Daily Debate: In Which Order Should You Play the Oracle Games?
Posted on August 09 2024 by John Lortie
Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons have been on Nintendo Switch Online for a little more than a year. This means that the service’s install base of over 38 million (as of September 2023) has had some time to play the games. Sure, each Oracle game is a stand-alone experience but the only way to access the true ending of the games is to link the two. Once you complete the first title’s quest, you’re provided with a code to carry Link’s adventure into the second.
From this, we find the crux of today’s debate. The games can be completed in either order. Ages before Seasons or Seasons before Ages – the progression is up to each individual player! Link begins each linked quest with four Heart Containers instead of three. His animal companion persists through both titles and there’s extra content in the second game featuring characters and continuing storylines from the first. Linking the games also gives the hero a chance to save our titular princess and fight Ganon. If you want all the content from the Oracles, you need to play each through twice: Ages before Seasons and Seasons before Ages.
In what order should you play these two games? The choice is all yours. The only major difference in play order not previously mentioned is the award you get for completing the Hero’s Cave, a linked games bonus dungeon. If Ages is your second game, you’ll receive the Armor Ring L-3, which decreases the damage Link takes. If you finish Seasons second, Link gets the attack-buffing Power Ring L-3.
My preferred Oracles order is Seasons before Ages. This is partly because I love Subrosia and want to get to it as quickly as I can. I also find Veran (Ages’ big bad) to be tougher than Onyx, her Seasons counterpart. I’ll gladly decrease the damage Link takes to give me the edge!
Now it’s your turn to let us know what you think! In which order should you play the Oracle games? Do you tackle Seasons before Ages or vice versa? Do you not have a preference? Sound off down in the comments!
John’s been a Zelda fan since he was seven years old (which was a good few decades ago). He loves the last three months of the year, analog media, his family, and Tolkien. His favorite Zelda game is Breath of the Wild and his favorite game is Night in the Woods.
