The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
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| The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages | ||||||||||||||||||||
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A Hero for All Seasons and Ages.
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The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages are action-adventure games developed by Flagship (a subsidiary of Capcom) and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Color. The games were released throughout 2001, and are the only games in the series to be divided into two distinct storylines as part of a larger one.
Why It's a Hero for All Time
- For the first (and only) time in Zelda history, one story is split into two distinct storylines, each with their own unique location (Holodrum for Seasons and Labrynna for Ages), dungeon items, Oracle (Din for Seasons and Nayru for Ages, with Farore acting as the arbiter between the two games), and main antagonist (General Onox for Seasons and Veran for Ages).
- After you complete one version in the pair, you can then make a Linked Game file to the other one via a password or Game Link; this unlocks new content not seen on your first playthrough such as the extended and true endings.
- Each game has its own unique central item that allows Link to solve puzzles and enter dungeons around Holodrum and Labrynna.
- The Rod of Seasons allows Link to change the four seasons, such as the summer heat drying out a waterfall so that he can enter the Poison Moth's Lair. To obtain a new season to control, you must enter the four towers of the Temple of Seasons and obtain a Season Spirit's powers.
- The Harp of Ages allows Link to warp into both the past and present ages of Labrynna via songs that teleport him 400 years into each time period. You obtain three different songs from various NPC's in the game.
- Another unique feature to the Oracle games is the Magic Rings you can find throughout the games that, when worn, give Link a variety of bonuses and abilities, thus giving these games an RPG-like twist.
- Certain choices you make will affect outcomes that happen later in the games, which adds reply value to them.
- Spectacular graphics for a Game Boy Color game, with Holodrum's landscape changing depending on which season Link changes it to and Labrynna's layout changing depending on the past or present version of it.
- Excellent soundtrack composed by Minako Adachi and Kiyohiro Sada, with standout tracks being Horon Village, both Lynna City themes, Tokay Island, and Ambi's Castle.
- Just like Link's Awakening, both games have a trading sequence; this one culminates in an upgrade to Link's sword (Noble Sword in a normal playthrough, Master Sword in a Linked Game).
- You can choose an animal partner in these games: Moosh the Bear, Ricky the Kangaroo, or Dimitri the Dodongo. Whichever you choose will carry over into a Linked Game if you use a password.
- There are several references to past Zelda games, including items (such as the Power Bracelet, Bombchus, and Cane of Somaria), characters (such as Tingle, Guru-Guru, the Gorons, and the Sea Zora), and the bosses in Seasons (such as Gleeok, Digdogger, Mothula, Aquamentus, etc.)
Bad Qualities
- While Ages usually has more original bosses, several bosses in Seasons, as before stated, are revamped versions of ones from the original Zelda game on NES (and in Mothula's case, A Link to the Past); although most are not bad and usually incorporate the dungeons' items into them, they often feel rehashed.
- On the topic of bosses, many of the ones in Ages have vague weaknesses or ways to beat them. For example, how is anyone supposed to know that Veran is weak against Mystery Seeds?
- The temporary invincibility after being hit is very short in these games, which could lead to Link losing a lot of health to a whole horde of enemies or a boss if he's too close to them.
- Most of the puzzles are repetitive, as they are needlessly repeated throughout the games.
- Some bad dungeons, such as the Crown Dungeon, Sword and Shield Maze, and most infamously, Jabu-Jabu's Belly.
- The dancing minigame in both versions (Subrosian in Seasons and Goron in Ages) is very difficult, as you have to have good memorization and timing to beat it. Even worse, you need to play it twice in Ages to access the Mermaid's Cave.
- The final boss of the story as a whole is anticlimactic and insulting, as the true villains are revealed to have been Twinrova and Ganon. And just to rub salt on the wound, Onox and Veran were presented as genuine threats (Onox was responsible for throwing the seasons out of whack and Veran possessed Nayru and later Queen Ambi to alter the past and almost ruin the future), and yet they aren't the true main antagonists!
- It doesn't help that the fight against Twinrova is frustrating and unsatisfying, especially compared to Onox and Veran. While Ganon's fight is better, it's nowhere near as epic as the latter characters' battles.
Reception
Both Oracle games were well-received by critics, with Seasons scoring 8/10 on Nintendo Life and Ages scoring 9/10. They are often considered to be two of the best Game Boy games ever made, with praise going to the vibrantly-colored graphics, story, music and connectivity to each other to get the full story.
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