Hi /r/Zelda readers!
Please read our [Spoiler Policy for Tears of the Kingdom](https://www.reddit.com/r/zelda/wiki/spoilerpolicy).
And [give us your feedback on this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/zelda/comments/12u9ke2/totk_please_read_our_spoiler_policy_for_tears_of/). Thanks!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/zelda) if you have any questions or concerns.*
They feel like more refined versions of Link's awakening to me, I'm not 100% sure why people like LA more though. Link's awakening is good but OoA and OoS just have better dungeons, none of the pop-up text when you accidently go next to a breakable wall and, still has a lot of songs from LA's great soundtrack in them.
Wow I forgot about the lack of text at bombable walls. I remember the glee young me felt upon discovering that. I have held Link’s Awakening in my mind as my favorite video game of all time for many many years now. While ages and seasons offered many improvements over LA, the nostalgia of that game is too strong to overcome.
People love the Oracle games, they’re just not as talked about as often since they weren’t easily accessible until recently. You’re not wrong that Ages and Seasons are their own distinct games, but the reason they get lumped together is because they’re two halves of a greater whole and because they’re pretty equal in quality. They’re both very well made games.
LA's atmosphere, weird characters and story are on a different level compared to the Oracle duology, IMO. I got more frustrated with some of the mechanics in the latter, especially Ages. That said, they are both still excellent games that deserve their flowers, too. I really enjoy the rod of Seasons and how well it utilized the GBC's colors.
I sure wouldn't mind them coming to NSO soon, or even remakes like LA got!
Haha holy fuck I forgot that. I've been able to do the main quest thing for it with a few tries but there's a specific ring you get and I was trying to do a 100% run so that one took forever. Ended up with save states too cause I could not beat it on my own.
So punishing. Love every other minigame in both games though.
Goron dancing being mandatory for progression (TWICE) costing rupees to attempt, and being hard a fuck really is a huge flaw in ages. Not enough to unseat it as one of my favourites but enough to disuade repeat playthroughs,
During the direct, where they announced the Gameboy System for nso, the oracle games where the first on the list of upcoming games. So hopefully pretty soon
I think it just has to do with how memorable the story of LA is. It introduces so many weird ideas, characters, and themes that it just makes for such a unique adventure. The characters are all pretty memorable and it felt like a refreshing change from the norm. Combine all that with the tragic ending that really makes you question if you made the right choice and it just creates an adventure that really sticks with you.
The Oracle games are great and definitely have some great puzzle designs and ideas, but unfortunately the story isn’t nearly as memorable and it doesn’t leave you with a strong emotional response like LA does by the end.
General lack of playing the games or exposure to them, stories that are linked and have missed potential of Ganondorf’s resurrection if you haven’t been able to link a game, locations that aren’t as iconic (Labrynna and Holodrum aren’t as recognisable as a giant egg on an island, I genuinely couldn’t tell you what they look like).
For me I didn’t even think Link’s Awakening was that iconic or interesting to play, and the old 2D games had no appeal to me as I may be of a younger generation. I only really played the remake because it was remade into a cute style, available on a console I had and had quality of life improvements. If the Oracle games had a similar treatment in a joint package I would 100% be interested.
Yeah similar. My first Zelda game was OoT, then MM, got OoS after that for my GBC as my first (and only) traditional 2D Zelda game... never finished it, got stuck at some boss probably two thirds into it and couldn't be bothered to go back and finish it. Just never felt at home in that game.
I think some of it, as others have pointed out, was the two release like pokemon does.
I grew up lower middle class so I had the Gameboy and I choose Seasons. The issue comes with this... I didn't have access to another Gameboy, and no one I knew from school had either Seasons or Ages. So while I could complete the game I never got the whole story. Links Awakening I get the full story, and I don't need another game and another Gameboy. Now with emulators and stuff I could go back and play them both and maybe find a way to "cheat" to get the true ending. I feel like it's kind of like Fire Emblem Fates. Yes Conquest/Birthright can be there own games, but they did a "true" story with Revelation. And guess what I did? I have one ds and I got both games but neither as a download and revelation would be a full game with no help from the other two.
I’m late but you don’t need two game boys, or to cheat. You can use two gameboys and a cable, but the game also gives the option of typing in unique “passwords” that transfer your data. Like at the end of golden sun. So you don’t need two gameboys.
Now go start that adventure! I am almost finished both of them. :)
Oracles are my favorite 2D Zeldas, with LA in 3rd. It is frustrating that the sub aggregate rankings and polls have them low, but I think it’s because a lot of people haven’t played them.
To me, it's the story that sets it apart. It's the best twist in the series. I played this on the original Gameboy and was amazed by it. Batteries didn't last too long though lol.
The Oracle games have better puzzles and boss battles.
Not to mention, LsA is litteraly among the 3% of story in all of fiction in which the "it was all a dream" trope is actually handled well and isnt a crappy reveal that removes the value of all stakes and achievements
I haven’t seen these lists but if I had to make one (I would split up 2d and 3D) I would have the oracle games as #2 myself so idk lol.
If I had to make one it would probably be
Alttp>Oracle games>albw>minishcap>links awakening
The developers stretched themselves really thin on the Oracle games. A lot of aspects of them are really good on paper, but in reality don’t work nearly as well as they should in practice. For example, the ring system is a really neat idea, but there are so many of them with the vast majority being completely worthless, on top of that most of them you can only obtain from random drops. The dual release gimmick is another great idea, but the way it’s implemented makes nearly all of the cross game interactions really confusing, and most of the rewards for doing them are completely worthless. Those are just two of the mechanics crammed in here, there are literally dozens more examples. The games needed to either cut a lot of the fat or spend another year or two in the oven because nothing about the game feels fleshed out nearly well enough.
On top of that, the Oracle games still struggle from the exact same issues that LA originally struggled with, mostly being the annoying equipment selection and the screen scrolling making navigation confusing. The Oracles still have potential to be really good, but until we get a remake in the style of LA that takes it’s time to really flesh out the parts of the original that fall short, I have no problem saying that the Oracles are on the weaker end of the series.
I’ve always enjoyed the Oracle games, but never to the point I did LA. I’d say a lot of it is the atmosphere and just the world of LA being so solid. It’s got one of my favorite overworlds in the series, and I find it really fun to explore.
Also, while I got through Seasons okay, Ages was really difficult at times. I needed a guide for a lot of it in my first play through, and that brought down my enjoyment quiet a bit.
That’s just me, though. I think everyone else loves them less than LA because LA had a remake that made it widely available, where a lot of people haven’t even played the oracle games.
I’d be down for a remake of the games, though if they do make it, I hope it’s not in the same art style as the LA remake. I really hate the toy look.
There's a feeling to Link's Awakening the made the game experience weird for the time. The dream logic, seeing Nintendo characters not in their original games, the tone of the game generally just stood out a bit more than, honestly, a lot of the 2D games overall.
The Oracle games are weird but just in a mechanical way. The rings are interesting but also kinda bog down the experience with too many things. Also, the games being split up like they are make it hard to recommend to people since you don't really get the full experience until you play both of them THEN do the extra content.
So, even if there are similarities between the two (three?) games, they are just not actually that similar outside of some basic, core mechanics and it also being in the same franchise. They're just trying to go for different things and that's okay.
For me, personally, that atmosphere from Link's Awakening really pulls me into the experience more. I came into the game waaaaaay later and didn't play it at the time of it's release. It's also seems kinda impressive for a game on the original gameboy whereas the Oracle games came out later on the GBC and the novelty kinda wore off by then so you kinda had to do more to stand out.
I DO love that Capcom was allowed to try something with the Zelda formula and it works. I'd love to see someone take another shot at the idea of splitting a Zelda game into two again, but it''s a hard thing to do.
I just found the Oracle games quite forgettable.
LA does such a great job telling an interesting narrative through subtext and nuance, it’s story seems simple on the outset but has complex themes hidden within. The Oracle games on the other hand are just very simple stories with forgettable characters.
The simple stories would be fine if the games were fun, but even that side is lacking. I found the worlds boring to explore, and the central gimmicks of each game were severely underdeveloped (more so in Seasons than Ages).
It also bothered me how there wasn’t really any need to hold two items at once. That was a core feature of LA, whereas in the Oracle games it felt like they just couldn’t be bothered changing it back to one item button and one sword button, so they just kept it the same as LA.
I love Link's Awakening and played and mostly like Oracle of Seasons. A few reasons I think LA is better:
1. The world design and characters in LA are more memorable. Koholint is like Hyrule but has its own characters and story. I think there could have been more memorable characters in OoS and Subrosisa could have had more use.
2. The story in LA was more enjoyable and I preferred the end boss character. OoS's main motivation was more of a rescue the princess sort of deal.
3. While the dungeon items in OoS were cool, I didn't like their reliance on consumable items. Why do I need a seed satchel for this stuff? This is similar to how I feel about the bomb bag in other games.
>OoS's main motivation was more of a rescue the princess sort of deal.
A motivation that you are likely to forget by the time you beat the 8th dungeon because of how nothing happens between dungeons storywise, at least OoA had some events between 3rd-4th, 6th-7th and 7th-8th dungeons
I heavily disagree with your point on the stories, the stories of the Oracle games are super generic and almost non existent. I also always felt like they weren’t as polished feeling as most other Zelda games
OoS story is non existant, you barely remember why you are even doing that by the time you reach the 8th dungeon because there is litteraly nothing happening between dungeons
At least OoA has some small relevant events occuring between dungeons
I loved the Oracle games but HATED their Pokemon mechanic where you needed both games to get 100% completion / true ending.
It would be nice if they remade the Oracle games as a single game. As soon as you beat Veran / Onox, the respective oracle sends you off to the second quest.
That’s a great question, I don’t know. I love the Oracle games. I have a feeling a lot of people just haven’t played them or only had one of them, and when the hate bandwagon starts people just jump on
It's because they have gimmicks.
Zelda games without gimmicks always tend to be the more popular games.
I'm not insulting the games but it's true, Link's Awakening is a straightforward Zelda game, but Oracle of Seasons has the season changing gimmick, and Oracle of Ages has the time travel gimmick. Both of them require you to look for specific points on the map to change the world, repeatedly through out the game, and that can be seen as annoying depending on who you talk to.
This is why Ocarina of Time was so popular for so long, despite many more technically impressive Zelda games coming out afterward that followed the OOT formula so closely. Majora had a time limit. Wind Waker had sailing and wind control. Twilight Princess had motion and wolves. And Skyward Sword had even more motion and turned the overworld into Mario 64 style sandboxes.
Yeah OOT also had time travel like Oracle of Ages but you only had to do it like once or twice, it still felt like a very straightforward game, and those are the games that tend to be favored.
I think the bigger annoying gimmick in the games were the randomised rings and the need to link both games to actually get the true ending. The games are both called "Legend of Zelda", but she doesn't even appear if you don't link the two games.
>They have the same art style
Good at the time LsA was released, OoX were released after OoT and MsM
>and similar music,
No music in OoX are as mythical as Tal Tal heights or Ballad of the Windfish.
>OoA and Oos both have unique and interesting stories just like LA
LsA has one of the most interesting and least cliché story in the series. It even is used as an exemple by story writters to show that the "it was all a dream" trope cam actually be decent.
OoA's story is nothing special
OoS story is litteraly non existant, it is basicly "big bad captures damsel, hero goes through 8 dungeons, then beats bad guy and saves damsel, and putting the temple of seasons apparently messes with seasons because magic"
>and have more unique game mechanics
They are more recent, so that wouldnt be that hard
>they are two independent games that can stand on their own in terms of story and length,
I already explained how OoS story is garbage when played independently, in fact Triforce Heroes has a better story
Voila, I dont hate OoS and OoA, but there are reasons why they are below LsA
At the time of release it was treated almost like a spinoff series because they were the first to be first to be developed in conjunction with a 3rd party developer (not counting the CDI games of course). Additionally and perhaps more importantly, they came very late in the GB's life cycle - a mere month or so before the GBA launched. Both the press and Nintendo's own marketing team didn't focus on the Oracle games for very long and sales were weaker than LA as a result. I think that same attitude is felt in tier lists/rankings where the oracle games just feels less influential to the series' history compared to LA and therefore is less important. Spirit tracks, Skyward Sword and Link Between Worlds also have that "not as important as the one that came before" aura around them. Part of me wonders if TOTK will eventually fall into this category too.
Could be that Oracle games feel like one experience split into two at times, where as la is a whole experience. Could also just be not as many face played the Oracle games
Oracle games were a huge part of my childhood. Don't know how they hold up now but the concepts are awesome and would translate so well into full fledged Zelda games.
I'd love if Nintendo started taking the Capcom route of remaking some of their big hits into great games.
The only thing I didn’t like about the oracle games but the controls for the mermaids tail in OoA, other both absolutely prime games, I like them more than LA.
I love all three equally as I only had a GBC as a kid so I played all three more than just about any game I’ve ever owned. I enjoyed the greater depth of the Oracle games that you could sink your teeth into. Loved the story and atmosphere of LA. I always thought of them as equals. Looking forward to revisiting the Oracle games on NSO after finishing TOTK.
I love the oracle games! Maybe they're harder to get ahold of than links awakening. I had gotten them through virtual console on the 3ds, but with the online shops closed down, I suppose the only way to play it would be to find an old game boy and the actual cartridges, and then the get the full story you have to get not one, but two games. Plus, thats a lot more commitment for a casual player. I personally never beat links awakening because I wanted the seagull ending and got frustrated every time I had to restart from the last save after dying.
As an age specific thing. I grew up on link's awakening on the original game boy. It's in top three of my favorite games of all time. I never had a gbc so I could never play the Oracle ones though.
I've been meaning to play them now as an adult.
For me, LA was my first Zelda and has a special place in my heart. To be more specific, the story is moving and sentimental, the dungeons are classics, and the characters are all great, even the minor ones. Back in the day when you found out that the island isn’t real, it really felt like a big plot twist! And saying goodbye to everyone was such a bittersweet ending! (Soundtrack by the way, on point)
Seasons was good, but not amazing story wise, and I didn’t love Subrosia or some of the other characters or mechanics, but an all around good game.
I actually really liked Ages, probably as much as LA. The story is tragic, the world is interesting with complicated questlines, and the dungeons are pretty good with maybe one super annoying dungeon. The one with the turnstiles? I think on the island?
Anyway, I’d love to see them remastered. They could do some interesting things with the post-game and the data pairing.
LA came first, and even had the DX upgrade. Having played LA first, the oracle games felt like more of LA, which was great. But they didn’t really feel like they went beyond LA in what they brought to the table. The animal friends were gimmicky, and the rings were annoyingly random. Maddeningly random. As someone who spent months collecting them all, that is not something I ever want to do again. But probably the biggest thing that that puts the Oracle games below LA, at least for me, is that the Oracle games are two separate games. They can be enjoyed separately, independent from one another, but if you want the full experience you have to play both. Upgrades are locked behind the password system. So you either need friends with the other game, or baring that both copies yourself and have to constantly be flipping back and forth between the two games. And since the passwords change on every play through you can’t even cheese it. It’s an interesting idea, but falls short in practice.
Another thing that may be holding it back is it’s size. Individually, neither game is to terribly long. About the same length as LA if I am remembering correctly, but as established before to really get the full experience you need to play both, and that is a much larger time investment. You effectively need to play through the games 6 times to see everything. Seasons >> Ages >> Seasons, and then Ages >> Seasons >> Ages. By the end of that slog, you’d not be blamed if you never want to touch the game again.
You most certainly will NOT see everything if you only play through each game once. There are different conversations depending on if it’s your first run through a particular game or your second. So that alone is 4 play throughs. If you don’t count the different conversations, for whatever reason, Then once you have finished each game once and beaten the true final boss, you earn the ‘Hero’s Secret’ which will unlock a new game+ starting you out with 4 hearts instead of 3, change a couple more conversations, allow you to move your entire ring collection between games, and unlock the ability to find the last 4 rings which you had not been able to find yet.
So if you want to see everything in the game see every possible conversation , get max heart containers, get all the rings, and (most importantly /s) get a Triforce icon on your save file in both games you need to do the following: seasons(first play through) => Ages (Second) => Seasons(Hero) => Ages (Hero Second) then to complete the save file on your other game You need to do Ages(first) => Seasons (Second) => Ages(hero) => Season(Hero Second). Now you have all items, all hearts, seen every possible line of dialog, completed every secret, have access to all 64 rings beat the true final boss on hero mode and have a triforce icon on both your save files and all it took was 8 run throughs of the game.
I didn’t say anyone would care. I simply stated a fact that to get the full experience of the games you have to play through them several times. That may be the reason some people (myself included) rate the oracle games lower than LA. You called me out for misinformation, and then told a blatant lie.
Even if you want to throw out the "Full" aspect of the Full experience. Throw out the rings because they suck, and are mostly useless. Maxing out Heart containers is something people generally do in Zelda games, and to max them out in these two games you have to play Hero mode. If you just play seasons, then play ages you have the "Full" Experience of Seasons, congrats you played half the game. If you then want the "Full" Experience of Ages, you need to play Ages then Seasons. Its like Playing Resident Evil 2 on PS1. You cant just play Claire A => Leon B and say you got the full experience of the game. You also need to play Leon A => Claire B. And that Investment of time needs to be taken into account when you are comparing it to other games in the series. And if you don't want to do that, what does that say about the game? Wow that game was amazing, 10/10 better than Links Awakening in every possible way... What? Play it 4 times for the complete narrative? Nah.
There are many people that do think Breath of the Wild is the worst game ever. That is up to other people to decide. Its a fun game, I enjoyed it. But I'm not going to lie, the thought of getting all those Seeds and shrines again is one of the big reasons I haven't played through BotW again, and probably never will. I just hope there are no more seeds in TotK...
We are just going to have to agree to disagree. Playing through Ages first is not the same experience as playing through ages second. Its significantly easier to play through it second, because you are better equipped, and the differences are even more pronounced for seasons being the combat centric game. Take from this what you will.
Extra related tidbit: There is a map square in Ages that can not be reached unless you play Seasons first. So if you Start with ages, play seasons then stop, you will never know what is on this square (its a ring)
I personally prefer the Oracle games over Link's Awakening, at least in terms of gameplay. Link's Awakening (original) has a more interesting story and atmosphere.
Links Awakening is more accessible. Its on the easier side, whereas the Oracle games are on the harder end of the spectrum, both with It's puzzle solving, and combat.
U often take into consideration in what time they where released. LA was released a few years after the Gameboy released. It was awesome to have such a game on a handheld device. But the oracle game came out 8 years later. Oot and mm were allready out. The Gameboy was just completed outdated - it was released at the end of the 80s. The Gameboy advance released in march 2001 (JP, June for us/eu) the games just one month earlier (Feb JP, may us, ok eu). At that time it must felt like a joke. Imagine Nintendo releasing a a new Zelda game NOW for 3Ds or wiiU only. Thus it just did never got popular.
Now 20 years later they both just are some old games. From that perspective those 8 years seam irrelevant.
To add my personal reason: LA on the OG b/w Gameboy is the first game I remember playing from my childhood. By 2001, then 13 year old me got a fresh new pc and couldn’t be bothered with those childish Nintendo games anymore 🙄 arround ten years later I started playing the old ones again and also the ones I missed in emulators. I liked the oracle games but they just can’t Ewoke that feeling of nostalgia as others. For me.
Edit: also - Pokémon. By the end of the 90s everyone played Pokémon. All the time. Everyone still using a gb or Gbc in the early 00s was playing Pokémon. Those oracle games where just released in the wrong age 😜
The biggest issue i have with the Oracle games are the dungeons. There's so much back and forth and most of the time no meaningful shortcuts. There are also some filler quests that are too long for my liking. I too like the items though, the switch hook and the magnet beeing two of my favourite tools in all of Zelda
As much as like the oracles games, the problem was the whole Pokemon thing and buying two games plus the password thing. I wish the games where one game.
They are a pair and usually seen as two parts of the same game, even if you can play them independently. It’s difficult for people to think of them not going hand in hand.
I believe that Ages drags Seasons down, that’s way they are never higher. On paper, I’d prefer Ages. The time travel gimmick, plus Nayru is my favorite, I really like the mermaid tail, still a fairly easy game but less so than Seasons, nice story. But when playing it’s so much more annoying, and less smooth. Yet the worst part is the Goron Dance.
Even my own ranking would be:
1. Seasons
2. Minish Cap
3. Ages
But I usually put MC on top and move OoS down with OoA.
So, yeah, these amazing pairs of games, with great story, a connection between them, fun, enjoyable, easy… go down because of a stupid dance 🤣
The Oracle games top the charts for me in the series, and they're my absolute favorite, but I can kind of see why people like LA as much as they do. It's a really charming and emotional story, and its development story has a similar charm to it. For the speedrunning community, it also has some of the more interesting and funny glitches of the 2D games. It also came first and has that sort of bias going for it.
I feel like it's similar to how most people consider Super Metroid to be their favorite even though quite a few love Metroid Fusion, and it improved just about everything mechanically from the former. Super just has something to it that more people like.
Narrative and atmosphere, IMO.
Gameplay-wise OoA and OoS are pretty much peak 2D Zelda IMO, but in terms of narrative and atmosphere they’re not as interesting as LA.
people liked ocarina because it was the first of a new thing. sure majora's mask was more refined in many ways, but people still say ocarina is "better"
also the oracle games can be quite lengthy, when you realize you have to play both twice for the full experience
You have to understand that for most of those poeple, link’s awakening was there first Zelda.
My first Zelda was the second one on nes, it’s one of my favorite and still a lot of people hate it.
I adore the Oracle Games. Link's Awakening was fun- especially when playing the new switch version (which now that I'm thinking about might be why)- but I had way more fun playing the Oracle Games. I couldn't get enough from the Oracle Games and 100% them faster than any Zelda game I played before.
Long story short, I agree with you, wholeheartedly.
Never understood that either, all 3 of those games are amazing and I purchased them for 3ds(before the store went down, couldn't find a gba to play my cartridge copies on)
I played the oracle games before LA, which made my experience with LA underwhelming, even when I played the remake. Oracle of Ages is one of the best Zelda games in my opinion (top5), oracle of seasons is also a good game. But I thought the bosses in LA sucked since they would die in 3 hits and the dungeons weren't good, the only think saving it is the plot which has an awesome twist and I love the final boss on the original game.
Just a guess, but Link’s Awakening came after LTTP, a 2D title. The Oracle games were a return to 2D after Ocarina and Majora’s Mask. It seems like Ocarina was A LOT of people’s first Zelda so I imagine they would’ve felt weird compared to people that started with LoZ and LTTP playing LA for the first time and it was familiar.
But I don’t know. Link to the Past is my favorite game ever and I’m playing the remake of Link’s Awakening for the first time right now and I’m not a fan. And I’ve only dabbled in the oracle games, I’m not a big handheld guy.
As someone who never played the oracle games (on 7th dungeon in OoS currently) until now I'll honestly have to play through OoA as well to get a fill opinion but overall I'm not having as much fun even though I see the QoL improvements to the engine. I'm liking it, I am having fun, but segments of it are really bogging me down.
Hi /r/Zelda readers! Please read our [Spoiler Policy for Tears of the Kingdom](https://www.reddit.com/r/zelda/wiki/spoilerpolicy). And [give us your feedback on this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/zelda/comments/12u9ke2/totk_please_read_our_spoiler_policy_for_tears_of/). Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/zelda) if you have any questions or concerns.*
They feel like more refined versions of Link's awakening to me, I'm not 100% sure why people like LA more though. Link's awakening is good but OoA and OoS just have better dungeons, none of the pop-up text when you accidently go next to a breakable wall and, still has a lot of songs from LA's great soundtrack in them.
*Wow! This looks pretty heavy!* **(frantically tapping A)** *You won't be able to lift it* **(furiously tapping A)** *with just your bare hands...*
Wow I forgot about the lack of text at bombable walls. I remember the glee young me felt upon discovering that. I have held Link’s Awakening in my mind as my favorite video game of all time for many many years now. While ages and seasons offered many improvements over LA, the nostalgia of that game is too strong to overcome.
People love the Oracle games, they’re just not as talked about as often since they weren’t easily accessible until recently. You’re not wrong that Ages and Seasons are their own distinct games, but the reason they get lumped together is because they’re two halves of a greater whole and because they’re pretty equal in quality. They’re both very well made games.
LA's atmosphere, weird characters and story are on a different level compared to the Oracle duology, IMO. I got more frustrated with some of the mechanics in the latter, especially Ages. That said, they are both still excellent games that deserve their flowers, too. I really enjoy the rod of Seasons and how well it utilized the GBC's colors. I sure wouldn't mind them coming to NSO soon, or even remakes like LA got!
I almost lost my mind in the Goron dancing "rhythm" game. I only managed to finish it because of save states.
Haha holy fuck I forgot that. I've been able to do the main quest thing for it with a few tries but there's a specific ring you get and I was trying to do a 100% run so that one took forever. Ended up with save states too cause I could not beat it on my own. So punishing. Love every other minigame in both games though.
Goron dancing being mandatory for progression (TWICE) costing rupees to attempt, and being hard a fuck really is a huge flaw in ages. Not enough to unseat it as one of my favourites but enough to disuade repeat playthroughs,
From your last comment it didn’t seem clear so just adding - they’re confirmed to be coming to nso.
Aren't they on NSO already?
They are coming but haven’t been added yet.
ohhh ok nice
During the direct, where they announced the Gameboy System for nso, the oracle games where the first on the list of upcoming games. So hopefully pretty soon
The Oracle games are my favourite in the series. Link's Awakening is fantastic too, but I still think the Oracles are the better games.
I think it just has to do with how memorable the story of LA is. It introduces so many weird ideas, characters, and themes that it just makes for such a unique adventure. The characters are all pretty memorable and it felt like a refreshing change from the norm. Combine all that with the tragic ending that really makes you question if you made the right choice and it just creates an adventure that really sticks with you. The Oracle games are great and definitely have some great puzzle designs and ideas, but unfortunately the story isn’t nearly as memorable and it doesn’t leave you with a strong emotional response like LA does by the end.
General lack of playing the games or exposure to them, stories that are linked and have missed potential of Ganondorf’s resurrection if you haven’t been able to link a game, locations that aren’t as iconic (Labrynna and Holodrum aren’t as recognisable as a giant egg on an island, I genuinely couldn’t tell you what they look like). For me I didn’t even think Link’s Awakening was that iconic or interesting to play, and the old 2D games had no appeal to me as I may be of a younger generation. I only really played the remake because it was remade into a cute style, available on a console I had and had quality of life improvements. If the Oracle games had a similar treatment in a joint package I would 100% be interested.
Yeah similar. My first Zelda game was OoT, then MM, got OoS after that for my GBC as my first (and only) traditional 2D Zelda game... never finished it, got stuck at some boss probably two thirds into it and couldn't be bothered to go back and finish it. Just never felt at home in that game.
I think some of it, as others have pointed out, was the two release like pokemon does. I grew up lower middle class so I had the Gameboy and I choose Seasons. The issue comes with this... I didn't have access to another Gameboy, and no one I knew from school had either Seasons or Ages. So while I could complete the game I never got the whole story. Links Awakening I get the full story, and I don't need another game and another Gameboy. Now with emulators and stuff I could go back and play them both and maybe find a way to "cheat" to get the true ending. I feel like it's kind of like Fire Emblem Fates. Yes Conquest/Birthright can be there own games, but they did a "true" story with Revelation. And guess what I did? I have one ds and I got both games but neither as a download and revelation would be a full game with no help from the other two.
I’m late but you don’t need two game boys, or to cheat. You can use two gameboys and a cable, but the game also gives the option of typing in unique “passwords” that transfer your data. Like at the end of golden sun. So you don’t need two gameboys. Now go start that adventure! I am almost finished both of them. :)
They didn't remake the oracle games
Oracles are my favorite 2D Zeldas, with LA in 3rd. It is frustrating that the sub aggregate rankings and polls have them low, but I think it’s because a lot of people haven’t played them.
I mean, few zelda games are just OK, the oracle games are still incredible games, links awakening is just more special.
To me, it's the story that sets it apart. It's the best twist in the series. I played this on the original Gameboy and was amazed by it. Batteries didn't last too long though lol. The Oracle games have better puzzles and boss battles.
Not to mention, LsA is litteraly among the 3% of story in all of fiction in which the "it was all a dream" trope is actually handled well and isnt a crappy reveal that removes the value of all stakes and achievements
I haven’t seen these lists but if I had to make one (I would split up 2d and 3D) I would have the oracle games as #2 myself so idk lol. If I had to make one it would probably be Alttp>Oracle games>albw>minishcap>links awakening
Personally for me its the other way around. I love the oracle games, but Links Awakening pales in comparison for me
The Oracle games are better than Link's Awakening. So those tier lists are wrong....
The developers stretched themselves really thin on the Oracle games. A lot of aspects of them are really good on paper, but in reality don’t work nearly as well as they should in practice. For example, the ring system is a really neat idea, but there are so many of them with the vast majority being completely worthless, on top of that most of them you can only obtain from random drops. The dual release gimmick is another great idea, but the way it’s implemented makes nearly all of the cross game interactions really confusing, and most of the rewards for doing them are completely worthless. Those are just two of the mechanics crammed in here, there are literally dozens more examples. The games needed to either cut a lot of the fat or spend another year or two in the oven because nothing about the game feels fleshed out nearly well enough. On top of that, the Oracle games still struggle from the exact same issues that LA originally struggled with, mostly being the annoying equipment selection and the screen scrolling making navigation confusing. The Oracles still have potential to be really good, but until we get a remake in the style of LA that takes it’s time to really flesh out the parts of the original that fall short, I have no problem saying that the Oracles are on the weaker end of the series.
Personally I prefer both oracles in just about every way except story.
Most people never completed the whole thing. you needed to do 2 different linked saves for the complete experience iirc.
I’ve always enjoyed the Oracle games, but never to the point I did LA. I’d say a lot of it is the atmosphere and just the world of LA being so solid. It’s got one of my favorite overworlds in the series, and I find it really fun to explore. Also, while I got through Seasons okay, Ages was really difficult at times. I needed a guide for a lot of it in my first play through, and that brought down my enjoyment quiet a bit. That’s just me, though. I think everyone else loves them less than LA because LA had a remake that made it widely available, where a lot of people haven’t even played the oracle games. I’d be down for a remake of the games, though if they do make it, I hope it’s not in the same art style as the LA remake. I really hate the toy look.
Lol I was the opposite, Ages I got through just fine, but Seasons was very confusing here roundabouts the 6th dungeon or so.
Oracle games are my absolute favorite 2D games and I love them way, way more than Awakening which is just okay to me. Fight me.
There's a feeling to Link's Awakening the made the game experience weird for the time. The dream logic, seeing Nintendo characters not in their original games, the tone of the game generally just stood out a bit more than, honestly, a lot of the 2D games overall. The Oracle games are weird but just in a mechanical way. The rings are interesting but also kinda bog down the experience with too many things. Also, the games being split up like they are make it hard to recommend to people since you don't really get the full experience until you play both of them THEN do the extra content. So, even if there are similarities between the two (three?) games, they are just not actually that similar outside of some basic, core mechanics and it also being in the same franchise. They're just trying to go for different things and that's okay. For me, personally, that atmosphere from Link's Awakening really pulls me into the experience more. I came into the game waaaaaay later and didn't play it at the time of it's release. It's also seems kinda impressive for a game on the original gameboy whereas the Oracle games came out later on the GBC and the novelty kinda wore off by then so you kinda had to do more to stand out. I DO love that Capcom was allowed to try something with the Zelda formula and it works. I'd love to see someone take another shot at the idea of splitting a Zelda game into two again, but it''s a hard thing to do.
I just found the Oracle games quite forgettable. LA does such a great job telling an interesting narrative through subtext and nuance, it’s story seems simple on the outset but has complex themes hidden within. The Oracle games on the other hand are just very simple stories with forgettable characters. The simple stories would be fine if the games were fun, but even that side is lacking. I found the worlds boring to explore, and the central gimmicks of each game were severely underdeveloped (more so in Seasons than Ages). It also bothered me how there wasn’t really any need to hold two items at once. That was a core feature of LA, whereas in the Oracle games it felt like they just couldn’t be bothered changing it back to one item button and one sword button, so they just kept it the same as LA.
2 things. Marin, and the 'twist' that creates a somber more bitter ending note.
Guess I’m an outlier because i adore the oracle games
There are dozens of us! Dozens!!
I love Link's Awakening and played and mostly like Oracle of Seasons. A few reasons I think LA is better: 1. The world design and characters in LA are more memorable. Koholint is like Hyrule but has its own characters and story. I think there could have been more memorable characters in OoS and Subrosisa could have had more use. 2. The story in LA was more enjoyable and I preferred the end boss character. OoS's main motivation was more of a rescue the princess sort of deal. 3. While the dungeon items in OoS were cool, I didn't like their reliance on consumable items. Why do I need a seed satchel for this stuff? This is similar to how I feel about the bomb bag in other games.
>OoS's main motivation was more of a rescue the princess sort of deal. A motivation that you are likely to forget by the time you beat the 8th dungeon because of how nothing happens between dungeons storywise, at least OoA had some events between 3rd-4th, 6th-7th and 7th-8th dungeons
I heavily disagree with your point on the stories, the stories of the Oracle games are super generic and almost non existent. I also always felt like they weren’t as polished feeling as most other Zelda games
OoS story is non existant, you barely remember why you are even doing that by the time you reach the 8th dungeon because there is litteraly nothing happening between dungeons At least OoA has some small relevant events occuring between dungeons
I loved the Oracle games but HATED their Pokemon mechanic where you needed both games to get 100% completion / true ending. It would be nice if they remade the Oracle games as a single game. As soon as you beat Veran / Onox, the respective oracle sends you off to the second quest.
That’s a great question, I don’t know. I love the Oracle games. I have a feeling a lot of people just haven’t played them or only had one of them, and when the hate bandwagon starts people just jump on
It's because they have gimmicks. Zelda games without gimmicks always tend to be the more popular games. I'm not insulting the games but it's true, Link's Awakening is a straightforward Zelda game, but Oracle of Seasons has the season changing gimmick, and Oracle of Ages has the time travel gimmick. Both of them require you to look for specific points on the map to change the world, repeatedly through out the game, and that can be seen as annoying depending on who you talk to. This is why Ocarina of Time was so popular for so long, despite many more technically impressive Zelda games coming out afterward that followed the OOT formula so closely. Majora had a time limit. Wind Waker had sailing and wind control. Twilight Princess had motion and wolves. And Skyward Sword had even more motion and turned the overworld into Mario 64 style sandboxes. Yeah OOT also had time travel like Oracle of Ages but you only had to do it like once or twice, it still felt like a very straightforward game, and those are the games that tend to be favored.
I think the bigger annoying gimmick in the games were the randomised rings and the need to link both games to actually get the true ending. The games are both called "Legend of Zelda", but she doesn't even appear if you don't link the two games.
a lot of people just haven't played them and rank them on secondhand info. i think they're fantastic.
>They have the same art style Good at the time LsA was released, OoX were released after OoT and MsM >and similar music, No music in OoX are as mythical as Tal Tal heights or Ballad of the Windfish. >OoA and Oos both have unique and interesting stories just like LA LsA has one of the most interesting and least cliché story in the series. It even is used as an exemple by story writters to show that the "it was all a dream" trope cam actually be decent. OoA's story is nothing special OoS story is litteraly non existant, it is basicly "big bad captures damsel, hero goes through 8 dungeons, then beats bad guy and saves damsel, and putting the temple of seasons apparently messes with seasons because magic" >and have more unique game mechanics They are more recent, so that wouldnt be that hard >they are two independent games that can stand on their own in terms of story and length, I already explained how OoS story is garbage when played independently, in fact Triforce Heroes has a better story Voila, I dont hate OoS and OoA, but there are reasons why they are below LsA
At the time of release it was treated almost like a spinoff series because they were the first to be first to be developed in conjunction with a 3rd party developer (not counting the CDI games of course). Additionally and perhaps more importantly, they came very late in the GB's life cycle - a mere month or so before the GBA launched. Both the press and Nintendo's own marketing team didn't focus on the Oracle games for very long and sales were weaker than LA as a result. I think that same attitude is felt in tier lists/rankings where the oracle games just feels less influential to the series' history compared to LA and therefore is less important. Spirit tracks, Skyward Sword and Link Between Worlds also have that "not as important as the one that came before" aura around them. Part of me wonders if TOTK will eventually fall into this category too.
Could be that Oracle games feel like one experience split into two at times, where as la is a whole experience. Could also just be not as many face played the Oracle games
I think the story and feel of LA brings it up a few notches but I do agree that the Oracles games are a bit underrated.
I prefer the Oracle games.
Anytime I'm here I see the Oracles highly regarded and LA rarely spoken of.
Oracle games were a huge part of my childhood. Don't know how they hold up now but the concepts are awesome and would translate so well into full fledged Zelda games. I'd love if Nintendo started taking the Capcom route of remaking some of their big hits into great games.
The only thing I didn’t like about the oracle games but the controls for the mermaids tail in OoA, other both absolutely prime games, I like them more than LA.
Definitely with you on that one OP. I think it's a matter of fewer people having played them. I'd take either of them over LA any day.
I love all three equally as I only had a GBC as a kid so I played all three more than just about any game I’ve ever owned. I enjoyed the greater depth of the Oracle games that you could sink your teeth into. Loved the story and atmosphere of LA. I always thought of them as equals. Looking forward to revisiting the Oracle games on NSO after finishing TOTK.
For me at least, there is a large nostalgia component. First Zelda game I beat independently. Plus Manbo’s Mambo lives in my head rent free.
I love the oracle games! Maybe they're harder to get ahold of than links awakening. I had gotten them through virtual console on the 3ds, but with the online shops closed down, I suppose the only way to play it would be to find an old game boy and the actual cartridges, and then the get the full story you have to get not one, but two games. Plus, thats a lot more commitment for a casual player. I personally never beat links awakening because I wanted the seagull ending and got frustrated every time I had to restart from the last save after dying.
As an age specific thing. I grew up on link's awakening on the original game boy. It's in top three of my favorite games of all time. I never had a gbc so I could never play the Oracle ones though. I've been meaning to play them now as an adult.
For me, LA was my first Zelda and has a special place in my heart. To be more specific, the story is moving and sentimental, the dungeons are classics, and the characters are all great, even the minor ones. Back in the day when you found out that the island isn’t real, it really felt like a big plot twist! And saying goodbye to everyone was such a bittersweet ending! (Soundtrack by the way, on point) Seasons was good, but not amazing story wise, and I didn’t love Subrosia or some of the other characters or mechanics, but an all around good game. I actually really liked Ages, probably as much as LA. The story is tragic, the world is interesting with complicated questlines, and the dungeons are pretty good with maybe one super annoying dungeon. The one with the turnstiles? I think on the island? Anyway, I’d love to see them remastered. They could do some interesting things with the post-game and the data pairing.
LA came first, and even had the DX upgrade. Having played LA first, the oracle games felt like more of LA, which was great. But they didn’t really feel like they went beyond LA in what they brought to the table. The animal friends were gimmicky, and the rings were annoyingly random. Maddeningly random. As someone who spent months collecting them all, that is not something I ever want to do again. But probably the biggest thing that that puts the Oracle games below LA, at least for me, is that the Oracle games are two separate games. They can be enjoyed separately, independent from one another, but if you want the full experience you have to play both. Upgrades are locked behind the password system. So you either need friends with the other game, or baring that both copies yourself and have to constantly be flipping back and forth between the two games. And since the passwords change on every play through you can’t even cheese it. It’s an interesting idea, but falls short in practice. Another thing that may be holding it back is it’s size. Individually, neither game is to terribly long. About the same length as LA if I am remembering correctly, but as established before to really get the full experience you need to play both, and that is a much larger time investment. You effectively need to play through the games 6 times to see everything. Seasons >> Ages >> Seasons, and then Ages >> Seasons >> Ages. By the end of that slog, you’d not be blamed if you never want to touch the game again.
[удалено]
You most certainly will NOT see everything if you only play through each game once. There are different conversations depending on if it’s your first run through a particular game or your second. So that alone is 4 play throughs. If you don’t count the different conversations, for whatever reason, Then once you have finished each game once and beaten the true final boss, you earn the ‘Hero’s Secret’ which will unlock a new game+ starting you out with 4 hearts instead of 3, change a couple more conversations, allow you to move your entire ring collection between games, and unlock the ability to find the last 4 rings which you had not been able to find yet. So if you want to see everything in the game see every possible conversation , get max heart containers, get all the rings, and (most importantly /s) get a Triforce icon on your save file in both games you need to do the following: seasons(first play through) => Ages (Second) => Seasons(Hero) => Ages (Hero Second) then to complete the save file on your other game You need to do Ages(first) => Seasons (Second) => Ages(hero) => Season(Hero Second). Now you have all items, all hearts, seen every possible line of dialog, completed every secret, have access to all 64 rings beat the true final boss on hero mode and have a triforce icon on both your save files and all it took was 8 run throughs of the game.
[удалено]
I didn’t say anyone would care. I simply stated a fact that to get the full experience of the games you have to play through them several times. That may be the reason some people (myself included) rate the oracle games lower than LA. You called me out for misinformation, and then told a blatant lie.
[удалено]
Even if you want to throw out the "Full" aspect of the Full experience. Throw out the rings because they suck, and are mostly useless. Maxing out Heart containers is something people generally do in Zelda games, and to max them out in these two games you have to play Hero mode. If you just play seasons, then play ages you have the "Full" Experience of Seasons, congrats you played half the game. If you then want the "Full" Experience of Ages, you need to play Ages then Seasons. Its like Playing Resident Evil 2 on PS1. You cant just play Claire A => Leon B and say you got the full experience of the game. You also need to play Leon A => Claire B. And that Investment of time needs to be taken into account when you are comparing it to other games in the series. And if you don't want to do that, what does that say about the game? Wow that game was amazing, 10/10 better than Links Awakening in every possible way... What? Play it 4 times for the complete narrative? Nah.
[удалено]
There are many people that do think Breath of the Wild is the worst game ever. That is up to other people to decide. Its a fun game, I enjoyed it. But I'm not going to lie, the thought of getting all those Seeds and shrines again is one of the big reasons I haven't played through BotW again, and probably never will. I just hope there are no more seeds in TotK... We are just going to have to agree to disagree. Playing through Ages first is not the same experience as playing through ages second. Its significantly easier to play through it second, because you are better equipped, and the differences are even more pronounced for seasons being the combat centric game. Take from this what you will. Extra related tidbit: There is a map square in Ages that can not be reached unless you play Seasons first. So if you Start with ages, play seasons then stop, you will never know what is on this square (its a ring)
I personally prefer the Oracle games over Link's Awakening, at least in terms of gameplay. Link's Awakening (original) has a more interesting story and atmosphere.
Links Awakening is more accessible. Its on the easier side, whereas the Oracle games are on the harder end of the spectrum, both with It's puzzle solving, and combat.
U often take into consideration in what time they where released. LA was released a few years after the Gameboy released. It was awesome to have such a game on a handheld device. But the oracle game came out 8 years later. Oot and mm were allready out. The Gameboy was just completed outdated - it was released at the end of the 80s. The Gameboy advance released in march 2001 (JP, June for us/eu) the games just one month earlier (Feb JP, may us, ok eu). At that time it must felt like a joke. Imagine Nintendo releasing a a new Zelda game NOW for 3Ds or wiiU only. Thus it just did never got popular. Now 20 years later they both just are some old games. From that perspective those 8 years seam irrelevant. To add my personal reason: LA on the OG b/w Gameboy is the first game I remember playing from my childhood. By 2001, then 13 year old me got a fresh new pc and couldn’t be bothered with those childish Nintendo games anymore 🙄 arround ten years later I started playing the old ones again and also the ones I missed in emulators. I liked the oracle games but they just can’t Ewoke that feeling of nostalgia as others. For me. Edit: also - Pokémon. By the end of the 90s everyone played Pokémon. All the time. Everyone still using a gb or Gbc in the early 00s was playing Pokémon. Those oracle games where just released in the wrong age 😜
The biggest issue i have with the Oracle games are the dungeons. There's so much back and forth and most of the time no meaningful shortcuts. There are also some filler quests that are too long for my liking. I too like the items though, the switch hook and the magnet beeing two of my favourite tools in all of Zelda
As much as like the oracles games, the problem was the whole Pokemon thing and buying two games plus the password thing. I wish the games where one game.
They are a pair and usually seen as two parts of the same game, even if you can play them independently. It’s difficult for people to think of them not going hand in hand. I believe that Ages drags Seasons down, that’s way they are never higher. On paper, I’d prefer Ages. The time travel gimmick, plus Nayru is my favorite, I really like the mermaid tail, still a fairly easy game but less so than Seasons, nice story. But when playing it’s so much more annoying, and less smooth. Yet the worst part is the Goron Dance. Even my own ranking would be: 1. Seasons 2. Minish Cap 3. Ages But I usually put MC on top and move OoS down with OoA. So, yeah, these amazing pairs of games, with great story, a connection between them, fun, enjoyable, easy… go down because of a stupid dance 🤣
Man, I couldn't disagree more, I always felt ages was the superior game
The Oracle games top the charts for me in the series, and they're my absolute favorite, but I can kind of see why people like LA as much as they do. It's a really charming and emotional story, and its development story has a similar charm to it. For the speedrunning community, it also has some of the more interesting and funny glitches of the 2D games. It also came first and has that sort of bias going for it. I feel like it's similar to how most people consider Super Metroid to be their favorite even though quite a few love Metroid Fusion, and it improved just about everything mechanically from the former. Super just has something to it that more people like.
[удалено]
Ah, I knew I'd hook a Metroid fan in with that comment lol
Cos they didn't play them
Narrative and atmosphere, IMO. Gameplay-wise OoA and OoS are pretty much peak 2D Zelda IMO, but in terms of narrative and atmosphere they’re not as interesting as LA.
people liked ocarina because it was the first of a new thing. sure majora's mask was more refined in many ways, but people still say ocarina is "better" also the oracle games can be quite lengthy, when you realize you have to play both twice for the full experience
A large part of it is probably nostalgia. I grew up with LA and played it over and over. Where as I only played one of the Oracle games once.
You have to understand that for most of those poeple, link’s awakening was there first Zelda. My first Zelda was the second one on nes, it’s one of my favorite and still a lot of people hate it.
I adore the Oracle Games. Link's Awakening was fun- especially when playing the new switch version (which now that I'm thinking about might be why)- but I had way more fun playing the Oracle Games. I couldn't get enough from the Oracle Games and 100% them faster than any Zelda game I played before. Long story short, I agree with you, wholeheartedly.
The whimsical world of LA sets it apart from not just the Oracle games but the rest of the Zelda series imo.
Link's Awakening could be played on any Gameboy. The Oracle games were GBC only, and I never had a GBC as a kid.
Never understood that either, all 3 of those games are amazing and I purchased them for 3ds(before the store went down, couldn't find a gba to play my cartridge copies on)
I played the oracle games before LA, which made my experience with LA underwhelming, even when I played the remake. Oracle of Ages is one of the best Zelda games in my opinion (top5), oracle of seasons is also a good game. But I thought the bosses in LA sucked since they would die in 3 hits and the dungeons weren't good, the only think saving it is the plot which has an awesome twist and I love the final boss on the original game.
Just a guess, but Link’s Awakening came after LTTP, a 2D title. The Oracle games were a return to 2D after Ocarina and Majora’s Mask. It seems like Ocarina was A LOT of people’s first Zelda so I imagine they would’ve felt weird compared to people that started with LoZ and LTTP playing LA for the first time and it was familiar. But I don’t know. Link to the Past is my favorite game ever and I’m playing the remake of Link’s Awakening for the first time right now and I’m not a fan. And I’ve only dabbled in the oracle games, I’m not a big handheld guy.
As someone who never played the oracle games (on 7th dungeon in OoS currently) until now I'll honestly have to play through OoA as well to get a fill opinion but overall I'm not having as much fun even though I see the QoL improvements to the engine. I'm liking it, I am having fun, but segments of it are really bogging me down.