The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (Japanese: ゼルダの伝説 ふしぎの木の実 時空の章 Zeruda no Densetsu Fushigi no Ki no Mi Jikū no Shō, lit. The Legend of Zelda: Nut of the Mysterious Tree: Chapter of Time and Space) was one of two Zelda games released for the Game Boy Color as part of Capcom's Oracle series, the other being Oracle of Seasons. Once the game was completed a player could then, either using a password or by linking two Game Boys together, continue into Oracle of Seasons for a larger storyline. They could also go the other way if they had played Oracle of Seasons first.

Story
Link, having been sent from Hyrule to Labrynna by the power of the Triforce, awoke in Labrynna, almost immediately after stumbling upon Impa, who was besieged by a group of Octoroks. Unknown to Link, Impa had fallen into the clutches of the evil Sorceress of Shadows Veran. This allowed her to trick Link into moving a sacred barrier which obstructed her goal: to possess the Oracle of Ages, Nayru. In full view of Link and Nayru's bodyguard, Ralph, Veran quickly possessed Nayru and began to utilize her newfound power of controlling time, travelling to the past and beginning her plan to bring untold sorrow to the world. Meeting with Labrynna's guardian, the Maku Tree, Link learnt that to defeat Veran, he would need the Essences of Time. However, the Essences, as their names suggest, were hidden throughout time, making them very hard for one person to obtain. By taking up the Harp of Ages in Nayru's house, Link was able to traverse time and search for the Essences throughout Labrynna, all the while correcting the damage Veran had caused to the land, such as in Symmetry Village.

More than halfway into his journey, Link finally got a chance to rescue Nayru from Veran's clutches, at Ambi's Palace. However, as soon as he did, Veran possessed Queen Ambi. Using her new authority, Veran was almost successful in capturing Nayru, Link and Ralph, but at the last second Nayru used her power to return them all to the present.

Gathering the last of the essences, Link prepared for the final showdown with Veran, but before he could go, Ralph ran off before him, so that he might slay Ambi, even knowing that with Ambi as his ancestor, her death would mean his. Veran proved too powerful for Ralph, knocking him out instead of killing him before moving on to fight Link. After freeing Ambi, and the powerful battle that followed, Link was able to best Veran once and for all. Veran laughed as she died, saying that her goal had been completed, the Flame of Sorrow lit.

As Link, Nayru and Ralph returned to their own time, a mysterious pair laughed, saying that the true evil had yet to arrive...

Features
Linked game passwords – The linked storylines can be played in either order. There are several differences between each version.

Trivia

 * In both the chapter book and manga adaptations of the Oracle series games, Oracle of Ages is the second game in the sequence.