I never managed to beat the game but still enjoyed it. I liked the items and gameplay, especially for a Game Boy game. It is memorable and has iconic characters. Also the opening title sequence is memorable, being one of the coolest in any Zelda game.
The best part of the entire game is the music.
The best part of the entire game is the music.
these games were so charming dude. dungeons, bosses, graphics, music are all peak. some of the best pixel art on the GBC. it's crazy how well capcom emulated the zelda formula. easily better than LA/minish cap
patches used:
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/3580/ - Oracle of Ages Force GBA Enhanced Mode
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/3589/ - Oracle of Ages GBC palettes
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/2934/ - Oracle of Ages VWF Edition
patches used:
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/3580/ - Oracle of Ages Force GBA Enhanced Mode
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/3589/ - Oracle of Ages GBC palettes
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/2934/ - Oracle of Ages VWF Edition
Not the best the series has to offer, but it still has some very interesting puzzles and unique dungeons that make it worth playing. Will probably pick it back up eventually.
This review contains spoilers
Os gráficos desses jogos são muito bonitos, principalmente nas diferenças entre uma estação e outra em Oracle of seasons, e nas mudanças entre eras em Oracle of ages. Há uma evolução gráfica notável desde Link’s Awakening DX, principalmente na questão de cinemáticas, que estão muito mais presentes, e no design das dungeons.
A trilha sonora dos dois jogos é muito similar em questão de qualidade, sendo muito boas em ambos os jogos. Não é nada espetacular, mas está no padrão da franquia, ainda tendo algumas trilhas marcantes.
Os controles continuam os mesmos do último jogo do GameBoy Color, porém com uma pequena mudança, pois há a opção de nadar embaixo d’água em Oracle of ages que muda toda a jogabilidade, pois você começa a nadar apertando o direcional ao invés de segurar e o botão B fica inutilizado para poder afundar. É uma mudança um pouco difícil de se acostumar, mas depois fica mais fácil.
O enredo dos dois jogos está conectado, por isso essa análise é conjunta. Em Oracle of seasons, Link tem a responsabilidade de salvar a Oráculo das estações, Din, das mãos de Onox, o general das trevas, para proteger Holodrum. Para isso, Link vai atrás das essências da natureza, usando o cajado das estações para mudar as estações a sua vontade. Depois de conseguir, ele vai até a fortaleza de Onox e o derrota, salvando Din, porém ainda não era o fim, pois Kotake e Koume, também conhecidas como Twinrova, querem ressuscitar Ganon e, para isso, precisam acender 3 chamas, a chama da destruição, do desespero e da tristeza. A primeira chama é acendida e Link vai para Labrynna, em Oracle of ages, para impedir que as outras se acendam. Ao chegar lá, Link acaba sendo enganado por Veran, a feiticeira das sombras, fazendo com que ela possua Nayru, oráculo das eras, e viaje para o passado, para convencer a rainha Ambi a construir uma torre obrigando todos a trabalharem sem parar. Link, dessa vez, vai atrás das essências do tempo, para poder derrotar Veran. Ele consegue salvar Nayru e derrotar a Feiticeira, porém a chama da tristeza já foi acesa e, assim que a princesa Zelda chega na cidade, ela é sequestrada por Twinrova, acendendo a chama do desespero. Link então, tem que derrotar as duas e salvar a princesa, para impedir que elas completassem o ritual que traria de volta Ganon, porém após quase serem derrotadas, elas se sacrificam no lugar de Zelda para ressuscitar Ganon, o que causa uma ressurreição imperfeita, trazendo uma besta irracional a vida. Link derrota Ganon e salva a princesa, acabando a história dos dois jogos.
No geral, são jogos bem divertidos, com uma boa história, muitas horas de diversão, porém o número de coletáveis, principalmente os anéis, pois muitos precisam de sorte para serem coletados e outros ainda precisam que os jogos sejam zerados mais de duas vezes para pegar todos. De resto, são jogos muito divertidos e a ideia da história compartilhada é muito boa e bem executada, valendo muito a pena.
Nota: Ótimo
A trilha sonora dos dois jogos é muito similar em questão de qualidade, sendo muito boas em ambos os jogos. Não é nada espetacular, mas está no padrão da franquia, ainda tendo algumas trilhas marcantes.
Os controles continuam os mesmos do último jogo do GameBoy Color, porém com uma pequena mudança, pois há a opção de nadar embaixo d’água em Oracle of ages que muda toda a jogabilidade, pois você começa a nadar apertando o direcional ao invés de segurar e o botão B fica inutilizado para poder afundar. É uma mudança um pouco difícil de se acostumar, mas depois fica mais fácil.
O enredo dos dois jogos está conectado, por isso essa análise é conjunta. Em Oracle of seasons, Link tem a responsabilidade de salvar a Oráculo das estações, Din, das mãos de Onox, o general das trevas, para proteger Holodrum. Para isso, Link vai atrás das essências da natureza, usando o cajado das estações para mudar as estações a sua vontade. Depois de conseguir, ele vai até a fortaleza de Onox e o derrota, salvando Din, porém ainda não era o fim, pois Kotake e Koume, também conhecidas como Twinrova, querem ressuscitar Ganon e, para isso, precisam acender 3 chamas, a chama da destruição, do desespero e da tristeza. A primeira chama é acendida e Link vai para Labrynna, em Oracle of ages, para impedir que as outras se acendam. Ao chegar lá, Link acaba sendo enganado por Veran, a feiticeira das sombras, fazendo com que ela possua Nayru, oráculo das eras, e viaje para o passado, para convencer a rainha Ambi a construir uma torre obrigando todos a trabalharem sem parar. Link, dessa vez, vai atrás das essências do tempo, para poder derrotar Veran. Ele consegue salvar Nayru e derrotar a Feiticeira, porém a chama da tristeza já foi acesa e, assim que a princesa Zelda chega na cidade, ela é sequestrada por Twinrova, acendendo a chama do desespero. Link então, tem que derrotar as duas e salvar a princesa, para impedir que elas completassem o ritual que traria de volta Ganon, porém após quase serem derrotadas, elas se sacrificam no lugar de Zelda para ressuscitar Ganon, o que causa uma ressurreição imperfeita, trazendo uma besta irracional a vida. Link derrota Ganon e salva a princesa, acabando a história dos dois jogos.
No geral, são jogos bem divertidos, com uma boa história, muitas horas de diversão, porém o número de coletáveis, principalmente os anéis, pois muitos precisam de sorte para serem coletados e outros ainda precisam que os jogos sejam zerados mais de duas vezes para pegar todos. De resto, são jogos muito divertidos e a ideia da história compartilhada é muito boa e bem executada, valendo muito a pena.
Nota: Ótimo
The connection of Seasons and Ages is a really good idea. If this will be remaked in Nintendo Switch and do the third game it could be the mix of a good story, puzzles & battles. The games itself well... good but have some problems
Excellent mais un peu moins bon que Oracle of Seasons je trouve. La mécanique qui nous oblige à spammer un bouton pour pouvoir nager à un certain moment du jeu est horrible.
¡De los poquitos Zeldas que me faltaban! El Ages tiene mejor historia, mientras que en el Seasons las mazmorras y objetos tienen más variedad. La conexión entre ambos juegos mola muchísimo
Enjoyed it, my favorite of the two oracle games
Better than Breath of the Wild (part 1)
Mesma coisa do Oracle of Seasons, nada contra, nada a favor, ele é legalzinho!!
Started a linked game on this game and I liked it a lot. More so than Seasons. I did miss Roc's Cape a lot though...
Peak top-down Zelda. Adventures so big it spans two games. Probably just nostalgia that fuels this rating because it's my first ever Zelda
you can also make the creepy creature with the giant bow show up in this game if you play seasons first so make sure you play seasons first
The Superior Oracle Game, even though there’s not much I can say about it that I couldn’t say about Seasons. The game linking mechanic was great.
Played on an emulator on PC
Pros: Ages is one half of the Oracles duo for GBC, and this is a big unique Zelda adventure. Top-down, classic puzzles, dungeons, actions, tons of unique new weapons/items, magic ring collection, and so much more, hell, there's even Animal Buddies in this, Moosh the flying bear, Ricky the Kangaroo, and Dmitri the Dodongo (no Epona, which always felt strange to me, but hey, I love me some rideable animals). Ages has the unique gimmick of time travel, but it's not like OoT's, no you're just travelling to the way past, and back to the present, which shows a ton of changes in the overworld and the people you come across. There's great puzzles in this one for reasons like that, and just in general, Ages is more puzzle focused than Seasons is. I recall dungeons were a bit trickier in this one too. One thing that I remember liking more about Ages than Seasons, was that Ages had Zora, the same type of Zora from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, and that was really cool to me. It had Gorons too! It was just nice to have 2D 8-bit depictions of these characters and races that were created in the 3D era. It's a good time! And upon beating both Ages and Seasons, you get a special extra final boss that's definitely worth doing!
Cons: There's some Game Boy limitations felt, just like with Link's Awakening. Smaller screen, and only two action buttons for all of your weapon usage. And... I didn't really dig the time travel stuff in this game nearly as much as I did the season changing gimmick in Oracle of Seasons. So that one gets half a star higher than this one, that'd be why.
What it means to me: After completing Seasons, I was hooked, I had to get my hands on Ages somehow! I believe at the time, my step brother had gotten the game, and so I just... played his copy, transferring over my password from Seasons, heh! Whatever it took! These two games were a grand journey, and it was the first time I ever really completed a Zelda adventure all by my little lonesome.
Cons: There's some Game Boy limitations felt, just like with Link's Awakening. Smaller screen, and only two action buttons for all of your weapon usage. And... I didn't really dig the time travel stuff in this game nearly as much as I did the season changing gimmick in Oracle of Seasons. So that one gets half a star higher than this one, that'd be why.
What it means to me: After completing Seasons, I was hooked, I had to get my hands on Ages somehow! I believe at the time, my step brother had gotten the game, and so I just... played his copy, transferring over my password from Seasons, heh! Whatever it took! These two games were a grand journey, and it was the first time I ever really completed a Zelda adventure all by my little lonesome.
Pretty good TLOZ game. I just remember getting stuck on this one minigame and could never get past it.
one of the few gb games to have aged well, same with seasons
Solid entry into the Zelda series, especially for a game outsourced to Capcom. It has a lot of the charm found in Link's Awakening, but definitely it's own flavor. Spritework and color capabilities are top notch
Not as good as OoS, but decent in its own right. These collaborations between Nintendo and Capcom yielded three of the best Legend of Zeldas ever and linking Oracle of Ages and Seasons titles getter is fun. It’s also neat that it works something like Resident Evil 2. You can start the game in either Zelda, and it’ll change things in the following game in unexpected ways.
It’s worth playing both. It’s just a shame the password system is such a pain in the ass.
It’s worth playing both. It’s just a shame the password system is such a pain in the ass.
I really liked this replay of Ages, it complements Seasons by providing a richer experience with its focus on puzzles and story. I find Ages to be more daring with its ideas than Seasons even if it doesn't always pan out right.
i dont remember if I finished this but it was fun, the oracle mechanics kinda sick
i also need to replay
i also need to replay
just slightly more big brained than its counterpart, Veran booba pilled
Played this one as a linked game, enjoyed it even more than Seasons.
It's own story is good and richer than the Seasons one, the overall conclusion that appears in the linked game is even better. For that reason I think it might be worth it to play Ages>Seasons to balance out the amount of interesting plot, although I didn't play this way myself yet.
I also really liked both new characters and returning ones from N64 Zeldas.
Just like in OoS, both music and visuals are fantastic, devs could really make wonders on a limited hardware back then. I liked the puzzle focused gameplay of Ages more than combat focused one of Seasons, but it's good they made them different. I think two games connected into one journey was an amazing concept that I would like to see more often. The only thing I didn't like - linked game became way too easy with all the rings and upgrades from the first part.
It's own story is good and richer than the Seasons one, the overall conclusion that appears in the linked game is even better. For that reason I think it might be worth it to play Ages>Seasons to balance out the amount of interesting plot, although I didn't play this way myself yet.
I also really liked both new characters and returning ones from N64 Zeldas.
Just like in OoS, both music and visuals are fantastic, devs could really make wonders on a limited hardware back then. I liked the puzzle focused gameplay of Ages more than combat focused one of Seasons, but it's good they made them different. I think two games connected into one journey was an amazing concept that I would like to see more often. The only thing I didn't like - linked game became way too easy with all the rings and upgrades from the first part.
less annoying than oracle of seasons but nothing in this i would want to go back to over links awakening
the puzzles kinda suck. thats a big problem when you game prides itself on them too. regardless it was fine
The better one
Don't play it
The Oracle dualogy has always been a blind spot for me when it comes to the Zelda series. I was so glad to find upon diving in that not only does Oracle of Ages live up to the high bar the Zelda series has set for itself, but it also executes certain ideas better than other games in the series!
The story is fairly standard for a Zelda game. In Oracle of Ages, Link finds himself in the world of Labrynna needing to rescue the Oracle of Ages herself, Nayru from the clutches of evil. And lo and behold, you do this by spelunking through many dungeons, gaining new items, and helping the townsfolk of the world in typical Zelda fashion. The main gimmick of this game is the Harp of Ages, an item that allows you to teleport between two separate maps of Labrynna, the past timeline, and the present timeline.
Traversing through the world to locate your next objective presents itself as a puzzle box. With only the vaguest sense of direction as to where your next objective lies, you need to poke and prod at the limits of the map to chart your course. The act of getting from point A to point B can be challenging, requiring clever use of the items in your arsenal as well as spatial thinking of how the past and present world maps fit together. While the path you take through Oracle of Ages is strictly linear, I found that exploring the world still felt open-ended and rewarded my curiosity. Two aspects of the game's design are key to my feeling this way.
1. The game does not care if you get lost and do not know where to go next.
2. Your traversal of the world unfolds entirely on a continuous map.
I got lost many times throughout the adventure! However, I found that getting lost only increased the satisfaction I felt when determining the correct path forward. Since the world map you traverse is relatively small in the grand scheme of things, there are only so many places to check when figuring out where to go next. The game design allows you to get lost in the world of Labrynna but be rewarded for your exploration efforts before too long. Having your exploration take place across one continuous map also helps to instill this feeling. It feels as if you are exploring a living space rather than discrete zones.
I was surprised to find myself constantly comparing the world design of Oracle of Ages to that of Skyward Sword; both of which are games directed by Hidemaro Fujibayashi. Skyward Sword's world design acts in a very similar fashion where traveling through the overworld to get to the next objective feels like one giant traversal puzzle. While I like Skyward Sword, you rarely feel like you are charting your own course through its world. The linearity of your route becomes obvious since the way forward is constantly signposted and overworld areas are separated into distinct zones. This makes the world feel more disconnected.
Oracle of Age's dungeons are also a delight to puzzle out. Many of the games' dungeons force you to think about the architecture of the entire space rather than only think about one puzzle in a specific room. In that way, Age's overworld design and dungeon design are tightly linked. My favorite Zelda dungeons adopt this approach and it's why the Crown Dungeon, Mermaid's Cave, and Jabu Jabu's Belly were some of my favorite dungeons in the game.
This is a top-tier 2D Zelda experience and I'm excited to see what lies in store in Oracle of Seasons.
Favorite Tracks: For a Zelda game, the soundtrack is unfortunately one of the weaker aspects. The dungeon themes especially don't stand out much and can seem to drone on.
Title Screen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3LXEInpQCc&list=PL2F0B084555138765&index=1
Skull Dungeon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4RR12EUhs&list=PL2F0B084555138765&index=21
Boss: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f327T53lEmM&list=PL2F0B084555138765&index=45
Credits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOvyyiv8fHk&list=PL2F0B084555138765&index=41
The story is fairly standard for a Zelda game. In Oracle of Ages, Link finds himself in the world of Labrynna needing to rescue the Oracle of Ages herself, Nayru from the clutches of evil. And lo and behold, you do this by spelunking through many dungeons, gaining new items, and helping the townsfolk of the world in typical Zelda fashion. The main gimmick of this game is the Harp of Ages, an item that allows you to teleport between two separate maps of Labrynna, the past timeline, and the present timeline.
Traversing through the world to locate your next objective presents itself as a puzzle box. With only the vaguest sense of direction as to where your next objective lies, you need to poke and prod at the limits of the map to chart your course. The act of getting from point A to point B can be challenging, requiring clever use of the items in your arsenal as well as spatial thinking of how the past and present world maps fit together. While the path you take through Oracle of Ages is strictly linear, I found that exploring the world still felt open-ended and rewarded my curiosity. Two aspects of the game's design are key to my feeling this way.
1. The game does not care if you get lost and do not know where to go next.
2. Your traversal of the world unfolds entirely on a continuous map.
I got lost many times throughout the adventure! However, I found that getting lost only increased the satisfaction I felt when determining the correct path forward. Since the world map you traverse is relatively small in the grand scheme of things, there are only so many places to check when figuring out where to go next. The game design allows you to get lost in the world of Labrynna but be rewarded for your exploration efforts before too long. Having your exploration take place across one continuous map also helps to instill this feeling. It feels as if you are exploring a living space rather than discrete zones.
I was surprised to find myself constantly comparing the world design of Oracle of Ages to that of Skyward Sword; both of which are games directed by Hidemaro Fujibayashi. Skyward Sword's world design acts in a very similar fashion where traveling through the overworld to get to the next objective feels like one giant traversal puzzle. While I like Skyward Sword, you rarely feel like you are charting your own course through its world. The linearity of your route becomes obvious since the way forward is constantly signposted and overworld areas are separated into distinct zones. This makes the world feel more disconnected.
Oracle of Age's dungeons are also a delight to puzzle out. Many of the games' dungeons force you to think about the architecture of the entire space rather than only think about one puzzle in a specific room. In that way, Age's overworld design and dungeon design are tightly linked. My favorite Zelda dungeons adopt this approach and it's why the Crown Dungeon, Mermaid's Cave, and Jabu Jabu's Belly were some of my favorite dungeons in the game.
This is a top-tier 2D Zelda experience and I'm excited to see what lies in store in Oracle of Seasons.
Favorite Tracks: For a Zelda game, the soundtrack is unfortunately one of the weaker aspects. The dungeon themes especially don't stand out much and can seem to drone on.
Title Screen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3LXEInpQCc&list=PL2F0B084555138765&index=1
Skull Dungeon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4RR12EUhs&list=PL2F0B084555138765&index=21
Boss: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f327T53lEmM&list=PL2F0B084555138765&index=45
Credits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOvyyiv8fHk&list=PL2F0B084555138765&index=41
Peak 2D Zelda