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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oracle_series.png]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:[[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo Play Both for the Ultimate Adventure!]]]]
3->''"I'm sorry I made you worry... But I saw it. A world filled with sorrow and despair... withering away!"''
4-->-- '''Princess Zelda'''
5
6''The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons'' and ''Oracle of Ages'' are seventh and eighth games in ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series. They were developed by Creator/{{Capcom}} via their subsidiary Flagship, and released at the same time on the Platform/GameBoyColor in 2001. ''Oracle of Seasons'' and ''Oracle of Ages'' are the first portable ''Zelda'' games since ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'', and use similar graphics and the same topdown gameplay style.
7
8While the dual version setup would suggest the ''Oracle'' games are a straight OneGameForThePriceOfTwo situation, the two are actually quite different from each other and could be considered completely separate experiences. Each one starts with Link being called to a new land by the Triforce. In ''Seasons'' he is called to the land of Holodrum, where he witnesses a dancer called Din get kidnapped by the BlackKnight Onox, who then sinks the Temple of Seasons into the earth, throwing the seasons of the world into chaos. In ''Ages'' Link is sent to Labrynna, where the singer Nayru is possessed by the [[EvilSorcerer Evil Sorceress]] Veran, who uses her powers to travel back in time and manipulate the queen of Labrynna in that time into building an EvilTowerOfOminousness. Link discovers that Din is the Oracle of Seasons and Nayru the Oracle of Ages, and uncovers hints that their capture and the plans of Onox and Veran are just separate parts of a larger, more sinister plot.
9
10To aid him in his quest, Link receives a signature item in each game. In ''Seasons'' he receives the Rod of Seasons, which cycles the seasons through spring, summer, autumn and winter when swung, changing the landscape drastically and allowing him to travel through the land differently. In ''Ages'' he receives the Harp of Ages, which allows him to travel back and forth through time, changing the past to change the future and bringing items from one time period into the other. Other new gameplay features include magic rings Link can wear for various benefits, and the ability to call on one of three animal companions to navigate unfriendly terrain and fight enemies. Each game also has slightly different items for Link to use -- in ''Ages'' the Power Bracelet upgrades into the Power Glove, while in ''Seasons'' Link instead trades in the Roc's Feather for the Roc's Cape.
11
12The true story of the two games is revealed via a "linked game" -- the player finishes one game, they receive a password they can input when they begin a new game in the other game. This password triggers new plot developments and storylines to be introduced, revealing it was more than just one evil plan set in motion and to truly save the day Link must go to the other land to save them there.
13
14Capcom would later assist in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords Four Swords]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap The Minish Cap]]'', with the director of all these games (Hidemaro Fujibayashi) going on to join the Nintendo ''Zelda'' team afterwards.
15
16Chronologically, the two ''Oracle'' games take place in the "Hero is Defeated" timeline after ''A Link to the Past''. While originally stated to take place before the events of ''Link's Awakening'', with all four games sharing the same Link as a protagonist, later revisions of the timeline [[{{Retcon}} has it take place sometime after]], with the ''Oracle'' Link now being a different entity than the ''A Link to the Past'' and ''Link's Awakening'' Link.
17----
18!!These games provide examples of:
19[[foldercontrol]]
20
21[[folder:Both Games]]
22* AbortedArc: Ambi's search for her lover that was lost at sea only concludes if you play ''Ages'' first; if you play ''Seasons'' first, then ''Ages'' will be without the epilogue in which she departs Labrynna to go and look for him.
23* AbsurdlyShortLevel: The Room of Rites only has a few rooms before you face the boss.
24* AlmightyIdiot: [[spoiler:Because Twinrova sacrifices herself (since Link pretty much kills her anyway) instead of Zelda, Ganon [[CameBackWrong isn't resurrected properly]] and comes out as nothing more than a bloodthirsty killing machine]].
25* AnimalGenderBender: Ricky is a male kangaroo with a pouch.
26* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Regrowing bushes will appear whenever you have to throw bombs or seeds.
27* TheArtifact:
28** The two games were originally a trilogy, the third of which would have a theme of color, and another would have been a remake of the original NES ''Legend of Zelda''. This still shows up in some ways:
29*** The first dungeons of ''The Legend of Zelda'' and ''Oracle of Seasons'' have similar entrances, layouts, and bosses. Five other bosses from ''The Legend of Zelda'' are also used in ''Oracle of Seasons'', and [[https://i.imgur.com/mjNa738.jpg Holodrum's geography]] has several similarities to [[https://i.imgur.com/JPgr3MB.png the overworld]] in ''The Legend of Zelda''.
30*** ''Ages'' has many dungeon puzzles themed around color; there's multi-colored blocks that ignite torches in different colors depending on which side is showing, the red/blue blocks and crystal switches from ''Link to the Past'' return, and color is generally used as a major indicator of how dungeon elements work. Labyrnna's overworld is much more bright and colorful in the present compared to the past, which is desaturated and has an overall dull red and brown color scheme.
31** The 3DS Virtual Console and Nintendo Switch Online releases treat the games as if they are played on a Game Boy Color, meaning the Advance Shops are inaccessible and there are two rings that you can't get (unless you bring them over from the original cartridges or cheat the password system into giving them to you, that is). Likewise, the Blue Snake in Vasu's shop is inactive because the 3DS doesn't use link cables.
32* AutoRevive: Magic Potions. They're a bit pricey at 300 Rupees, and you can only carry one at a time, but they'll refill all your hearts should you take fatal damage.
33* BagOfSpilling: You lose most of your stuff in the transition from one game to the next, being left with only four heart containers and a wooden sword. You can pick up your old rings once you reach town, however.
34* BareFistedMonk: Can be invoked by the player. The Fist and Expert Rings allow Link to punch for damage if there are no items equipped on the A or B slots. You're going to need items to advance, but there have been more than a few playthroughs involving as little "equip time" as possible.
35* BigBadDuumvirate: [[spoiler:[[WickedWitch Koume and Kotake]], the Twinrova sisters, are the ones behind Onox and Veran, using the chaos caused by them to fuel a ritual to resurrect Ganon.]]
36* BonusFeatureFailure: The Bombchus are only acquired as a bonus after starting a NewGamePlus, are not particularly useful at any point in the game, and can only be restocked by buying them at a ridiculous price from one specific, out-of-the-way shop that the game never even tells you about.
37* BraggingRightsReward:
38** Some of the rings. One is awarded by using a [[NewGamePlus Hero's Secret]]. Another two can be bought from stores that are only available by playing the game on a GBA. Another ring is given as a reward for beating Ganon in a linked game. There's also the rings you get for killing 1000 enemies and breaking 100 signs. The first ring you get would even count as one.
39** Played with the bonus-items you get when you're playing a Linked Game. They're Bragging Rights Rewards in the first game you play, but since you're able to get them in the middle of a Linked Game, they can get a lot of usage.
40* BrainsVersusBrawn: One of the themes revolves around gameplay focus. ''Seasons'' is more combat- and exploration-centric while ''Ages'' features a lot more complex puzzles, side quests and mini games, meaning a player will hit a wall unless they use their noggin. Fitting, given the Oracle of Seasons is Din, named after the goddess of power, and the Oracle of Ages is Nayru, named after the goddess of wisdom. However, you still need ''both'' brains and brawn to get through, just like any other Zelda game.
41* BrokenBridge: There is always a rock, pit, river, or very large pit that require the power bracelets, Roc's feather, flippers, and hookshot equivalent that open up new areas.
42* BrutalBonusLevel: A linked game has the Hero's Cave, which needs the treasures up to the 7th dungeon to complete. Prepare yourself for some of the most hair-pullingly frustrating puzzles a 2D Zelda game has ever pitted you against.
43* ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler:After he stops Twinrova's plans to revive Ganon from coming to fruition]], Link bids farewell to a crowd, departs Labrynna or Holodrum and sets off to the sea on a sailboat by himself.
44* ButThouMust: Whenever a character gives you a "secret", if you say no to whether or not you'll accept it, they'll just ask the question again until you say yes.
45* CallBack: Pols Voices can be defeated by playing a flute or the Harp of Ages, which is a reference back to the Famicom version of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'', where the microphone built into the controller was their weakness.
46* CallForward:
47** Zelda's character sprite is [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Marin]]'s with a crown, because Link mistook Marin for Zelda when he first woke up on Koholint Island.
48** A Linked Game ends with Link sailing off into the sea, indicating a possible connection to ''Link's Awakening'', though this would later be subverted by revisions to the timeline.
49* ChainOfDeals: One is present in each game; the end reward of both is the next level sword.
50* ChallengeRun: The Cursed Ring, which halves your damage and doubles that of enemies, is there for players seeking an extra challenge.
51* TheComputerIsALyingBastard: The description for the Quicksand Ring reads that it keeps Link from being affected by quicksand — which you would logically only encounter in the Samasa Desert in ''Seasons''. What it doesn’t tell you is that the game defines “quicksand” as any section of flooring that moves Link when he stands on it, even if said flooring is underwater, making the ring significantly more useful across both games than its description implies.
52* ContinuityNod:
53** Both games feature several [=NPCs=] from the [[Platform/Nintendo64 N64]] games. ''Ages'' mainly borrows from ''Majora's Mask'', while ''Seasons'' opts for ''Ocarina of Time'' instead
54** After killing the Twinrova sisters in ''Ocarina of Time'', they say that they'll come back to haunt Link. They probably don't realize it's a different Link, but nevertheless, in the Linked Game, you see what they meant.
55** Dark forces working to revive the recently defeated Ganon? [[VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink Now where have I heard that one before?]]
56* ContinuitySnarl:
57** Even ignoring the question of canonical order within the pair, these games have some issues fitting into the official timeline. ''Literature/HyruleHistoria'' places them in the Downfall branch as interquels between ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'', all featuring the same incarnation of Link. However, Zelda seems to know Link only by reputation in a linked game. To make matters worse, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'' seems to offer up yet more contradictions. In the opening animations for the ''Oracle'' games, Link is shown approaching the completed Triforce in Hyrule Castle, yet Ganon somehow came back into possession of the Triforce of Power before ''A Link Between Worlds'' started. The latter game also makes no mention of Ganon getting resurrected successfully since his defeat in ''A Link to the Past''; even discounting [[spoiler:Twinrova's attempt in a linked game]], there still doesn't seem to be a way for Ganon to reclaim his piece while deceased, plus the inconsistencies with Ganon being dead versus sealed away. Not helping (aside from an explanation for why Zelda doesn't seem to know Link personally) is the later ''Zelda Encyclopedia'' [[DependingOnTheWriter opting]] to place the games after ''Link's Awakening'' with the Japanese version claiming that it features a different Link from those other games. The "official" word just leaves more questions than answers about the games' placement in the timeline.
58** [[spoiler:Twinrova]] appear despite both dying before the timeline split in ''Ocarina of Time''.
59* DemotedToExtra: The Master Sword, usually the series' SwordOfPlotAdvancement, has no involvement whatsoever in the games' story, merely being the final sword upgrade (that is only ever unlocked through [[NewGamePlus the secret system]] in a Linked Game, to boot).
60* DependingOnTheWriter: Sources differ on the placement of the ''Oracle'' games in the timeline (with it being either an interquel, an immediate sequel, or a far-distant sequel) and whether this Link is the same one from ''A Link to the Past'' and ''Link's Awakening'' or a separate character.
61* DevelopersForesight:
62** When directing you to the next essence, the Maku Trees will use alternate dialogue if you complete dungeons out of order.
63** In rare instances, you can run into Maple on particularly watery maps. If all of her items sink underwater during the collision, she'll treat you to some alternate dialogue.
64* DiscOneNuke: In a linked game, exploiting secrets allows Link to upgrade his Sword to the Level 2 Noble Sword just before (in ''Seasons'') or after (in ''Ages'') the fourth dungeon. Taken even further, in ''Ages'', you can also immediately upgrade that sword to Level 3, the Master Sword, because you can finish the ChainOfDeals by that point.
65* DistressedDamsel: Din via a CrystalPrison in ''Seasons'', and Nayru via DemonicPossession in ''Ages''. In a linked game, [[spoiler:Zelda gets it twice: once by a minion of the BigBad (the Moblin King in ''Seasons'' and Vire in ''Ages''), and again by Twinrova after both Onox and Veran are defeated.]]
66* EmptyRoomPsych: The rooms for linked secrets have no one in them up until the PlayableEpilogue.
67* EventFlag: Both games run heavily on these, usually tied to how many Essences Link has collected.
68* FantasticFruitsAndVegetables: Link can harvest seeds from magical trees that, when cracked open, cause effects such as sparking fires, luring monsters, increasing Link's speed and creating whirlwinds.
69* FullHealthBonus: The Noble and Master Swords can conjure {{sword beam}}s at full health as usual for the series, but there are rings that will keep the effect active while Link is missing up to three hearts.
70* GhostPirate: ''Skeleton'' pirates, but close enough. Amusingly, they almost count as a WackyWaysideTribe, at least in ''Seasons''. Both times they appear, Link has to help free their ship from where it's been trapped ([[SaharanShipwreck a desert]]/[[LethalLavaLand Subrosia]] in ''Seasons'', the Sea of Storms in ''Ages'').
71* GraveClouds: The cemeteries in both ''Seasons'' and ''Ages'' are perpetually dark and dreary.
72* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler:[[HijackedByGanon Ganon]]. Despite not appearing until the tail end of a linked playthrough, his death in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'' is the driving force beyond [[BigBadDuumvirate Twinrova]]'s return and their recruitment of [[ArcVillain Onox and Veran]] for a ritual to resurrect him.]]
73* GuideDangIt:
74** You can actually determine which animal partner you receive by acquiring the flute in one of two ways (either buying it in a shop, or winning it in a minigame), or not acquiring it at all (at which point you get the third option automatically at a certain point in the plot). There are no hints at all to this; none of the flutes other than the automatic one tell you which animal they go to, and the minigames don't even give you an indication that you can win a flute with them to begin with.
75** The uses for some of the rings can be this, since the limited text space the game designates for the descriptions of each one doesn't allow for them to be explained in complete detail. For example, the description for the Quicksand Ring reads that it allows Link to maintain his footing on quicksand, but doesn't let on that the game's definition of quicksand also encompasses regular conveyor belts and even underwater currents.
76** Two of the Heart Pieces can be obtained from Maple and Gasha Trees.
77* HighSpeedTrainReroute: Used in the minecart rooms when Link has to either whack the switch with his sword or hit it from afar with one of his ranged weapons.
78* HijackedByGanon: The second example within the series (the first being ''A Link to the Past''), but actually not performed by the TropeNamer. [[spoiler:The hijacking is actually done by Koume and Kotake, his surrogate parents from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]''. Ganon is the FinalBoss, but he's not directly involved with the plot other than the fact that the plot was to revive him.]]
79* HopeBringer: Princess Zelda coming to Holodrum or Labrynna to ease the populace's fears of the impending crises. Unfortunately, Twinrova uses the opportunity to capture her and light the Flames of Despair.
80* HostageSpiritLink: Each game's respective BigBad will use the Oracle (Or Ambi later in ''Ages'') as a HumanShield. Hitting her deals damage to Link, requiring the use of a specific item to separate the hostage from the villain.
81* HumanSacrifice: Twinrova tries to sacrifice Zelda to light the Flame of Despair in order to raise Ganon from the dead. When you foil their plan, they perform a self-sacrifice, but it [[ImperfectRitual messes up the ritual]].
82* ImperfectRitual: The witch sisters Twinrova are preparing a ritual that will resurrect Ganon by sacrificing Princess Zelda, but Link interrupts the ritual. They are forced to sacrifice themselves in order to finish the ritual, which creates a [[CameBackWrong mindless, raging Ganon]] that Link is able to defeat.
83* InfinityPlusOneSword:
84** Two of them, the Master Sword and the Biggoron Sword. There are also tons of items and bonuses that you can only get by playing a linked game.
85** The Red Ring, awarded in ''Oracle of Seasons'' by defeating four golden enemies, doubles your sword damage without any drawbacks.
86* InformedEquipment: Narrowly averted. Most items will only become visible while Link actively uses them, but his sprite shows whether or not a shield is equipped to one of the two buttons, with different sprites for the L-1, L-2 and L-3 versions of the shield.
87* InterfaceSpoiler: If an item has a "L-1" next to its icon in the menu, you'll pick up an upgraded version of it somewhere later in the game.
88* {{Interquel}}: Set in between ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'', according to ''[[AllThereInTheManual Hyrule Historia]]''. There was evidence to support this before the book's release, including Link's very specific hairstyle in the four games, as well as the boat Link departs on after this series' GoldenEnding looking strikingly similar to the one that gets struck by lightning in ''Link's Awakening''. Additionally, the latter game alluded to Link having many adventures after slaying Ganon before his ship sank, so these games cover two of them. Many characters (and sprites) from these games also appear in ''Link's Awakening'', and that makes perfect sense. The Wind Fish, and Link, are dreaming.
89* ItsUpToYou: In both games, the Maku Trees are unable to discern the location of the final essence Link is searching for, so they leave it up to him to seek them out on his own.
90* JokeItem: You can find magic rings that transform you into certain enemies or [=NPCs=]. However, wearing them prevents you from using any of your items or weapons; their only practicality is that they keep you from being eaten by Like Likes.
91* JumpPhysics: Subtly improved from ''Link's Awakening'', as jumping during the top-down portions of the game (i.e. almost all of the game) moves you through Z-levels (as in, actual altitude) instead of faking it by putting you in the "jump" state while artificially moving you through Y-levels. This also explains why attacking in the air doesn't hit enemies on the ground, but instead hits the ones that are in the air (meaning you can hit flaming bats if they're low enough, or the jumping Stalfos mid-jump).
92* LastMinuteBabyNaming: Bipin and Blossom, in both games, have trouble naming their son. So they decide to let you, a complete stranger, [[HelloInsertNameHere pick for them]].
93* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: The son of Bipin the Gasha Seed farmer can grow up to have a completely different job than his father depending on certain player choices. While Bipin's son growing up to be either a warrior or a musician has varying degrees of contrast to his father, growing up to be a complete "slacker" contrasts the most with his hardworking father.
94* TheLostWoods: As per usual for ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games, both ''Seasons'' and ''Ages'' feature their own takes on the trope. See below for details on each.
95* LuckBasedMission: In both games, two Heart Pieces can only be gained from Gasha Nuts and running into Maple.
96* MacGuffin: The Essences of Nature in ''Seasons'' and the Essences of Time in ''Ages'', sets of items that are necessary to enter the final dungeons of both games.
97* MagicFire: The three Flames of Sorrow, Destruction, and Despair are used by the villains in order to revive Ganon.
98* TheManBehindTheMan: At first, Onox and Veran would appear to be the villains of ''Seasons'' and ''Ages'' respectively. But later on, it turns out that both of them were actually working at the command of [[spoiler:Koume and Kotake]], and their actions actually had a deeper purpose: [[spoiler:to light some magical flames as part of a ritual to resurrect Ganon, the primary antagonist of the ''Zelda'' series]].
99* TheMaze: The Room of Rites is a tricky type; in order to reach the TrueFinalBoss Link must navigate a seemingly-repeating corridor. (The hint is in the eye statues. Every time you enter a room, they all shuffle to face three directions; the only direction they're not facing is the correct path.)
100* TheMentor: The Maku Tree in both games. After completing each dungeon, they are able to sense that you've just collected another Essence, and are able to give you a hint about where to go to find the next one.
101* MiniDungeon: Both games feature each one building erected by a Moblin group led by the Great Moblin. In ''Ages'', as soon as Link enters, he must outrun the floor's crumbling or else he'll have to make his way out by going through a lengthy side-scrolling underground area; in ''Seasons'', he can only venture through its interior after getting the Flippers. In both cases, getting to the end will lead to a MiniBoss fight against the Great Moblin (though the strategy to defeat him remains the same), and winning will lead to the building's destruction.
102* MookBouncer:
103** Wallmasters, as in other games in the series. At least this time, they are much easier to dodge than in ''A Link to the Past''.
104** For the first time, Floormasters also count as they emerge from the floor to grab you and drag you back to the beginning of the dungeon.
105** ''In Oracle of Ages'', as you escape Veran's Tower, a Wallmaster will grab you and throw you into the room for the final battle against Veran.
106* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Dimitri, the friendly red dodongo encountered in both games. He's the only dodongo in the entire series who is not only not hostile, but he can also speak Hylian.
107* {{Nerf}}: The jumping distance when using the Roc's Feather is shortened compared to the jumping distance in ''Link's Awakening''. This is however inverted in ''Seasons'', where you later pick up an upgrade that lets you jump much farther.
108* NewGamePlus: Beat a linked series and you get a code that lets you do your next playthrough (ideally by switching the order of the games as there are secrets exclusive to both orders) starting with 4 hearts and all your rings, plus a special ring acknowledging you defeated Ganon. The story does start over, though.
109* NewWorkRecycledGraphics: Much of the sprites are clearly recycled from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening DX]]''. This is best seen through the sprites of Link himself and several of the enemies.
110* NintendoHard: ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' was already a hard game. These games take the stuff ''Link's Awakening'' throws at you and take it up to eleven.
111* NoSell: The three "Holy Rings" grant immunity to three different types of damage. [[spoiler:The green one in particular can be used to ignore Onox's HumanShield, but it has to be transferred over from ''Ages''.]]
112* NostalgiaLevel: The various references to the first game often involve similarities between dungeons. In particular, the first dungeon of ''Seasons'' has a similar layout to the first dungeon of the original Legend of Zelda and even has the same boss.
113* OldSaveBonus: After you beat one version of the game, you are given a Secret (aka a password). Inputting the Secret into the opposite version during the creation of a new save file will alter some minor plot elements, transfer your Ring collection, unlock a new dungeon and exclusive optional items, and start you off with an extra Heart Container.
114* OneGameForThePriceOfTwo: Played with: the games by themselves are completely different (items, dungeons, bosses and so on), but if you want to complete the storyline, you need to play a Linked Game requiring both games. And a linked game is a sort of NewGamePlus. You start off with one more heart container than normal and can access more things than a fresh game.
115* OxymoronicBeing: An item, in this case, with the Ember Seeds, which lets you light things on fire, even though those seeds come from ''trees''.
116* OptionalPartyMember: The animal friends Link encounters. As a rule, one of them will [[TrueCompanions always become Link's permanent partner]]. The other two [[TheFellowshipHasEnded will leave never to return]] (other than when they are encountered again in a linked game). Getting the animal partner you ''want'' to befriend for good in each respective game [[GuideDangIt can be a chore]].
117* PermanentlyMissableContent: Both games contain an "Advance" shop that can only be accessed when playing on a Game Boy Advance. In the Virtual Console and Nintendo Switch Online releases of the games for the 3DS and Switch, respectively, the shop cannot be accessed and the items inside cannot be obtained. Said items are merely an early supply of Gasha Seeds and a ring that's a BraggingRightsReward, but players seeking to acquire everything will find themselves a couple rings short simply due to developer oversight[[note]]However, there is a workaround for this by using a specially-crafted password to obtain the GBA rings that will work on any file[[/note]].
118* PlayableEpilogue: A non-linked game has this, allowing you to continue to play in the peaceful world while also allowing the use of passwords brought back from a Linked Game.
119* PostKissCatatonia: Link goes into one of these after receiving a SmoochOfVictory from Princess Zelda in the linked ending. The Maku Tree in ''Ages'' will tear up upon seeing this, given her crush on Link.
120* RandomDrops: Most of the rings are obtained randomly from Gasha Nuts, minigames, or Maple. Also, Maple and a Gasha Nut randomly drop a Heart Piece in both games.
121* RandomEffectSpell: Most Mystical Seeds have one effect each -- Ember Seeds create fire, Scent Seeds attract enemies, Pegasus Seeds make Link move faster and Gale Seeds produce whirlwinds that allow Link to warp back to fixed points on the map. Mystery Seeds don't have a unique effect, but instead randomly copy one of the other four kinds' powers when they're used.
122* RegionalBonus: The European localizations remove the aimless dialogue of the Cukemen from the NTSC versions and replaces it with hints about various secrets within both games. Among these is the ability to restore health by sleeping in certain beds -- a feature that is present in all versions of the games but never hinted at otherwise.
123* ReligiousAndMythologicalThemeNaming: The oracles are a rare in-universe example, with each of them sharing a name with one of the [[TopGod Golden Goddesses]]. While they share the same red/blue/green color scheme as their namesakes, it's unclear if there's any deeper connection between them.
124* RestingRecovery: For the first time in the series. Link is able to restore his hearts by sleeping in the beds at Impa's Refuge in ''Seasons'' and at Nayru's House in ''Ages''.
125* {{Retcon}}: This game was first stated to be an interquel between ''A Link to the Past'' and ''Link's Awakening'' with the same Link. This has since been modified to be an indirect sequel to both with a new Link.
126* TheReveal:
127** [[spoiler:Koume and Kotake, the Twinrova sisters, are behind the plots of both games as part of a larger conspiracy to resurrect Ganon.]]
128** Also, if you play the linked version of ''Seasons'' after ''Ages'', you'll discover that Ambi's lover [[spoiler:is actually Cap'n, the skeleton pirate that's been helping Link across both games]].
129* SecondHourSuperpower: The plot items in the games (the Harp of Ages and the Rod of Seasons) can only be obtained between the completion of the first dungeon and trying to find a way to the second dungeon.
130* SequelHook: Several:
131** During the PlayableEpilogue of whichever game is completed first, its respective oracle will allude to events transpiring in the other game's setting, and also mention that Impa has already gone to deal with them. What's more, in ''Ages'', you're told that Queen Ambi has left on a journey of self-discovery after Veran is defeated, setting the stage for her appearances in a Linked Game of ''Seasons''.
132** At the very end of the linked game, you see that Link is [[spoiler:heading off in a boat to sea, which [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening doesn't end well]] for our hero...]]
133* SequentialBoss: The TrueFinalBoss battles. First A [[DualBoss Dual]] TennisBoss with Koume and Kotake, then their FusionDance into Twinrova, and finally Ganon himself.
134* ShapedLikeItself: Most of the dungeons in both games have layouts based on their names. This is not entirely clear in the beginning, as it is only obvious after revealing the whole map of each dungeon.
135* SideQuest: A bunch are unlocked after you beat the first game and can only be completed with passwords that you use in the second.
136* SmoochOfVictory: Defeating the linked games gets Link a kiss from Princess Zelda.
137* SoapOperaRapidAgingSyndrome: Bipin and Blossom's son grows from a baby to a child during the course of the first game you play, then into a teenager during a linked game. If you choose the Farmer path, he actually looks older than his dad.
138* SocializationBonus: Each game has two flavors of this bonus. Firstly, a pair of players of either game can link their systems up to trade magic rings, in a manner that ought to be familiar to anyone who's played Pokémon. Secondly, a collection of cryptic passwords, along with vague hints for their intended recipients, are sometimes spoken by [=NPCs=] in each game. Writing down the password and telling it to the respective NPC in the other game will unlock a bonus for that game, and occasionally a very powerful one at that. This system is even utilized at the end of each game, too; typing in the password from after the end credits of one game into a new save file of the other will allow one to play a "linked game", which ties together their storylines and even enables a GoldenEnding for both of them. While the intent is for one player to own both games to experience the full story, it could just as easily be accomplished by two players each with one game, sharing codes with each other.
139* SwirlyEnergyThingy: Appear in both games. In ''Ages'', they are time portals between the eras of Labrynna, while in ''Seasons'', they are portals between Holodrum and Subrosia.
140* ThematicSequelLogoChange: Both games have the logo in front of a tree with a large fruit on the lower right, referencing their Japanese title, ''The Fruit of the Mysterious Tree''. Also, ''Oracle of Ages''[='=] logo is blue, a colour associated with its English-titular DamselInDistress, the oracle Nayru.
141* ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman: Enforced; both games have an area where you'll need the help of one of the three animal companions to pass an obstacle. Later in the game when one of the three becomes a permanent ally and the only one who will help Link for the rest of the game, an entire region of the world map will be different depending on which companion you're gonna be getting soon, forcing you to go and find them.
142* TheThreeFacesOfEve: The three Oracles (shown in the trope page image) are Din, an outgoing dancer (seductress); Nayru, a gentle singer (wife); and Farore, a helpful intellectual (child). Unfortunately, the game which was supposed to feature Farore was canceled. Incidentally, the Oracles share their names with a trio of goddesses in the series mythology (Din, the goddess of power; Nayru, the goddess of wisdom, and Farore, the goddess of courage).
143* UnknownItemIdentification: Magical Rings must be appraised by Vasu the jeweler for 20 Rupees before they can be worn. If you wind up with a duplicate ring, he'll refund you 30 Rupees.
144* VillainBall: [[spoiler:Twinrova fight Link to the death when he interrupts their resurrection ritual and end up having to sacrifice themselves to bring back Ganon, and an incomplete one at that. Koume and Kotake can only be harmed by each other's magic. Why on Earth would they fight him together? Instead of providing Link with the necessary ammunition to take them both down, there's no apparent reason why one couldn't have remained behind to complete the ritual while the other trapped Link in a HopelessBossFight]].
145* WarpWhistle: Gale Seeds are used to send Link to various Mystical Trees that he already found anywhere on the maps.
146* WeaksauceWeakness: The Pols Voices? You don't need bombs if you got a flute or a Harp!
147* WeaponizedTeleportation: Gale Seeds are usable on yourself as to [[WarpWhistle warp to any Mystical Tree you've found]], or on most monsters to carry them away without having to fight them.
148* WelcomeToCorneria: For the most part, averted; characters will usually start to say different things in both games as Link advances in his journey. But it's played jarringly straight with the Subrosians in ''Seasons'', who will keep repeating the same bits of dialogue from the first time you meet them well into the epilogue.
149* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Moosh freezes up if you try to glide him over a body of deep water, and refuses to enter Sunken City in ''Seasons'' for this reason. Ricky also does so, although he claims it's because it "smells like medicine". Similarly, Dimitri finds the sweltering heat of Symmetry City in ''Ages'' too unbearable for him to enter. [[CallBack Dodongos dislike smoke, remember?]]
150* WiseTree: The Maku Trees, who guide Link through retrieving each land's [[PlotCoupon Essences]]. The Maku Tree in ''Oracle of Seasons'' comes across as wiser -- the one in ''Ages'' can be a bit more... [[ClingyJealousGirl childish]].
151* WithMyDyingBreathISummonYou: At the end of a linked game, [[spoiler:you fight Koume and Kotake before they can sacrifice Zelda to revive Ganon. Instead, they sacrifice ''themselves'', and Ganon comes back [[CameBackWrong without his mind]].]]
152* YouCantThwartStageOne: Whichever order you play in, both Veran and Onox technically succeed in their goals [[spoiler:to ignite the flames of Sorrow and Destruction]], and Link can't stop [[spoiler:Twinrova from lighting the flame of Despair]] afterward, either. Only as they're on the verge of [[spoiler:sacrificing Princess Zelda to resurrect Ganon]] does he truly interfere with their plans, barging in at the last moment and [[spoiler:fighting the witches to the death before they can resurrect Ganon properly]].
153[[/folder]]
154
155[[folder:''Oracle of Seasons'']]
156* AbsurdlyShortLevel: Onox's Castle only has a few rooms before you face him.
157* ArcVillain: When the game is not linked, Onox is the primary narrative villain and the source of all the setting's woes.
158* BeneathTheEarth: Subrosia, a subterranean world beneath Holodrum filled with seas and rivers of lava.
159* BigBoosHaunt: The seventh dungeon, the Explorer's Crypt, located in the graveyard on the southwest corner of Holodrum, which is home to two Poe Sisters and a Gleeok, as well as the seventh Essence of Nature, the Seed of Life.
160* BizarreSeasons: The seasons are all a jumbled mess because of the Oracle being imprisoned and the Temple of Seasons being sunk below the earth, causing different parts of the land to become affected by different seasonal conditions from each others.
161* BrokenBridge: A literal one gets fixed by parking a ship in the gap.
162* BunnyEarsLawyer: The owners of the Subrosian Smithy. Rather than offering to do a job, they will wait for Link to ask, and will only do it if he bluntly demands the job to be done and refuse if he asks politely.
163* ChekhovsGun: In Level 3, Poison Moth's Lair, just a few rooms from the entrance is a trampoline that Link can't reach in an apparently wide-open space. Link proceeds to use another trampoline later in the dungeon, but the first trampoline is much more important, because the floor right above that is actually Mothula's room. Should Link fall into the pit during the BossBattle, he must use the aforementioned trampoline to bounce back.
164* ChimneyEntry: Link has to enter the chimney of a woman's house during the winter in order to gain access to the second dungeon. She initially mistakes him for Santa Claus or, in the European version, a chimney sweep.
165* ContinuityNod:
166** Most of the other games in the series that had been released at the games' time are referenced. Subrosia bears more than a passing resemblance to the Dark World of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'', and ''Link's Awakening'' is also heavily borrowed from (which was fairly easily done, as the ''Oracle'' games are built on the same engine as ''Link's Awakening'').
167** There's a windmill where a {{chiptune}} version of [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime the Song of Storms]] plays.
168* DegradedBoss: A cross-game example: Facade, the boss of the Face Shrine (the sixth of eight main dungeons) in ''Link's Awakening'' makes a return as the mini-boss of the second dungeon and later of Onox's Castle.
169* DemotedToExtra: The Gorons. In ''Ages'', Link requires their help in order to enter two dungeons, but here, they're superfluous to the main story and are only pertinent to a selection of sidequests.
170* DevelopersForesight: It's possible to access the remains of the Temple of Seasons earlier than intended by using Pegasus Seeds and the Roc's Feather in lieu of the Roc's Cape. However, the dungeon accessed from the Temple Remains is blocked off without a certain [=NPC=] present, and they won't show up until the time is right to do so. There's also a replenishable source of Pegasus Seeds in the area to ensure that you don't become stuck there.
171* DifficultButAwesome: The miniboss of the Sword and Shield Maze, Frypolar, can be defeated by hitting its ice form with Ember Seeds, but the Owl Statue outside its room hints at another method: hitting its ice spikes with Mystery Seeds, then using the Power Bracelet to throw them at its fire form. The boss moves quickly, getting hit by anything while holding the spike makes you drop it, and the spike has to land on the boss to deal damage, so this is hard to pull off, but doing so ''twice'' will kill it (as opposed to 20+ Ember Seeds, and equally many Mystery Seeds if forcing its element swaps).
172* DualWorldGameplay: A downplayed example. The Rod of Seasons changes the seasons, but you remain in the same world. The effects are the same, though: the environment changes to open/close new paths depending on the season, like snow piling up or lakebeds drying up. Subrosia is a more straightforward example, being a subterranean land that holds the Temple of Seasons, a few key items and events, and the eighth dungeon.
173* EarlyGameHell: The early-game is a little more difficult in ''Seasons'' than Ages. For one, the game throws sturdier enemies at you from the start. Additionally, the Roc's Feather and Zora Flippers are obtained much later than in ''Ages''. To make up for it though, the player does not have to go through as much effort to obtain the seeds as they did in ''Ages'', and it's ''significantly'' easier to obtain rupees, especially if one has a guide.
174* EndlessWinter: Eyeglass Lake, the Western Coast, and the Temple Remains are placed in a perpetual, unnatural winter after Din is captured; you can later change the seasons yourself with the Rod of Seasons, but they always return to winter after you leave. Goron Mountain naturally experiences eternal winter, but it gets even colder than normal with the seasons in chaos.
175* FisherKing: Onox kidnapping Din and sinking the Temple of Seasons throws all 4 seasons out of control in Holodrum.
176* FissionMailed: If you talk to the sign shop owner in Subrosia after destroying 100 signs, the startup screen will appear as if the game had been reset. However, you'll return back to the shop after a moment and get a [[CosmeticAward ring commemorating your hatred of signs]].
177* FourSeasonsLevel: A core game mechanic. By swinging the Rod of Seasons, the seasons change and new paths open. Spring lets flowers bloom, Summer drains water and raises vines, Fall covers holes with leaves and helps mushrooms ripen, and Winter freezes water and trees lose their leaves, allowing Link to pass through.
178* GenreThrowback: While both were intended as nods to ''Zelda'' games, ''Seasons'' is most explicit about being a throwback to the first two games.
179* GlobalCurrencyException: Subrosia uses chunks of ore as currency instead of Rupees.
180* GuideDangIt: Unless you're following a guide or basing off of past playthrough experience, you are unlikely to know that you can use the Rod of Seasons to bat away the trapped Din being used as a HumanShield when fighting Onox. [[spoiler:Or you could just bring along a electricity-negating Green Holy Ring and ignore her completely.]]
181* HailfirePeaks: The Sword and Shield Maze. The floor shaped like a shield is ice-themed, while the floor shaped like a sword is fire-themed. This is reflected in the miniboss, Frypolar, who has both a fire and an ice form and switches between the two of them when hit with Mystery Seeds.
182* HeroSecretService: In a Linked game playthrough, the troupe of performers that Din is found with reveal themselves to be Hyrulean knights in disguise, there to escort the oracle safely out of Holodrum.
183* HollywoodMagnetism: The magnet gloves. Almost all objects which you can attract towards you/pull yourself towards are not only magnets, but monopolar magnets (the gloves switch between a north and south magnetic charge so you can push and pull). However, they also affect Helmasaur/Iron Masks and Red/Blue Darknuts, due to their metal mask and armor.
184* HumanShield: Onox uses the [[CrystalPrison crystallized Din]] as one. Striking her with the sword will hurt Link; in order to create an opening to hit Onox, he needs to use the Rod of Seasons to knock her away.
185* InterspeciesRomance: Link woos and dates the Subrosian pop star Rosa so that he can borrow her SkeletonKey to unlock a few doors.
186* InTheHood: All Subrosians wear hoods that leave nothing of their faces visible except their large, white eyes.
187* ItsAlwaysSpring: For most parts of Holodrum, springtime is the default season, seen both in the time before Din is captured by Onox and during the PlayableEpilogue after she’s rescued.
188* LethalJokeItem: The Fool's Ore which two Subrosians give you after they steal your Roc's Feather is, for the most part, a useless piece of junk that does nothing. However, if you dig up a Fire Pokey, you can one shot it with the Fool's Ore (it takes several hits from the sword to do the same thing). Unfortunately, Fire Pokeys are the only enemy you can use it on, since you leave it behind when you get the Roc's Feather back.
189* LethalLavaLand:
190** Subrosia is a volcanic underground world filled with lava pits and the occasional eruption for you to dodge, but it's really more of a subversion: there are few enemies, and the inhabitants are friendly.
191** Located within Subrosia lies the game's final dungeon, the Sword and Shield Maze. The sword floor is littered with lava, [[HailfirePeaks while]] [[SlippySlideyIceWorld the shield floor is icy]].
192* LevelOfTediousEnemies: One part of Tarm Ruins contains infinitely-respawning Like-Likes, enemies that do nothing but eat Link's shield if they catch him. It's also right next to TheLostWoods, so you'll probably have to dodge some Like-Likes while you're solving that puzzle.
193* TheLostWoods: Holodrum's version is found in Tarm Ruins, and gets bonus points for actually being called "The Lost Woods". It's a single screen that endlessly loops to itself unless you travel specific directions while rotating through the seasons from coldest to warmest. It's also the culmination of the ChainOfDeals -- following the alternate directions you receive gets you an upgrade to your sword.
194* MagicWand: The Rod of Seasons, which is used to cycle between different seasons. It can also be used in a physical capacity to aid in the fight with Onox.
195* MagneticWeapons: Link's magnetic gloves. He can use them to pull the masks off of Iron Masks, and in order to defeat the fifth dungeon's boss, he has to use them to direct a giant spiked ball into crushing the boss.
196* MassMonsterSlaughterSidequest: An old man encountered in a cave near the Gnarled Root Dungeon tasks Link with killing four unique gold-colored enemies, which only spawn once the quest is issued, for reasons he doesn't bother explaining. Once Link hunts down the enemies, a Golden Moblin, a Golden Octorok, a Golden Lynel, and a Golden Darknut, he's rewarded with the Red Ring, a magical item that doubles his damage output.
197* MatchInABombShack: After his defeat, the Moblin King will hole up in a shack where he and his soldiers will work on making a new supply of bombs. [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential Players are able to light the bombs using any firey item and leave the building to explode]]. [[VideoGameCrueltyPunishment Do it too often, though, and Link gets caught and sealed within the exploding building]].
198* MothMenace: As one might expect from a dungeon named "Poison Moth's Lair", its boss is a cyclopean Mothula, gigantic moths that were introduced in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast''.
199* MythologyGag: There are a ton of references to [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI the first game]], which makes sense considering that these games began development as remakes of the NES games.
200** The first level has a similar layout to the first level of the original game, and the same bosses are also featured.
201** Dodongo returns to his role as the second boss; Gohma (actually the ''last'' level boss to appear in the original, first showing up as the boss of the sixth dungeon) is up fourth; Digdogger is again the fifth boss; Manhandla, the ''third'' boss of the original game, guards the sixth dungeon; and a two-headed Gleeok (like the others, a recurring boss in the first game, ranging in head count from two in its initial appearance as the fourth dungeon's boss to four as the eighth dungeon's boss) guards the seventh dungeon.
202** Mothula, boss of the third dungeon, is also a returner, but from ''A Link to the Past'' rather than the first game.
203** The miniboss of the Dancing Dragon Dungeon, a shrouded wizard called Agunima, is Agahnim from ''A Link to the Past'' in all but name, sharing a similar-sounding appellation in addition to his appearance, fighting style, and spinning animation when defeated.
204* NonIndicativeName:
205** Despite the name, the Eastern Suburbs located next to Horon Village are a wooded area full of monsters, with no homes or buildings apart from the Windmill. Accordingly, the region’s name in Japanese translates to the more aptly generic "East of the Village".
206** The Woods of Winter's default seasons include all of them ''but'' winter. Only by using the Rod of Seasons can winter be brought to the area.
207* PlatformActivatedAbility: Link uses the Rod of Seasons to shift the surroundings' season from one to another (accessing each season requires imbuing a power from its associated spirit onto the Rod), but he can only do this while he stands atop a Tree Stump.
208* ReviveKillsZombie: A variant. The Rod of Seasons carries the blessings of Holodrum's spirits of nature and is used to bring life to the land. As such, the only enemies it's effective on as a weapon are the undead ones -- Stalfos, Gibdos, Ghinis, and the two Poe Sisters.
209* SaharanShipwreck: The Piratians' ship is stuck partly in the Samasa Desert and partly in Subrosia. A quest revolves around getting them unstuck so they can dock elsewhere and fix a BrokenBridge.
210* SaveThisPersonSaveTheWorld: Saving Din is the only way to put the seasons back in order.
211* SequenceBreaking:
212** Since you only need the Flippers from Sunken City to explore Eyeglass Lake, it’s possible to complete the fifth dungeon before the fourth one.
213** It is possible to skip the Subrosian Dance to get the Level 1 Boomerang, by using a bomb to activate the switch in the winter tower. You’ll still obtain its upgrade inside the Ancient Ruins later on, meaning there are no repercussions for playing this way.
214** You can obtain the next level sword without even starting the ChainOfDeals, since all the trade sequence gives you is instructions on how to find the sword — that is, to keep heading west through the Lost Woods, each time in a warmer season. It's still worth completing the chain at least as far as giving a Mushroom to Syrup, which lets her sell [[AutoRevive Magic Potions]].
215* ShoutOut:
216** Several to Capcom, who helped make these games.
217*** In the fourth dungeon, there is an underground platforming section where you cross a chasm by jumping across blocks that appear and disappear in a preset sequence, a very common obstacle in the ''Franchise/MegaMan'' series.
218*** Once you destroy its four heads, Manhandla moves in an infinite-shaped (or sideways 8) loop, just like the Alien FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/MegaMan2''.
219*** Onox's ScaledUp form has a marked resemblance to Sigma's final Wolf Sigma form in the original ''VideoGame/MegaManX1''.
220*** The eighth boss is one to ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' by being a giant Medusa Head.
221* SlippySlideyIceWorld: The shield floor of the Sword and Shield Maze is icy, [[HailfirePeaks while]] [[LethalLavaLand the sword floor is littered with lava]].
222* SnotBubble: The Maku Tree almost always has one of these, despite being, well, a tree. Popping it with your sword is the only way to get him to wake up and talk to you.
223* StealthBasedMission: The Subrosians are involved in a lot of these. You have to stalk Rosa to find the first portal into Subrosia, and later on the Strange Brothers steal your Roc's Feather and you have to follow them to recover it. You can do this again to get different rewards.
224* SunkenCity: The aptly-named "Sunken City" in East Holodrum, in which most of the houses are flooded because the ice caps from the north melted.
225* TakenForGranite: The 8th boss is a giant Medusa head, which fights by throwing spheres that petrify Link on contact.
226* TheThingThatWouldNotLeave: The pirate captain and his crew take up residence in a random house in Subrosia while their ship is undergoing repair, much to the dismay of its original owner. Humorously, you can torment him a little by popping in for a visit after they've left.
227-->'''Subrosian:''' [[HereWeGoAgain Don't tell me you're going to stay here now, too!]]
228* TimedMission: One room in the second dungeon has a chest with a small key in it that will disappear if you take too long to reach it by using bombs to destroy blocks, forcing you to leave the room and try again if you fail. Thankfully, there is a Deku selling bombs just outside the timed room.
229* UnnaturallyLoopingLocation:
230** Long-time series mainstay TheLostWoods makes a return appearance. You can only progress by advancing in the correct direction during the correct season.
231** Onox's Castle also functions this way. There are no barricades to keep you from advancing, but each doorway loops you back to the room you just left until you defeat the enemies inside.
232* VideoGameCrueltyPotential:
233** The game lets you throw a pirate's skull around in the desert, and he naturally complains about getting sand in his mouth or water up his nose if you throw him on the ground or in a puddle.
234** You can blow up the Great Moblin's home after he moves into the Sunken City. You gain nothing for doing so, either.
235* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: You can blow up the Moblin King's Sunken City house in Seasons with a bomb or ember seed, but do it [[RuleOfThree three times]] and he catches you and throws you inside with the bombs, resulting in a NonstandardGameOver.
236* VisualPun: Onox uses Din as an actual HumanShield against you.
237* TheWallsAreClosingIn: Present as a trap in the Ancient Ruins and activated when Link grabs [[SchmuckBait the big red Rupee]]. If Link fails, he will die instantly, regardless of how much life he has.
238* WeatherControlMachine: Onox uses Din's powers to throw the seasons into chaos. Later on, Link gets a rod that can alter the seasons whenever he's on a tree stump.
239* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
240** The members of the troupe (in a Linked Game, they're revealed to actually be undercover Hyrule Knights) that accompanies Din disappear from the game after being blown off in Onox's attack. The tambourine girl does reappear during the PlayableEpilogue, but she doesn't elaborate on what happened to her in the meantime or where the other members are, if they survived at all.
241** Onox sinking the Temple of Seasons underground also is never undone. Once Din is rescued, the seasons return to normal, and the temple remains in Subrosia during the epilogue with none of the characters caring to comment on it.
242* WorthlessYellowRocks: Valuable items like Pieces of Heart and Gasha Seeds are sold in junk stores in Subrosia. Another Subrosian is tantalizingly seen throwing such items into lava in order to cause a volcano to erupt. Sadly, they cannot be caught out of the air.
243[[/folder]]
244
245[[folder:''Oracle of Ages'']]
246* AchillesHeel: Veran is effectively invincible when performing her DemonicPossession, because the heroes don't want to harm her host. However, hitting her with a mystery seed briefly breaks her possession spell, allowing her to be attacked directly. She tries to cover this by investigating mystery seeds early in the story (presumably to defend herself against them), though ironically this leads Link straight to the tree that produces them.
247* {{Antepiece}}: The Ancient Tomb has a very subtle one in front of the boss door: to reach the door, you must first clear away some rubble with your sword, destroy a cracked block with a bomb, light a distant torch with your Seed Shooter to activate a bridge, and lift a heavy statue out of the way with the dungeon's item, the Power Glove. Those are the items you need to use for each of the dungeon boss' four phases, in that order.
248* ArcVillain: When the game is not linked, Veran is the primary narrative villain and the source of all the setting's woes.
249* BadFuture: Inverted -- the present's generally bright and cheery while the past is screwed up. Played straight with Symmetry Village, however. You first go there in the present and find some ruins. You then visit it in the past and learn that it's about to be destroyed by an active volcano, and only by restoring the Tuni Nut can the village be saved. One sidequest later, the volcano is made dormant, and you can now visit an actual village in the present.
250* BeatTheCurseOutOfHim: Unusually for the ''Zelda'' series, this is subverted when you can't attack Veran when she's possessing someone because doing so would [[GameplayAndStorySegregation supposedly]] only hurt her host. Defeating Veran when she's possessing Nayru [[spoiler:and later, Queen Ambi]] requires shooting [[AchillesHeel Mystery Seeds]] at her and to remove Veran's spirit from her body, and then switching places with Veran to attack her before she can repossess her host.
251* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: During the intro where Link is leading Impa[[note]]Who's possessed by Veran at the time[[/note]] to see Nayru, the Oracle of Ages, a monkey admires the clean air on this perfect day and wishes time to stand still for that perfect moment. We hate to break it to you little guy, but you and your friends are gone when Veran possesses Nayru and travels into Labrynna's past to enact her evil scheme.
252* BigBoosHaunt: The first dungeon, the Spirit's Grave, located in Yoll Graveyard, and the final dungeon, the Ancient Tomb, located in the Sea of No Return. Both dungeons are located in the exact same location in the overworld: the former in the present and the latter in the past.
253* BookEnds: The main treasure of the Spirit's Grave is the Power Bracelet, and the main treasure of the Ancient Tomb is the Power Glove, which is upgraded from the bracelet. Both dungeons are even located in the same areas of the Overworld: one in the present, and one in the past.
254* ButThouMust: If you refuse to give the Gorons the Bomb Flower to save the elder who's crushed under a pile of rocks, the Goron will say that the elder will die without it, and then repeat if you refuse again.
255* CallForward: When Link washes up on Crescent Island, the Tokay make off with his things due to him allegedly not having any claim over them. In ''Link's Awakening'', we see that Link has made it a habit to carve his name onto items such as his sword and shield, showing how he's learned from these events.
256* CheerThemUpWithLaughter: Part of the ChainOfDeals has Link try to cheer up a depressed kid by telling him a Funny Joke (or so we're meant to understand). It doesn't work.
257--> ''"Oh...That's so funny, I forgot to laugh. Thanks...thanks to you, I can be as depressed as I want to be..."''
258* ChekhovsGag: When the Tokay steal all of Link's items upon his arrival on Crescent Island (which happens in the past), he eventually gets all of them back with the exception of his Wooden Shield, though he can buy a new shield from a Business Scrub on the island. At first, this just seems to be a reference to how Link almost always has to just buy a shield instead of receiving one for free. But after acquiring the Mermaid Suit, diving near the island ''in the present'' allows him to find a cave where a Tokay gives him a "piece of driftwood" that he found a long time ago and has been polishing for many years, making it shiny; this is how the Iron Shield (or in a linked game, the Mirror Shield if the linked shield upgrade was already acquired) is obtained. The Tokay that took Link's shield went somewhere so remote that Link wasn't able to get it back until centuries later!
259* ChekhovsGun: The sealed-up entrance to the Moonlit Grotto (Level 3) in the past is the entrance to the Sea of No Return, the location of the Level 8 dungeon, the Ancient Tomb.
260* ClimaxBoss: [[spoiler:Veran-possessed Nayru]], who is fought shortly after completing the sixth dungeon.
261* ContinuityNod: The time travel mechanics borrow heavily from the Dark World mechanics in ''A Link to the Past'', especially during the part of the game when you only have the first two tunes for the harp -- the Tune of Echoes to open time portals that work like the Dark World portals, and the Tune of Currents that serves as a one-way transportation from the past to the future (while opening a temporary portal back in your arrival point), working like the Magic Mirror.
262* CrescentMoonIsland: Moonlit Grotto, the game's third dungeon and the location of one of the Essences of Time, is on Crescent Island. The dungeon entrance is located right in the middle, and is inaccessible in the past because the ocean blocks it off from the rest of the island. In the present, however, the water level is lower, allowing the dungeon to be reached. Much later in the game, when Link has gained the ability to swim in deep water, he can reach the entrance in the past, and it turns out to be the path leading to the game's final dungeon.
263* CuttingTheKnot: There's a room in the Crown Dungeon which has an invisible floor. The intended solution is to use the Cane of Somaria to feel out the path to the chest which contains a key, but if a Moblin happens to spawn near the chest, you can just use the Switch Hook on it to bypass the puzzle completely.
264* DarkerAndEdgier: Compared to the [[ExcusePlot "plot"]] of ''Oracle of Seasons'', the story of ''Ages'' has much higher stakes and darker themes, with Link having to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong after Veran enslaves and murders numerous people in the past.
265* DecoyDamsel: Link comes across Impa who is being harassed by 3 Octoroks, who [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere themselves flee upon seeing Link]] and the mark on his hand. Impa thanks Link for saving her and asks him to meet up with Nayru, even having him move the boulder with said symbol so she could see her. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for everyone involved, "Impa" was being possessed by Veran, Sorceress of Shadows, who used Link to get rid of the barrier separating her from the Oracle of Ages and immediately possesses her to begin her plan.]]
266* DemonicPossession: Twice; in both cases [[ContrivedCoincidence it's a good thing you have the Mystery Seeds (from the second dungeon), the Seed Shooter (from the third dungeon), and the Switch Hook (from the fourth dungeon)]]. Prior to that, Veran possessed Impa to trick Link into giving her access to Nayru and when she's defeated in Queen Ambi's body at the end of the game, she tries to possess Link, though he dodges it.
267* DevelopersForesight:
268** In a linked game, you can advance toward Symmetry City without needing to rescue Zelda from the Black Tower. However, Mutoh won't appear near the bridge until you go back and save her.
269** The past's Sea of No Return resides in the same space as the present-day Yoll Graveyard, but if you try to bypass the puzzle to access it by using the Harp of Ages to travel to the past from that spot, a "mysterious force" will kick you out and send you back to the present.
270* DigAttack: The miniboss of the Moonlit Grotto is a mole with a drill nose that attacks from underneath (and is invincible while doing so). You make it vulnerable to attack by digging up its WormSign with the shovel.
271* TheDitz: The Tokay mean well, but aren't very bright. They've come up with an elaborate bartering system instead of simply using Rupees, some can't count past three, and they regard all Hylians as Tokay without tails and long ears.
272* DivingSave: After Link defeats Veran in the Black Tower, she [[CollapsingLair tries collapsing the whole thing on the heroes]] as they're leaving it. Nayru and Ralph are caught off guard, so Link tackles them out the door, leaving himself open for a Wallmaster to drag him into the basement...
273* DualWorldGameplay: Time portals connect the past and future. A few of them are [[AWizardDidIt conveniently opened at the start of the game]] when Nayru's time powers are used, and the [[AncientArtifact Harp of Ages]] lets Link open them on his own. Once Link [[MagicMusic learns more songs]], he can travel to the future from the past, and by the end of the game he can jump back and forth anywhere he wants.
274* EmergencyTemporalShift: After Veran leaves Nayru's body and possesses Ambi's, she calls the royal guards and orders them to kill Nayru, Link and Ralph. Nayru quickly sends the three of them back to the present before the guards strike.
275* EndlessDaytime: Veran uses Nayru's powers as the Oracle of Ages to create perpetual daytime and manipulates Queen Ambi into making the residents of Lynna Village work on the Black Tower 24/7.
276* EvilTowerOfOminousness: The Black Tower, built by Queen Ambi at Veran's urging, which looms over Labrynna and is built from the press-ganged labor of the country's people.
277* FinalDungeonPreview: Link enters the Black Tower while it's under construction early on to get a shovel. After it's completed, it turns into the final dungeon of the game.
278* FireBreathingDiner: This happens to two Tokays after they [[TooDumbToLive eat the Ember Seeds]] that you traded to them for Dimitri.
279* FiveSecondForeshadowing: When Link finally approaches the Black Tower upon its completion to take down Veran once and for all, he runs into Ralph, declaring his intent to destroy Veran, even if it means killing Queen Ambi... but for some reason, Ralph is also worried about what will happen to ''him'' afterward. After he runs off, Impa and Nayru rush in to inform Link that Ralph [[spoiler:is Queen Ambi's descendant, and if she dies now, he'll never be born -- and knowing this, Ralph has decided to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice himself to save the world]]]].
280* FlippingHelpless: Eyesoar, the boss of the fourth dungeon, is beaten by flipping it with the Switch Hook.
281* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Link arrives at Queen Ambi's palace to confront Veran, Ralph informs him that there should be a hidden passage in the garden. Link asks how he knows that if he's never been there before, only for Ralph to dodge the question [[LeeroyJenkins and run inside]]. The reason Ralph knows about the secret passage is because [[spoiler:he's actually Ambi's descendant, and therefore knows some of the family's secrets]].
282-->'''Ralph:''' I know! There should be a hidden entrance in the palace garden! I'll sneak in through there! What? [[SpottingTheThread "Why do I know about the hidden passage on my first trip here?"]] [[NonAnswer Never mind!]] I'm coming, [[CharacterCatchphrase Nayru!!!]]
283* FunWithPalindromes: Symmetry City's survival depends on the total equality between the two sides. The name of the artifact that maintains the balance? Tuni Nut!
284* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Link isn't actually present in the scene where Veran mentions what her weakness is. All he knew is that she "desires" them, according to Ambi, which could mean anything.
285* GiveMeYourInventoryItem: A late-game puzzle requires curing King Zora of a fatal illness in the past so he's alive to help you in the present. Instead of any kind of PlotCoupon, this is done with the same Magic Potion you can buy from Syrup to use as an AutoRevive.
286* GlobalCurrencyException: With all his gear getting stolen, Link has to repeatedly trade three of them (Shovel, Power Bracelet and Roc's Feather) until he can get the Mystical Seeds needed to permanently buy the latter two back.
287* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Queen Ambi of Labrynna becomes cruel and merciless while under Veran's influence, at first because Veran is manipulating her through a possessed Nayru, and later on because Ambi is possessed herself. She seeks to complete the Black Tower as a testament to her greatness as queen, and is mentioned to have anyone who badmouths her thrown into her palace dungeons.
288* GrandfatherParadox: Ralph confronts Veran, [[spoiler:possessing his ancestor Queen Ambi]], revealing his development into being willing to protect his nation [[HeroicSacrifice at the cost of his own existence]]. However, Veran easily defeats him.
289* GrimyWater: The southwestern sea is filled with patches of gross scum that deals damage if you try to swim into it, until you complete a quest to cleanse it of the filth.
290* GuideDangIt:
291** There is a ring located behind a bombable wall at Rolling Ridge. Bombable walls normally have cracks present to alert the player to their presence, but there are no cracks at this spot nor is there anything else in the game to indicate its presence (aside from the sound you hear if you happen to bang against it with your sword). In addition, there are two other rings that can only be acquired via mini-games, but in both cases the ring rewards are randomized with more common rings that are not exclusive to the mini-game. Meaning even if the player masters the mini-game they likely won't realize they can win an exclusive ring if they keep winning unless they look it up or get lucky and win them early on.
292** The Hero's Cave has a puzzle room where the player must step on all the blue tiles to turn them red in a continuous, uninterrupted path. However, there will always be one blue tile left. Are you doing something wrong? No, this is by design -- you're meant to use the Cane of Somaria to cover up the blue tile with a red block, and that makes the chest appear. There are ''no'' hints you're meant to do this, and the solution sounds more like a fan rumor than an actual developer intent.
293* HailfirePeaks:
294** Jabu-Jabu's Belly meets at the intersection of WombLevel, TideLevel and UnderTheSea, as the entrance to the belly lies underwater in the Zora Village and the majority of the dungeon involves traversing Jabu-Jabu's innards through watery passages and raising and lowering the water level to meet certain goals. In addition, an UnderwaterBossFight takes place afterwards.
295** The Ancient Tomb. The majority of it is an [[BigBoosHaunt ancient crypt]], but features UnderTheSea, LethalLavaLand and SlippySlideyIceWorld elements in certain corners of the second basement.
296* HandWave: The first time you encounter Maple in the past, she'll mention having gone through a weird portal. This ''could'' be one of the Time Portals you've been using to travel through time yourself, but she never elaborates on this statement afterward -- or for that matter acknowledges her time travel again at all.
297* HonestAxe: Lying south of Symmetry City there is a pond, accompanied by a sign reading "Do not throw things into the pond!" If you disobeyed it and tossed in a bomb, the fairy would ask what kind of bomb you dropped. Telling her it was gold caused her to bomb you down to one heart, claiming it was silver had her confiscate your bombs, and of course the honest answer upgraded your bomb bag.
298* HumanShield: Veran's possession ability is a variant; as she laughingly points out to Ralph in multiple cutscenes, trying to strike her will only hurt her victims, Nayru and Queen Ambi, the latter of whom is his [[spoiler:ancestor]].
299* InconsistentDub: A few of the game's items are given different names in various parts of the game- the sixth Essence of Time is called the Bereft Peak when you get it but the Lonely Peak on the item screen, the third tune for the Harp of Ages is generally called the Tune of Ages but is referred to as the Tune of Time right after you get it, and the seventh dungeon's item is called the Long Switch when you get it but the Long Hook in the item screen.
300* InterspeciesRomance: The Maku Tree has romantic thoughts about Link, which is more of an inter''kingdom'' romance.
301* {{Jerkass}}: Some of the Tokay. Upon finding you passed out, they decide to loot your body of your possessions. Then, seeing you wake up, they decide to run away instead of giving your stuff back or making up an excuse. One of them in particular stands out, as he calls your stuff ''his'', and requires you to get other things in order to get your stuff back, despite Link seeing him take them.
302* JourneyToTheSky: Queen Ambi's original plan was to build a tower tall enough to guide her LoveInterest in his return to Labrynna. However, after Veran pulls a DemonicPossession on Nayru and travels back in time (400 years) when the tower has only begun its construction, she persuades Queen Ambi to make the tower so tall that it reaches the heavens, and to this end Veran persuades her to use the power of the Oracle of Ages to cast a spell that freezes time and thus makes the working day endless, thus forcing the builders to work upon the tower's construction permanently. By the time Link completes the seventh dungeon, the tower is finally complete and, when Veran reaches the roof, she gains enough power to stop time even without Nayru's powers, allowing her to ignite the Flame of Sorrow so the Twinrova sisters make one step closer to resurrect Ganon in a linked ''Oracle'' story. [[YouCantThwartStageOne Despite Link managing to defeat Veran and save Labrynna, that last evil goal is successful]].
303* LethalLavaLand:
304** The fourth dungeon, the Skull Dungeon, which, hence its name, is shaped like a skull if you put the two floors together. In this dungeon, Link has to traverse a maze of molten lava pits to find the fourth Essence of Time, aptly called the Burning Flame.
305** The final dungeon, the [[BigBoosHaunt Ancient Tomb]], has parts of this thrown in [[HailfirePeaks along with]] UnderTheSea and SlippySlideyIceWorld in certain corners of the second basement.
306* LineageLadder: At the end of the game, [[spoiler: Ralph is stated to be Queen Ambi's "grandson's grandson's ...[[RuleOfThree grandson]]", which works as a relatively decent measurement that demonstrates to how far apart Labyrnna's past and present ages are in respect to each other, and further explains how the two were connected since earlier he [[GrandfatherParadox tried to knowingly off his own ancestor]] to save Labyrnna even at the cost of [[RetGone ceasing to exist]]]].
307* LizardFolk: The Tokay, anthropomorphic lizards from a tropical island and with a penchant for theft.
308* LostInTranslation: The name of the Tuni Nut is translated directly in some languages, ruining the pun.
309* TheLostWoods: Labrynna's version is the Fairies' Woods. Normally, they're quite easy to navigate, but the fairies that live there like to play Hide 'n' Seek and can twist the woods into an UnnaturallyLoopingLocation. You have to navigate through the woods twice -- once to reach the second dungeon, then again to rescue your animal friend.
310* MeanwhileInTheFuture: The story progression can be monitored by the progress of the final dungeon, regardless of what era you're in.
311* MermaidingSwimsuit: One of the items you can find is the Mermaid Suit, an upgrade for the flippers (which allow you to swim on the surface of shallow water). Wearing it allows Link to swim faster, swim safely in deep water and turns his SuperDrowningSkills into SuperNotDrowningSkills. It's implied it's at least partially magical, but still functions as a costume Link wears to use.
312* MiniGameZone: Rolling Ridge in both the past and the present, where the Gorons have set up various establishments because of a game craze. Several of them are mandatory for Link to reach the sixth dungeon.
313* MissingSecret: If you play ''Ages'' first, there's one square on the present era's map that you'll never be able to explore.
314* MoleMonster: The Moonlit Grotto miniboss, Subterror, is a mole-like creature with a drill for a nose. It chases Link around its room while burrowing in the ground, leaving a small raised trail to mark its position. It cannot be harmed while in this state, so Link must use the shovel to dig it up and expose it to attack.
315* MonochromePast: Downplayed. Past Labrynna isn't truly black-and-white, but it is darker and browner in its color palette than Present Labyrnna.
316* MortonsFork:
317** Of a benign sort. There's a Goron in the past who asks you for some Ember Seeds and Bombs to help him dig for treasure. If you hand them over and come back later, you'll see he's blown out the wall and revealed two treasure chests. He tells you to pick one, but your choice is actually completely meaningless since their contents are identical anyway. [[note]]The item is a Red Luck Ring, which reduces damage from spiked floors by half and isn't even particularly useful in the first place, if you were wondering.[[/note]]
318** A less benign example is the Boss Key in Mermaid's Cave. You're faced with two levers and have to pull them until the chest containing the key appears, with snakes falling each time it doesn't. Logic would dictate that there is one correct lever and one incorrect lever, but the truth is that both levers always do the same thing. If the game doesn't feel like giving you the key yet, they will both drop snakes. If it's decided it wants to let the chest spawn, then both will spawn the chest.
319* NarrativeShapeshifting: Link performs some impressive contortions when telling the Funny Joke to the depressed boy in Lynna City, as he's otherwise as silent as ever.
320* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
321** The only reason Veran is able to possess Naryu is because Link opens the barrier separating the two in a ButThouMust moment.
322** A boulder acts as a roadblock in front of the second dungeon. When Link lifts that boulder, the dungeon collapses, with the Maku Tree revealing said boulder was a support stone that kept it standing. Luckily, you're able to use time travel to access the dungeon in the past.
323* NoGearLevel: When Link's raft capsizes and he washes up on Crescent Island, the Tokay rob him of all his tools and Link has to find them all over the island.
324* NowWhereWasIGoingAgain: Aside from both the past and present Maku Trees, a Goron in Rolling Ridge will give you hints on what you need to do next. This one is mainly useful in the sequence you need to do in order to get to the sixth dungeon.
325* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: After a certain point in the game, the Black Tower in the past becomes a pseudo-dungeon, allowing you to travel within and battle dozens of enemies without actually entering the interior. This is perfect for grinding with Gasha Trees, when there is plenty of soft soil littered close to the Tower for quick access. (1. outside the Toilet in Lynna Village; 2. South Shore; 3. east of the Restoration Wall; the latter two merely need the Roc's Feather to reach)
326* PermanentlyMissableContent: If you play ''Ages'' first as a non-linked game, there's one square on that game's map (an island in the ocean) that you'll never be able to explore.
327* PlatformActivatedAbility: Link learns the Tune of Echoes shortly after getting the Harp of Ages. It allows him to travel between past and present, but it only works when it's played while Link stands on a Time Portal. Later in the game, Link learns the Tune of Currents, which can be played from anywhere in the past era to return to the present, and it creates a temporary Time Portal so Link can use it in case he wishes to return to the past from the same spot as before. Finally, there's the Tune of Ages, which allows Link to travel between both eras freely, averting this trope.
328* PlotTunnel: Link gets shipwrecked on Crescent Island, and cannot leave until after completing the third dungeon, when [[PowerUpMount Dimitri]] can swim Link back to the mainland.
329* PuzzleBoss: Smog from ''Ages'', who acts as a sort of reverse AsteroidsMonster. The puzzle involves placing blocks using the Cane of Somaria to force his assorted parts to combine into a form you can attack.
330* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Ralph is actually Queen Ambi's descendant (hence how he knew about the secret entrance to her castle), and killing the possessed queen will, in turn, erase Ralph from existence.]]
331* RippleEffectProofMemory: Applied inconsistently. The residents of Lynna City are aware that the Black Tower is getting taller in the present as it gets built in the past, but other instances of changes in history (such as Link saving the life of King Zora) go unnoticed.
332* SanDimasTime: Veran goes back in time to alter things in her favor. Some of the effects are instantaneous, while others, like the construction of the Tower, are incremental based on your progress through the game.
333* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: Link's goal is to go back in time and undo all of Veran's atrocities in order to restore peace in Labrynna.
334* ShadowWalker: Shadow Hag, the boss of the Moonlit Grotto teleports around its arena, appearing directly behind the player in a puddle of shadow, disappearing if you turn to face it. How fortunate that the dungeon's item allows you to bounce seeds off walls!
335* ShellGame: The final puzzle in the Black Tower before facing Veran herself is over a dozen stairways. Only one of them will lead to the final level, and taking the wrong one will take Link to a hallway filled with Lynels. The trick is with one of the four fireballs that surround Link, then dart around the room. The fireball standing right behind him when he entered will lead Link to the correct path.
336* ShoutOut:
337** In a linked game, RecurringBoss Vire holds Zelda captive in a short platforming level that's based on the original ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' arcade.
338** Blue Stalfos, the 8th miniboss, casts a curse that [[VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins turns Link into a baby for a short time]] if he gets hit. In addition, it also resembles the Skeleton Murderers from the franchise as a whole.
339* SlippySlideyIceWorld: While the majority of the Ancient Tomb serves as BigBoosHaunt, parts of this are thrown in in one of the corners of the second basement floor [[HailfirePeaks along with]] UnderTheSea and LethalLavaLand.
340* SmallRoleBigImpact: Ambi's lover, the lost sailor whose disappearance caused her to build the tower and weakened her to Veran's manipulations, is essentially responsible for the entire plot despite being absent from the game. [[spoiler:Subverted, however, in that he does indeed appear, but [[IdentityAmnesia he is stuck with a bout of amnesia]] [[GhostAmnesia due to his condition]], which doesn't make his presence obvious.]]
341* StableTimeLoop: What with all the time travel, some of these were inevitable. Examples include the Bomb Flowers (obtained from the Gorons in the present, taken back in time to rescue the Goron Elder, who decides to start growing them) and the Goron Vase (an heirloom gifted to Link in the Present in exchange for a Rock Brisket, then given to that Goron's ancestor who is looking for something to pass down to his descendants).
342* StealthBasedMission: In Ambi's Palace, Link must sneak past the guards without being seen; if he's spotted on the palace grounds he will be instantly returned to the entrance, while in the palace proper the guards forgo simply kicking you out and move to attack you directly.
343* SuperDrowningSkills: Unlike in ''Seasons'', this continues to be played straight even ''after'' getting the flippers, because another item that Link acquire much later in the game is required for swimming in "deep water" such as in the sea.
344* SwapTeleportation: The Switch Hook (and its upgraded version, the Long Hook) use this principle for a TeleportGun with a GrapplingHookPistol aesthetic, allowing Link to fire it at loose objects like enemies or clay pots and instantly swap positions with them.
345* TakenForGranite: Some creatures and people are petrified due to the time distortion.
346* TennisBoss: Blue Stalfos, the miniboss of the Ancient Tomb, is defeated by reflecting his spell back at him, turning him into a skull-headed Keese that Link can slash with his sword.
347* TerminatorTwosome: Veran jumps backwards in time to MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight, with Link giving pursuit to stop her. Ralph eventually follows after (mostly just to rescue Nayru from Veran), making it a Threesome.
348* TakeOurWordForIt: Since Link can't speak, the animation for the Funny Joke is best described as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOFJBnNCK3w interpretive dance]].
349* TideLevel: Jabu-Jabu's Belly, which overlaps with WombLevel and UnderTheSea. Link has to raise and lower the water level to make his way through the dungeon.
350* TimeParadox: A few of the Ontological variety turn up from Link ferrying objects back and forth in time:
351** In the past, Link needs a bomb flower to free the Goron elder from a pile of rubble. There are no bomb flowers in the past, however, so Link heads to the future, gets one of the flowers that the future Gorons are growing, and brings it back in time to use. Inspired by this, the ancient Gorons take up bomb flower cultivation and as a result end up creating the same crop from which Link will take a flower to bring back to the past.
352** During the trading sequence, Link obtains a vase from a hungry Goron guard in the present, who offers to trade his family heirloom in exchange for some rock brisket. Link then trades this vase to the Goron guard in the past, who is looking for an heirloom to pass down to his descendants, placing it back in the family's care until it will one day pass to a hungry guard who would rather have some tasty rock brisket...
353* TimeTravel: A central mechanic. Link uses a magical harp to play tunes that send him back and forth through time, allowing him to set up events in the past to change the present to meet his needs.
354* TimeyWimeyBall: This game happily juggles several balls at once. The game mostly goes with the idea of San Dimas time -- as Link proceeds through the game, work on the Black Tower in the past continues, and it grows taller in the present in time with its construction in the past. However, it's not consistent. To list some of the problems that arise:
355** The third dungeon, Moonlit Grotto, is entered in the present, and takes the form of a cave with a face. In the past this same cave is sealed because it is missing an eye. A Tokay near the cave in the present says that long ago a "Tokay with no tail" (what they call Link) opened the cave, something which Link hasn't done yet and will not until the end of the game. At this point Link doesn't even know enough (the Tokay's remark notwithstanding) to know that opening the cave in the past is something he will have to eventually do.
356** There are several {{Stable Time Loop}}s. For one such instance, the Goron vase Link gets from a Goron in the present is the same vase Link must now go and give to the Goron's ancestor, who says he will pass it down through the family. Even with the same event, the game fails to be consistent. The Gorons of Rolling Ridge in the present give Link a Bomb Flower in thanks for defeating the Great Moblin, after which the Maku Tree tells Link that his name has suddenly appeared in legends as a Goron hero who saved their Elder centuries ago. However, before you defeat the Great Moblin, the Gorons mention that long ago a young boy brought Bomb Flowers to Rolling Ridge and they're now the Goron staple crop.
357* TogglingSetpiecePuzzle:
358** ''Ages'' features dungeons with toggleable cubical barriers that can have their states swapped by pressing switches, continuing the trend from previous 2D installments. Unlike in ''Link's Awakening'', the barriers are color-coded, thanks to the games' improved palettes as they were worked upon the other's DX engine. Interestingly, the color-coding is inverted in relation to ''A Link to the Past'', where the crystal's current color matched that of the blocks toggled ''off'', and here it matches the color of the ones toggled ''on''.
359** ''Ages'' also features specific instances with other puzzles that involve toggleable setups, like a room in Mermaid's Cave where a crystal switch rearranges the placement of the floor's tiles, a couple rooms in Moonlit Grotto that have crystal switches which protract bridges above a bottomless pit while retracting others, and floor switches in Jabu-Jabu's Belly that toggle the current level of the water. The crystal switch will often be placed in distant or inconvenient spots that call for the use of the Seed Shooter (sometimes even requiring the Seeds to ricochet with adjustable seesaw-like pieces, thus overlapping with TrickShotPuzzle).
360* TowerOfBabel: The [[EvilTowerOfOminousness Black Tower]] itself is built out of Ambi's desire (after being corrupted by Veran) to create a structure so tall that it reaches the heavens as a testament to her glory. [[spoiler:Luckily, Link is able to halt its construction and provoke a HeelFaceTurn from Ambi before any DivinePunishment occurs.]]
361* TheTreesHaveFaces: Yoll Graveyard is filled with dark, leafless, stumpy trees with smirking faces on their trunks.
362* TrickShotPuzzle: You get a seed gun that bounces [[TrickArrow different varieties of magical seeds]] off walls. It's used for the obligatory "hit the switch around the corner" puzzles. However one boss can only be harmed by seeds [[TeleportSpam while she blinks around an arena]] full of pillars, making trick shots ideal for taking her down quickly. (This is also a notable subversion of PlayingTennisWithTheBoss for the series).
363* UnderTheSea:
364** An actual seafloor serves as part of the overworld, with the Zora Village leading to [[WombLevel Jabu-Jabu's Belly]]. In addition, an underwater boss fight takes place inside the aforementioned dungeon.
365** The Mermaid's Cave has a lot to offer, even the parts of the boss fight taking place underwater.
366** In the Ancient Tomb, while the majority of it serves as BigBoosHaunt, parts of this are thrown in [[HailfirePeaks along with]] SlippySlideyIceWorld and LethalLavaLand in certain corners of the second basement. This is because it is located in the Sea of No Return, a remote island littered with strong currents and whirlpools that could pull Link into a watery grave.
367* UnderWaterBossBattle: Two: Octogon in Mermaid's Cave and Plasmarine in Jabu-Jabu's Belly.
368* UnexpectedGameplayChange: The Goron dancing segment drops a RhythmGame onto you that's mandatory in order to progress. Unless you're the sort of gamer who happens to adore rhythm and action/adventure games with equal fervor, you're liable to get stuck here for a while.
369* VerbalTic: The Tokay in the Japanese version have a PokemonSpeak tic of using "toka" at odd moments. This was removed in the English version since Western audiences don't find that quite as endearing.
370* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: There's hand in a toilet asking for paper, and you can throw various things into the toilet and get responses. Which include a bomb.
371* VillainRespect: After Link, having ended Veran's previous two possessions, dodges Veran's attempt to possess ''him'' next, she acknowledges that he might be a cut above her other enemies -- which makes him worth [[OneWingedAngel pulling out her true form for]].
372* VoodooShark: The eighth dungeon is in the past, located in the part of the world that in the present is the Yoll Graveyard. So why can't Link just go to the graveyard, play the Harp of Ages and warp to the dungeon entrance instantly? Because if you attempt to warp in the Graveyard, "a mysterious force" immediately sends Link back to the present. This is in so you don't just skip right to the dungeon entrance as just described and must do the sidequest to get in there another way, but this "mysterious force" raises a lot of questions. There's a couple of hints it's Veran, since the Black Tower is another small spot where you can't time warp, and the point where you would be going for the eighth dungeon is right after [[spoiler:the Black Tower is completed and Veran's power intensifies]], but even if you try to warp before that point, you get the same message.
373* WaterfrontBossBattle: The boss of the sixth dungeon moves back and forth between the surface and underwater.
374* WhereItAllBegan: The eighth dungeon is located in the same area as the first one, just in the past instead of the present.
375* WombLevel: Jabu-Jabu's Belly has Link dive into the mouth of a giant fish and explore his cavernous innards. Overlaps with UnderTheSea and TideLevel as Link must raise and lower the water level in the god's stomach to progress.
376* YinYangClash: The Armos Warrior wields a supposedly unbreakable sword and a supposedly unbreakable shield. You can only defeat him by tricking him into hitting the one with the other, breaking both.
377[[/folder]]

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