The Legend of Zelda Part 9

Here we are again, half way through.  It's really incredible how high of quality most of the Zelda games are.  Very few game series have this many entries and I am so glad that it's still going.  If you have not read my post on Oracle of Seasons I highly recommend it because you will be missing quite a bit of context without it.

8. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (2001 Gameboy Color)

The second game in the Oracle series, Oracle of Ages is quite different from its counterpart, Oracle of Seasons.

Oracle of Ages takes place in the Land of Labrynna, an area unique to the Zelda series.  Link has been sent by the Triforce to help the people of Labrynna and to save the Oracle of Ages, Nayru.  Upon arrival in Labrynna, Link awakens to the site of Impa, Princess Zelda's attendant and supposedly trustworthy person.  Impa asks Link to remove a barrier in the road that only those baring the Triforce on the backs of their hands can open (Link has the Triforce of Courage on the back of his hand).  As Link opens the path and ventures forward with Impa, they come across Nayru singing to a group of Labrynnians and some animals.  As the singing continues, Impa begins laughing maniacally and reveals that she has been possessed by the Sorceress of Shadows, Veran.  As Veran breaks from Impa's body, she reveals her true self only to quickly possess Nayru.  Using her new found Oracle powers (time travel), Veran creates a portal to the past and vows to use her powers to take over Labrynna.

In the aftermath of this terrible tragedy, Link is sent to the Maku Tree, the guardian of Labrynna.  The Maku Tree informs Link that the only way to restore balance to the world and save the life of the Maku Tree is to collect the eight essences of time.  These essences are located throughout time and Link must use Nayru's Harp of Ages (Link is holding it in the box art) to traverse time and save the world.

All of this happens within the first 10 minutes of the game or so and while it seems like quite a lot to take in, the game does an excellent job of pacing the time traveling aspects of this game.  At first, Link can only time travel in certain areas (not as limiting as you might think) and it's not until later in the game when you can time travel pretty much everywhere.  Veran's handiwork can be seen throughout the Land of Labrynna in both the present and the past and in the people and the landscape.

Labrynna itself is a brightly colored world filled with the typical altering environments characteristic of all Zelda games (forests, water, fields, fortresses, etc).  Labrynna feels a bit special though compared to other worlds in the Zelda universe; mainly due to the time traveling aspects of the game.  Present time Labrynna, with it's vibrant colors represents a happier, more complex time.  The Royal family is no more in this time, having been replaced by a democracy at some unspecified time in the past (monarchies be damned).  Past Labrynna is an entirely different story, instead of the colorful and happy world of the present, we get a simpler and frankly more dull past.  This is meant to represent a time when the people of Labrynna were simpler, perhaps even less ambitious.  They were still under the rule of the royal family, the landscape shows less signs of human impact, some of the towns are less developed, and many of the NPC's are completely different.  I like looking at the maps next to each other because you can clearly see the effect that the people of Labrynna have had on the landscape once they were free from the rule of the royal family (I hope this was an intentional shot at royalty).  I like Capcom's commitment here to an engaging and quality environment.  These two time periods effectively double the size and scope of the game and I personally love any Zelda game that introduces time travel into the equation; it just adds so much more to the plot when people are messing with the flow of time.
The people of Labrynna are all just charming; it seems silly to characterize them all this way but I just love how full of personality many of the NPC's are in this game.  The NPC's are a huge reason why I prefer Ages to Seasons.  In Oracle of Seasons most of the characters are human or Subrosian; in Ages, we get appearances from the Zora, from the Gorons, Lord Jabu-Jabu, and that creepy hand guy!

I LOVE THE CREEPY HAND GUY (known in the game as ???) SO MUCH!!!  He's been stuck in several toilets throughout the Zelda series and he always wants paper.  His inclusion in this game ought to propel this game into the top 5, but alas I have to use some sense when I write this blog (curses).  Apart from my friend the creepy hand guy (more on him in later blogs) there are several noteworthy characters I have to mention.  Maple, the apprentice of the Witch named Syrup, can be seen throughout the game flying on her broomstick.  Each time you encounter (video of an encounter) her, Maple runs into you whilst flying on her broomstick (occasionally it's a vacuum).  This causes both you and Maple to drop several items all over the ground (anything from rupees, hearts, potions, rings, even pieces of heart) and initiates a mini game: whoever picks up the most stuff as fast as possible wins.  These encounters are pretty silly and are an awesome way to stock up on a few key items when you are deep in exploration mode; got to applaud Capcom for this fun game mechanic because they just as easily could have tossed a few more treasure chests here and there but instead we get an enjoyable character and a fun little change of pace every once in a while (I love stuff like that in video games).  I also love the decision to give the Zoras and the Gorons a larger role in this game.  Each of the major races has their own area of the game and each of them just looks great on the gameboy color (even better on a tv through the gamecube).

Zora's Village in particular is one of the best looking areas in the game and I especially love that it's underwater (and that Lord Jabu-Jabu is a resident).  The contrast between the past and the present in also quite strong in Zora Village as well.  As you can see in the picture, Lord Jabu-Jabu looks much smaller than one might remember him being in other Zelda games.  This isn't a graphical limitation of the GBC, it's just that this is Jabu-Jabu in the past.  When you see him in the present, he looks a lot more like his usual impressive self (I'll let you play the game to find out).  The story in this area is also quite intriguing.  In the past, you have to clean up poisoned water to prevent the future King Zora from dying in present Labrynna.  It seems like a simple story, but you will in fact empathizing with the Zoras quite a bit.  I think the empathy has to do with the fact that the Zora's often get quite screwed over in the Zelda series and saving them without any lingering consequences is quite a nice feeling.  To round out the NPC discussion I have to talk about the unique creatures to this game, the Tokay.  The Tokay are a Lizard people that live on Crescent Island in the south of Labrynna.  Link will hear a lot about them from villagers on the mainland, mostly rumors, and he will encounter them during the lead up to one of the dungeons.  When Link is moving around on Crescent Island, he is also in the process of recovering most of his gear that was lost at some point during the game.  In order to get it all back, you have to participate in the Tokay's barter economy; probably one of the best item trading sequences in the whole of the Zelda series.

The Tokay are an interesting people, not quite my favorite extra race in the Zelda Universe but certainly one of the more enjoyable parts of this game. I wish races like these made more appearances in the rest of the Zelda games as I feel the series could truly benefit from exploring characters like these more often.  There hasn't been a single extra race in the Zelda series that I haven't immensely enjoyed.

The gameplay of Ages is very reminiscent of pretty much all top-down handheld Zelda games.  The player controls Link with the d-pad and assigns an item to the A and B buttons respectively.  The controls are as precise as they always are and many of the items from Oracle of Seasons have carried over to this game with a few notable exceptions.  These notable exceptions are the main reasons I put this game above Oracle of Seasons in terms of quality.  These items are the Switch Hook, the Seed Shooter, the Power Glove, and the Cane of Somaria.  The Switch Hook is used to kill enemies and to switch places with certain faraway items throughout the game.  I love the way this item is utilized in the game and it's a much better alternative to the magnetic gloves that were used in Oracle of Seasons.   The Seed Shooter is where the gameplay truly shines.  Instead of the simple seed bag you get in Seasons you get a full blown gun that allows you to bounce the seeds off of walls, kill enemies from a distance, and just simply be that much more of a badass than you already are.  The Power Glove simply increases Link's strength however I always do like the puzzles that utilize heavier objects being thrown (manly shit).  Finally, the Cane of Somaria is an item that fans of A Link to the Past will remember fondly.  The Cane creates a block that Link can then move around and use to help solve certain puzzles.  I just find myself enjoying the unique items in this game so much more than I do in Oracle of Seasons.

One other aspect of gameplay that the two games share but Ages utilizes better are the three animal companions you can get throughout the game: Ricky the Kangaroo, Dimitri the Dodongo, and Moosh the Flying Bear.  Link uses these companions throughout the game to get across certain areas with fast currents, to break open certain areas, and to get to places only a flying bear would be able to get to.  I just love how silly this game allows itself to be sometimes; not much is funnier than that fat flying bear or riding around in a boxing kangaroo's pouch.  I personally love these guys all so much and  eventually you can even get a flute that will allow you to call one of them to you pretty much wherever you are in the game.  Oracle of Ages also takes advantage of the excellent Ring equipment system that was used in Oracle of Seasons.  Link can equip one ring at a time and carry up to five that he can switch through.  Each of these rings offers a different affect, some of which can really be quite useful and even comical.  For a more detailed description of the ring system, check out my post on Oracle of Seasons.

There are nine dungeons in Oracle of Ages, all of which are completely different from the Dungeons in Oracle of Seasons.  This game does dungeons very well and they get a double win in my book for having Lord-Jabu-Jabu's Belly; the fact that it's the best dungeon in the game doesn't hurt either.  The Dungeon focuses on the upgraded Switch Hook, the Long Shot.  Some of the puzzles require some pretty intricate block switch and platform traversing and it's quite enjoyable throughout the whole experience.  You also definitely notice the fact that you are walking inside of a fish, not so much because of how the environment looks (let's face it it's a GBC game), but Nintendo does a good job of making the rooms seems like certain parts of the fish; I really have to emphasize here how much better this game is when you play it on a larger screen the gameboy color.  All of the colors are so much better and the size of the screen really adds to the detail and the player perspective.  The level itself is a lot like the Water Temple from Ocarina of Time in that you have to raise and lower the water level in order to get access to certain areas of the dungeon.  At the bottom of the dungeon map (pictured) you can see what looks kind of like a Mario stage.  There are several screens like this throughout the Oracle games and they are fun little platforming bits just tossed in for the heck of it.  They feel very much like old school Mario stages and I am a huge fan of the fact that they were included in this game.  This game also shows why it is better than Seasons by the inclusion of the Black Tower.

The Black Tower was constructed by Queen Ambi in the past to help lead her husband back from the sea.  However with Veran running around screwing things up, its intentions become much more sinister.  The player will eventually be tasked with reaching the top of the tower and you will have to fight many enemies as you make your way to the top.  A very challenging and very enjoyable experience, it's a great way to finish off the game.

The bosses in this game, while not necessarily the most challenging in the Zelda series, are all slightly unique in their own way.  One of my favorite looking bosses is the fight with Pumpkin Head (they shout out to Pumpkin Head in Animal Crossing).  As his name implies, he is a monster with a pumpkin on his head; it's a simple fight but I always enjoy when companies take slight risks like this with bosses.  We don't always have to see the generic bosses we get from all of the other Zelda games (not that those are bad but it's nice to see something fresh).  Another battle I really enjoy is the battle with Smog (link to battle).  This one uses the Cane of Somaria as its main weapon and the battle is just as much about solving puzzles with blocks as it is about slashing Smog with the sword.  I love how creative this battle design is and I'm honestly surprised more Zelda battles don't utilize more mechanics like this.

The final fight with Veran is a pretty excellent fight and certainly one of the most unique in the Zelda series.  As Link reaches the top of the Black Tower, he will encounter Veran in possession of Queen Ambi's body.  Link will have to stun her with mystery seeds and then use the switch hook to pull Veran from Ambi's body in order to slash her with the sword.  After this initial part of the battle, Veran will change into her fairy form and summon the four Dark Links you see in the picture.  These Links will opposite mirror Links movements  and you have to dodge them, doge blue energy balls from Veran, and hit Veran with your sword.  After this, she will go to her final Metamorphosis form where she will switch between being a giant beetle, a giant bee, and a giant spider.  These three insect forms each have their own challenges and there is no way to tell which form she will use at what time (she always starts in Beetle form).  I love this battle because it's the best mix of challenge, creativity, and fun.  Unless you come super prepared, you will probably die the first time you play it and I actually love that about this battle.  I want to experience it and I want to win but I don't want to be handed victory either.

This game is just awesome.  If you played Oracle of Seasons back in the day and didn't play this one you are seriously missing out.  For those of you interested, once this series of blogs is over I will be doing a shorter consolidated one on the best overall Zelda experiences and there I will talk about some of the features of the Linked Game you can do between Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons; certainly one of the top 5 overall Zelda experiences (but that's for a different day).

Next time #7.  IT JUST GOT TOO REAL UP IN HERE