In a surprise announcement, Nintendo revealed that two new additions will be coming to Nintendo Switch Online. These titles are the classic Game Boy games The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracles of Seasons, which hit the classic handheld on the same day way back in 2001. With Tears of the Kingdom already two months old, this addition to the service has pleased fans looking to dive into more The Legend of Zelda goodness on Nintendo Switch.

While older players will be revisiting memory lane with these two games, for an entirely different generation of players, these are brand-new experiences. From a distance, these two entries in The Legend of Zelda franchise may look visually and thematically similar, possibly causing confusion what the difference is. To avoid this, a breakdown of the key differences between these two games is important.

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Oracle of Ages and Seasons: Different Narrative and Theme

As the name of each game would suggest, both Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons tackle different subject matter and events. In Seasons, Link is called to by the Triforce and gets trapped in a dark forest where he meets a dancing group led by Din. The villain Onox then kidnaps Din and imprisons her, sending the seasons of the world into chaos, with them rapidly changing. Link then springs into action to defeat Onox and return order to the world.

In Ages, Link is similarly brought to a forest where he meets Nayru. Shortly after this, the evil sorceress Veran and possesses Nayru, disrupting the flow of time. In order to fix this, Link must travel through the ages (both past and present) to gather light essences and stop Veran. Furthermore, there is actually a chronology to these two Zelda titles, with Seasons often being recognized as coming before Ages. Upon beating either one, a code is given to the player to punch into the other game to unlock extra content and a new ending, so experiencing both is certainly worthwhile for new players.

Oracle of Ages and Seasons: Different Villains and Gameplay

A hero is only as good as their villain, and as mentioned both Oracle of Ages and Seasons have two completely unique antagonists. Onox serves as an imposing, physical threat to Link, towering above him in a giant armored body. However, in a twist, Onox's armor is simply a magic vessel containing his true form, that being a giant dragon.

Veran on the other hand, is more mystical in nature with magic based attacks akin to Scarlet Witch from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She is a more omnipresent threat throughout the quest, always looming in the background, similar to Skull Kid in Majora's Mask. Her final form is nothing like her normal appearance, transforming into a giant demonic fairy. One commonality between both villains however, is that they both secretly serve Twinrova, something which is revealed upon using the aforementioned code to connect both experiences.

Lastly, the gameplay loop and structure of both games is different as well. As a whole, Oracle of Seasons is more action based, with far more combat scenarios and sword swinging throughout the course of the adventure. In that way, it's reminiscent of the early NES entries, with a more straightforward approach, even borrowing some of the same boss battles and level designs. Oracle of Ages opts for a more puzzle-centric gameplay approach. The game is filled with several brain benders, and some really clever dungeons that stand toe to toe with the best the series has to offer.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages are available on Game Boy and Nintendo Switch Online.

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