Oracle of Ages

Developer : Flagship

Publisher : Nintendo

Platform : Game Boy Color

Release Year : 2001

Where Does the Time Go?

Time travel has always fascinated me, despite all of the inherent problems and paradoxes that raise their ugly heads if you sit and think about it too much. The world of gaming has so many stories that focus on travelling through time from the legendary Chrono Trigger, the divisive Final Fantasy VIII, the eon spanning tale of evolution in E.V.O.: The Search of Eden, the strange and hauntingly beautiful Ecco the Dolphine, and of course, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time. The Legend of Zelda series is also no stranger when it comes to time travel with the Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask both making it a central mechanic and theme, so when it comes to the Game Boy Color’s Oracle of Ages, you know you are in good hands.

Gameplay

In the Oracle of Ages, you journey across the land of Labrynna from an overhead perspective, battling monsters, collecting a variety of helpful items, delving into deep and dank dungeons, and helping a colourful cast of characters along the way. Time travel is the main mechanic in this title, with Link journeying from the present to the past using the magical Harp of Ages to solve puzzles and save the young woman Nayru, the titular Oracle of Ages. Link learns new songs throughout his adventure that let him surf the time ways in different ways, opening up the mechanic of time travel as you progress through the adventure. Like other games with a time travel angle, changing things in the past will affect things in the present (plant a seed in the past, and a tree will have grown in its place when you travel back to the present), and it is this interaction that not only drives the story, but is used to solve puzzles. While this interaction is something we have seen before in other Zelda titles, it is done really well here, especially for a Game Boy Color (GBC) game.

Of the two games in the Oracle series, Ages is the more puzzle based of the pair. The eight dungeons here are more puzzle heavy than in Seasons or even Link’s Awakening. This focus on puzzles also applies to the overworld with the time travel mechanic, and how you navigate and make your way across Labrynna. The puzzles can be pretty devious at times, really making you stop and think about how you’re going to solve them. That is not to say that Oracle of Ages ignores combat, because you’re still going to be slashing away at enemies with your trusty sword throughout the adventure.

The unique thing about this game and Oracle of Seasons, is the connectivity between the two games via either the Game Boy link cable, or a whole bunch of codes that you will find during your adventure. Some of the NPCs you meet during the quest will give you short little codes that you entre in the other title (in this case, from the Oracle of Ages to the Oracle of Seasons), which will then unlock new items and weapon upgrades. Beating one of the Oracle games will give you a code to entre when you start the other game in the series, which will open up the real final boss of the two games as well as introduce NPCs from the first game into the second. This connectivity function essentially makes these two games act like one giant game with an interconnected story and world, and I find it really cool. You could be cynical and think this connectivity was just a cash grab, a way to make you (or your parents) buy two games, but I want to give the developers the benefit of the doubt and believe that this was just a neat idea.

Presentation

Oracle of Ages looks really good for a GBC game. Labrynna looks quite different when you’re in the past or the present: the past has a darker and more muted colour pallet, very reminiscent of A Link to the Pasts’ dark world or even Majora’s Mask’s Termina; and the present has much more vibrant and alive pallet, very much like Hyrule in most of the Zelda series. The character sprites are nice, and fairly detailed for their small size. Think of Link’s Awakening, but with a bit more polish and shine to the whole package.

The music and audio direction really shines in this game. There is a mix of new tracks as well as Game Boy versions of classic songs from Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, all of them sounding amazing even when played from the system’s tiny speaker. The sound effects are the same from Link’s Awakening, which doesn’t bother me at all, because why change what isn’t broken? It is a Game Boy title, and a really good sounding one at that.

All in all, Oracle of Ages is a solid looking and sounding Game Boy Color game. Like I said before, you can see how far development for the Game Boy had progressed since Link’s first portable outing. I believe that the Oracle series of games are some of the best looking and sounding games on the Game Boy Color, and it is a shame that the planned third game was never made.

Story

Our adventure starts with the power of triforce whisking Link away to the land of Labrynna. Once in this new land, it is not long until you meet with the oracle of ages, the young woman Nayru. Moments after meeting Nayru, she is possessed by the evil Sorceress of Shadows, Veran! She then jumps back in time, and because of her actions in the past, creates all kinds of chaos to erupt around present Labrynna. It is then up to Link to adventure not only across the land, but through time to save Nayru, stop Veran, and fix the past to save the present. What follows is the classic Zelda formula of dungeon delving, item collecting, and monster battling, and all of it done very well.

One thing that really shines here in Oracle of Ages is the characterization of Veran. She pops up time and time again to taunt Link, and pontificate like any good villain. It’s nice to have a villain who interacts with the story as much as she does, and who gives you a reason to want to beat them. It was a surprised me that Veran had so much focus and characterization, and it was something I really liked about the narrative in Oracle of Ages.

If you connect this game with Oracle of Seasons either by a code or a link cable, then the real villains of the story come to light: Twinrova and Ganon. I don’t want to give away what their evil plan is, but if you guess that it involves Princess Zelda, you win! It’s cool having the expanded story thanks to linking the two games, and it helps to make the Oracle games seem like one big experience.

Back to the Future

The Oracle games are both great in their own ways, and worthy entries in the Legend of Zelda franchise. Oracle of Ages was the one I had as a kid, and coming back to play it decades later was a real treat, especially playing it on my Miyoo-Mini+ while on vacation this summer. It gave me a challenge (both the puzzles and the combat), which was something I was not expecting, but it was a pleasant surprise. I would say that if you are a fan of the Legend of Zelda series, either on the home consoles or the handhelds, then the Oracle games are definitely worth tracking down and playing. Play them both and be sure to link them together however you can, because you want to get the full experience of these classic games.