The Legend of Zelda franchise includes some of the most iconic video games of all time. Throughout those titles, players have witnessed Link embark on adventures in time, on the open sea, and even between the second and third dimensions. Each Zelda game is unique, but only a select few were developed by Capcom instead of Nintendo, and of these, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons stand out. Now is the perfect time for these titles to get a remake.

For those who never had a chance to play these games, Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons were released for the Game Boy Color in early 2001. Utilizing an art style similar to A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening, these titles are often overlooked by Zelda games released for home consoles. The 2019 remake of Link's Awakening proved that the Switch is versatile enough to capture the charm of handheld Zelda games, however, and the Oracle duology would be the perfect remake to hold fans over until Breath of the Wild 2.

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The Legend of Zelda: Oracle Duology's Development Background

Promo art featuring characters from The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages

The development of these games began with a pitch from Yoshiki Okamoto, who in recent years found great success developing Monster Strike for mobile devices. Okamoto, then head of Capcom subsidiary Flagship, approached Shigeru Miyamoto with the intent of remaking the original Legend of Zelda. In response to this pitch, Nintendo asked the studio to make a total of six games, but this eventually turned into making three interconnected games. With Miyamoto's guidance, Flagship decided to cut the third title to focus on the duology as it is known today.

The result was two Game Boy Color titles with gameplay similar to Link's Awakening. Seasons focuses primarily on combat and player dexterity while Ages focuses on puzzle-solving. Players with access to both games could link the two using Nintendo's game link cable and unlock a new ending. While tempting to think of these games as identical, the two Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons both present unique experiences; the items, world maps, and dungeon layouts are all mutually exclusive, and many of the characters in these games only appear in one version.

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What Makes Oracle of Seasons and Ages So Unique

Ages and Seasons differentiate themselves not only from each other but from the series as a whole. In this way, the influence of Okamoto's studio can be felt. Much like Link's Awakening before them, Seasons and Ages take place outside of Hyrule, and many characters who appear in the games are absent from other entries in the series. Some characters from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask are present, but the art style's reinterpretation gives them a fresh look. The games also feature a mechanic unseen in other Zelda titles: players are able to collect and wear various rings to modify their abilities. Rings are tradeable between Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, and some are only attainable by linking two Game Boy Colors.

The Oracle duology's placement in Nintendo's official timeline is relatively straightforward. Taking place between A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening–the titles whose gameplay is closest to Ages and Seasons–these entries are rooted squarely in what has been referred to as the "Dark Timeline." That is to say, Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons take place after the timeline split that occurs if Link is defeated by Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time. In this regard, they are predecessors to the original Legend of Zelda and its sequel, Link's Adventure. Of course, the official timeline is somewhat of a retcon. Series producer Eiji Aonuma has even said that Nintendo deliberately left Breath of the Wild out of the timeline to make it more fun for players to speculate.

The Perfect Time for Another Zelda Remake

Zelda's past may be perfectly clear in the official timeline, but Zelda's immediate future is anyone's guess. Fans haven't been able to play an original title since Breath of the Wild released in 2017. The Hyrule Warriors series, entertaining in its own right, features gameplay totally different from the mainline Zelda games. With Breath of the Wild 2 delayed to sometime next year, now would be the perfect time for a remake of Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Ages—especially because 2022 could mean December at this point. The Oracle duology did receive a rerelease on the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console in 2013, but there are many aspects that make it a good candidate for remaking.

The games' menu system probably has the most room for improvement. Limited by the Gameboy Color's two-button input, Ages and Seasons requires players to open the pause menu to switch between items. Players are forced to open the menu frequently since the game requires them to use a variety of different items when solving puzzles or fighting enemies. Link's Awakening suffered from similar design shortcomings, and Grezzo was able to remedy it in their Switch remake. The Oracle games could take those improvements one step further, though, by incorporating analog movement like that seen in A Link Between Worlds.

The Likelihood of an Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons Remake

A remake seems even more appropriate given that many other entries in the series have been updated in some form or another. From Link's Awakening on the Switch to Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask on the 3DS, it seems like the Oracle duology is one of the few Zelda titles stuck on old hardware. The Switch's internals, as lacking as they are, doesn't seem like it would struggle to handle such a remake; Skyward Sword's HD rerelease launches this month and is the first Wii Zelda game to rerelease on the Switch. As it is, though, there are no signs that Nintendo is considering remaking the Oracle games.

What's more, the fact that these games were developed by Capcom could complicate things. Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons were rereleased on the 3DS seemingly without issue, but a remake could be another story. Whether or not Nintendo is willing to spare the resources to make such a remake happen is also iffy. Development cycles were muddled by last year's Covid-19 pandemic, and Nintendo is likely focusing on meeting next year's release date for Breath of the Wild 2.

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