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The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

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Title Screen

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

Also known as: Zelda no Densetsu: Fushigi no Kinomi: Jikuu no Shou (JP)
Developers: Flagship, Capcom
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Game Boy Color
Released in JP: February 27, 2001
Released in US: May 14, 2001
Released in EU: October 5, 2001


AreasIcon.png This game has unused areas.
CopyrightIcon.png This game has hidden developer credits.
DevTextIcon.png This game has hidden development-related text.
GraphicsIcon.png This game has unused graphics.
ItemsIcon.png This game has unused items.
MusicIcon.png This game has unused music.
RegionIcon.png This game has regional differences.


PrereleaseIcon.png This game has a prerelease article
DCIcon.png This game has a Data Crystal page

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages is a game that was released alongside The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons. The games interact with each other in a variety of ways.

Sub-Page

Read about prerelease information and/or media for this game.
Prerelease Info

Development Text

Sound Test Text

Present at 0x103C21 in the European ROM is some text for a sound test.

DMG SOUND TEST
BGM:   /   
SE :   /    
CODE
B:SE OFF
Ä:BGM OFF

This text is not present in the US or Japanese ROMs.

Version Number

At 0x1C1C9 in the US and Japanese ROMs and 0x1C22C in the European ROM is what appears to be a version number. This string saved at the beginning of each savefile (ie. addresses 0x0012 and 0x1002 in SRAM for file 1 and its backup). It is validated for correctness whenever a file is loaded. Oracle of Seasons has the same string except that it starts with "Z1".

Z21216-0

Localize Text

At 0x1C04F in the European ROM is this string.

L_O_C_A_L_I_Z_E

This text is not in the US or Japanese ROMs. It's also saved to the beginning of the SRAM.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Items

Several items exclusive to Seasons have placeholder IDs in this game's data. These items are the Rod of Seasons (0x07), Magnet Glove (0x08), Slingshot (0x13) and Fool's Ore (0x1E). By changing RAM addresses $C689 (A button) or $C688 (B button) to any of the previous values, these items can be obtained.
Additionally, there is an unnamed item (0x02) that makes Link punch, which briefly appears in Seasons when dueling Blaino in his gym.

Unused Objects

Unused IDs

ID Picture Name Notes
0x1E TLoZ-OoA-UnusedPiranha.png Piranha Piranhas were only used in Seasons.
0x2E TLoZ-OoA-UnusedThwomp.png Thwomp Only the larger and spiked Thwomp can be found in both Oracle games.
0x4C TLoZ-OoA-UnusedTakkuri.png Takkuri This vicious blue crow tries to steal Link's rupees. If sub-ID is set to 1, it will appear from the side of the screen.

Unused Sub-IDs

ID Sub-ID Picture Name Notes
0x09 0x04 TLoZ-OoA-GoldenOctorok.png Golden Octorok The golden beasts only appeared in Seasons.
0x0B 0x02 TLoZ-OoA-OrangeLeever.png Orange Leever A more aggressive and faster variant of the sand-dwelling enemy.
0x0C 0x02 TLoZ-OoA-GoldenMoblin.png Golden Moblin (Arrows) Another unused leftover from Seasons.
0x0D 0x02 TLoZ-OoA-GoldenLynel.png Golden Lynel This tough enemy can be found in the Tarm Ruins from Seasons.
0x21 0x02 TLoZ-OoA-GoldenDarknut.png Golden Darknut (Arrows) Interestingly, golden arrow-shooting Darknuts are not seen in either of the two games.
0x25 0x01 TLoZ-OoA-GopongaFlowerUpgrade.gif Upgraded goponga flower An upgraded version of the goponga flower which is not used in either of the two games.
0x2A 0x00 TLoZ-OoA-GreenBladeTrap.png Green Giant Blade Trap The hazardous blade traps come in two additional colors...
0x2A 0x01 TLoZ-OoA-BlueBladeTrap.png Blue Giant Blade Trap ...which are not used in the Oracle series.
0x2A 0x02 TLoZ-OoA-RedBladeTrap.png Red Giant Blade Trap ...A giant red Blade Trap can be found in one of Seasons' dungeons, though.
0x31 0x01 TLoZ-OoA-RedStalfos.png Red Stalfos Although Stalfos appear in many different colors, red and...
0x31 0x03 TLoZ-OoA-GreenStalfos.png Green Stalfos ...green ones are exclusive to Seasons.
0x48 0x01 TLoZ-OoA-GoldenDarknut.png Golden Darknut (Sword) One of the four golden beasts from Seasons, located in Western Coast.

Empty IDs

Despite being empty placeholder IDs in this game, slots 0x2B, 0x46 and 0x50 correspond to objects found in Seasons. Respectively, these are Flame Trap, Gohma Larva and Fireball Spawner. Completely unused are 0x57 to 0x5C and 0x65 to 0x6F. However, 0x57 to 0x5B seem to have leftover data of some sorts.

Unused Maps

Black Tower

OOS PreUnd86.png OOS Restor PreUnd86.png

An older version of the Black Tower is present on screen 86 of the "Present Underwater" map. Most notably, a door is present on the right side. If this map had been used, going north would have led to the Black Tower entrance, while going west would have presumably lead back to Lynna City/Village. Where the doorway on the right would have gone to is anybody's guess.

(Source: Dark Linkaël)

Room

OOA PasUndBF.png

Almost empty except for a counter, as well as a strong contender for "Least Exciting Unused Room in the Game".

(Source: Dark Linkaël)

Duplicate Rooms

A few duplicates of various rooms found during normal gameplay are buried in the code. However, these rooms have different area IDs compared to their original counterparts found in normal gameplay, so they appear using incorrect tilesets.

Restore ID Area Maps

Filler Screens

Filler screens exist for most unreachable areas, for both the Past and Present overworld and Past and Present underwater. Not all of them use the same "base" tiles.

These rooms are used for unused screens outside of map boundaries.

On the other hand, these are used for screens that don't have an underwater equivalent defined. The "M" and "I" likely stand for "mukashi" and "ima" respectively, basically meaning "past" and "present".

Not all screens use these fillers, though; many of them instead use either glitched rooms or rooms with other purposes.

One of the Past "M" rooms has a row of pots at the top of the screen, for whatever reason.

Underwater

Unused Graphics

Hmmm...
To do:
Most (if not all) of the Seasons exclusive Link sprites are in Ages (and vice versa)! Get those up there!

Rod of Seasons

No seasons to change here...

Present in the game are some graphics of the Rod of Seasons from Oracle of Seasons, which are obviously unused here. The palette of these graphics in Ages is unknown, so the palette used here is the one from Seasons.

Goron Vase - Tileset

OoA-UnusedTilesGoronVase.png

A tile of the Goron Vase from Seasons.

Underwater Cave Door

OoA-UnusedTilesCaveDoor.png

A tile of a locked cave door. This is used in Seasons, but not here.

Farore

OoA-UnusedFaroreSprites.png

While Farore does appear in Ages inside the Maku Tree, she sits behind a counter and is programed to only face downward. As such, the sprites of her facing left, right, and upward are not used.

Characters

NNNNNNNNNNNOh, so your name's...uh...

In the US version only, when creating a new file using the secrets option, entering a password that contains all upper case Ns will cause Link's name to be replaced by placeholder characters which are otherwise unseen.

Unused Tilesets

Early Underwater Tileset

Present Past (Used) Past (Unused)
OoAUnderwaterPresentTile.png OoAUnderwaterPastTile.png OoAUnderwaterPastTileUnused.png

Debug Graphics

ZeldaOracle-debuggfx.png

At 0x104000 in the European ROM are some graphics that appear to be for a debug mode. Interestingly, there's a 1999 credit for Capcom indicating the graphics are quite an old leftover. Similar-looking graphics can also be found in the Game Boy Color version of Magical Tetris Challenge. These graphics are not in the US or Japanese ROMs.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Music

Hmmm...
To do:
Rip.

Two tracks in the game's .GBS file are used in Oracle of Seasons, but not here.

Track #39 is the background music for Link's "date" with Rosa in Oracle of Seasons. Rosa only appears in a linked game in Ages, and even then, the player can't date her.

Track #57 is the theme for the Witch's Hut in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. This song is used for Syrup's potion shop in Oracle of Seasons. Although Syrup also appears in this game, her shop uses the ordinary "inside a building" theme instead.

Regional Differences

There are some minor differences between the different versions of the game.

Presentation Screen

The Japanese version has a "presentation screen" displayed before the Nintendo and Capcom logos, which noticeably refers to the game as its English title. This screen was removed from other versions.

OoA JapanesePresentationScreen.png

Title Screen

Japan US/Europe
Zelda no Densetsu - Fushigi no Kinomi - Jikuu no Shou (Japan) title.png OoA-Title.png

Room in the Spirit's Grave

The bottom-left room of the Spirit's Grave is empty in the Japanese version, whereas there is a jar to push on a switch in the European and American ones. The main advantage of this change is that it teaches players early in the game that jars can be pushed, an element which may not seem obvious to them.

Japan International
That room is boring and empty. How the heck do I open that door?

Strange Shelves

Three shelves in the mailman's house have a different design between versions.

Japan/US Europe
Woah! Destructible shelves!...That's weird. Normal shelves.

This was done to fix a bug: In the Japanese and American versions, the three shelves on the top-right side of the room can be destroyed with the Power Bracelet or Level 2 sword, and react exactly like some pots. If you just destroy the bottom of a shelf, you will find a staircase that leads back to this same room; if you destroy the top and push the bottom, nothing will appear. After destroying the shelves, it is possible to go north; doing so will take you to Rafton's house, albeit in a wall, with the only way out being to reset the game.

Green Goron

The clairvoyant Goron of Rolling Ridge does not exist in the Japanese version. He was added in to the international releases to guide the player along in collecting the Mermaid Keys.

Ending Screen

Zelda Oracle of Ages to be continued.png

The message saying that the adventure continues in Seasons does not exist in the Japanese version.

Time Period Icons

The Japanese version uses the kanji 今 (ima) and 昔 (mukashi) for the present and past, respectively. These designs were changed in the English release.

Japan US/Europe
Oracle of Ages Time Period Icons Japan.png Oracle of Ages Time Period Icons US.png

Text Changes

Some changes were made to the English text in the European release. Most notably, the text from talking to Cukeman enemies was changed. Their dialogue is nonsense in the US version, while in the European version, they give interesting hints about obscure game mechanics. There are also numerous minor changes to text coloration and indentation which are not listed below.

Text Index US Europe Notes
000c

You got the
Brother Emblem!

You got the
Brotherhood
Emblem
!

In the US version, your proof of brotherhood among the Gorons is variously called the "Brother Emblem" and "Symbol of Brotherhood." Europe split the difference and consistently calls it the "Brotherhood Emblem."
0034

You got a bigger
Ring Box! It can
hold more rings!

You got a bigger
Ring Box! It can
hold <X> rings!

In the European version, the exact number of rings that the upgrade can hold (3 or 5) is specified.


0200

   Maku Road

 Maku Path

The name of the cave on the map screen and on the sign outside is "Maku Path", even in the American version. The European version fixed the inconsistency.
0505

Maybe you can
open time holes
with the Harp
of Ages
and go
back in time.

Maybe you can
open Time
Portals
with the
Harp of Ages and
go back in time.

0e12

Congratulations!
This is your
final chance!

Congratulations!
How about double
or nothing?

0e24

Magical Ring.
What kind of
ring it is
a secret.

Magical Ring.
What kind of
ring it is is
a secret.

The American version accidentally a word.
2400

If you dance
well, I'll give
you a Symbol of
Brotherhood
!

If you dance
well, I'll give
you a
Brotherhood
Emblem
!

2492

Huh?!?
That's a Brother
Emblem
!

Huh?!?
That's a
Brotherhood
Emblem
!

2827

The Flames of
Sorrow and
Destruction have
been lit by
Veran and Knox!

The Flames of
Sorrow and
Destruction have
been lit by
Veran and Onox!

"Onox" was misspelled as "Knox" in the US version.
2a20

Hey, Link!
Are you looking
for something,
or what? Huh?
Cheval Rope?

Hey, Link!
Are you looking
for something,
or what? Huh?
Cheval?

2f02

NO!
My mighty sword
is broken...

NO!
My mighty shield
is broken...

Technically they both are, but the broken shield is more obvious.
2f0a

But I shall not
fall like Knox
and Veran!

But I shall not
fall like Onox
and Veran!

"Onox" was misspelled as "Knox" in the US version.
2f1e

3 Large,
2 Regular.

Large Rupee,
underfoot...
sometimes...
Hmmm...

Cukeman text, hinting about 100 rupee drops with the shovel.
2f1f

I want a nice
tropical
vacation.

To rest in
Nayru's bed,
hmmm...

Cukeman text, hinting that you can sleep in the bed in Nayru's house.
2f20

Feel my cold,
steely gaze!!!

Barter and
barter,
various items,
at last
you can...
Hmmm...

Cukeman text, hinting about how the trade sequence works.
2f21

Huh? Did I say
that?

Cast
various things
into lavatory in
Lynna Village...
Hmmm...

Cukeman text, hinting about Easter eggs with the Toilet Hand.
2f22

Really? I mean,
I knew that!

With no shield,
with a shovel,
you can fight
against Spiked
Beetles...
Hmmm...

Cukeman text, hinting that... well you get the idea.
2f23

I wish I could
go to a tropical
southern island.

Sound beats
Pols Voices...
Hmmm...

Cukeman text, hinting that the flute kills Pols Voices.
2f24

I want to ride
a plane.
Anywhere's fine.

If you bully
Cucco too
much... Hmmm...

Cukeman text, warning you not to mess with chickens. (Especially don't use mystery seeds on them after angering them.)
2f25

I'm so sleepy.

The sealed shop
stocks a very
rare ring...
Hmmm...

Cukeman text, hinting about the Advance Shop (probably the GBA Time Ring in particular).
3018

I am Red Snake!
I am keeper of
ring secrets!
Make a choice!
>Say >Ask secret
       >Quit

I am Red Snake!
I am keeper of
ring secrets!
Say a secret,
or ask about a
secret. Make
your choice!
 >Say >Ask
 >Quit

The text was changed to match Oracle of Seasons.
301e

I don't know
that secret.
Come back after
listening again
to the secret
you heard in
Oracle of Ages.

I don't know
that secret.
Come back after
listening again
to the secret
you heard in
Oracle of
Seasons.

Uh-oh, somebody made a boo-boo. The Red Snake correctly identifies the companion game in the European version.
3024

I am Blue Snake.
I manage the
Game Link cable.
What shall I do?
  >Fortune
  >Link >Quit

I am Blue Snake.
I manage the
Game Link cable.
What shall I do?
 >Fortune >Link
 >Nothing

The text was changed to match Oracle of Seasons. The last option was tweaked to make a bit more sense grammatically, which necessitated rearranging the other options.
313b

I'll teach you
the secret to
using Biggoron's
Sword
in
Labrynna, too!

I'll teach you
the secret to
using Biggoron's
Sword
in
Holodrum, too!

Not again! In the US version, the Goron Elder mistakenly says that his secret can give you the Biggoron's Sword "in Labrynna, too", even though you're already in Labrynna.
3503

Inside was a <HP>
Piece of Heart!

Inside was a
Piece of
Heart
!<HP>

"<HP>" displays an animation inside the textbox showing your heart piece count. Interestingly, the European text in Ages and the American text in Seasons are identical, but the other versions of the text differ slightly.


4b02

How much can
you contribute?
 >100 >50
 >10 >0

How much can
you contribute?
 >100 >50
 >10 >1

This is asked by Bipin & Blossom's child. If you select "0" in the US version, he still takes 1 rupee.
4d23

♪Love, love
 the seed!♪

"♪Love, love
 the seed!♪"

Quotation marks were added.
(Source: Text dump diff)

Virtual Console Differences

Transitioning

A fade to white now occurs before entering an "interior" map (houses, caves, or dungeons), whereas previously the game would cut straight from the outside map to the wipe-in revealing the interior. The reason for this change is unknown.

Game Boy Advance Features

The Advance Shop in Lynna Village still exists, but since it only opens when the game is being played on the Game Boy Advance and the Virtual Console version is always in Game Boy Color mode, it is never open.
Thus, the GBA Nature and GBA Time rings cannot be obtained through normal means, except for with a modified Ring Secret.

Blue Snake's Deactivated Script

The Blue Snake's script was disabled because the 3DS doesn't feature the Game Link Cable.