So, here’s where I’d usually write about the game’s background and what I know going in, except I covered most of that with its sibling game, so it’s straight into…
Previously on The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons…
The opening cutscene for Ages is similar to the one for Seasons: Link’s riding a horse in answer to the Triforce’s call. Choosing “Secret” when starting the game and entering the code given at the end of Seasons starts Ages with Link having already completed the other game. He doesn’t get to keep most of the stuff he got, but does start with an extra heart container and a basic sword. (Unfortunately, that basic sword is hidden in his inventory rather than equipped, and the start button’s disabled at first, so I assumed the inventory was empty, and spent like five minutes trying to figure out how to get out of the opening area without a sword.)
And, since Seasons revealed Twinrova to be the mastermind behind Onox, Ages shows them from the start. Though Onox was defeated, the destruction caused by his actions have lit the Flame of Destruction in Twinrova’s lair. Now they just need the Flames of Sorrow and Despair to join it, and they’ll be able to sacrifice some poor sap to bring Ganon back.
The Oracle of Ages
The Triforce has refined its method of sending Link places, because he arrives in Labrynna completely okay. Good thing, too, because he hears a cry for help, and it’s Impa, surrounded by monsters. The monsters scatter as Link approaches, and Impa thanks him. (Given the other callbacks to the original game in Seasons, this event – evocative of the original Link’s meeting with Impa that kicked off that adventure – might have been a better fit there.) She doesn’t seem to recognize him, despite them working together back in Holodrum, which should be a clue things are not okay, but Link doesn’t pick up on it. She takes him to a rock blocking a path and asks him to move it for her so they can find Nayru, and Link obliges.
Nayru is singing to a circle (mostly animals, one person), and once Link’s bothered all of them, one moves out of his way so Link can watch her sing. A guy standing inside the circle recognizes the symbol on Link’s hand and introduces himself as Ralph, Nayru’s friend. Nayru welcomes his help to stop whatever troubles Labrynna is about to face, but Ralph says he thinks he can handle it. Just then, Impa starts laughing, and the sorceress who had been possessing her reveals herself. She introduces herself as Veran, thanks Link for getting her past the barrier rock, and possesses Nayru. Ralph pulls his sword on her, but relents when he realizes he can’t hurt Veran without hurting Nayru. Veranayru uses her powers to open a portal to the past and go through, mucking with the past to make bad things happen in the present. A man rapidly ages in front of his girlfriend, a bunch of monkeys are petrified and disappear, and a kid is petrified.
The Adventure Begins
Ralph has a bit of a meltdown over not being able to protect Nayru, and ends up running off, screaming her name. That’s going to end well. Meanwhile, Impa is back to herself, and she recognizes Link now, and gives him a shield that Zelda entrusted to her. Impa heads to Nayru’s house, while Link sets out on his adventure.
The main village this time is Lynna City, and it’s got a lot of the same things we remember from Horon City: a shop with a secret basement, a ring shop, and even some people have moved across the world: Bipin and Blossom, and their son Bob, who seems to have contracted that condition children get that make them grow up to being a teenager while their parents gain maybe a year or two. Bob and Blossom have questions for Link so he can continue influencing Bob’s growth. The ring shop is also run by Vasu and his snakes, and after getting reacquainted with the basics of ring ownership, Link can use the ring secret to repopulate his ring list with his rings from Seasons. The ring box stays at the basic box that can hold a single ring, but that’s okay, it’s early enough that just slipping on the double rupee ring is fine.
Next: A Link to the past.
