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[Anustart]

Finished this yesterday on my 3ds, and overall I liked the game.

The dungeons were pretty good, though the bosses felt a bit lacking, except maybe for the final boss. I actually died on the final boss, something that hasn't happened to me in a Zelda game in a long time!

I did feel like the fetch quests were a bit grating though. The game included three of them as well! Tokay island, Gorons and the sword. I just looked up the solutions because I didnt have the patience to wander around to find the right people.

Should I get seasons?

 

[Syril]

Seasons has more of an action focus than Ages, and when you use your password you got from beating Ages, it turns Seasons into a direct sequel and adds more stuff onto the story. If you liked Ages, there's no reason not to get Seasons too.

 

[Myriadis]

The best 2D Zelda game. One of the more challenging zeldas with great ideas, extras and wonderful dungeons.

 

[Taruranto]

Great game, but I prefer Seasons. Seasons puzzles were harder too to me, despite the fact it supposed to be more "action based".

 

[Meowster]

The best Zelda games, not gonna lie. Spent way too many years as a child playing, replaying, linking with friends and doing just about everything in these games. both of them are excellent. Shame that the Oracle of Secrets never happened.

 

[Beren the Empty-Handed]

The Oracles are some of the best Zelda games around. I haven't played them in years, but I'm going to soon fix that.

Definitely play Seasons, and don't forget to bring your password from Ages over to it.

 

[Sparrowhawk]

I've beaten both of these games multiple times. Played the hell out of them on the bus to/from school.

 

[Anustart]

Been switching between ages, Zelda 1 second quest and lbw hero mode.

Looks like I'll grab seasons. What does linking them give as extras?

 

[Jetman]

Shame that the Oracle of Secrets never happened.

Say what? There was another Oracle game planned?

 

[Beren the Empty-Handed]

Been switching between ages, Zelda 1 second quest and lbw hero mode.

Looks like I'll grab seasons. What does linking them give as extras?

Weapons, sidequests, rings, equipment, and the FINALE. You can't get the ending to both games unless you link them. However, you can choose either one to start or end with. The ending is the same either way.

 

[Meowster]

Say what? There was another Oracle game planned?

Yeah. They even announced it as three games, if I remember correctly, but backtracked when they realized how hard it would be to program three games continuously and probably felt the risk of error was too much. Sigh.

 

[Syril]

Say what? There was another Oracle game planned?

Originally they had planned for three games titled Mystical Seed of Power/Wisdom/Courage, but they scaled it back to two when they were having too much trouble managing three games at once and couldn't get the passwords working for them. Power and Wisdom became Seasons and Ages, and Courage would have been themed around color.

 

[Jetman]

Yeah. They even announced it as three games, if I remember correctly, but backtracked when they realized how hard it would be to program three games continuously and probably felt the risk of error was too much. Sigh.

Oh, wow - never even knew. Thanks for that. I would have been happy with another game of this style, linked or not. Bummer.

 

[Myriadis]

Weapons, sidequests, rings, equipment, and the FINALE. You can't get the ending to both games unless you link them. However, you can choose either one to start or end with. The ending is the same either way.

Not to forget a bonus dungeon for each game which really tests your skills. Some puzzles in Ages belong to the hardest and most devilish that I ever encountered.

It's also fairly interesting that these games were supposed to be remakes of the first games. You can still see it in Seasons - the entrance of the first dungeon looks similar to the one in Zelda 1, the dungeon layout is exactly the same of Level-1 and the boss is Aquamentus.

 

[Jetman]

Originally they had planned for three games titled Mystical Seed of Power/Wisdom/Courage, but they scaled it back to two when they were having too much trouble managing three games at once and couldn't get the passwords working for them. Power and Wisdom became Seasons and Ages, and Courage would have been themed around color.

Interesting. Have never heard any of this. I can see where it could be a problem developing all three of these simultaneously. They should have just worked on Courage after Power and Wisdom were good to go and just linked it by story instead of a weird password system.

 

[Qurupeke]

Definitely get Seasons. Each of the games is good enough but both of them are just perfect. And of course, you can't get the true Ending without completing both.

 

[Beren the Empty-Handed]

Not to forget a bonus dungeon for each game which really tests your skills. Some puzzles in Ages belong to the hardest and most devilish that I ever encountered.

It's also fairly interesting that these games were supposed to be remakes of the first games. You can still see it in Seasons - the entrance of the first dungeon looks similar to the one in Zelda 1, the dungeon layout is exactly the same of Level-1 and the boss is Aquamentus.

I forgot about the extra dungeon! Yeah it was definitely tough.

Yeah, one of the games was supposed to be LoZ and another AoL if I remember correctly, with a third being new and tying in to the others. Miyamoto told them to just make new games.

 

[YesManKablam]

I wasn't able to finish these back in the day. I still have both carts at my parents house. I'm guessing it may be time to hop back in, maybe to actually finish them off.

Just a quick question for those in the know, should I play Ages then Seasons, or Seasons then Ages?

 

[ffdgh]

You're gonna love seasons especially if you link ages with it.

I wasn't able to finish these back in the day. I still have both carts at my parents house. I'm guessing it may be time to hop back in, maybe to actually finish them off.

Just a quick question for those in the know, should I play Ages then Seasons, or Seasons then Ages?

Offically, it's Seasons > Ages but either way works.

 

[Mozz-eyes]

This was my first Zelda game that I properly engaged with. Loved it. Although the whole adventure concept was new to me so, being kinda young at the time, I played through a lot of it with a guide.

 

[Joey Ravn]

The Oracles are my favorite Zelda games ever... and definitely on my overall Top 20 games of all time. Maybe even in the Top 10! I love them. They did everything Link's Awakening DX did, but in orders of magnitude better. And the ability to link (NPI) them together was the icing on the cake. A very tasty cake, in fact.

 

[YesManKablam]

I remember doing a dancing mini game in Seasons I believe that gave me a flute that unlock a different companion. I think it was the one that could swim.

It let me sequence break the fuck out of that game.

 

[maxcriden]

Oh man, Seasons is even better. You're in for a treat!

 

[Peltz]

I also thought Seasons was quite a bit better. Both are essential though.

 

[Jims]

I remember finding Oracle of Ages a little disappointing after playing Seasons. You touched on some of it, with the game's overworld having some surprisingly long mandatory fetch quests. The Tokay Island one, I found extremely annoying at the time, and remember finding the Goron one to be particularly confusing for a time-travel puzzle setup. I also didn't like the double-tapping swimming method with the mermaid suit, making the whole Jabu Jabu section of the game feel like a long chore.

Looking back on it, I was surprisingly grumpy playing the second half of that game. Maybe it just made me feel stupid at the time and I need to replay it.

Some of the time travel elements are really fun, however, and I enjoyed the stuff with Ralph and the giant tower the queen was building and stuff.

 

[Peltz]

I remember finding Oracle of Ages a little disappointing after playing Seasons. You touched on some of it, with the game's overworld having some surprisingly long mandatory fetch quests. The Tokay Island one, I found extremely annoying at the time, and remember finding the Goron one to be particularly confusing for a time-travel puzzle setup. I also didn't like the double-tapping swimming method with the mermaid suit, making the whole Jabu Jabu section of the game feel like a long chore.

Looking back on it, I was surprisingly grumpy playing the second half of that game. Maybe it just made me feel stupid at the time and I need to replay it.

Some of the time travel elements are really fun, however, and I enjoyed the stuff with Ralph and the giant tower the queen was building and stuff.

Nope, you're spot on. Those were my main criticisms with the game.

 

[Anustart]

I remember finding Oracle of Ages a little disappointing after playing Seasons. You touched on some of it, with the game's overworld having some surprisingly long mandatory fetch quests. The Tokay Island one, I found extremely annoying at the time, and remember finding the Goron one to be particularly confusing for a time-travel puzzle setup. I also didn't like the double-tapping swimming method with the mermaid suit, making the whole Jabu Jabu section of the game feel like a long chore.

Looking back on it, I was surprisingly grumpy playing the second half of that game. Maybe it just made me feel stupid at the time and I need to replay it.

Some of the time travel elements are really fun, however, and I enjoyed the stuff with Ralph and the giant tower the queen was building and stuff.

Oh lord. I thought I was missing something with that damn mermaid suit. Why couldn't you just hold the button is beyond me.

Also, I tried to time travel when I was near the 8th dungeon but it says a mysterious force sends me back. Linked dungeon?

 

[Rich!]

Oh lord. I thought I was missing something with that damn mermaid suit. Why couldn't you just hold the button is beyond me.

Because the whole point of the mermaid suit is so you can use weapons whilst underwater.

Also, that area isnt a linked dungeon. Its the final, and best, dungeon in the main game. You access it from the south sea via another island.

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

The best Zelda games, not gonna lie. Spent way too many years as a child playing, replaying, linking with friends and doing just about everything in these games. both of them are excellent. Shame that the Oracle of Secrets never happened.

it really amazes me as to how much impact a 2D Zelda can have on me, especially with its limited colors. The atmosphere in seasons was amazing.

 

[ffdgh]

Oh lord. I thought I was missing something with that damn mermaid suit. Why couldn't you just hold the button is beyond me.

Also, I tried to time travel when I was near the 8th dungeon but it says a mysterious force sends me back. Linked dungeon?

Nope...most likely didn't wan't you to have an easy way into/out of the sea of no return and the last dungeon.

 

[Meowster]

it really amazes me as to how much impact a 2D Zelda can have on me, especially with its limited colors. The atmosphere in seasons was amazing.

They should try an remake these games for the 3DS. I would totally buy it in a heartbeat, plus, just imagine all the little things they could add. Seasons had such great atmosphere and music, Ages had the better storyline and villain.

 

[ReyVGM]

The origin of the Oracle series began when Capcom game director Yoshiki Okamoto proposed to Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of The Legend of Zelda series, a remake of the originalThe Legend of Zelda for the Game Boy Color.[11] Later on, it was decided that if the release was successful, it would be followed up with several other titles to be released in quick sucession.[12] There was talk of remaking the second title in the series, The Adventure of Link as well, followed by four completely original titles, making for a total of six games.[13] A few months later, it was said that there would be only three sequels following up the first release.[14] It was said these games could be played "in any order", seemingly the true beginnings of the Oracle series.

The development of the games was tumultuous. Rather than prioritize gameplay, as was Miyamoto's convention, the development began with scenarios (story and characters) developed by Capcom subsidiary Flagship.[15] Although Okamoto wished to begin with the remake of The Legend of Zelda before moving to a more ambitious project, some members of the staff believed that the first stage should be skipped and the development of a new Legend of Zelda title started right away.[16] Since the development began with the scenario instead of the gameplay, the team encountered several difficulties in developing the maps, often having to "redo the maps and the scenario to make all the elements fit."[17] Progress was additionally hindered by the size of the Game Boy Color's screen.[18]

As Okamoto encountered problems in the development of the remake, Shigeru Miyamoto instead proposed the creation of the "Triforce Series."[19] Each title was to refer to a piece of the Triforce (Chapters of Power, Wisdom, and Courage), revolving around a pivotal character (oracle) according to the chapter (Din for the Chapter of Power, Nayru for Wisdom, Farore for Courage).[20] Each game was to focus on a different gameplay element of the Legend of Zelda series: the Chapter of Wisdom was to be puzzle-based, the Chapter of Power, action-based. The gameplay focus of the third title was never revealed.[21] Each game was to have a new gameplay theme:

The Chapter of Power had a season theme, featuring the Rod of Seasons to alter the four seasons and solve puzzles.[22]
The Chapter of Wisdom featured an item called the Magic Paintbrush which was to be used to solve color-themed puzzles.[23][24]
The Chapter of Courage was to have a theme of time, using morning, noon, evening and night to solve puzzles.[25]

These three games became known as the "Mysterious/Mystical Seed Trilogy" composed of Mystical Seed of Power, Mystical Seed of Wisdom, and Mystical Seed of Courage.[26] Mystical Seed of Power was said to be adapted from Capcom's original project, the original Legend of Zelda remake. Similarities to the original Legend of Zelda can be seen to this day in Oracle of Seasons.

A unique feature of the three games was to be their ability to be linked together using a password system (see Linking Secrets above). However, the coordination of three games proved to be too complex. To simplify, Mystical Seed of Courage was cancelled, thus reducing the series to two titles. Oracle of Ages was adapted from Mystical Seed of Wisdom (using Courage's time mechanic instead), and Oracle of Seasons from Mystical Seed of Power.[27] Together, they became known as the Oracle series of today.

http://zeldawiki.org/Oracle_Series#Development