Brace yourselves Millenials because it’s been 23 years since The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages was released. That’s right! Alongside The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons, both games for the Game Boy Color were released on February 27, 2001, and were some of the last games released for the Game Boy Color. I think enough time has passed to revisit the iconic game and take a look at how far The Legend of Zelda franchise has come.
Oracle of Ages
In The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages, we follow our favorite Hyrulean Hero Link on his mission to save Nayru. After the evil sorceress Veran possesses Nayru whose powers she wants to use to bring chaos and despair to the land of Labrynna. Veran uses her magic to travel back to the past and stop time to achieve her goal of reviving Dark Lord Ganon. Link must use the Harp of Ages to travel through time and find the Essence of Time in order to stop Veran and save the land of Labrynna.
It’s safe to assume that someone at Nintendo might really love time travel as we are constantly having to switch between the past and future to progress the story. It allows players to see changes in the world around us as Link travels in between. For instance, when trying to reach the second dungeon, Link accidentally causes the entrance to collapse. You must use the Harp of Ages to travel back in time and find a new way in.
8-Bit Charm
One of my favorite things about The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages is the beautiful 8-bit art that brings the game to life. It may not be Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom, but there is something more than just nostalgia when looking at the 8-bit style in the game. Don’t get me wrong, the amazing graphics we’ve come to have in video games today are insanely beautiful and nothing we could have ever imagined in 2001. I mean we have gone from low-poly figures to movie-like quality in many video games like Star Wars Outlaws, Until Dawn, and Cyberpunk, which is incredible.
There’s just something about 8-bit aesthetics that not only fuels nostalgia, but it just brings back the appreciation of simplicity. That’s not just with video games, but with art altogether. There’s been a sort of revival when it comes to 8-bit aesthetics that I think lets us take a step back and appreciate how far the world itself has come, but also how far we as individuals have come.
Puzzles, Exploration, and Side Quests
Aside from the nostalgia of the 8-bit art style, we also need to appreciate the gameplay that became a staple for The Legend of Zelda franchise. The amount of puzzle-solving you have to do for both the main story and the side quests is so much fun.
The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages also introduced the Ring system which allowed players to find and collect rings throughout the game that grant different abilities and bonuses. We see this system in Zelda games today, but it’s not just through rings. Every mask in Majora’s Mask and armor set in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom grants Link strengthened abilities to help players throughout their journey.
Another unique mechanic of The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages is the use of animal companions that Link can use to get around new areas. There are three animal companions throughout the game: Ricky the Boxing Kangaroo, Moosh the Flying Bear, and Dimitri the Red Dodongo.
Ricky the Boxing Kangaroo helps Link jump to new heights and new locations by being able to climb walls or jump over the small holes littered throughout Labrynna. If you couldn’t tell by his name, Ricky can also punch enemies or can charge up his punch to release a stronger Tornado Punch that can break open cracked walls instead of using bombs.
Moosh the Flying Bear helps Link fly over areas that have back-to-back holes in the ground. While in the air, Moosh can use a Ground Pound attack to crash into enemies that are wandering around below you on the ground.
Finally, we have Dimitri the Red Dodongo who helps Link swim in the water around Labrynna. He can swim up waterfalls, against strong currents, and uses his bite attack to fight enemies both on land and in water. Link can even pick up Dimitri while wearing the Power Bracelet to throw at enemies.
Times Have Changed
Overall, this game has remained a staple for many gamers, and with the introduction of Nintendo Switch Online’s Expansion Pack, it has earned a spot in many newer gamers’ hearts. Even though Nintendo is reaching new heights with the new generation of Zelda games, The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages holds up incredibly well and is still as magical and fun as I remember it being. Hopefully, Nintendo will continue to release new and great games while also reminding us of where some of our favorite titles started. Whether that’s in remastered versions or releasing them as part of the nostalgic expansion packs that come with Nintendo Switch Online.
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