An Adventure for The Ages Part 4: A Veteran, a Newcomer, and a Lapsed Fan Finish Oracle of Ages

In this series to celebrate the games’ 20th anniversary, ZD writers Emi Curtis, Hannah Rogers, and Andrew Millard take on The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages. Emi is brand new to the game, Hannah is an experienced pro, and Andrew is returning to complete the game after almost two decades. This week is our final discussion, picking up at the Ancient Tomb. Thank you to everyone who has followed along!

Andrew – Hi, everyone! Welcome to our wrap up! What a great, deep dive this has been. For me it’s been unique in that I rarely play older games. I’m terrible at working through my backlog, and my 3DS has been dormant forever. Playing Ages with you has ticked all three of those boxes. So, thank you for playing and dissecting this little oddball with me! But let’s start with welcoming back Emi! We missed you! How about you fill us in on your thoughts from last week?

Emi – I’ll be brief here, but oh man! Mermaid’s Cave and Jabu Jabu were some interesting instances of taking concepts established by Ocarina of Time (a dungeon split between time periods and a flood/drain water dungeon) and approaching them from a 2D Perspective. A lot of different elements at hand in these. I was not a fan of how Mermaid’s Cave used time travel, nor did I like Vire as a mini-boss. On a conceptual level, the Mermaid’s Suit was really neat, but the altered controls were incredibly annoying. Despite that, I really loved the boss, Octogon. Having to dive and resurface was neat.

As for Jabu Jabu, good gracious! Never more has my spatial awareness been called in to question. I actually really liked it! And it did a lot to help the flow of its arrangement. Unfortunately, the Long Switch was a disappointing item, comparatively. And both Angler Fish and Plasmarine were incredibly easy, disappointing bosses. So, it also fell kind of short for me. This was definitely the weakest section of the game for me, quality-wise. My opinion of Ages still remains good as before, but these dungeons didn’t do it any favors.

Andrew – Well said. Ha ha, yeah! I caught myself tapping the directional buttons on dry land many times after using the mermaid suit. Hannah and I were more complimentary, but your critique of the Long Switch is pretty spot-on, too. And I’m happy to not be the grump. Now let’s dig into the endgame. How were you all going through the Ancient Tomb?

Whoever heard of a New Tomb, anyway?

Hannah – I personally had a lot of fun with the Ancient Tomb, and in my opinion, I think it was the most well-made dungeon in the late game. This dungeon did an amazing job of taking the player’s existing knowledge, and having them use it in creative ways, which is an important aspect to the series as a whole. It’s also where my skills as a veteran started to wear off. But more on that at the Black Tower. Emi, did the last two improve over Mermaid Cave and Jabu Jabu for you? 

Emi – Ancient Tomb definitely made up for a lot of that. I really loved this dungeon. Though, its item (the L-2 Power Glove) was also kind of lame. But so many mechanics came into play in this dungeon, and it was absolutely my perfect ideal of a final dungeon. I wish it had  a bit more buildup plot-wise, but after all the long Overworld quests, it was nice to just kind of get right into it. Blue Stalfos and Ramrock were great bosses! I loved having to jump between all my different weapons in order to beat Ramrock. The whole fight had a kind of madcap energy. Phenomenal conclusion to Ages‘ sequence of dungeons.

Andrew – For me, Blue Stalfos was tricky and cheap-feeling because beating him depended on the same mechanic as the baseball minigame, whose timing made no sense to me. So, I had to resort to just speed-swiping and hoping he’d be in the path of my deflection.

Taking a step back, though, after reading comments and hearing other ZD staff talk Ages, I learned that the pirate ship side quest that unlocks the endgame can be a little fiddly and random. I happened to luck out; the ship spawned right where I surfaced after leaving Jabu Jabu and the Zora. From there, the time jumping mechanic is pretty much over, and the last two dungeons are my meat and potatoes. I  got in the pocket of Ancient Tomb’s methodical room sweeps. I think it and the Black Tower were the easiest in the game, but that might be because they complimented my playstyle better than the others. Using the turnstiles to kind of lock yourself into each portion’s quest for a slate was truly satisfying. Even if you’re right, Emi, that another item upgrade rather than something novel was underwhelming.

Emi – I actually got really lucky with the pirate ship, too! It was just one screen away from where I surfaced. I wasn’t even aware there were buggy issues with it until you mentioned it here actually. Having seen it kicking around from outside the Sea of Storms before when I was navigating the poison ocean, I just assumed it went in circles. Hannah, you mentioned your experienced helped a little less at this point.

Childe Link to the Black Tower Came

Hannah – Black Tower was a fun dungeon as well! But yes. It got hard even for someone like me who knows the game well. It actually got me to draw a map by hand for the first time in more than five years! The blind staircases that make up the tower can seem random to the point of making one wonder if where they land is inconsistent. But dusting off my RPG note-taking skills was super fun.

Emi – I had a bit of a funny experience with Black Tower that left a weird taste in my mouth. Before I get into it, I do want to establish that I don’t actually consider it a dungeon proper. It’s just too short for that title. It is a challenge, though. Anyway, in the first section with the staircase maze, I got hopelessly lost. I’m not sure what it was, but something just wasn’t clicking with me, and I kept retracing my steps. Perhaps, like you said, their solution felt inconsistent. Finally getting through felt great. When I got to the fire room, I found the correct staircase on my second attempt, which turned the entire second section into a bit of a joke. Suddenly I wasn’t confused by the maze, but by the fact that I’d somehow triggered the cutscene with Veran and Ralph. That whiplash is what made the final sequence weird for me.

Andrew – I can totally sympathize with your experiences, but somehow, mine is different. The roll I was on kept up, and I finished in what felt like record time compared to every other dungeon in the game. So how’d we all fair against Veran?

Hannah – Seeing how the story wraps up again was very nice, but I had totally forgotten how difficult Veran is! She is one of the hardest final bosses I’ve ever experienced in a Zelda game. Honestly! Thank goodness for the restore points, or I would have been on this for another week or more. Did the difficulty take you newer players by surprise?

Emi – I’m very mixed on this fight. It was challenging, I’ll give it that. I had to go back and get the Blue Ring after losing four times. I don’t like that most of this fight came down to dodge and slash. The spider form was the only one Veran had that didn’t come down to “Hit the weak point for massive damage.”

Andrew – I’ll second that! It took me two deaths to the spider form before realizing bombs were in order.

Emi – Otherwise, the mechanics of the fight were really basic, and it was anticlimactic to have all these ingenious items and not use a single one at the very end. Save for the brief, recycled strat with the Switch Hook to get Veran away from Queen Ambi.

Hannah – “Anticlimactic” is a good word for new players, though, as the ending mostly teases Twinrova appearing in a linked file of Seasons.

Emi – I can only complain so much, though, because this is tradition in a lot of ways. Most of Zelda’s final bosses come down to just the Master Sword and Light Arrows. So, it’s not an out-of-the-ordinary final boss. I just guess I kind of wanted something a bit more after how much ingenuity this game had dedicated itself to. How did it go for you, Andrew?

Andrew – As for final challenges, Ages pulls off one of the best feats for any video game: Making the player feel powerful while still testing their abilities. It can seem really unfair when the final moments of a game pull the rug out from under its own rhythm. Listening to Emi, maybe it comes closer to that misstep than I initially though. And maybe that’s why full RPGs rely on optional bosses to truly test player skill. But Oracle of Ages continued to apply all of its items and skills right up to the Black Tower. There, it traded clever item usage for the game’s toughest combat challenges. Doing so made it feel as though Veran was finally out of tricks, and had nothing left to do but cling to power from behind her minions in her fortress.

My biggest compliment to the game’s end was going to be that it didn’t resort to introducing Ganon, which I was fully expecting. I knew about Twinrova from Seasons, but thought maybe Ages would go bigger since its time jumping mechanic is on a scale closer to OoT. My not knowing must put me in a pretty small fraction of Oracles players: Someone who has finished both, yet not experienced the interlocking elements. Including their effect on the second game’s ending.

Oracle of Seasons, anyone?

Andrew – So, will you two be playing Oracle of Seasons? I think I might! With the extra attention these games are getting recently, there’s no time like the present. Plus, I can’t get over how I wound up accidentally denying myself the interlocking content by playing these games separated across decades and two different systems.

Hannah – Part of me really wants to! I’ve replayed it within the past two or three years, if I remember correctly. And Ages has made me want to dip into some other Virtual Console titles! I may boot it up and do a playthrough in the long-term. But for now, I’m going back to an old favorite: Earthbound. 

Emi – Given Oracle of Seasons is now the only Zelda game I haven’t played all the way through, I almost feel like it would be a crime not to. In fact, I will be streaming it! Linked and everything, as part of a special fundraiser for a friend’s family in need of help with medical fees. Hopefully it proves to be a good time. You can follow my Twitch for details.

Last Bars of The Tune of Ages

Andrew – I’ve had a ton of fun playing and writing along with you two. Thank you so much. And thanks to Zelda Dungeon readers who have been following along and commenting! let’s end with some final thoughts. What trait of Ages do you wish was more prominent in the series? Which are you glad didn’t take off?

Emi – In considering the game as a whole, it had a lot of ups and downs. Each aspect of the game either knocked it out of the park or failed miserably. The minigames were atrocious, but the item design was fantastic. The Tokay quest was a horrid grind, but the trading sequence felt fun and expansive. The bosses were all generally really good, but few mini-bosses impressed me.

It’s a fascinating game. Not the best Zelda by far, but definitely one of the most interesting in the series. And for that quality, very memorable as a game. It’s best trait? The items are so fun and innovative, even compared to newer entries, e.g. “Now you have two Hookshots!” (No offense, Twilight Princess.) Worst? In the event of a new 2D game, let’s not have it try to convey 3D information for puzzles. Gamers were a lot better equipped for it back in the day, given it was the norm. Thankfully, most “2D” games today are actually 3D, so it’s an easier trick to pull off.

Hannah – After playing this game again, it’s definitely not as easy or straightforward as I remember, but it still holds a special place in my heart. I had forgotten a lot of the difficulty, as well as a lot of the more esoteric puzzles that probably make this game difficult for people to get into. So, I’d say that’s the trait that I’m glad didn’t catch. I think some of these things can be chalked up to the fact that this game was made by Capcom instead of Nintendo. With that in mind, it’s much easier to understand why this game is a bit different than anything before it. Typically I am a stickler for the ways in which a novel game can be considered part of a series, but Oracle of Ages has earned its place in the Legend of Zelda family.

Andrew – Handheld Zelda games are my least explored category. But that’s kind of surprising given how big a fan I am of the ones I have played. Minish Cap is third on my all-time list! Which is to say that I really came away respecting Oracle of Ages. Who would want to try to follow the one-two punch of Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask? The only knocks I had against it were anachronisms tied to its original hardware. Beyond that, the worst you can say about it is that it doesn’t achieve the timelessness that ensconce most of the console games. Age‘s best trait is its willingness to keep Link’s entire inventory useful. Like the motto on the wall of my middle school gym said, its hustle and heart set it apart!

If you’ve played Oracle of Ages, or are picking it up for its anniversary ($5 USD on the 3DS eShop), let us hear your final thoughts! Are you a newcomer, or returning player? Join our conversation in the comments below.

Andrew is currently playing Hades badly and dreaming of the next Zelda game that isn’t connected to Breath of The Wild. 

Hannah can be found on Twitter @bananeyfish, and streaming games at twitch.tv/bananeyfish like Fallout: New Vegas and L.A. Noire! 

Emi is in the midst of playing Spyro the Dragon and Mother 3 as Bianca on stream at twitch.tv/biancaduba.

Featured Art: “Maple” by Julia Rangel on Instagram; “Veran” by Drawnkoi on Instagram

Andrew Millard

Andrew is a writing teacher in the American Upper Midwest. He has been playing Zelda games since 1990.