Well seasoned and well aged

[Vipershark]

It'd probably just be a Light World/Dark World scenario with the "World of Secrets" or something and a new "secret" (no pun intended) race like the Subrosians were in seasons.

[Gwen]

Gotta go with Ages. One of the games I've logged the most time into

[NICKtendo DS]

Downloaded both. Currently going through Ages.
Game's nice and all, but there are some moments that gets me tearing my hair out. I'm not proud to admit I had to resort to using Restore Points (3DS savestates) at one point.

Spoiler

Jabu Jabu is a nightmare. So much backtracking! Not knowing the dungeon is even worse. I must have visited every room at least 10 times.
I'm currently at the boss of the Ancient Ruins. I had to grab a guide just to know how to beat him. First 3 forms I've beaten through T&E, but the last form is just impossible to know how to tackle it. There is not a single clue. It had me seething with rage, because the first 3 forms aren't particularly nice. (Note: I vowed to myself never to use savestates in the middle of a boss fight)

I played a little through Seasons aswell. They're both well worth their price, but at points it becomes apparent that they wanted you to buy strategyguides. What's also lame is the fact that they left out the GBA-exclusive features. It's on a 3DS for crying out loud!

[Koh]

Huh? I managed to finish these games as a kid without a strategy guide at all o.o. You just try things until it works. I've never gotten a game over on them either; they give you Magic Potions like they're candy XD. But you don't take that much damage to use them, even when you're just tanking your way through sometimes. The only game I can think of that made me use Potions/Fairies in Bottles was a Link to the Past. The damage increase in the Dark World was so severe, with the green tunic, that you could lose 3-5 hearts from one single hit easily. So when you're tanking it becomes a nightmare without fairies.

[E-Man]

To be honest I'm not sure what could be done in an Oracle of Secrets game. Ages, you travel through time. Seasons, you change seasons. Secrets, you... tell people secrets? I mean, sure it would have been awesome, but I don't know what you'd do.

I also read somewhere that they decided to scrap Oracle of Secrets because a three-way linked game system would have been too complex.

If I'm not mistaken, a former friend of mine on DeviantART is attempting to create that third squeal. They got most of the sprite work down, but I'm not sure if they got any further than that.

Downloaded both. Currently going through Ages.
Game's nice and all, but there are some moments that gets me tearing my hair out. I'm not proud to admit I had to resort to using Restore Points (3DS savestates) at one point.

Spoiler

Jabu Jabu is a nightmare. So much backtracking! Not knowing the dungeon is even worse. I must have visited every room at least 10 times.
I'm currently at the boss of the Ancient Ruins. I had to grab a guide just to know how to beat him. First 3 forms I've beaten through T&E, but the last form is just impossible to know how to tackle it. There is not a single clue. It had me seething with rage, because the first 3 forms aren't particularly nice. (Note: I vowed to myself never to use savestates in the middle of a boss fight)

I played a little through Seasons aswell. They're both well worth their price, but at points it becomes apparent that they wanted you to buy strategyguides. What's also lame is the fact that they left out the GBA-exclusive features. It's on a 3DS for crying out loud!

Save states, huh? Back when these games came out, you had to actually save the games instead of using any save states to help you out. While they are nice to have, most gamers long ago had to rely less on those.

Oh, so the GBA-exclusive features are no more? That's a crying shame... Still, the only thing that would be left out was the GBA Shop, so it's no great loss.

[NICKtendo DS]

Back when I was a kid, I probably would've beaten them without savestates. However, if I can play through the games without the constant pain and suffering of t&e and backtracking and getting lost, why not benefit from what I can use. It's not as if I used a code to unlock everything. I rarely used Potions, by the way. Too lazy to buy 'em.

Spoiler

While I hate most boss battles, the Ganon battle was pretty cool. It was fairly easy with the Red Ring and Noble Sword, but a bit of figuring out could've had me beat him without that kind of aid. Twinrova (seperate) sucks. Parrying those bolts is a pain. Also, for Ganon, as well as Onox, I would've appreciated the slightest hint that I had to use spin-attacks. Some of the required methods, even with the vague owl hints, are far from intuitive compared to others.

[E-Man]

Back when I was a kid, I probably would've beaten them without savestates. However, if I can play through the games without the constant pain and suffering of t&e and backtracking and getting lost, why not benefit from what I can use. It's not as if I used a code to unlock everything. I rarely used Potions, by the way. Too lazy to buy 'em.

Spoiler

While I hate most boss battles, the Ganon battle was pretty cool. It was fairly easy with the Red Ring and Noble Sword, but a bit of figuring out could've had me beat him without that kind of aid. Twinrova (seperate) sucks. Parrying those bolts is a pain. Also, for Ganon, as well as Onox, I would've appreciated the slightest hint that I had to use spin-attacks. Some of the required methods, even with the vague owl hints, are far from intuitive compared to others.

I sometimes use the help when I need it. Of course, it works very well when I want to do a no damage run.

By the way, you said you had spin attack trouble, right?

Spoiler

If you get the Master Sword, you can just slash at ol' Ganon without any trouble. To get the sword in Seasons, you need to go into the Hero's Cave and look for a Zora. He'll give you a secret you need to tell to King Zora in Ages. Also, don't forget to obtain the Noble Sword in Seasons first. Otherwise, you'll just end up with the Noble Sword once you enter the secret back in Seasons.

[Vipershark]

By the way, I don't know if you guys know, but Seasons chronologically comes BEFORE Ages.
I know you can play them in either order, but if you guys are anal about that kind of sequel/prequel stuff, then, well,

[E-Man]

By the way, I don't know if you guys know, but Seasons chronologically comes BEFORE Ages.
I know you can play them in either order, but if you guys are anal about that kind of sequel/prequel stuff, then, well,

You know, that actually makes sense. For example, the Great Moblin mentioned something about rebuilding his empire after Link did him in, so then we see him with a smaller keep in Ages. On top of that, the battle in that game was harder in Seasons, which leads me to think that the Great Moblin prepared for Link this time around.

[Koh]

Also, the manga....Seasons comes before Ages. Ages is a direct sequel to Seasons.

[BullockDS]

I loved both Oracles titles, but for me, Seasons beats Ages, though I feel that both are very superior to Link's Awakening. With Ages, I felt there were instances between some dungeons that felt more arbitrarily padded, giving me a few moments of OoA burnout:

ranty tl;dr-ness

e.g. Wanna get to the third dungeon, Moonlit Grotto? Fantastic! Admirable! That's the adventuring spirit!... but first you need to talk to Cheval, go to Yoll Graveyard in the present to get the Zora Flippers and the Cheval Rope from under his grave, go to the past, then give Rafton the Cheval Rope to make you a seaworthy raft, finally allowing you passage across the vast sea. OK, fair enough, now you're ready for the trials of Moonlit Grotto... But oops! You need an Island Chart* first to use your raft. So get your ass to the present, get help from Ricky to climb Tingle's cliff... AFTER finding his gloves for him. Where? Buried under a nondescript space on the shore, obviously! Anyways, when you get Ricky his gloves back, go talk to Tingle, and get a Island Chart. Next, go back to the past, get your raft and go to Crescent Island. Whew, what a hefty quest, but now you can tackle the dangers of the third dungeoh yeah btw you get caught in a storm instead. Link passes out ashore Crescent Island, and the thieving Tokays steal absolutely ALL your equipment, hindering you. So now you've gotta get your equipment back one item at a time, with the need to trade your Power Bracelet, Roc's Feather, and Shovel a few times in a shop. Then you need to win a Scent Seedling in a minigame, plant it, go to the present, harvest Scent Seeds, go to the past, buy back your Bracelet and Feather for good with Ember and Scent Seeds, go to the present, and you may, at last, enter Moonlit Grotto... which, considering the massive fuck-off miniquest put into your lap leading up to it, isn't that terrible of a dungeon. No, this doesn't count as one of OoA's "more puzzle-intensive" assets. It counts as a "dance, you fucking monkey" moment. Now, to be fair, some of the Subrosia segments in Seasons kinda blew as well, but IMO, not on this level.

*Holy crap, the Island Chart is the biggest issue I have with this whole miniquest. First off, why would you use a chart from four hundred goddamned years in the future after you need it? It is established and verifiable fact that the land (and sea, for that matter) of Labrynna changes over time, so even within the logic of this game's world, this makes no sense! Second, as far as I know, it doesn't even mark your destination on your map, making the Chart completely, wholly, entirely, absolutely unnecessary. I feel this objective was particularly pulled out of the devs' asses at the last minute for this quest.

Also, aside from Queen Ambi's Palace, the world of the past in Ages looks far too dull and monochromatic; Seasons looked excellent because the changing of seasons gave its locales variation. Most of Labrynna's present also consisted of a singular color scheme, but at least it's spring-ish and not terrible to look at. Finally, the concept of changing seasons felt more original to me than going back in time (which, despite it being time travel, is actually pretty much a rehash of the Light/Dark World concept from LttP).

That aside, storytime: when I had these games when they first came out, the concept of the exchangeable content between the two games was awesome, and whenever I'd visit my cousins once a week or so that summer, I would particularly look forward to those visits. I only had Seasons (at first) and my cousins only had Ages, and we'd sit there for hours finding and exchanging secrets. I really wish they made that third Oracle title. But alas, now my favorite original portable Zelda title is Phantom Hourglass (yes, that Phantom Hourglass).

EDIT: I'm almost done with Mermaid's Cave in my 3DS OoA playthrough, and I forgot how horribly Capcom cocked up the new swimming controls for the Mermaid Suit. A simple fix would be to allow Link to automatically swim about as fast as his walk. Just... rggh, constantly tapping a direction to swim is fucking terrible.

[E-Man]

I loved both Oracles titles, but for me, Seasons beats Ages, though I feel that both are very superior to Link's Awakening. With Ages, I felt there were instances between some dungeons that felt more arbitrarily padded, giving me a few moments of OoA burnout:

ranty tl;dr-ness

e.g. Wanna get to the third dungeon, Moonlit Grotto? Fantastic! Admirable! That's the adventuring spirit!... but first you need to talk to Cheval, go to Yoll Graveyard in the present to get the Zora Flippers and the Cheval Rope from under his grave, go to the past, then give Rafton the Cheval Rope to make you a seaworthy raft, finally allowing you passage across the vast sea. OK, fair enough, now you're ready for the trials of Moonlit Grotto... But oops! You need an Island Chart* first to use your raft. So get your ass to the present, get help from Ricky to climb Tingle's cliff... AFTER finding his gloves for him. Where? Buried under a nondescript space on the shore, obviously! Anyways, when you get Ricky his gloves back, go talk to Tingle, and get a Island Chart. Next, go back to the past, get your raft and go to Crescent Island. Whew, what a hefty quest, but now you can tackle the dangers of the third dungeoh yeah btw you get caught in a storm instead. Link passes out ashore Crescent Island, and the thieving Tokays steal absolutely ALL your equipment, hindering you. So now you've gotta get your equipment back one item at a time, with the need to trade your Power Bracelet, Roc's Feather, and Shovel a few times in a shop. Then you need to win a Scent Seedling in a minigame, plant it, go to the present, harvest Scent Seeds, go to the past, buy back your Bracelet and Feather for good with Ember and Scent Seeds, go to the present, and you may, at last, enter Moonlit Grotto... which, considering the massive fuck-off miniquest put into your lap leading up to it, isn't that terrible of a dungeon. No, this doesn't count as one of OoA's "more puzzle-intensive" assets. It counts as a "dance, you fucking monkey" moment. Now, to be fair, some of the Subrosia segments in Seasons kinda blew as well, but IMO, not on this level.

*Holy crap, the Island Chart is the biggest issue I have with this whole miniquest. First off, why would you use a chart from four hundred goddamned years in the future after you need it? It is established and verifiable fact that the land (and sea, for that matter) of Labrynna changes over time, so even within the logic of this game's world, this makes no sense! Second, as far as I know, it doesn't even mark your destination on your map, making the Chart completely, wholly, entirely, absolutely unnecessary. I feel this objective was particularly pulled out of the devs' asses at the last minute for this quest.

Also, aside from Queen Ambi's Palace, the world of the past in Ages looks far too dull and monochromatic; Seasons looked excellent because the changing of seasons gave its locales variation. Most of Labrynna's present also consisted of a singular color scheme, but at least it's spring-ish and not terrible to look at. Finally, the concept of changing seasons felt more original to me than going back in time (which, despite it being time travel, is actually pretty much a rehash of the Light/Dark World concept from LttP).

That aside, storytime: when I had these games when they first came out, the concept of the exchangeable content between the two games was awesome, and whenever I'd visit my cousins once a week or so that summer, I would particularly look forward to those visits. I only had Seasons (at first) and my cousins only had Ages, and we'd sit there for hours finding and exchanging secrets. I really wish they made that third Oracle title. But alas, now my favorite original portable Zelda title is Phantom Hourglass (yes, that Phantom Hourglass).

EDIT: I'm almost done with Mermaid's Cave in my 3DS OoA playthrough, and I forgot how horribly Capcom cocked up the new swimming controls for the Mermaid Suit. A simple fix would be to allow Link to automatically swim about as fast as his walk. Just... rggh, constantly tapping a direction to swim is fucking terrible.

Yeah, those are good reasons as to why Seasons is better than Ages. Even though Seasons reused more sprites from Link's Awakening, it was still far more appealing then Ages for the reasons you stated. My reason would be that the Subrosians are far more appealing than a bunch of ignorant lizards.

Also, what's the deal with that mermaid suit? Why can't they work like the flippers?

[NICKtendo DS]

Back when I was a kid, I probably would've beaten them without savestates. However, if I can play through the games without the constant pain and suffering of t&e and backtracking and getting lost, why not benefit from what I can use. It's not as if I used a code to unlock everything. I rarely used Potions, by the way. Too lazy to buy 'em.

Spoiler

While I hate most boss battles, the Ganon battle was pretty cool. It was fairly easy with the Red Ring and Noble Sword, but a bit of figuring out could've had me beat him without that kind of aid. Twinrova (seperate) sucks. Parrying those bolts is a pain. Also, for Ganon, as well as Onox, I would've appreciated the slightest hint that I had to use spin-attacks. Some of the required methods, even with the vague owl hints, are far from intuitive compared to others.

I sometimes use the help when I need it. Of course, it works very well when I want to do a no damage run.

By the way, you said you had spin attack trouble, right?

Spoiler

If you get the Master Sword, you can just slash at ol' Ganon without any trouble. To get the sword in Seasons, you need to go into the Hero's Cave and look for a Zora. He'll give you a secret you need to tell to King Zora in Ages. Also, don't forget to obtain the Noble Sword in Seasons first. Otherwise, you'll just end up with the Noble Sword once you enter the secret back in Seasons.

Spoiler

The problem is not the spin attack itself, but the fact I have to figure out I have to use it. I have all secrets, but I beat Ganon before I got the Master Sword.

[E-Man]

Spoiler

The problem is not the spin attack itself, but the fact I have to figure out I have to use it. I have all secrets, but I beat Ganon before I got the Master Sword.

Is that so? Well, Zelda games used to have a habit if not telling you all the information you need to know when it comes to solving puzzles and the like.In fact, you'll be lucky if you got a vague hint or two.

These days, Zelda games almost seem to spill all the beans and point out all the secrets. Skyward Sword is a good example of this. I know you want to help the younger players, but come on...

[Kriven]

Is that so? Well, Zelda games used to have a habit if not telling you all the information you need to know when it comes to solving puzzles and the like.In fact, you'll be lucky if you got a vague hint or two.

These days, Zelda games almost seem to spill all the beans and point out all the secrets. Skyward Sword is a good example of this. I know you want to help the younger players, but come on...

Sending people aimlessly into battle is not good war strategy and it's not good game design.