The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
Also known as: Zelda no Densetsu: Fushigi no Kinomi: Daichi 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 This game has unused areas. This game has hidden developer credits. This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused items. This game has unused music. This game has regional differences. This game has a prerelease article This game has a notes page This game has a Data Crystal page

To do: More regional differences. Source.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons is the sister game to Oracle of Ages. Its unique gameplay involves having to change the seasons to solve puzzles.

Sub-Pages

Prerelease Info

Notes

Unused Text

Sound Test Text

Present at 0x103C21 in the European ROM. No such text is present anywhere in the US or Japanese ROMs.

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

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 (i.e. addresses 0x0012 and 0x1002 in SRAM for file 1 and its backup). It is validated for correctness whenever a file is loaded. Oracle of Ages has the same string except that it starts with "Z2".

Z11216-0

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

There are two items that cannot be obtained during normal gameplay. By changing RAM addresses $C681 (A button) or $C680 (B button) to the following values, these items can be obtained.

• 02: Pressing the assigned button punches. This has no icon in the HUD or inventory, and also lacks a name and description. There are points in normal gameplay where Link can punch, such as when you fight Blaino in his Gym, or if you acquire a Ring with that effect, but none of those situations seem to map this item to the A or B buttons.

• 0A: The Long Hook (or L-2 Switch Hook), which only appears in sister game Oracle of Ages. While this item can be mapped to either the A or B buttons, nothing will happen when the button is pressed. Only by changing RAM addresses $D202 and $D203 to 0A and 01 (respectively) can partial coding for the item be restored. Link goes through an animation similar to that used when launching the Switch Hook in Ages, but nothing else happens. This has no name or description in the inventory, either.

Of note is that some unused values in Seasons correspond to values used in Ages, specifically 04, 0F, and 11. Respectively in Ages, these items are the Cane of Somaria, the Seed Shooter, and the Harp of Ages. Likewise, Ages has item values that are only used in Seasons. These unused items appear to be glitched and do nothing when mapped to the A or B buttons; even when the game is forced to use these items through hacking, they behave nothing like they do in Ages.

Unseen Fool's Ore Effect

To do: Maybe get a video of this in action?

The Fool's Ore you temporarily get by trading Roc's Feather is actually a weapon! It deals a whopping 6 points of damage, which is stronger than even the Master Sword and more than enough to instantly defeat most standard enemies, but this goes unseen due to the fact that there are no enemies for the duration of you having the Fool's Ore in your inventory. Gameshark code 011E91C6 will set the bottom-right slot of your inventory to the Fool's Ore so you can see this in action. Keep in mind that obtaining Roc's Feather (if you don't have it already) or Roc's Cape will remove the Fool's Ore from your inventory, so you will have to use the Gameshark code again to re-obtain it.

Unused Rooms

By using a program called ZOLE, several unused rooms can be found, some of which seem to indicate that some tilesets were changed or shuffled around at some point in development.

Subrosia 81: Just an empty room. Exiting leads to a cave entrance in Holodrum Plain.

(Source: Dark Linkaël)

Subrosia 8C: A thin room with two staircases and a non-functional exit on the bottom. Taking either staircase leads to outside Impa's Refuge.

Subrosia 8D: This room has three staircases and another non-functional exit. As before, all staircases lead you to Impa's Refuge. The chest contains one rupee. Due to their similarities and placement within the game itself, it is likely that 8C and 8D were going to be connected by the staircases.

Subrosia 90: A simple house map with no exit.

(Source: Dark Linkaël)

Subrosia 9A: A room with an old man in it. The pot in the left corner is sitting on a switch. When the pot is lifted or broken, the "secret revealed" sound is played, but nothing actually appears to happen as the switch is already pressed. The old man in the room says "Shh! Don't tell!" and gives you some money when you talk to him, like several other old men in the game. The stairs lead to 02 on the overworld map, in Tarm Ruins. Since leaving the room and returning down the stairs leads to the standard old man room, it's possible that this is an earlier version of the "old man" rooms.

Subrosia A2: A room with a small lava pit and nothing else. The exit leads to a screen in Subrosia Village, although with a slightly corrupted tileset.

(Source: Dark Linkaël)

Subrosia AE: A strange room with another non-working exit. The chest in the middle contains the "default" treasure of one rupee. Changing the room's area ID to 49 fixes the broken tileset (see right).

Unmapped(1) EC: Just a lot of water. The stairs lead to outside Impa's Refuge.

Unmapped(2) CD: A room with a chest and green lava, which can be restored to its proper palette by switching the area ID to 80 (see right). The chest has one rupee (again), and the stairs lead to outside Impa's Refuge (again).

Unmapped(2) CE: Changing this room's area ID to 78 reveals it to be some kind of school or study with many tables and chairs. The stairs lead to, yep, Impa's Refuge again.

Maku Tree: Older versions of the Maku Tree's canopy.

Duplicate Rooms: There are several duplicates of used rooms, mainly from Horon Village, that are never used or called upon by the game.

Overworld Placeholder Screens

Accessing certain screens in a season where they cannot normally be reached (such as Goron Mountain in any season but Winter) leads to these filler screens, varying based on the appropriate season. The base ground differs depending on the screen; for example, Onox's Castle has rock instead of grass. Sprite sets are shared by all four variations in most cases.

• 

  Spring (Haru)

• 

  Summer (Natsu)

• 

  Autumn (Aki)

However, there are certain screens which do not use these placeholders and are instead fully mapped out. Most are exactly the same (such as Samasa Desert, or the screen where the Noble/Master Sword is obtained in the Lost Woods), but there are two specific screens right next to Onox's Castle that are mapped out for both Summer and Autumn, despite screens right next to them using the above fillers.

To do: Upload the other screen.

• 
• 

Unused Music

These two tracks are never heard in normal gameplay. Game Genie code ??1-56B-A2E will play the selected song at the file select menu.

ID 07

A rather dramatic tune, possibly an unused character or dungeon theme.

ID 25

A sneaky, jazzy-sounding song in a similar style to themes associated with Subrosia. Also sounds similar to the theme of the Mogmas from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

(Source: nensondubois for access method)

Unused Treasure Chest Default

Within the game's code, there is an unused "default" chest item consisting of 1 green rupee, which would be used in case a particular chest had an undefined item to prevent the game from crashing or glitching out. This is seen in many unused rooms. The loop of code responsible for this can be found starting at address 0x10B2:

000010B2	    	ldi a,[hl]    ;Load A with [HL], Increment HL
000010B3	    	ld e,a        ;Load E With A
000010B4	    	inc a        ;Increment A
000010B5	  	jr z,10C4    ;Jump Relative (If Zero) to 10C4 <<----------- This jump causes the default item(one rupee) to appear
000010B7	    	ldi a,[hl]    ;Load A with [HL], Increment HL
000010B8	    	cp b        ;Test A - B
000010B9	  	jr z,10BF    ;Jump Relative (If Zero) to 10BF <<----------- This jump causes a defined item to appear
000010BB	    	inc hl        ;Increment HL
000010BC	    	inc hl        ;Increment HL
000010BD	  	jr 10B2        ;Jump Relative To 10B2

000010BF	    	ld b,[hl]    ;Load B With [HL]
000010C0	    	inc hl        ;Increment HL
000010C1	    	ld c,[hl]    ;Load C With [HL]
000010C2	  	jr 10C7        ;Jump Relative To 10C7

000010C4		ld bc,$2800    ;Load BC with $2800 <---------- This is the default value for undefined chests
000010C7	    	pop af        ;Pop AF
000010C8	  	ld [$FF97],a    ;Load [$FF97] With A
000010CA		ld [$2222],a    ;Load [$2222] With A
000010CD	    	ret        ;Return

Chest data starts at 0x054F7C and ends at 0x055124, and is defined in the format of xxyy zzzz where xx is the position to place the "open chest" graphic once the chest is opened. If the game is searching for chest data and comes across the hex code FFyy zzzz, it uses the default item. There are a few different sections within the chest data corresponding to the overworld, Subrosia and Dungeons; the FFyy zzzz code appears several times to mark the end of these sections.

Unused Graphics

Sprites

Link

Poking around RAM address $D00B and typing in the following values, some unused Link sprites have been discovered.

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

28 through 2B, 54 through 57, F4 through FF: Sprites of Link swimming with the Mermaid Suit, which only appears in Ages.

E0 to E3: Link playing the Harp of Ages. You obviously can't get the Harp of Ages in this game, so these go unused as well.

Farore

While Farore does appear in the game inside the Maku Tree, she stands behind a counter and is programmed to only face forward. As such, the sprites of her facing left, right, and backwards are not used.

Evil Fairy

These sprites were found in the game's compressed graphics. They look somewhat like evil versions of a fairy (both the "small" and "great" versions).

Enemy ID 57 has some residual data which references these graphics. However, there is no longer any code associated with this enemy. It would have the following properties:

• Palette: Blue
• Damage to Link: 4 (1 heart)
• Health: 20 (10 slashes to kill with wooden sword)

(Source: Drenn)

Background Tiles

This tile is used in the game as part of the background while in Holodrum, and while a blue Subrosia portal is always on top obscuring it, can briefly (albeit in a distorted form) be seen during the wavy warping animation.

A statue of a Darknut loaded with cave tilesets, possibly a leftover from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Interestingly, in certain other tilesets (such as the ones used in dungeons) these tiles are replaced by inactive Armos tiles.

The eye statues found at dungeon entrances drawn in a side-view perspective. Obviously these would have been used in the sidescrolling areas of dungeons.

Characters

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

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 these 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)

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. It notably refers to the game by its English title. This screen does not appear in any other version of the game.

Title Screen

Japan	US/Europe

Ending Screen

The message saying that the adventure continues in Oracle of Ages does not exist in the Japanese version.

Season Icons

The Japanese version uses the kanji of the seasons 冬 (fuyu), 春 (haru), 夏 (natsu), and 秋 (aki) for Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn respectively. These designs were changed in the English release.

Japan	US/Europe

Facade Glitch

In the Japanese version, in Snake's Remains Facade can be damaged before he appears by just throwing bombs in the center of the room. This was fixed in the overseas releases.

Text Changes

Some changes were made to the English text in the European release. Typos were fixed, hints were added, and Santa was eliminated. There are also numerous minor changes to text coloration and indentation which are not listed below.

Text Index	US	Europe	Notes
0034	You got a bigger Ring Box! It can hold more rings!	You got a bigger Ring Box! It can hold <X> rings!	The European version specifies the exact number of rings the Ring Box upgrade can hold (3 for the first one, 5 for the second).
0208	Level 8  Sword & Shield  Maze	Level 8  Sword & Shield  Dungeon	The name of the dungeon on the map screen is "Sword & Shield Dungeon", even in the American version. The European version fixed the inconsistency.
0c12	Hya, ha, ha! I've found you, Din! You hid yourself well, but you cannot escape Onox, General of Darkness!	Hya, ha, ha! I've found you, Din! You hid yourself well, but you cannot escape Onox, General of Darkness! I know you to be Din, Oracle of Seasons! Now you belong to Onox, General of Darkness!	Onox properly expounds Din's title in the European version's Linked Game intro. And then his own a second time, in case you missed it.
2c00	AHH! ! ! You startled me! Winter sets in all of a sudden, then down my chimney comes... You're not Santa!	AHH! ! ! You startled me! Winter sets in all of a sudden, then down my chimney comes... You're no chimney sweep!	Somebody evidently realized this reference to Santa implies the existence of Christmas and therefore Christianity, which stopped being a thing in the Zelda series after A Link to the Past, and took it upon themselves to correct this grievous continuity error. Apparently chimney sweeps throw themselves down the flue unannounced where they live.
2e0d	Santa Welcome!!!	Hearth fires are best on chilly days! Chimney sweep wanted.	Santa is apparently not welcome in Europe.
2f1e	3 Large, 2 Regular.	Large Rupee, underfoot... sometimes... Hmmm...	All of the Cukeman text was altered from random small talk to gameplay hints. This one alludes to how you can sometimes dig up large rupees worth 100.
2f1f	I want a nice tropical vacation.	To rest in Impa's bed, hmmm...	This one hints that you can use the bed in Impa's Refuge.
2f20	Feel my cold, steely gaze!!!	Barter and barter, various items, at last you can... Hmmm...	Seems to vaguely reference the trading sequence.
2f21	Huh? Did I say that?	To the ghosts, the Rod of Seasons does something... Hmmm...	The Rod of Seasons can kill ghosts/Ghinis in one hit. You'd be forgiven if this is the first place you learned that.
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...	As Zelda veterans know, Pols Voices are typically weak to sound.
2f24	I want to ride a plane. Anywhere is fine.	If you bully Cucco too much... Hmmm...	Don't 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...	A hint referencing the Advance Shop and the GBA Nature Ring.
3003	Do come in! Welcome to Vasu Jewelers. What can I do?  >Appraise >List  >Quit	Do come in! Welcome to Vasu Jewelers. What can I do?  >Appraise >List  >Nothing	This change was not applied to Ages, despite the same text existing in that game.
30ae	Become something	Become something?	Description for the 1st Gen Ring, for consistency with Oracle of Ages.
3210	Open the Sub- screen and press SELECT twice to see the Essence Screen. Next, choose Save and press \abtn to see the Save Screen.	Open the Sub- screen and press SELECT twice to see the Essence Screen. Next, choose Save and press \abtn to see the Save Screen. You can also just press START and SELECT at the same time.	The added text brings this message more in line with both the US and EU versions of Ages, although it's still slightly different.
3503	Inside was a Piece of Heart!<HP>	Inside was a Piece of Heart <HP>!	"<HP>" displays an animation inside the text box showing your current Piece of Heart count. Interestingly, the European text in Ages and the American text in Seasons are identical, but the other versions of the text differ slightly.
3a38	But a a child like you wouldn't understand my feelings.	But a child like you wouldn't understand my feelings.	The American version accidentally inserted a a word.
4101	This is the most chamber in the Temple of Seasons.	This is the most sacred chamber in the Temple of Seasons.	And then it accidentally a word.
450b	Greetings! Since you came, Buy something!	Greetings! Since you came.. Buy something!	All that really needed to change was the capital B, but the European version took a different approach.
5313	Mayor Plenin Labrynna's Lynna City has done so much for me!	Mayor Plen in Labrynna's Lynna City has done so much for me!	The American version forgot aspace.

(Source: Text dump diff)

Virtual Console / NSO 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.

Unobtainable Rings

• (Unknown) Ring (GBA Nature Ring)
• (Unknown) Ring (GBA Time Ring)
• GBA Nature Ring
• GBA Time Ring

Because the code to denote the player as using the Game Boy Advance is never activated, these rings cannot be obtained through normal means. However, the last two rings are obtainable with a modified ring secret.

Advance Shop

The Advance Shop in Horon Village still exists, but since the code to denote the player as using a Game Boy Advance is never activated (for obvious reasons), it is rendered inaccessible.

Blue Snake's Removed Script

The Blue Snake's script was removed due to the 3DS' lack of a Game Link Cable.