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/vr/ - Retro Games

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1295173 No.1295173 [Reply] [Original]

I just discovered this: Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons

It's a "sequel" to Zelda: Links Awakening, one of the most fun cozy RPGs on Game Boy Color, and it is fantastic, it's even better. I love it.

so yeah, maps thread I guess? I just wanted to tell people about this game

>> No.1295206

Link's Awakening is fucking annoying. Hope you like dicking around with your inventory on almost every screen. "Let's make LttP, but on a system with fewer buttons."

>> No.1295217

I liked the oracles game, but only because they were based on link's awakening which is my favourite. The good thing about them is that they take LA's concept and push it further. The bad thing is that they feel less original, and they lack the "magical/eerie" feeling I get from LA.

However I can't tell if that feeling I get when playing LA comes from the game itself how it's supposed to feel surreal or if it's just nostalgia as it was my first zelda as a kid.

>> No.1295227

Great games. I just bought both on the eShop for my commute into the city. I would also suggest you take a look at Final Fantasy Adventures as well. It's a zelda-esque action RPG on the original gameboy.

>> No.1295419

>>1295173
Does the linked game still works on the 3DS?

>> No.1295432

>>1295173
high jacking thread, but whats the best zelda to start with for handheld, i'm thinking links awakening, but not sure since theres two other fucking games release around the same time.

aditionally whats /vr/'s opinion on minish cap? inb4 not retro enough

>> No.1295437

I felt these games were way inferior to LA, but it's subjective. They're more generic.

>> No.1295461

>>1295173

>It's a "sequel" to Zelda: Links Awakening

Don't you mean a prequel?

>> No.1295470

>>1295461
Do those games end with him getting on a boat? I don't recall.

>> No.1295474

>>1295470
I think that's the linked game ending.

>> No.1295475

>>1295474

This is true, yes. And when I got that ending, it blew my mind.

>> No.1295587

>>1295217
>However I can't tell if that feeling I get when playing LA comes from the game itself how it's supposed to feel surreal or if it's just nostalgia as it was my first zelda as a kid.
The game itself.

The ending - you destroy the world to safe yourself - is somethign that sticks in your head forever. That it doesn't come suddenly, but is slowly built up until the bosses basically SHOUT at you to stop with your quest lest all - even you - will be lost ensures - together with the likable NPCs - a great deal of emotional involvement.

The storybuildup is also unusual-ish compared to later (Though not earlier) Zelda games - you AREN'T the great hero who was born to save the world, you're a guy stranded on an island who wants to find a way out, nothing more. It's much more relatable to the player.

The game doesn't just reward exploration, it teases you. You get access to TWO screen worth of the urunga steppe at the start of the game, and you, the player, WANT to see more. You're motivated to explore, to acquire the means to explore. Not just finish the next dungeon because the storyline tells you to, but because you, without the game telling you, want to see MORE. Want to see EVERYTHING.

Likewise with the sign telling you there's the lost forest ahead. With your exploration of the forest already showing you the swamp, and with the swamp fully explored the taltal heights and mountains being partially accessible. Hell. You can already reach the final dungeon by that point, after merely a quarter of the game!

It's brilliantly designed to keep the player wanting more by teasing him about all the things that are still there to be discovered, rather than keeping them blank.

>> No.1295589

>>1295587
cont.
Then there's the dungeon design. Now, the dungeons are easy - LttP's dungeons were considerably harder -, but they're brilliantly designed - they're dungeons, mazes, partially crumbling walls and floors, overrun by monsters, not maintained in centuries. The dungeon design explicitly acknowledges this and... Lets you skip up to half a dungeon if you know what you're doing. That doesn't mean that what remains of the dungeon is useless - all the areas one can skip contain useful items that'll make solving a dungeon easier if you find them, but you don't NEED them. The important part here - the dungeons actually FEEL like dungeons. There's more than one path to success (Non-linearity), and if you get lost, you'll still find items that'll make solving the issue easier.

That is brilliance in design, and while present in LttP as well, its scale in LA is considerably increased - apart from the 2nd dungeon, ALL dungeons can be skipped to a significant extend, yet it manages to avoid pointless filler content. Instead, the dungeons are designed to be fit for every kind of player, from beginners all the way to experts.

Hell. In the fifth dungeon you can skip the miniboss as there's two distinct paths to the boss, and only one of them requires actually beating the miniboss - and that's exactly what you'd EXPECT in a real, maze-like dungeon that's just shy of collapsing from old age.

The game is incredibly rewarding, and it does so with a purity of design and purpose that is unmatched. The Oracle games, while good games on their own, relied to a much larger extend on filler content (The rings), and the dungeons, while more difficult, are much less rewarding, being, despite their increased complexity, less nonlinear, and tending to force the player on a given path that leaves little to chance.

>> No.1295592

>>1295432
The Minish Cap is probably my favorite 2D zelda, although I know I'm in the minority with this. You should just play it, it's one of the most charming and comfy games I've ever played, and it's pretty easy overall too. A good one to start with I think.

>> No.1295616

>>1295432
>>1295592
The Minish Cap was dog shit. It was soulless, linear, and filled with painfully dull fetch quests. It blocked every potentially interesting path with castle guards and uncuttable thorns and other awkwardly forced obstacles. It gave you fucking weak equipment, two of the major late game dungeon items are the shovel equivalent and the fucking lantern. Bosses were repetitive puzzles instead of actual fights. It was everything wrong with modern 3D Zeldas and then some condensed into a handheld 2D game.

>> No.1295620

>>1295592
>>1295616
well i just looked on ebay, fucking $70+ for a god damn boxed copy(i have a fetish for boxed gba games), might as well get LA or one of the other two then, i'm still undecided though. I'll probably go with LA as a bare cart(they're all scratched to shit either way)

>> No.1295627
File: 65 KB, 511x188, 1388000042128.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1295627

>>1295620
annnnnd here we go...

>> No.1295685

>>1295627

Looks legit.

>> No.1295832

>>1295173
Link's Awakening is an action/adventure, not an RPG.

>> No.1295861

>>1295587
>>1295589
Agreed, LA was a symphony of game design.

>>1295592
Also agreed.

Gee golly, /vr/ is our old person retro club where everyone is agree-able.

>> No.1295880

Oracle of Ages/Seasons are my favorite Zelda games. Although, I haven't played the newest one, and it's apparently really good.

Seasons focused on boss battles, Ages focused on complex dungeons. That's why they're my favorite. They focused on a particular aspect, and did it really well.

Personally, I've enjoyed the 2D Zelda games far more than the 3D ones. Don't know why, but the 3D ones just never "clicked" with me.

>> No.1295975

>>1295419
you do it with a code so probably

>> No.1295976

>>1295861
Welcome home retro man.

>> No.1296008

I really enjoyed oracle of seasons years ago and have been thinking about buying either oracle of ages/seasons on the 3DS.(virtual store)

How different is ages to seasons? I never played ages, I assume it's just different time periods rather than seasons, but I really enjoyed changing seasons seeing the different trees, the snow, added so much to the game for me. Is Ages better / worse and is it worth playing or should I just get Seasons and go enjoy that again?

>> No.1296024

>>1296008

It's kinda hard to say one is better or worse than the other. I tend to think of them as being counterparts. Can't have one without the other.

They're still both very much their own games though. The setting, dungeons, and equipment you get are all completely different. In Ages, you can travel back and forward between two specific points in time. Much like OoT. Some areas will be a little different, some will be completely changed.

Ages has much more intricate and complex puzzles than Seasons has. Meanwhile, Seasons focuses more on more interesting boss fights.

It's certainly worth playing. And you need it to get the master sword and the true ending.

>> No.1296025

>>1295227
Good rec. FFA is the first Seiken Densetsu. The sequel is also known as Secret of Mana, and that game's sequel, Seiken Densetsu 3, is on the SNES and pretty damn good.

>> No.1296027

>>1295432
Link's Awakening is a perfect first portable zelda. The oracles make a good sequel pair.

>> No.1296042

>>1295589
>>1295587
I think you're interpreting too much into it.

>> No.1296050

>>1295470
According to the official Zelda timeline, Oracle of Ages/Seasons takes place between a Link to the Past and Link's Awakening.

>> No.1296194
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1296194

>>1296050
>According to the official Zelda timeline
Motion to ignore the piece of trash Nintendo put out to please a bunch of autistic fanboys.

>> No.1296221

>>1296194

At least it shut up al lthe stupid theories.

>> No.1296223

>>1296194
Motion sustained, due to the Oracle games being the prime reason why the timeline shenanigans originally happened.

I love the shit out of Awakening and have been trying to create a campaign settling that mirrors the island.

>> No.1296279

>>1296194
As convoluted and shitty as the official timeline is, I'm almost glad they made it because it effectively stopped everyone else from spouting out their own convoluted and shitty timelines.

>> No.1296287

>>1296194

But the linked ending for Oracle heavily implies Link's Awakening follows right after to begin with.

>> No.1296312
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1296312

I just love the look of the gbc zeldas. They really did a lot with the hardware, especially compared to how bad most other games on the system look.

>> No.1296345

>>1295173
Gosh, I still got my old Link's Awakening and Seasons and my old GBC. I should dig those out and play them again, thanks for reminding me OP.

>> No.1296346

>>1296312

To be fair, they did come out very late in the GB's life. The GBA came out the same year.

>> No.1296350

>>1296346
True, they were amazing send-offs for the system, even more amazing considering they managed to put out two of them at once

>> No.1296374
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1296374

>>1296312
>grow up with Seasons
>favorite Zelda
>try to play LttP
>can't retain interest because you're too offput by the lack of a grid

I really want to be able to play LttP but the feeling of having a set rectangular grid is too ground-in for me.

>> No.1296501

>>1295832
You Role Play as a kid that wakes up on an island. Suck it, pedant.

>> No.1297175

>>1296374
Don't worry about it, lttp is mediocre at best. Everything it does, the gameboy zeldas do better. Even graphics and music.

>> No.1297202

>>1297175
I've never seen such a pleb ass opinion.

Oracle games are decent, they stand out and are fun, but even with that they don't topple LttP.

If you think LA comes anywhere close to being better than LttP, then you really need to take off the nostalgia glasses.

>> No.1297256

>>1297175
Well, while I wouldn't think anyway that LttP would topple my opinion of the Game Boy Zeldas, there are people that think it's the best game in the series, so I imagine there are some very good points in it and I should do my best to give it a fair shot.

>> No.1297262

>>1297202
>If you think LA comes anywhere close to being better than LttP, then you really need to take off the nostalgia glasses.
>implying we didn't both of them within a few years and could compare direcrtly

LA > LttP

Though LttP did have a better difficulty curve (As in, you could still die in the later stages of the game). But everything else pales in comparison to LA.