Playing Oracle of Seasons on the 3DS Virtual Console for the very first time is a surreal experience. I didn’t own a single Game Boy system until the original gray brick was past its prime, so I ended up missing out on a lot of key titles, like the portable Zelda games. I went into this game thinking that it was going to be a cute, bite-sized Zelda experience, unlike its bigger console counterparts. I was not only proven wrong, but was proven ill-prepared for the grand adventure I was about to embark upon.

Oracle of Seasons is the companion game to Oracle of Ages, both games released simultaneously. The plot involves the self-proclaimed “General of Darkness,” Onox kidnapping Din, the Oracle of Seasons, and throwing the world’s seasons into disarray. It’s up to Link to find eight essences in order to free Din, and stop the rapidly changing seasons.

The gameplay, graphics, and music are extremely similar to Link’s Awakening, an earlier Game Boy Zelda title, so my initial impressions of the game were sour, but as the game went on and I was able to use the Rod of Seasons to change the surrounding area’s season, I started liking the game’s atmosphere more than Link’s Awakening. Subrosia, the game’s dark world, ended up being one of my favorite areas in any Zelda game, and I always looked forward to going there and talking to all its inhabitants.

The world and dungeon design are excellent as well. Aside from a couple moments that were too cryptic for my liking, exploring the game’s world is never boring. That being said, the difficulty of the game, specifically inside dungeons, was unexpected. Due to the limited amount of buttons on the Game Boy Color, constantly switching between your sword and sub-weapons is a necessity, and ends up hurting the flow of the game. There also aren’t any bottles to keep fairies in, so aside from a house where you can buy a revival potion, the 3DS’ Restore Point function will be necessary, as the game’s a bit too unforgiving when it comes to taking damage.

Despite its difficulty, Oracle of Seasons became one of my favorite Zelda games ever. The endearing characters, the ingenious design of the world and dungeons, and an adventure that took me over 21 hours to complete make this one of the best games on the eShop.