Pokémon Red & Blue briefly started a trend where games would release with two different versions that contained slightly different content. There was initial dismay from The Legend of Zelda fanbase back in 2001 when it was discovered that the next portable entries in the series would be using this format, in the form of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons. However, those fears were unfounded, as the Oracle games turned out to be two of the best entries in The Legend of Zelda series.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons were developed by Capcom, and originally planned to be part of a trilogy. But the idea was too ambitious, forcing the developers to scale down to two games that could connect to each other. The plan then became that The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages would be a game focused on puzzle-solving, while The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons would be more action-oriented.

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The Oracle games are set after The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Link managed to return to Hyrule and was sent on a mission to the lands of Holodrum and Labrynna. In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, Link is sent to the land of Labrynna in order to face the evil sorceress known as Veran. Link needs to use the power of the Harp of Ages in order to travel between the past and the present, in order to gather the Essences of Time. In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, Link is sent to Holodrum, which is under siege by the wicked General Onox. Link must use the power of the Rod of Seasons in order to switch between the four seasons, in order to gather the Essences of Nature.

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If the player continued the story from one game into the other, then they would learn that the witches known as Twinrova were planning to resurrect Ganon by sacrificing Princess Zelda. Twinrova are able to bring Ganon back by sacrificing themselves, leading to a climactic showdown against the revived king of evil.

One of the main complaints about The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening was its short length, which was no longer a factor with the Oracle games, as they were two stories that were stapled together. Once the player finished their adventure in one game, they would be given a password that could be inputted into the second game, allowing them to continue the original story. This means that there are two ways to play through the Oracle games and each one is different, due to the secrets system.

Once the player made the journey to the second game, they would often be given passwords that needed to be shared with people from the first game. The player would then be rewarded with an item, which they could then give to the other version of Link by sharing a password with Farore in the Hall of Secrets. The secrets system kept both games relevant during a single playthrough and it really made it feel as if the player was on a grand adventure that spanned multiple realms.

The gameplay of the Oracle games was absolutely stellar, with all of the dungeons being both fun and memorable (with the possible exception of Jabu-Jabu's Belly and it's raising water levels). There were also fun sections outside of the dungeons, including the part where Link needs to reclaim all of his lost gear on Crescent Island in The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages. Link also doesn't need to take on his adventures alone, as the Oracle games feature animal companions in the form of Moosh (a flying bear), Dimitri (a Dodongo), and Ricky (a boxing kangaroo), which led to some of the most fun sections in both games.

The gameplay style of The Legend of Zelda series is evergreen, which is why Nintendo can keep making 2D entries and still shift a lot of copies. The fact that critics put The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds on the same GOTY list as games like Grand Theft Auto V and The Last of Us back in 2013 is proof of that. The Oracle games managed to do something grander with the formula, and used it to tell an epic tale on one of the weakest systems on the market at the time.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening was a trailblazer in terms of what could be accomplished with the limited hardware of the Game Boy, but the Oracle games managed to improve upon it in almost every way. We can only hope that Nintendo is able to work out a deal with Capcom and create remakes of both The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons for the Nintendo Switch in the future, as these are games that need to be played by as many people as possible.

People who own a Nintendo 3DS can enjoy them right now, though, as they are both available on the Virtual Console.

Next: Does Link Die At The End Of The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening?