hortly after Majora's Mask for the Nintendo 64, there were rumors of three games for the Game Boy Color. Originally titled Fruit of the Mysterious Tree, the trio would be Zelda games as players had never before, as Nintendo wasn't the official creators of games. Rather, Nintendo allowed Capcom to create the games instead, sparking both interest and contraversy at the same time. However, Capcom wasn't about to disappoint the Zelda world as it announced that the series of games would be linkable to each other, so that doing something in one quest would affect how your quest went in the other game as well. Eventually, one of the three games in the series was dropped due to difficulties in the password system, and after a renaming, the now two games became the Oracle series.

Link, curious as to how the powers of the Triforce worked, decided to tinker around with the magnificent force to learn about how the Triforce's Golden Power ruled the land. Though it sounded like a good idea at the time, the Triforce decides instead to send Link on a quest off to a land across the Great Sea called Labyrnna. Link quickly meets Impa, Zelda's nursemaid, and they go to a clearing to listen to the famous singer Nayru. However, unbeknownst to our hero, Veran, an evil sorceress, had taken over Impa's body, and upon seeing Nayru, the Oracle of Ages, she leaves Impa and takes over Nayru. Using Nayru's powers, Veran warps back 400 years to the past, allowing her to take over the world... that is, of course, unless Link and Nayru's close friend and inept guard, Ralph, can stop her in time...

The Game:

As a spinoff of the masks in Majora's Mask for the Nintendo 64, Oracle of Ages has a wide variety of rings to collect. In fact, there are a total of 64 unique rings within the game! (Interesting how they arrived at that number... ) Many of the rings are rather useful, giving you more powerful attacks, doubling the amount of rupees and hearts you can pick up, and even transforming you into various creatures in the game. Unlike Oracle of Age's predecessor, many of the rings, including the transformation rings, are merely for play. In fact, some of the rings don't do anything useful at all! Primarily, the rings are for the replay value of the game, giving it the classic "Gotta collect 'em all" attitude that everyone has seen in Pokémon.

Many items from the past are brought back in the Oracle of Ages. We once again bring back the ever-classic musical instrument with Nayru's Harp of Ages. Roc's Feather, from Link's Awakening, and the Cane of Somaria, from Link to the Past, make their appearances as well. Even the Master Sword and the Biggoron Sword magically pop up after you link the two games together. But there are new items as well. The Switch Hook, an almost disturbing version of the Hookshot, and the use of various types of seeds are introduced for the first time. However, we sadly say goodbye to the Bow and Arrow, as it is missing from the series.

As with many of the past Zelda games, and as the name would suggest, time plays a crucial element in Oracle of Ages. Link constantly finds himself warping between the present and the past worlds, so that it seems as if you actually have two worlds to explore instead of one. Going back and forth through time is harder than it seems however. At first, Link is merely allowed the use of scattered warp tiles around the world, forcing him to backtrack quite frequently. As you go on, Link eventually gains the ability to warp directly from the past to the present from anywhere he so desires, but warping back must still be done the old-fashioned way. All in all, the two time periods are inexplicably linked, and one must change the past in order to traverse the future.

Oracle of Ages is the harder of the two games, as it is much more puzzle-based that its brother, Seasons. However, exploration is very limited, as the developers of the game restrict from proceeding onward until you gain other items. Ages takes a lot from previous games, so veterans will enjoy the numerous parallels it brings with it. However, newcomers are sure to like it just as much, as it still has that famous Zelda spirit in it.