The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages is a The Legend of Zelda game for the Game Boy Color. It was developed by Capcom and Flagship. The game was released in tandem with The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons in 2001. The Oracle games make up the seventh and eighth installments of The Legend of Zelda series, and both are the first games of the main series that were not developed by Nintendo. The Oracle games are the last Game Boy Color games that Nintendo was directly involved with because of the Game Boy Advance's impending release at the time. Both games have unique features when played on a Game Boy Advance, which  would later be known for.

In many aspects, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages is similar to The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons. Both games utilize the same game engine, although The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages is more puzzle-oriented than The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, which has action-focused gameplay. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages is named after the Nayru, whose title is the Oracle of Ages. The game takes place in Labrynna, where Link is sent to rescue Nayru from being possessed by Veran and to restore the flow of time.

Both games can be interconnected through the Link System; after completing either game, the player can transfer their progress to the other game by either entering a password or by using a Game Boy Color-compatible. This is the only way for the player to achieve the true ending in each game.

In 2013, the Oracle games were released for the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console simultaneously.

Story
In the opening, Link travels on the back of Epona to a castle (most likely Hyrule Castle) where the Triforce is held. The Spirit of the Triforce tells Link the world is in need of his heroics, and teleports him away. He lands in Labrynna, where he soon meets Princess Zelda's attendant, Impa, being menaced by some Octoroks, which flee as he approaches. She tells him she is looking for Nayru, the Oracle of Ages, and has him take her to her location past a sacred barrier. Link finds Nayru singing to a group of people and animals, including her childhood friend Ralph. Link and Nayru meet briefly, but it is then revealed that Impa was possessed by an evil sorceress named Veran, who takes control of Nayru and uses her powers to go to 400 years to the past to start changing the time stream, causing havoc to start occurring across Labrynna.

Link visits the Maku Tree for advice, but before they can discuss anything, the Maku Tree disappears due to being killed in the changed past. Using Veran's Time Portal, Link and Ralph travel to Labrynna's past, where it is found that "Nayru" has begun influencing the ruler, Queen Ambi, making her more aggressive in her drive to build a massive tower. Link visits the Maku Tree's sapling and saves her from the monsters menacing her, but while she survives, she falls in love with Link. Returning to the present, Link meets the grown Maku Tree, who is still infatuated with him and due to the damaged time stream, has lost much of her memory. Link is tasked with finding the eight Essences of Time to restore her memory.

Link travels back and forth between time many times with the help of the Harp of Ages, gathering essences and solving problems. Midway through his quest, he learns Ambi has left her palace, so he infiltrates and challenges Veran to battle. He successfully removes her from Nayru's body, but Veran instead possessed Ambi. Nayru returns herself, Link, and Ralph to the future, but Veran climbs the newly-built Black Tower to gain power from the Dark Realm to regain control over time.

After several essences have been gathered, the Gerudo witch pair Twinrova reveal themselves to be behind Veran's plot, hoping to sow sorrow as part of a ritual. Eventually, Link restores the Maku Tree, who gives him a Huge Maku Seed that allows Link to enter the Black Tower Turret and fight the possessed queen. Link frees Ambi from Veran's influence and defeats Veran's giant form, but as the castle begins crumbling, Link is captured and brought to the surviving Veran, who attacks in a shifting series of monstrous forms. Once Veran is defeated for good, the proper timestream is restored. However, Veran successfully managed to light Twinrova's Flame of Sorrow.

In a Linked Game, Princess Zelda arrives midway through, and ends up kidnapped by Twinrova while she rallies the people of Horon Village. Link must travel to the Room of Rites where they have taken her as a sacrifice to revive Ganon. After defeating Twinrova, they sacrifice themselves instead, causing Ganon to resurrect as a mindless beast. Upon defeating him, the dungeon begins to collapse, and Link and Zelda are rescued by the Maku Tree's power. After a celebration, Link sets off in a boat to parts unknown, potentially setting up for the plot of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.

Locations

 * Labrynna
 * Both time periods
 * Crescent Island
 * Crescent Strait
 * Rolling Ridge
 * Rolling Ridge Base
 * Sea of Storms
 * South Shore
 * Symmetry Village
 * Talus Peaks
 * The Black Tower
 * Zora Village
 * Zora Seas
 * Present
 * Lynna City
 * Fairies' Woods
 * Forest of Time
 * Nuun Highlands
 * South Lynna
 * Yoll Graveyard
 * Past
 * Ambi's Palace
 * Deku Forest
 * Coast of No Return
 * Lynna Village
 * Northeast Lynna
 * Restoration Wall
 * Sea of No Return
 * Talus Lake
 * West Lynna

Dungeons
Dungeons in bold are exclusive to the linked game.

Pickups
These are the main pick-up items in the game.

Equipment
Equipment consists of items that the player can equip to the or  buttons for Link to use.

Collection

 * Replenishable items


 * Upgrades


 * Quest items


 * Dungeon items


 * Health items

The 64 Magical Rings have varying effects when worn. Some can be found randomly at various levels of rarity, but some can only be found in certain places, either in this game or The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, with others only being found in one of the games' linked version.
 * Rings

The eight Essences of Time are the dungeon rewards in this game. Unlike most games, they represent abstract concepts.
 * Essences of Time

Trivia

 * The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons are the first two games in the main series that were released in tandem. Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon are the first games of the overall The Legend of Zelda franchise that were released in tandem.