The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
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| The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages | |
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| Developer(s) | Flagship |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Designer(s) | Hidemaro Fujibayashi (director) |
| Release date(s) |  February 27, 2001 May 14, 2001 October 5, 2001 |
| Genre(s) | Action Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E (Everyone) ELSPA: 3+ OFLC: G8+ |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy Color |
| Media | Cartridge |
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (ゼルダの伝説 ふしぎの木の実 時空の章 Zeruda no Densetsu Fushigi no Ki no Mi Jikū no Shō?, lit. "The Legend of Zelda: Nut of the Mysterious Tree: Chapter of Time and Space") is a video game published by Nintendo in 2001 in video games and developed by Nintendo in conjunction with Capcom. Although the game was originally released for use on the Nintendo Game Boy Color, it exhibits special features, such as additional items, when played on a Nintendo Game Boy Advance. The game is the counterpart of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, another Game Boy Color game which was released at the same time.
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[edit] Plot
[edit] Story
According to the instruction manual, the Triforce called out to Link from within its Temple. Link approached it, and was sucked into a vortex that tossed him out into a dark forest where upon landing, the young hero heard screaming. Running blindly through the bushes, Link entered a clearing and found a lady on the ground screaming and being circled by animals. When the monsters saw Link approach them, they scattered off in all directions.
Link soon realized that the woman lying on the ground was Princess Zelda's nurse, Impa. Impa said that there was a singer in the forest and that she had to go look for her. The nurse asked Link if he could help her. He agreed and the two went off in search for the songtress.
Continuing through the forest, they finally found who they were looking for. A young lady with blue hair sat on a tree stump surrounded by forest creatures that were listening to her beautiful song. The girl's name was Nayru and then Impa broke the solo with an evil laugh.
A shadow had emerged from Impa and was cackling as it swirled through the trees. The silhouette revealed itself as Veran, Sorceress of Shadows. The shadow began soaring around before flying into Nayru's body and disappearing in a flash of light.
Nayru was the Oracle of Ages to land called Labrynna and now that she was taken by Veran, the time flow between the past and present became disrupted.
[edit] Characters
- Link, as always, is the hero of the game.
- Impa is Princess Zelda's messenger who is possessed by Veran at the beginning of the game. In Impa's body, she is able to get close enough to Nayru to possess her as well.
- Nayru, Oracle of Ages is responsible for keeping the flow of time in Labrynna running smoothly. The main part of the quest involves rescuing her from Veran.
- Ralph is a childhood friend and guardian of Nayru. He assists Link in his quest.
- Queen Ambi was the queen of Labrynna many years ago. Veran goes to her time in Nayru's body and corrupts her, encouraging her to build a huge tower to the sky.
- The Maku Tree of Labrynna is a large magical tree similar to the Great Deku Tree. She aids Link in his quest by locating lost Essences of Time and the Harp of Ages.
- Veran, Sorceress of Shadows is the main villain. She takes over Nayru's body and uses her to disrupt the flow of time in Labrynna.
[edit] Gameplay
Oracle of Ages and Seasons each focus on a different aspect of the classic Zelda formula. Ages is puzzle-heavy while Seasons is action oriented. Though they are self-contained games, they also have the ability to link with one another, using either passwords or a cable, so that a person could play one game and transfer his or her progress to the other. This technique is also the only way to reach the "true" ending of the game.
Upon completing Oracle of Ages, players will receive a 20-character password. When starting a new game, players can input the password to play an alternative version of Oracle of Seasons. The alternative version features people who will mention passwords. Upon telling these passwords to people in Oracle of Ages, their Oracle of Ages file will receive items of some sort. Then, by taking a new password back into Oracle of Seasons, the new item can be brought to the game. Rings can also be traded this way, either by password or by Link Cable.
The alternate game also has many extras. Some items move around and must be found in different places. Princess Zelda appears and must be rescued. The Oracle of Ages character Queen Ambi appears in the game, and after searching for her long-lost sea-faring lover, finds him in Subrosia. Also, once Onox is defeated, the witch Twinrova appears. Veran and Onox were ploys to light the Flames of Sorrow and Destruction. Upon kidnapping Princess Zelda, the third Flame of Despair lights, and Twinrova attempts to offer Zelda as a tribute, along with the energy of the 3 Flames, to revive Ganon. Link must then enter Twinrova's lair and stop the ritual. Upon completing the alternative game, players receive yet another password. When used to start a new game, players receive the Victory Ring, which commemorates their defeat of Ganon.
[edit] Development
Initially, Nintendo planned to make a series of Zelda games called The Legend of Zelda: The Triforce Trilogy, remakes of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, plus a third original title. However, early in the development of the first title, it was clear the original NES Zelda games did not port over to Game Boy Color properly, and that it would be better to make new games from scratch. Originally there was to be a third Oracle game (tentatively titled The Legend of Zelda: Mystical Seed of Courage), but this was cancelled due to the increased complexity in creating a password system to coordinate three games.
[edit] Reception
Gamespot gave Oracle of Ages and Seasons each a 9.2, and IGN gave it their perfect rating of 10.
[edit] Legacy
[edit] Sequels
Oracle of Ages and Seasons were the first official Zelda games in the main series not developed exclusively by Nintendo. This arrangement was continued in the next two handheld Zelda titles The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past/Four Swords and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, which were developed by Flagship.
[edit] Comics
A manga novelization of the game was made by the mangaka Akira Himekawa as a sequel to the Oracle of Seasons manga. It introduced plotlines and story elements that weren't included in the original game. New characters included Raven (Link's ancestor who travelled to Labrynna and worked as Queen Ambi's chief guard), the bumbling Ralph (a young man who assists Link on his quest), and Link's grandparents. It also included the link-up segment of the game, with Ganon making an appearance. Unlike the game, Zelda does not kiss Link at the end of the story.
[edit] Notes and references
[edit] External links
- Official Site
- Oracle of Ages @ Zelda.com
- The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages at MobyGames
- Collection of reviews of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
- The Legend of Zelda:Oracle of Ages- cheat codes and walkthrough
