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The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (GBC)

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages Cover

GENERAL INFORMATION

GENRE/STYLE

Role-playing/Third-Person 2D Action RPG

RELEASE DATE

14/MAY/01

ESRB RATING

EVERYONE, Mild Violence

DEVELOPER

Capcom Co., Ltd., Flagship

PUBLISHER

Nintendo of America, Inc.

TRAITS (member-attributed "LIKES")

THE SETTING #USES

PLAYING AS #USES

Link 46

PLAYING AGAINST #USES

HOW IT'S PLAYED #USES

GENERAL TONE #USES

DESCRIPTION

The Legend of Zelda: The Oracle of Ages is a Zelda adventure game released on the same day as its sister title, The Oracle of Seasons. The game has many of the same features as Link's Awakening, the first Zelda Game Boy adventure, but brings several new elements to the gameplay experience.

All is not well in the peaceful land of Labrynna. A place of beauty and peace, Labrynna's time stream has been commandeered by a wicked sorceress named Veran. Veran has possessed the wise and ancient Neyru, the Oracle of Ages that controls time in the land. Using her cunning, she has gone back in time and built a structure that has blocked the sun's rays from reaching Labrynna.

This has allowed evil to spread, unchecked, across its every corner. Fortunately for the Oracle and the world, a young adventurer named Link has somehow found himself here, armed with only a few simple tools and his wits. Link will have to use all of his skill and cunning to defeat another great darkness, and bring yet another helpless land into the light.

The most obvious gameplay feature that The Oracle of Ages provides is time travel. With the use of a magical harp, Link can travel to different periods in time. Each new tune he learns for his harp will take him to a different place and time. The changes in the game world between time periods is often drastic, and time shifting will allow Link to access new areas and progress through the game.

Also new to the Zelda series but present in The Oracle of Seasons is the seed system. Link can either use the various types of seeds he finds for fighting, as they have various effects on enemies, or he can choose to plant seeds in various spots of special soil. In time, these seeds will sprout into trees, which can provide Link with both everyday items and special rare objects.

The ring system is new to Zelda, as well, and is present in both new games. Link will find many rings on his quest, from characters, hidden in chests, or growing on trees that he's planted. These rings affect him in different ways, like equipping different items in an RPG. The rarer the ring, the more profound the effect. Rings can also be swapped between games, so a ring that you found in The Oracle of Seasons can be used in The Oracle of Ages.

Players will also find many things they expect from a Zelda title, like the eight different dungeons spread across the land that Link must overcome if he is complete his quest. The Oracle of Ages is a bit more cerebrally designed, as opposed to The Oracle of Seasons, which is more focused on action. That means more tricky puzzles fill out the body of the game. Link will also find helpful items to move along his quest, some returning from past adventures, and some appearing for the first time.

There are mini-games and quests sprinkled throughout the title, including a running sub-quest where you find NPCs to trade objects with, ending up with a new object and a new NPC to find, until eventually you find the last one in the line, who will power-up your weapon. Also included are some of Link's animal friends, who will aid him in his journey just when he thinks he is stuck.

In addition to all of this, The Oracle of Ages can be linked to The Oracle of Seasons via a special password feature. Beating one game and entering in the password will allow players to talk to new people, find rarer items, and fight extra bosses to discover the true ending to Link's quest. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (GBC)

GENRE/STYLE:

Role-playing/Third-Person 2D Action RPG
RELEASE DATE:

14/MAY/01
TOP TRAITS:

Link, Hyrule, Time Travel
DESCRIPTION:

The Legend of Zelda: The Oracle of Ages is a Zelda adventure game released on the same day as its sister title, The O... more

players 67

followers 0

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POPULARITY: GBC PLATFORM

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Past 14 days

merck played The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages on 23/AUG/11

“Finally arrived at Endgame, just need to go through Black Tower.”

created 24/AUG/2011

An aweome site I found for fans of The Legend of Zelda's music. by: EarthboundX

“I found this cool site when I was searching Google to see if they released the Spirit Tracks soundtrack yet(I just love the overworld theme) http://www.zreomusic.com/ It has orchestrated songs...”

created 21/JAN/2010

Torinir was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“:o”

EarthboundX was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“@Torinir What's that mean?”

Jwallwalrus was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“pretty sweet!”

Linked713 was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“Knew this site =)”

KaKaVegeGurl was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“OMG neat!”

Fallout2Forever was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“Awesome man! Orchestral music ftw!”

Roxas-UrBoxas was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“Also try WZMR as well... Internet radio (completely free) and it's World Zelda Music Radio.”

Linked713 was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“WTF? Radio station dedicated or zelda musics? I've heard it all..”

sup909 was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“If you are looking for a lot of game music re-imagined and remixed, be sure to check out http://ocremix.org/ ”

Roxas-UrBoxas was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“OcRemix was neat, but they pull stuff off the site fast, a lot of remixes I loved before hand are gone forever now unless I luck out on youtube or torrents... Find something you like on OC be sure to get it saved, it won't be there long...

Also, FF-Radio happens to be the station I tune into before bed time every night. AND... Video Game programmers apparently love Split Infinity, I tried listening to it, but they play a lot of garbage in between some really good tracks... Interesting.”

Fallout2Forever was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“@Roxas-UrBoxas When did they start pulling off remixes from the site, and more importantly, why is it happening?”

Roxas-UrBoxas was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“I dunno, since they do everything through youtube nothing should be an issue to them, but I've been finding it tough to find Kate Covington's work which made me love the site to begin with, and a few others...

Then again, it may not be the site, maybe the artist is doing it too and I just was unlucky in my taste.”

lagdaemon was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“nice.... i had no idea this was out there. thanks for sharing the link. feels good to hear these songs taken from 8 or 16 bit into the real thing.”

Fallout2Forever was the last to comment - over 3 years ago... show previous hide previous

“Does anyone know why ocremix.org is pulling rexmies off of their site, and why it is happening?”

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (GBC) by: blues711

“Very fun game. The harp of ages allowed some great puzzles and I had a great time doing the dungeons. While some of the items like the seed-shooter and slingshot (found in Oracle of Seasons) seem really similar, the diagonal shooting and seed...”

created 30/DEC/2009

Favorite Zelda games? by: PuyoDead

“So, out of curiosity, what is everyone favorite Zelda games in the series? I ask because I find it interesting how depending on age, people have certain ones they like the most. It seems like the...”

created 20/SEP/2009

Retodon8 was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“Although I was introduced to Zelda through "A Link to the Past", I never actually got to play it myself, until around a few years ago through the magic of emulation. When I finally did, it was still as fun as it looked back then. :) I suppose it may not be your favourite kind of game, but I certainly can't see how anybody could claim this not to be a good game.

The first Zelda I played is Ocarina of Time. At the time I didn't recognize the elements from previous, 2D Zelda games, but I still loved it. I do like exploring, and the Zelda games' exploring means you can spend a lot of time playing, in a good way, since it keeps introducing new gameplay elements to keep things fresh.

Those two games are my favourites, since they are the original 2D and 3D games respectively, for me. Later games have been fun, but always build on the original games' formulas. There aren't as many new gameplay elements, although there are always a couple of actually new things introduced in every title. I'm not saying sticking to your roots is a bad thing (although I wouldn't mind a little bit more experimenting done to the series), but I have to limit myself to the original two games.

For simplicity's sake I call ALttP the original game, since it was for me, but of course I skipped over the true original, for the NES. I did give it a try, but it felt a little outdated, a little too repetitive, with graphics that didn't really do it for me. (I didn't play it for very long to be fair.) It seems like Zelda needed ALttP to perfect the formula. All later/future 2D Zelda games tend to resemble it more than the original Zelda.

OK, that's my two pence worth. :)”

cyasuey was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“A Link to the Past is my favorite. Started playing it when I was 6 years old, and still play it to this day.

There is something brilliant about the simplicity of the SNES graphics and audio of this game, creating a unique atmosphere.”

WILDMAMMOTH was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“I also have to say that A Link to the Past is my favorite, but if you have a bunch of friends and GBAs it's hard to beat Four Swords Adventures.”

Spookty was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“Uh, wow. I haven't even played much Zelda, since I grew up on Sega. I'd take recommendations, though.”

WILDMAMMOTH was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“@Spookty It's hard to go wrong. Pick anything on that list of games and go for it, though I'll warn you that a lot of people hate The Adventure of Link. I like it fine, but it's not for everyone.”

Torinir was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“A Link to the Past is definitely my favourite as well.”

EarthboundX was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“It's really hard to decide, they're all so awesome.”

PuyoDead was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“Yea, The Adventure of Link is just weird. It's the only side scroller in the series, and the only one in which you actually gain experience and level up (a very rough version of "leveling up" that is). It's not really a bad game, it just doesn't really feel like a Zelda game.

I still haven't finished MM. It's the only one I haven't beat in the whole series. I've came so close, so many times, and I just never finish. It's not because I get bored of it, it's my perfectionist kicking in. See, the whole bomber's notebook side quest stuff, the stray faeries, the extra weapons and such... I can't help but try to do everything. I have such a hard time finishing it -without- getting all that stuff, that I get sidetracked trying to do it all, and lose track of the main game. Someday I just need to go back and finish, regardless of what is missing.

I also suggest those that never tried Minish Cap to give it a shot. It's the closest thing to ALttP in the whole series. It's like if they took ALttP, gave it WW graphics/sound, and made it look just a little bit better. The story is a bit odd, and the side quest stuff is just as maddening in it as well, but it's very nice. Oh, and slight spoilier:

The last boss is a damn marathon, easily one of the most ridiculous in all the games.

Side note:
The CDi games don't count. Seriously, they're embarrassments.”

tekchip was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“Ok I'll be the freak here. Minish Cap! I can't put my finger on it. I think the 2D throw back but with the bright sharper graphics of a newer game. That and while it might not have been quite as challenging as some other Zelda games but it presented enough challenge to be something to over come but still be fun. Style, music, game play. Seemed kind of Zen-ish in how it came together.”

Vice_Destroyer was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“For me, the two best Zeldas are The Ocarina of Time and A link to the past. Unfortunately, those are the only two that I have really taken the time out to finish. I have come to the conclusion that all the Zelda games essentially follow the same template. I really do feel as if I play the same game, from generation to generation.”

WILDMAMMOTH was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“I have never even tried Minish Cap... My brother has it, but he lives in another state... I might be marathoning that game come Christmas time...”

EarthboundX was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“Minish Cap is awesome! Classic Zelda right there.”

PuyoDead was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“@Vice_Destroyer Yea, they're all pretty similar, with a few exceptions (AoL, MM). Generally, it's "go find a dungeon, find item, use it to finish the place, and find your way to the next. Repeat until done." But, The pace in which you get new items, and the extra optional stuff (sword upgrades, extra items, etc.) makes it a generally fun layout for me. Call me old fashioned, but I like the template they use. It's just one of those games that I'm fine with it staying generally the same, with an occasional stray. Kind of like Castlevania.”

mnightwind was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“Ahh nostalgia.. Link to the Past has got to be my favorite.. I can still remember a young lil' mnightwind sneaking into the living room at night after everyone had gone to sleep to load this up on our newly purchased SNES. As it was late in the evening when we got it the folks wanted to watch TV and then it was sleep time as it was a school night. I hadn't even gotten to try the new SNES yet! I just had to load this up. I can still see the triforce spinning in on the initial splash screen as I sat in the dark with the volume turned way down.. good times :3”

PuyoDead was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“@mnightwind Hah! No joke, I did the EXACT same thing. I'd get it from Blockbuster over the weekend (before buying it, which sucked, since I lost that save), and play it all night. Always at low volume, right in front of the TV, in hopes of nobody waking up and yelling at me for staying up all night.”

mnightwind was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“@PuyoDead Yup! The ever present terror of a sleepy-eyed parent shuffling down the hallway to yell at me XD”

allaryin was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“Mmm. Link to the Past has a lot of good memories for me. Then again, they all do. I remember watching the original Legend of Zelda commercial on TV. It haunts me. I purchased a used N64 (after the GCN was out) explicitly as a "Zelda machine". I tried to write a Zelda 2 clone in Turbo Pascal on my 286 :)

But Zelda 3 was the game I'd run home from school to alternate play with a friend for over a month solid. The only other game I had a similar experience with was 6 years later with FF7.”

mnightwind was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“Oh wow.. I had forgotten the 'Zelda Rap' commercial XD Repressed memories activate!”

PuyoDead was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“How about this atrocity?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUAYO7Zyydk”

EarthboundX was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“@PuyoDead I've seen that, hehe.

Makes me wonder what the lyrics would be in English.”

WILDMAMMOTH was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“@PuyoDead That is disgusting.”

WildcatDave was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“I'd have to say Link's Awakening, then Oracle of Seasons/Ages. I can't define the qualities that make me like it so much, but they're the only ones I've replayed from the start and beat each time. Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask I've tried to get into several times but something about em just seemed to push me away. It's possible I just wasn't letting myself open up to the idea of a 3D Zelda.

LttP fits in third. The structure and design are flawless, but something or other would always hold me back from being able to beat it, usually some piece of hardware dying or no longer being available.”

justidroy was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“I'm a Zelda fan from day one, and i played every game. 'A Link To The Past' is my all time favorite followed by 'Ocarina Of Time'. The original 'The Legend Of Zelda' fills my #3 spot.

It's really hard to create a top 3 because I like all the games in the series one by one. (Only the real Zelda games though, as @PuyoDead said the CDI games are a real embarrassment to the series.)

I'm really curious about how 'Spirit Tracks' will be. I really don't know if I like the train element though, but what the hell it's a Zelda game and Zelda games never disappoint.”

DarkLeviathan13 was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“My favorite is definitely Ocarina of Time, most likely because its the first one I ever played and spend so much time on it the first way through getting everything. It remains my favorite game all-time to this day, though i also like Twilight Princess and A Link to the Past.”

Araman was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“I've played and completed most of the Zelda games, and I will have to say that my favorite is still Ocarina of Time with A Link to the Past and Links Awakening at a close second.”

Bradysto was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“I've played nearly every Zelda Game out to date and I still think to this day, while I'll play any of them again in a heartbeat, the black sheep of Zelda II will always hold a place in my heart XD”

Narzack was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“I'm going to have to go with Ocarina as my standout favorite, with Link's Awakening as my second favorite.”

xanquador was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“There are too many to pick out a favorite.
But when I think about it...

The Legend of Zelda is one op my tops.
Just because it is the first game in this awsome series.
I actually just begun with A Link to the Past, but I have read the comic and the story line is great.
Also one of my favorites is The Windwaker. The cell-shaded graphics are great and the "comics-look" disappears after a while playing. And I love to sail, so that's a plus for me :)
The rest of the series are pretty much on the third place.
Can't decide really :P”

ahippie was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“Lets see...
I'm not a Zelda nut or anything but i have played a good amount of Zelda games to tell which one is my favorite and not. My favorite is the same as many others, A Link to the Past. I played it on my Gameboy Advance a while ago when the remake came out and it was AWSOME. Out of all of the Zelda games, 2D and 3D this one was the most fun for me. It had somewhat of a storyline, fun dungeons and cool items. The mirror world aspect was the fun part. Now a days i feel like some of the Zelda games are a little bit repetitive and overdone. Twilight Princess was fun but it was the same old and i got bored and stopped playing 3/4 of the way through. OoT was a fun game but my hatred for the ending scene of the game keeps it of my favorite Zelda games. I didn't like the first Zelda cause there was no plot and no directions in the game at all... I'm one of the few people who doesn't like OoT much and I'm also one of the only people who though Wind Waker was lots of fun...”

Soyle-sama was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“Once again, A Link to the Past. After that I'd say OoT or any number of the gameboy ones. But definitely ALttP above all”

Reiaze was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“I'm with @WILDMAMMOTH. It's hard to go wrong with any of them.”

Soyle-sama was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“@ahippie windwaker WAS lots of fun :)”

mykalgaidin was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“I've played almost every game in the series (only missed Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons) and I'd have to give the nod to Twilight Princess. It took everything that had been done right in past games and gave it a good tweak. Variety was the name of the game, since you could be doing one thing, and just when you think "oh, God, here comes that X section" and then before you know it you're sumo wrestling an old rock man with old rock man nipples.

The original Legend of Zelda will always have a special place in my heart because it's the first game I ever beat, way back when in the mists of time, with lumbering form half-spotted moving slowly through the morning fog (1983 or thereabouts).”

Tanindigo was the last to comment - over 3 years ago...

“Probably Wind Waker is my favorite.For the handheld versions i would have to go with Awakening DX”

SpikeZantren was the last to comment - over 3 years ago... show previous hide previous

“I'm in the Link to the Past camp, though I also have Twilight Princess and Majora's Mask up there right under it, followed by Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker.

I grew up with A Link to the Past, and Twilight Princess was everything I liked about Ocarina of Time with updated graphics and weapons, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Majora's Mask was also an example (in my opinion) of Nintendo taking a risk and actually making something good and new out of a classic series.

A Link to the Past will always be my favourite though, since it was one of my first (and best) games I've ever owned and played.”

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (GBC) by: HopeMonger

“2D but very fun lots of content, and even a cooperative play ability after one win For it's time it's actually very advanced and I like it”

created 24/JUL/2009

HopeMonger played The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages on 20/JUL/09

“Made some major progress on this game over the week now all I need to do is destroy the final boss :P Then I'll get back too CoH and WoW if my Internet will permit it (we're on a new connection now)”

created 24/JUL/2009

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (GBC) by: bhive01

“This is my favorite portable Zelda game so far. The concept of time travel wasn't new thanks to OoT, but Ages used it more frequently for more puzzles and gave me a few of those "duh" moments that I hadn't had in a while. Great title. ”

created 02/JUL/2009

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (GBC) by: Knage

“One half of a really good game is how I view this game. Season/Ages was really an innovative idea for nintendo to get a lot of money, but at least it was worth it for this. In ages your travel between the present and the past, basically going back an”

created 19/FEB/2010