Box Art
Game: Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
First Released: May 14, 2001, Gameboy Color
Developers: Flagship, Nintendo, Capcom
Platforms: Gameboy Color, Virtual Console
Rated: E, for Mild Violence
First Released: May 14, 2001, Gameboy Color
Developers: Flagship, Nintendo, Capcom
Platforms: Gameboy Color, Virtual Console
Rated: E, for Mild Violence
How I Came To Play This Game
Link riding a horse in the intro
Shortly after I completed Oracle of Seasons, I began my playthrough of this game. It was an interesting experience putting in all the passwords through the link system. I managed to get myself a ton of free items and upgrades which made the combat much easier than in Seasons. Since this was the second of the pair that I played, I will treat it as the sequel for this review.
Story
Final battle with Ganon
Called by the Triforce, Link travels to the shrine of the sacred relic. He is beckoned by the sacred triangles, and they transport him to a world known as Labrynna, which is in dire need of the legendary hero. Link awakens in a grove. Here, he meets Impa who is on her way to meet Nayru, a beautiful girl with a voice known to all of Labrynna. Impa sees the Mark of a Hero on his left hand, and tells him that the road to Nayru's house is blocked by a stone with a mark of the Triforce on it. Link moves it and the two find the grove where Nayru is singing. However, the pastoral serenity ends when Veran, the Sorceress of Shadow, leaves Impa's body, who she had been possessing all along. Nayru is revealed to be the Oracle of Ages, descendant of a long line of women with the power to control time. She then possesses Nayru's body and uses her power to transport herself to the past. In the past, Veran, through Nayru, befriends Queen Ambi and becomes her chief advisor. Queen Ambi is in the middle of constructing a tower to guide her lost seafarer back to her. However, through Nayru, Veran twists Queen Ambi's original romantic idea into one of nightmares. Veran is able to stop time, creating a permanent day, thus preventing the workers building the tower from ever going home. Queen Ambi, believing Nayru to be good, pays no heed to the suffering of her people. Back in the present age, Impa tells Link that in order to find out how to stop Veran, he must consult the Maku Tree. He travels to the place of the Maku Tree; however, something is happening to her in the past and she ceases to exist. Link travels back in time to stop some Moblins and prevent her death from ever happening. After he travels back to the present, the Maku Tree tells him that the only way to break the curse on Ambi's Tower, now known as the Black Tower, is to gather the eight Essences of Time, thus restoring the Maku Tree's memory. Link starts collecting the Essences of Time. At one point, he decides to rescue Nayru from Veran's spell. However, after driving Veran out of Nayru, Veran possesses Queen Ambi herself. She completes the Black Tower. After Link collects the rest of the Essences, the Maku Tree's memory is restored, and she produces a Maku Seed; a magical seed with the power to break the curse on the Black Tower. Link travels there, breaks the curse and confronts Veran. After multiple hard-fought battles, Veran is finally defeated, and all seems to be well. However, Twinrova had been watching the events that transpired the whole time, and Veran, even though she was defeated, managed to create enough fear and sorrow to light the Flame of Sorrow. Twinrova's plan is to resurrect Ganon once both the Flame of Sorrow and Flame of Destruction are lit. Twinrova then kidnapped Princess Zelda in order to light the final Flame of Despair, then attempt to sacrifice her to revive Ganon. Link is able to defeat Twinrova, who then sacrifice themselves instead of Zelda, but the attempt fails and the Ganon that is resurrected is nothing but an empty shell full of hate and rage. Link manages to defeat Ganon, and rescue Zelda. They escape the crumbling tower, and rejoice with Nayru, Din, Impa, Ralph, and the Maku Tree. Link then begins his journey across the ocean back to his homeland of Hyrule.
Pros And Cons
Story
Walking around town
I think this game's story was a huge let down. It used elements such as possession and time travel which I feel do not fit. Time travel was previously done in Ocarina of Time, and possession doesn't fit the series at all.
Characters
The many characters of the game
Not too many characters are added in this game. The only ones that stick out as new are Nayru, Farore, and the Maku Tree. The two Oracles, Nayru and Farore, are obviously named after two of the Golden Goddesses, and play a major part of the story. The Maku Tree serves as a source of wisdom and overseer of your journey, as well as a comic relief. The villainess named Veran is actually a bigger part of the story than General Onox was in Seasons, so her evil nature is somewhat more believable. Many characters from Majora's Mask also make cameo appearances, such as Tingle.
Gameplay
Fighting a Stalfos
The gameplay is the same as it was in Link's Awakening and Oracle of Seasons, which is like a Gameboy version of Link to the Past. It is identical to the gameplay of Oracle of Seasons. There are different items you get from dungeons such as the Switch Hook and Seed Shooter instead of Roc's Cape or Slingshot. There are certain puzzles made specifically for these items as well. However, the puzzles are still a little too difficult to figure out sometimes. Even worse, the difficulty level is inconsistent. You could go through a really tough dungeon, but then the next one is straight forward and simple. The only major difference with the gameplay is the time travel mechanic. It is essentially the Light World and Dark World from Link to the Past with a different coat of paint. Instead it being the Past and Present. In Oracle of Seasons, the Rod of Seasons was original because there were four versions of the same map to explore, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Worst of all, the time travel puzzles were made even more difficult than any from Seasons or Link to the Past. However, I did get tons of extra items and upgrades from the password system so at least that made it a little easier. I can't imagine anybody starting out with Oracle of Ages though. It would be too frustratingly difficult.
Graphics
Zora Village
Just as the gameplay was, the graphics were completely ripped from Link's Awakening. The only major difference being that they are much more detailed. The overworld is still divided into many screens, but inside dungeons there are areas that cause the screen to scroll. So that is a little improvement and makes it closer in terms of advancement to A Link to the Past.
Music
Many music tracks were also ripped straight from Link's Awakening, such as the Title Screen, Overworld, Witch Hut, Secret, and Item Get themes. However, it does add a lot of new themes as well. Also, many of the ripped tracks have been remastered for better sound quality.
Releases
Oracle of Ages was released alongside Oracle of Seasons on May 14, 2001 for the Gameboy Color. Then on May 30, 2013, they were both released for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console.
My Version's Extras
Gameboy Advance
Both the Oracle games were released around the launch of the Gameboy Advance. Since the Gameboy Advance was going to be backwards compatible with Gameboy and Gameboy Color games, the developers decided to add some features that only become available when playing on a Gameboy Advance. The Gameboy Advance had a darker screen than the Gameboy Color, so the game graphics would become much brighter so that they are easier to see. Also, an Advance Shop would become available where you could buy many rare items for discount prices.
My Rating
I give this game a 7/10. It was a good game, but it didn't have much to offer in comparison to Link's Awakening. The puzzles were also just too difficult.