The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages |
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Also known as: Zelda no Densetsu: Fushigi no Kinomi: Jikuu no Shou (JP)
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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.
Contents
Sub-Page
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.
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
Unused Sub-IDs
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
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.
Room
Almost empty except for a counter, as well as a strong contender for "Least Exciting Unused Room in the Game".
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
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
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
A tile of the Goron Vase from Seasons.
Underwater Cave Door
A tile of a locked cave door. This is used in Seasons, but not here.
Farore
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
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) |
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Debug Graphics
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.
Unused Music
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.
Title Screen
Japan | US/Europe |
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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 |
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Strange Shelves
Three shelves in the mailman's house have a different design between versions.
Japan/US | Europe |
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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
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 |
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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 |
You got the |
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 |
You got a bigger |
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 |
Maybe you can |
|
0e12 |
Congratulations! |
Congratulations! |
|
0e24 |
Magical Ring. |
Magical Ring. |
The American version accidentally a word. |
2400 |
If you dance |
If you dance |
|
2492 |
Huh?!? |
Huh?!? |
|
2827 |
The Flames of |
The Flames of |
"Onox" was misspelled as "Knox" in the US version. |
2a20 |
Hey, Link! |
Hey, Link! |
|
2f02 |
NO! |
NO! |
Technically they both are, but the broken shield is more obvious. |
2f0a |
But I shall not |
But I shall not |
"Onox" was misspelled as "Knox" in the US version. |
2f1e |
3 Large, |
Large Rupee, |
Cukeman text, hinting about 100 rupee drops with the shovel. |
2f1f |
I want a nice |
To rest in |
Cukeman text, hinting that you can sleep in the bed in Nayru's house. |
2f20 |
Feel my cold, |
Barter and |
Cukeman text, hinting about how the trade sequence works. |
2f21 |
Huh? Did I say |
Cast |
Cukeman text, hinting about Easter eggs with the Toilet Hand. |
2f22 |
Really? I mean, |
With no shield, |
Cukeman text, hinting that... well you get the idea. |
2f23 |
I wish I could |
Sound beats |
Cukeman text, hinting that the flute kills Pols Voices. |
2f24 |
I want to ride |
If you bully |
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 |
Cukeman text, hinting about the Advance Shop (probably the GBA Time Ring in particular). |
3018 |
I am Red Snake! |
I am Red Snake! |
The text was changed to match Oracle of Seasons. |
301e |
I don't know |
I don't know |
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 am Blue Snake. |
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 |
I'll teach you |
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> |
Inside was a |
"<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 |
How much can |
This is asked by Bipin & Blossom's child. If you select "0" in the US version, he still takes 1 rupee. |
4d23 |
♪Love, love |
"♪Love, love |
Quotation marks were added. |
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.
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