Customer Reviews

Versus Books Official Legend of Zelda Oracles of Seasons & Oracle of Ages Perfect Guide

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

VERSUS BOOKS stuns me again with yet another good guide, but not great and not exactly the "Perfect Guide" for the Zelda Oracle series.

The guide does live up to what it mostly says it contains. Detailed Maps, complete walkthrough for both games and all. The heart pieces are revealed, and so are the secrets of linking (some of them anyway), and does cover both games.

The good thing about this guide is the organization in the walkthrough. They do that little number thing pretty well in the Ages section, but its better organized in the Seasons sections (The Ages section was written by Casey Loe and the Seasons section was written by Craig Keller, as a little FYI). Both sections have a ring appendix (but they only needed one and they printed two that are exactly the same), a table of contents and the walkthrough. Thats it!

But what about Heart pieces? And secrets of Linking? That is all in the walkthrough. You have to either read the walkthrough or use the table of contents to find all the Linking Passwords and all the heart pieces. It probably would've been easier to have a section dedicated to both of them separately. But you only have so little time to do things.

The boss strategies and mini-boss strategies are done very well in Seasons but not as well in Ages. Where as Ages does a good job in guiding you through dungeons the Seasons has better boss strategies. Overall they get the purpose done. But they don't cover "Hero's Dungeon" in a linked game, and there is artwork in both sections that sometimes gets in the way of Maps and screenshots.

As another reviewer mentioned, its all about the walkthrough. I actually read the entire walkthrough. (Look if it helps you understand why I did that I'm a big collector of game guides so its a hobby of mine I read the walkthrough before I actually use it). Anyway, I read the entire walkthrough and believe me Almost everything you needto know is in the walkthrough! So truly this is a great guide since it actually does detail all that it says it does. The only really big gripe with this guide (but there are plenty of little gripes if you look below) is that the guide has no enemy list.

Also, on the number system they use. Next to point 1 it'll say something like "bomb the cracked wall" but it isn't clear enough because they don't have a screen and the "1" just so happens to be covering up what they're talking about. Also, this isn't as important but the Ages section of the guide looks a little rushed.

Overall:
On the positive side:
+Great Maps
+Great boss strategies in Seasons
+Good organization in both sections
+Linking game Finale is covered OK
+Complete walkthrough discusses everything
+Crystal Clear screenshots
+Walkthrough explains everyhing in a simple easy to understand form.

But on the negative side
-Artwork blocks maps and screens at some places
-Ages section looks too rushed making tons of errors (but still lives up to the purpose and VERSUS BOOKS name)
-Hero's Dungeon isn't covered
-Heart Pieces and Linking Passwords must be searched for in the Walkthrough
-Ring appendix is the same description that Vasu gives you...not very helpful
-Lastly, Enemies aren't listed in the guide also forcing you to read the walkthrough for them too.

OVERALL: This is a great guide. Even with all these little tweaks the guide is stil a good guide to look at.

Here are the pros and cons of this book:

Pros:

Fine Walkthrough with clear instructions, mostly

Nice, big maps (way, way better than Prima's)

Good artwork, put in where it is relevant (unlike Prima's)

Tells where password givers are in a Linked Game

Very lively and humorous, but not so much that it interferes with the walkthrough

Lots of good, clear screenshots that are reffered to in the walkthrough sometimes

Fine boss strategies

Doesn't try to be too extravagant or fancy; in Prima's guide, all the weird borders and cartoons and things got in the way of the real objective

Ok ring list

Cons:

No enemy list

Instead of coordinates, this book uses a number system. On the map, there are numbers over doors, etc. and the book says sonmething like "bomb the cracked wall at 5). This would be ok except it doesn't always tell how to get to the next number location.

Has no map of what Hero's Cave is like in a Linked Game

Has no hacked passwords, and Linked Game changes are not well detailed on the whole, if at all

Is all about the walkthrough; there is no section telling where to find all the rings, or Gasha Seeds. Rather, it is all incorporated into the walkthrough, making such things hard to find at times

While the Ring List is ok, all the descriptions are the same as Vasu's, which doesn't always really tell you what the ring does entirely. They could have added some tips on how to use these rings, and also, the locations are not always there, or, if they are, they are sometimes mixed up

At first glance, this book may seem like all the others out there on the market, but don't be fooled. It featrures comprehensive maps. Screenshots galore, and text to guide you every step of the way. It's also easy to follow if you dont read the whole thing. Say, you want to refer to the strategy guide only when your stuck, you won't be flipping through countless pages to find your section. It goes by sections according to the dungeons and side quest before the dungeon. This is a great book. Plus it comes with a free poster!!

This book has most of you needs for Zelda Ages AND Seasons. It has all the things you need and it's funny sometimes too. Like this one time on there the walls are caving and it tell you like to run and jump like a maniac.I think this one is outstandly good. Well, a lot better then Prima's can tell ya that much.

I agree with Frank. This book has a great layout of dungeons maps, with step by step on how to get threw it. Unfortune it, it doesn't have a map of the Hero's Cave (Secret area with a ring). The book also includes a checklist of the rings and where to find them. Also, has detailed (overworld, underworld, and past) maps over a two page spread. Includes walkthrough threw both games.