The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
Reviewed by David Loraine
Once again, there is a new adventure for the hero named Link. Link is
riding on his trusty steed (probably Epona), going to visit the temple
where the Triforce is being held. The Triforce has a strange glow
when he gets there, so he walks up to it. The three separate pieces
shape to form the Triforce. Suddenly, Link is sucked into a void. He
hears a voice telling him to accept his quest, labeling him a hero.
He wakes up to find himself in a strange land. He got up and started
to walk around when he saw a woman being attacked by monsters.
Link, being the good man that he was, drove the monsters away
from the lady.
He then learned that the woman was actually Impa, the Princess's
nurse from Hyrule. She had come to the forest to look for a singer
named Nayru. She asked Link to help her look and of course Link said yes.
They traveled deeper into the forest when they found a large stone
with strange runes on it blocking the path. Link, naturally, moved
the stone, as the brittle old lady was obviously much too weak to
move it.
Soon they found a circle of forest animals around a girl singing
sweetly. Link was invited to sit in the circle and listen. Link was
instantly captivated by the girl's singing.
Suddenly, Impa erupted in a menacing cackle. A darkness surrounded
her, and a shadow lifted from her body. The shadow began to speak.
"Nayru! Oracle of Age! I, Veran, Sorceress of Shadows, shall make
you my own!"
The shadow called Veran swooped around the forest for a bit before
setting it's sights on Nayru. The shadow shot straight into the
frightened singer. A shining light flowed through the forest.
When the light had dyed down, Nayru did not look like the sweet
girl she once did. She now looked veiled in shadow, even evil.
"Ha ha ha ha! Now the power of the Oracle of Ages is mine! I can
travel through time at will! Now a new age shall begin- an age of
shadows!" Then Veran/Nayru vanished.
It turns out that Nayru was actually the Oracle of Ages, who
controlled time, past, present, and future, in this land called Labrynna.
And when the flow of time was distorted, strange things began happening...
And so begins Link's new quest.
Graphics: 7.5 out of 10
The graphics are not exactly amazing, but they are respectable,
especially for a Game Boy game. The game is seen through the eyes
of the bird, showing an overhead view of Link and his adventures. But,
there are some places where the screen shows a cartoonist drawing of
Link and various characters where the game gives you a sense of
witnessing the event, not merely looking through a screen.
Music and Sound: 8 out of 10
The music is amazing. The other Zelda games had basically the same
music as always. But this game has a variety of music in the dungeons
(every dungeon has different music), in the towns, and out in the wild.
And since there are two different ages, and the music is different in the
other age, there is a great soundtrack for you to enjoy throughout the
game. As for the sound, the basic sounds are the same as before; a
sword slashing, a Bomb blasting, a monster dying. But certain items
in the game have a special sound, such as the Switch Hook.
Game Challenge: 10 out of 10
This game is NOT for anyone who does not like a long game of puzzles
and mysteries. For those of you who do, there is a ton of puzzles everywhere;
in the towns, in the wild, and, of course, in the dungeons. There are a variety
of different puzzles and how to solve them, such as killing all the enemies on
the screen to move to the next room, or moving blocks in a certain pattern
to get a treasure chest. This is the perfect game for the man who likes puzzles.
Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of killing monsters for the others.
Game Play-Fun: 9 out of 10
Oracle of Ages is absolutely a game you can really get into. When I first
got the game, I sat there playing it for about 4 hours before my batteries
went out. The game is very captivating, and when you are done with one
dungeon, the Maku Tree tells you where to go next, so you are never lost
on what to do next. The fun factor is definitely on the high scale. There
are a new variety of weapons and items to aid you on your quest and bring
you to new places. There's even a whole world underwater once you get
the Mermaid suit!
Frustration
There is a cycle of items that you have to pass on to different people.
These items you can never use. Sometimes this gets frustrating, as you
do not know where the next item goes. Also, sometimes you may be stuck
in a dungeon with nowhere to go and no keys because you are missing a
certain item which you don't know where it is. That can be frustrating.
And, most of all, there is a place in the world called Fairy Forest, and it
a is a puzzling forest. The fairies that live there want to play hide-and-seek,
so they scramble the forest up. But most of time, the game is fine and you
know exactly what to do.
Replayability: 6 out of 10
Yes, the game is fun, and it's captivating, yes yes. But the thing is, it's a
REALLY long game, so when you finish it, you may not want to play the
game all over again for a long time, and go through the same stuff and
killing the same bosses. If you feel like it, go ahead, but after i finished
it, I didn't want to go back to it and start over.
Game Value: 9 out of 10
The game was $29.99 where I purchased it, which was at Wal-Mart. I felt
that it was just right. Because 40 would just be too much, and if it was 20
they would be out in a day. So I felt that, considering the game playability
and the fun factor, that the price was fair. If you find a better deal, take it.
Overall: 9 out of 10
This game, much like it's other Zelda brothers, was a great game. I loved
it and the fact that I could carry it around with me made it even better.
The game was fun, challenging, and I was actually able to play it without
getting bored at any time. It was well worth the price, too. The Zelda
legacy lives on!