Oracle of Ages is an intriguing game for the 2D series. Of the GBC duology, this is the one that has a greater focus on setting temples and puzzles with a higher degree of complexity, and also in making things a bit cryptic to be difficult to figure out, however, that's what makes it a memorable journey.

The main innovation of this title, is that unlike games that have in their title phrases like "A Link to the Past" or "Ocarina of Time", here there is a real time travel to the past involved, because in this game we will travel the lands of Labrynna through the present, but also from hundreds of years in the past. Traveling between both eras becomes something primordial and very entertaining that is very reminiscent of the parallel dimensions of the previously mentioned Super Nintendo game, and personally I have always liked that kind of games in which you have to travel in time to get things that do not exist in the other and vice versa, even some temples make use of this dynamic, and although at the beginning you start with certain restrictions to travel between eras, as you advance in the game you can travel in time with greater freedom.

The game is set in the kingdom of Labrynna, where the Oracle of Ages, Nayru, is located. However a sorceress named Veran ends up possessing her and traveling back in time to wreak havoc on the timeline and conquer the world, the usual. So this time we have to go through 8 temples traveling between two different times in order to obtain the 8 essences of time to rescue our friend Nayru.

Oracle of Seasons has probably one of the most intricate overworld map and temple designs, because figuring out what you have to do or where you have to go is not something you can deduce at first glance. In the beginning the game takes you by the hand, and certainly, it is a somewhat linear game. As you advance in your quest, things will get more and more complicated, so you'll have to have a lot of wit and a good memory to know what you need to do at certain points in the story. And as for the temples... these have a brilliant design, as the puzzles are quite "demanding" to say the least, as these feel like real logic challenges in which you will have to have a lot of patience if you don't want to lose your mind in the process, making this, more than an adventure game feel like one of puzzles because of the great emphasis given to this section, as even the bosses have their logic and many times you will have to think outside the box to solve the puzzles. This is especially noteworthy considering it's a 2D game for the Game Boy Color. The level design is on par with 3D games in terms of complexity. Take for example the water temple in this game, this one is equally or even more difficult than the water temple in Ocarina of Time.

As for the items you can get in the temples, these are not as new as in other games, since they are improved versions or with a little "twist" of items that we have already seen before. But one that I really liked is the replacement for the bow/sling shot, which is a seed shooter whose projectiles have the ability to bounce 2 times off the walls and is used to solve pretty good puzzles. The hook on this occasion works in a pretty cool way, as it swaps your position with the position of the grabbed object.

A section where this game takes inspiration from the N64 installments is in the mini-games, as there are many and each one is quite entertaining, although a bit difficult too. The most difficult one is when you get to the Goron region, it consists of a small memorization game that reminded me of my time when I played Brain Age, only here it's much more difficult because you have to follow a rhythm. I almost lost my mind trying to complete the highest level. I don't recommend doing it.

Conclusion
Oracle of Ages is fascinating without a doubt, although this ends up being like a double-edged sword, as it can result in some pretty frustrating moments being totally honest. But in the end, I'm left with the satisfaction I got from solving those puzzles and those "Eureka!" moments. I recommend playing this game without a guide, as it is something that is really worthwhile, even if there are many moments where you don't have even the tiniest idea of what you have to do.

Secret 2: -----------------aurith/list/--1/

← The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons - Review

I’m in a state of mind lately where I can’t seem to find any joy in anything I used to do, except not in like an emotionally distressed way so much as this. With that in mind, I’m going to say that both of these are pretty much just Link’s Awakening, again, twice, with a better color palette, and with that comes all the fun and thrills of okay top-down combat, impenetrable gameplay which necessitates keeping your eyes glued to a guide, and hours of looking for other shit and heart containers you don’t really need just because it’s there. Shelving it because it’s probably fine after all and it’s just me

Beating every Zelda in timeline order 13/20:

Honestly, I'm pretty torn on Oracle of Ages. There's a lot I love about the game. I think the dungeons and bosses are spectacular from a puzzle-focused Zelda game. For my tastes, nothing was overly obtuse or difficult, but it was all perfectly challenging. I really really enjoyed these as they made me think far more than a typical Zelda dungeon would. Veran is a fun villain as well, I quite enjoyed the story, simple as it may be. The overworld and the time spent between the dungeons is a bit of a mixed bag, however. The Harp of Ages iterates and improves on the light world/dark world concept from A Link to the Past. I love how it's used to progress through the world. What I don't really enjoy is the sequences of going to a place and tediously walking back and forth between screens to trade items or play goron minigames or solve the fairies' forest maze. These all vaguely annoyed me and felt like they were wasting my time instead of making me think outside the box. The overworld isn't exactly packed with interesting things to discover this time around either. I love the weird and wacky items in this game, but dear lord I hate the mermaid controls so much.

I can't imagine Oracle of Ages being for everybody, but for me this is a super fun puzzle game that made me feel like a genius- with a good amount of tedium thrown in for good measure.

I think I liked it better than Seasons for the bigger emphasis on puzzles, even though I have to admit that the harsher nature of Seasons makes its ending hit a little stronger. Even if this one feels a lot more story oriented.

I'm very surprised, considering how bad of a gamesense I have, that I was able to get through this one very easily. Controlling only two variances of the world and one having a direct consequence on the other and the presents giving you clues to how to navigate it, made it very easy and fun to traverse, as opposed to the the seasons gimmick, which made it all the more confusing for me. This game also stepped up the dungeons game a big deal and I think that's why I'll ultimately put this one on top.

As far as how I feel about both those games within the franchise, I really like how despite their similarities, both feel like polar opposites of one another, sorta like OoT and MM. As the seasons of the world are thrown in chaos, going through OoS doesn't make you fix it, it only gives you the power to change the seasons, so as it goes on, you become the one that is throwing chaos in the world of Holodron. And as you start to feel triumph over rapidly rampaging through all the dungeons and enemies, the reveal from the old man that all your fight is just a distraction from Twinrova resurrecting Ganon is truly impactful. In Ages, understanding both the present and the past allows you to help the people of Labrynna and it feels like the true story of the game smaller storylines like the Zoras, the Gorons. Whereas saving Din is the whole Seasons plot, in Ages, Nayru is saved at the halfwaypoint, the stakes are lower and Veran is a much more silly rather than intimidating villain. So the Twinrova reveal feels a lot less impactful as it feels like you've already saved the world.

(I forgot to input the password so I didnt get the linked game ending smh)

But yeah, overall didn't think I'd enjoy these games so much, definitely underrated and yeah Ages > Seasons, but really not by as large a margin as I would've expected.