Ranked #3808

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (Manga)

If you consider your self anything remotely close to a gamer, then you're probably a fan of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. And like any mega-popular franchise, there will of course be all sorts of merchandise to ride off its success. Likewise, the Zelda series has released numerous manga based on certain games. This particular manga is based on Oracle of Seasons, originally released February 1, 2001 for the Gameboy Color.

If you've played Oracle of Seasons, then you already have a basic idea of the story. However, the manga is obviously more plot focused. First of all, Link can talk for once, and his relationship with Din is also explored deeper. There are some new characters like Piyoko, Link's baby chicken sidekick. And minor characters like Ricky and Maple are given more important roles.

While all of this seems great, there is ultimately one factor that kills it. The pacing. Most manga I've read usually have about 5 chapters per volume. Oracle of Ages on the other hand, as 10 chapters crammed into a volume. Obviously, this means each chapter is shorter than your average manga. And because of this, the story progresses at a much faster pace. This leads to a depressing lack of character development. A lot of characters just come and go. You're never given enough time to like them because by the time you become aware of what they're doing, they're already gone. This affects important characters like Zelda and the Maku Tree too. And despite the fact that Ricky and Maple are given more important roles in the manga, they really don't feel any more developed than their game counterparts.

The artwork is nothing special, but by no means is it bad. The character designs are interesting. It's just too bad you don't have enough time to connect to any of them. The scenery is nice as well, albeit a bit generic.

Admittedly, I have yet to read Oracle of Ages, the direct sequel to Oracle of Seasons. So I wouldn't be surprised if that manga is able to develop the main characters more.

Overall, Oracle of Ages is decent. The incredibly fast pacing and lack of character development really make this manga more lackluster. If you are a big Zelda fan, then feel free to check it out. If you're looking to get into Zelda, I suggest the games. read more