Detailed Info about Zelda Duo

Here is another article about the new Game Boy duo, taken from IGN.com

Legend of Zelda: Mystical Seed of Power

Parallel worlds collide somewhere at the heart of this dual-chapter Game Boy Color adventure.

January 9, 2001

Legend of Zelda games have always been a trend-setting favorite on Nintendo's systems, starting way back with the first game on the NES in the mid 80s. The series expanded on every Nintendo system since then, from the Game Boy to the Super NES, ending up on the N64 last year. The series is about to continue, thanks to Nintendo, Capcom and Flagship in Japan -- Legend of Zelda: The Mystical Seed of Power is the second Zelda game for the Game Boy Color, and it won't be the last. There are two collaborative titles planned in this story arc, and they work together between the two games to create one amazing adventure. The two chapters of this arc are called The Chapter of the Earth and The Chapter of Time & Space in Japan. Together, the series is comes under the uniting theme of The Mystical Seed of Power.

Features

Brand new story in the Legend of Zelda universe
Battery Save
New Game Link System
Only for Game Boy Color

This two-cartridge series of Zelda adventures is Nintendo's latest effort to expand the gaming universe and create an experience like none ever seen before. To that end, the company has teamed with Flagship (a development team created by Capcom) to create two parallel quests in separate but mysteriously linked lands. Each game can be played separately, and gamers can play either journey through to the end without ever seeing the other path. However, when gamers take on both adventures together, the quests reveal bizarre parallels between them, whose mysterious riddles can only be solved by linking the two games together.
Both adventures (Chapter of the Earth and Chapter of Time & Space) will use similar graphic styles, but the plots and quests will be quite different. Not much is known about the second chapter of the series in America -- Nintendo has not announced whether the two will release separately or concurrently in the US. However, early information about the plot of the Japanese version of the Chapter of Time & Space shows a very different quest from the Chapter of the Earth, as seen below. Read both tales and see for yourself how fascinating this adventure is turning out to be...

The Chapter of the Earth

Princess Zelda, responsible for managing the four seasons of the Land of Hyrule, and the Triforce of Power have been kidnapped by Ganon. The brave hero Link learns of this and sets out to save the princess. However, Ganon learns of Link's quest and splits the Triforce into eight pieces, scattering them throughout the land. In addition, the Rod of the Four Seasons (a device that controls the seasons) along with its hiding place in Hyrule Castle, have flown off to another dimension.
As a result of this calamity, Hyrule's four seasons are thrown into chaos and the order of the seasons becomes jumbled. In order to save Princess Zelda and find the "Rod of the Four Seasons," our hero Link must travel back and forth between Hyrule and this other dimension, while receiving help from the spirits residing in the "Tree of Mystery" and also the strange "Uura Tribe" found in this other dimension.

The Chapter of Time & Space

Upon happening down a mysterious path, Link heard a strange voice as he touched the Triforce. "We must stand up and face this challenge!" A dazzling light engulfed Link and when he came to, he was standing in the middle of a strange forest. Then, he heard a voice singing from deep within the forest. Following this voice, he came across a beautiful young girl who was surrounded by animals. This is the heroine of this story, "The Maiden of Time, Nell."
As Link was listening to this beautiful song, suddenly a giant shadow appeared before them. It was none other than the Priestess of Darkness, Beran, seeking to use Nell's power for her own evil designs. With her magic, Nell disappeared right before Link's eyes. What is the fate of young Nell!? Link's new adventure is about to begin!

The two adventures seem to take place in separate lands, but Nintendo is linking the two adventures together with a unified and parallel central plot. Characters in one adventure will make cameos in the other, or will appear in other bizarre and perhaps dreamlike manners. Which is the real adventure and which is the dream? Or is either a dream? The secrets lie with the last footstep of your journey.
This is Zelda: Mystical Seed of Power's key innovation -- you'll be able to start playing the series from either game of the series without getting lost in the different storylines. In addition, the two games will be linked in such a way that a result of a certain action in one story will have an effect on another story. Here's exactly how the Chapter Link System, which will connect the parallel adventures together, works in the twin Zelda games:

The two editions of the game (titled Chapter of the Earth and Chapter of Time & Space in Japan) will exchange information via a password.
Whatever name you input in the first title will carry over to the second.
Whereas in the Zelda series, you always started with 3 hearts, when you play the second title, you will start with 4.
Certain events will occur only if you have played the other game.
Characters that appeared in the first game will "guest star" in the other game.
The items you are equipped with at the start of the game will be different.

Note that "First" and "Second" simply refer to the order in which you played the two titles, not one or the other. You can play either game in any order, or can decide to only play through one of the games and not the other. Using the Chapter Link, when you accomplish certain tasks in one game, you're awarded a password. Entering this password in another cartridge will tell the game that you have completed a task, and this password will key specific changes in the game you've applied it to. Like all Zelda games, these titles will still have battery save -- the password system is just to apply to elements in the gameplay.

As far as gameplay, there's plenty of amazing additions to separate this game from the last Game Boy Color Zelda, Link's Awakening. The new item, the Rod of the Four Seasons will be required to solve certain riddles that appear in the new Zelda games. Maybe the winter snow covers a secret entrance to a dungeon, and you'll need to change the seasons to uncover it.

    Two characters that will help Link on his quest are introduced. The first is a kangaroo named Ricky. When Link climbs into Ricky's pouch, he will be able to jump and using a pair of boxing gloves, be able to punch out enemies. Much like Yoshi in Super Mario World, Rikki comes in handy when Link can't overcome an obstacle with his own power. The other character is Maple. She suddenly appears flying on a broomstick and crashes into Link, bringing about various events in the storyline. Other animals can help you during the quest as well -- there's a fish that you can ride in the water, as well as a bear with a mean whirlwind attack.
    From what we could tell during our limited play time with the game, the fact that Nintendo outsourced the development of the game to Capcom doesn't seem to have hurt it one bit -- unless you were expecting something completely different from previous Zelda games. The game plays exactly like Link's Awakening -- but the addition of new puzzle elements, such as the use of the kangaroo or the "Link System", should be able to add enough new stuff to make the game stand on its own.
    There's a reason why the game had the tentative title "The Mystical Seed of Power." In the game, you can weild a slingshot which gives you the ability to fire different type of acorns, each with different powers. For example, you can shoot a "fire" acorn which ignites torches, and an "ouch" acorn that's tons more powerful than the standard acorn.
    Originally, this series was planned as a three-game set. However, one of the chapters was cut due to difficulties in linking the stories and coding together in a workable unit and still providing ample gameplay for those with only one of the games. Nintendo is fully confident that the Game Link system will still be a complete and unique experience, and delayed the Zelda project entirely to get the games working well together and presumedly to add features, plots, and characters of the lost chapter somewhere in the final two editions. The two chapters will be released simultaneously in Japan in February, with a release date in the US falling hopefully before Summer 2001.

Sections