. Or made it so actions like picking things up were context sensitive rather than requiring their own bespoke items to keep switching to. I'd even go as far as to say the puzzle-oriented nature of this game combined with the multiple world mechanics of ALTTP make the item menu problem even worse here than in links awakening. The overworld is a lot less explorative and more linear this time around where everything is in its own isolated little zone. The dungeon music is also rather strange to say the least. On the bright side, I did find the characters endearing and the key art is awesome, it's a take on the zelda world I enjoyed looking at. After playing through this game, I'm not exactly thrilled to see what Oracle of Seasons has in store.

Reviewed on Mar 29, 2023


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