Oracle of Seasons / Oracle of Ages

[Dan]

I felt like making a topic specifically about these two games because these two have the largest number of things in them that other Zelda games don't.

They have the helper partners you can summon with their respective flute, they have the Mystical Nuts that are a part of the original Japanese titles, they've got these magic power rings that each have a unique ability, they have absolutely massive stories when compared to other Zelda games, they have an ongoing story arc that leads from one game right into the next via link cable, they have a "Secrets" extra to get special items, they feature Princess Zelda without taking place in Hyrule... and then of course they have most of the things Link's Awakening had, except with an improved engine.

So, who was your favorite partner?

[Valatunda]

How many partners were there?

I remember a flying bear and a kangaroo (Rocky?), but I think the kangaroo had more potential to be used.

[Komodo_Zero]

The final one was a swimming Dodongo.

I have to say, these 2 games are among my most favourite Gameboy titles  Capcom truly nailed the Zelda feeling while at the same time cramming it with tonnes of unique features.

[Santuli]

They're so incredibly underrated and underplayed...I've beaten through them entirely 2 or 3 times now.

Dimitri is my favorite...he's just badass. Moosh...god I hate him. Stupid "bear"...he's a wuss! For being a bear he's so defenseless, jeez...

The kangaroo...well I never had him as a pet, but he's pretty cool anyway.

[superb mariček]

i think i stopped playing ages because of those lizard dipshits and their trading sequence nonsense

[Keaton]

I liked that the Partener you had influenced the way the overworld was, the Dodongo had a lot of flooded areas, the Kangaroo had a bunch of cliffs, the Bear had a bunch of holes? I never had the bear, I couldn't figure out how to get a different other than the Kangaroo, I wish I did I loved that Dodongo.

These are one of the more unique games I wish the rings that let you turn into Octorocks or Moblins made the monsters your allies and you could use their attacks. I'd rather see an improved version of these two games or something like it on the DS.

[ATRUEZELDAFAN]

I only had Oracle of Seasons. I loved that game. I should go plug it into my GB player on my GCN.

[Dan]

I liked that the Partener you had influenced the way the overworld was, the Dodongo had a lot of flooded areas, the Kangaroo had a bunch of cliffs, the Bear had a bunch of holes? I never had the bear, I couldn't figure out how to get a different other than the Kangaroo, I wish I did I loved that Dodongo.

Well, you get Ricky in Seasons if you don't acquire a strange flute before meeting him.  Can't remember what you had to do in Ages, but Zeldapedia probably has that listed there.  If you get the Strange Flute from the Horon Village shop you'd get Moosh (in Seasons again, of course).  Getting Dimitri in Seasons required you to win the Strange Flute from the Subrosian dance thingy.

I thought the three slightly different overworlds were interesting, but I would've preferred one constant overworld with more routes for each of the three partners to take.

It's been awhile since I've played, so I don't quite remember which partner I preferred... I liked them all pretty well.  But I'm playing again and I'm trying to make some videos with the game, so I was thinking maybe you guys could suggest one of them.

[Tsu-tan]

Oracle of Ages was my first Zelda game, I think. I loved that game. Except for Moosh's segments. Stupid bear couldn't clear longer holes.

Moosh was the default for Ages, and Ricky was the default for Seasons. You got Dmitrii in either game by buying/winning the flute, and you could get the other game's default through a linked game.

I really liked how the games were linked to each other. Jabu Jabu's Belly was such a horrible dungeon, though. So much backtracking...So many water level puzzles...And the treasure was a slightly improved version of an essentially useless item you already had. DX

[Santuli]

I liked the Switch Hook, tbh, but an upgrade was too much. It should've just been at its maximum length before -_-

And yea..THAT Jabu-Jabu's Belly was TERRIBLE...I mean in OoT it felt like you were inside a fish...a weird fish with strange organs and what not, but one nonetheless. This just felt like a water-based dungeon...my fingers get tired of swimming with the Mermaid Suit, btw, lol.

[Keaton]

Never really played Ages, I had Seasons and my brother had the other game.

[Komodo_Zero]

Yeah, I had both.  I never got a full linked game though.  Thanks to the password generator I'm perfectly capable of having a completely linked game file on both games, with all of the link items XD

[Hylian Lemon]

The Oracles were my first Zelda games. I spent a lot of time in my closet playing those games by lamplight to avoid the time limit my parents had set. XD

Personally, Ages is my favorite game. It just seems more epic, and Veran is a more active baddie than Onox. She's actually carrying out her plans as you go through the game. Awesome.

And Dimitri has always been my favorite partner. It seemed like he had more possibilities.

[Keaton]

I really did like the concept Ages had, and I think it was more challenging. I really only got to the dungeon where you were shipwrecked on that island with the lizards. Moonlight Grotto or something like that, my brother could never beat it so I never got to finish my linked game.

[Santuli]

How do you its more challenging if you havent played it? =S

I think Seasons is more challenging. I like both pretty equally though.

[Keaton]

I haven't played pass the dungeon I mentioned, I never got enough time to figure it out because that was the dungeon my brother was stuck on. Although on Seasons I forgot to pick up the lvl 2 sword for a bit, it was more challenging that way... Then again I forgot to do that on my last playthrough of LADX.

My brother was a little jealous that I was able to play and beat the Zelda games the way I did, he always needed help and I was good at figuring out the puzzles.

[Komodo_Zero]

Seasons is piss easy in my view, only a few bosses and the last dungeon posed much threat.  It was too linear for me to be considered a challenge too.

Ages was a challenge in the sense of... Well... 6th dungeon? (I think it was the 6th) 
Mein gott...

[Santuli]

I dont think either were hard...although Onox was far harder than Veran imo.

Last time I played Seasons though, I had the L-3 Sword and the Red Ring...so I had 5x normal damage, lol. Everything was ridiculously easy
Spin Attacks obliterated all...

[Dan]

How do you its more challenging if you havent played it? =S

I think Seasons is more challenging. I like both pretty equally though.

Seasons is more action-oriented, with fewer puzzles and less challenging ones when there are.  Ages is by far a more puzzle-oriented game than Seasons.  I think Ages was probably the more difficult of the two then, because it took me quite a bit longer to beat on account of the puzzles.  Seasons' dungeons you could get through pretty quickly with a very small number of puzzles in them.

[Santuli]

It wasn't that bad though. Seasons still had some tough puzzles. And some of Ages' "challenging" puzzles were stuff like water-level raising and lowering, which made you backtrack a lot...man I hate that dungeon.
I think the only dungeon that pulled off using varying water-levels was Lakebed Temple...cuz you only had to redirect water, not keep raising and lowering

But that's beside the point.
I thought about it though....they're both about the same. I wouldn't choose one over the other in difficulty.
In fact, I COULDN'T choose one over the other. If I had to buy them, I'd get both just because I wouldn't be able to decide