The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

The Legend of Zelda #5

by Akira Himekawa

After defeating the evil General Onox in Holodrum, Link returns to Hyrule. One day, Impa, Princess Zelda's attendant, asks Link to accompany her into the forest to find Nayru, the Oracle of Ages. But Veran, the evil Sorceress of Shadows, has possessed Impa in order to deceive Link. Veran then possesses Nayru and travels back to the past to kill one of Link's ancestors so that Link will never be born! Link once again battles across time to save Hyrule - and himself!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Adventure, Video Games, Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Akira Himekawa is the collaboration of two women, A. Honda and S. Nagano. Together they have created nine manga adventures featuring Link and the popular video game world of The Legend of Zelda, including Ocarina of Time, Oracle of Seasons and Four Swords. Their most recent work, Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, was serialized in Shogaku Rokunensei.

Reviews

[دانیال بهزادی · Rating 3 out of 5]

‫اولین مانگایی بود که روی کاغذ می‌خوندم. اگه بخوام صادق باشم، باید بگم که انتظارم ازش خیلی بیش‌تر بود. شاید آدم مانگا خوندن نیستم یا هنوز بهش خو نگرفتم؛ با این حال جالب بود و لذّت بردم.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure if this was bad or if I'm just burnt out from them? Like objectively there was nothing wrong with this. It's Link's adventures from past/present as he faces a demon who possesses those around her to obtain her goal of absolute darkness. There was the goofy sidekick character I could do without and it did seem to drag near the end. So taking a short break before I wrap up the rest of the Zelda manga titles.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

This tale takes perhaps the largest departure from the story of the games they are inspired by that has existed in any of these books. There are no temples. Very few of the areas and locales of Labrynna that exist within the game exist here. Many of the fun characters and potential story telling embellishment that could have been done on them is left out of sight and forgotten.

Instead this story focuses a lot on Raven. An ancestor of Link who happens to be secretly leading a rebellion in the past where Link ends up. Even here there are places where the story feels like it could have gone to wonderful places that it chooses not to. Raven is powerful and confident. He is well traveled and one immediately thinks Link will receive training or some grand lessons from his time with the man. This isn't the case and the conclusion of the tale actually suggests the opposite. That Raven benefits heavily from his time with Link.

There are many questions floated and you really spend most of the time reading it wishing you could find out more about Raven. Ralph takes a large role in the story. He is much like his character in the game. Always just outside the range of really being that useful and showing up just in time to do very little.
He does get a few moments to shine and comes off as not such a smitten doofus by the end.

All in all the story is a wide step away from its source material, though what is presented is good and Raven is very compelling.

[Mega · Rating 4 out of 5]

After having three previous adaptations that were pretty straight forward, retelling the events of each game that they were meant to be adapting while throwing their own little spin on it, the manga adaptation for The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons took things in a bit of a different direction. Instead of being a direct retelling of the original game, it had more of an original take on the story that still followed the events of the game well enough to where fans would still be satisfied with it, making it quite possibly my favorite entry in the entire series so far, not just because of all of the same good stuff that the series has done already, but also with the way that book handled characters, character development, personalities and all of that jazz, making it the most enjoyable book of the bunch so far. But of course, that was only just one part of the Oracle duology that had already been adapted so far, so naturally, the second part of said duology was going to be coming right around the corner to fit in with the rest of them, and this second part did arrive to us in the form of the manga adaptation of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages.

Much like with the Oracle of Seasons manga, I didn't really have too much of an idea on what to expect with this going into it, because just like with the Oracle of Seasons game, I too haven't played that much of Oracle of Ages, having played it once a couple of years ago, but nothing more after that, which is a stark contrast to Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, two games that I have played countless times over and over again to where I know them more then probably any other entry in the series. That in itself didn't matter too much to me though, considering that this was a follow-up to the Oracle of Seasons manga, which I had a blast with back when I read it, so I figured that this manga was going to be just as good as that, if not better, although I didn't want to go in with too high of expectations. After all, it has been a little bit now since I did read and cover that previous manga (primarily due to real life events), so who knows, maybe I overhyped that previous entry whenever I did review it all those couple weeks ago. Regardless of that though, I went ahead and went into this manga with high enough hopes, and thankfully, it did manage to deliver, as we have ourselves yet another great manga on our hands here! I wouldn't say I liked it as much as the previous entry, primarily due to it just not being quite as entertaining or lovable as that one was for me personally, but it definitely has plenty of strengths that help make this one stand on its own compared to its predecessor, sometimes even standing over it in some cases, which ended up making it so that I had a great time reading it either way.

The story is great, being yet another original take with elements from the original game sprinkled in, while also taking things in a bit of a different direction, both in terms of tone and story, when compared to the previous entry, which was a welcome change to see and one that I had a really good time reading, even if I didn't like it quite as much as the previous story, the characters are really good, featuring plenty of different new faces, along with some old ones, most of which ended up being incredibly likable and fun to follow throughout this adventure, including Link, who is still just as great as he was in the last entry, even if I would say the characters this time around aren't nearly as strong as the last ones, the writing is very solid all around, doing a good job at getting across what is happening, characters' emotions and what the reader is meant to be feeling in each part, despite how it is all typical of what you would expect from this kind of book, along with the fact some of these lines can be cringe, the art is still great, not really changing much from that of the last manga but still looking just as good as ever, so no need to go on about that, and the action scenes are also great too, being some of the best parts of the manga while also looking pretty good as well, despite how some of these scenes can be admittedly brief, which is kind of a letdown in some cases.

But of course, since this is a Legend of Zelda manga, that means that it can't be devoid of any problems since we aren't living in the best timeline, which means that there are some problems that do hold it back from being my absolute favorite of the series so far. For one thing, as per usual, the story here that we get isn't anything too original or special, at least when compared to other media out there, so for those that aren't into these kinds of stories, or for those that were wanting a more direct adaptation of the original game rather then what we got here....... then you're weird, but you will also probably have a better time reading something else instead. Not to mention, as is tradition with this manga series, there are quite a good amount of grammar issues to, not to the point of it being absolutely atrocious, but there were definitely a few more of these that popped up then I expected, so that is kind of a bummer. And finally, the one big thing that did make me like this less then the previous entry, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but more so just a personal preference....... I just didn't really enjoy the story and characters as much as Oracle of Seasons. To fill you all in on what's going on here (spoilers for an almost 25 year old book), it follows Link trying to save Nayru as she is kidnapped and possessed by the evil Veran, which ends up getting him sent back in time to where Veran has taken over the land and forced all of the people in it to build this gigantic tower for her. Here, he ends up meeting his ancestor known as Raven who, alongside with this secret village of civilians and a fellow teammate known as Ralph, he teams up with in order to take down Veran once and for all and free all of their people from her evil reign of terror. It is a story that is simple enough when described like that, but the book does a really good job at fleshing the story out, letting it properly develop and leave an impact over the course of the thing to where it reaches a satisfying conclusion by the end of it, even though, again, the events that happen in said story aren't necessarily all that original. Honestly though, I think I much more prefer what happened in the previous book, where Link joined up with this wandering group of performers and had to save Din from General Onox, while also meeting up with plenty of other fun and really enjoyable characters along the way, but then again though, that is just me. Both of these stories are great either way, and I'm sure they would be able to entertain and satisfy both Zelda fans and average readers alike.

Overall, despite not having much of an original story, some grammar errors and a slightly less effective tale overall, the Oracle of Ages manga is still yet another great entry to this incredibly solid series so far, giving us more of what we loved from the previous adaptations while also taking the same route as the previous manga to make for yet another incredibly solid read from start to finish, and I had a great time with it overall, what with its slightly original and very fun story, a really good set of characters that are paired with some solid writing, the same great art as usual and plenty of great action scenes to be had, all coming together to make for a great follow-up to that of the Oracle of Seasons adaptation. I would definitely recommend it for those who loved the previous adaptations in this series so far, along with fans of the original game or the Zelda series in general, as while you may not end up enjoying this quite as much as I did, there is still definitely a lot to like and appreciate in here, especially when compared to the source material, that helps expand the stories, characters and personality of the original game further then it had ever gone before, which is more then I could ask for at the end of the day. It's too bad though that this is the last Oracle story that we are gonna have adapted, because I totally would've read a lot more of these that star this version of Link. But no, unfortunetly, we have to move on, so I hope you all look forward to me bitching about how the next entry in this series, or even the ones beyond that, aren't as great as these ones............. I'm serious, I may actually do that.

Book #16

[Andre · Rating 2 out of 5]

1) Deutsche Rezension
2) English Review

1) Deutsche Rezension
Dieser Manga war in Ordnung. Es ist nichts Besonderes in Bezug auf die Geschichte und Charaktere, weder im Positiven noch Negativen; allerdings war der Humor nicht gut platziert aus meiner Sicht, vor allem nicht das Bild welches am Ende auftaucht und das durch Links Zeitreise entstand. Ich meine der Großvater benennt seinen Enkel nach einem legendären Helden und merkt nicht, dass sein Enkel genauso aussieht? Schon etwas weit her geholt.
So einige Elemente machen nicht so richtig Sinn, wie das Versteck des Dorfes in einem Friedhof, und da sind ein paar stereotype Charaktere, wie der liebes-besessene Ralph der gar nicht merkt das er alles nur noch schlimmer macht, aber es ist nichts allzu schlimmes. Nur leicht uninspiriert das Ganze.


2) English Review
This manga was ok. It was nothing special in regards to the story and characters, neither positive nor negative; however the humor was not well placed in my mind, especially not the picture that appeared towards the end and that came to be due to Link's time travel. I mean the grandfather names his grandson after the legendary hero and doesn't realize that his grandson looks exactly like that hero. It is a bit farfetched.
Some elements did not really make sense, like the hiding place of the village in a graveyard, and the stereotypical characters, like the love-obsessed Ralph who doesn't realize that he makes everything even worse, but its nothing too bad. The whole thing is just slightly uninspired.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 5 and the sequel to 'Oracle of Seasons'.
The adaptation of a Game Boy Colour computer game, this story sees Link sent to protect Nayru, the Oracle of Ages. However, when Nayru is possessed by the evil sorceress Veran, Link must follow them into the past and stop Veran from irrevocably changing the future.

This book isn't quite as enjoyable as 'Oracle of Seasons' for two main reasons, the first of which is simply that due to the nature of the two games (whose stories could be played in either order or independently of each other) this second book feels overly similar in a lot of aspects to the first.
The other big problem is time travel. Time travel is always a challenging narrative device to get right but it managed to work perfectly in 'Ocarina of Time'. Here, however, it doesn't work half so well and is filled with plot holes regarding causality. Now, as a Doctor Who fan, I'm used to fudging temporal logic a little bit but how it works in this book is too broken to be forgivable.

Nevertheless, this is still a fun little adventure for Link who ends the book as a Hylian Knight ready for his next adventure.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *

[Celebandùne · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

The second issue in the Oracles saga continues the story of Link after his adventures with Din, the Oracle of Seasons. Now in Labrynna, Link meets Nayru, the Oracle of Ages, who unfortunately, gets kidnapped by Veran, a sorceress capable of possessing humans and subsequently dominating their will. Link wants to help, but is sent back in time by Nayru/Veran and is forced to watch the time of Labrynna from 100 years prior change the course of its history. But even in the past, he is not alone, as there is a resistance who is trying to somehow counter all the evil that Nayru/Veran has forced Queen Ambi, the queen in this past age, to do to her people... with likely and unlikely allies, Link has to combat this time altering sorceress with all of his might, while the Twinrovas are still plotting in the background...

Oracle of Ages has, like other mangas in the Zelda series, somewhat of a pacing problem, but is otherwise nicely written and a fun to read and engage with. Link and his secondary characters are flashed out good enough, and one can tell, the Link from Oracle of Seasons has grown in this manga, and the manga before. Now he is the one encouraging the characters in this book, especially a knight named Raven, who looks oddly familiar...
The finale of Oracle of Ages is a bit of a hurries show-down, but other than that, the story is interesting and quite different from the game itself. Definitely a plus, since the game did not have that much of a story either way. The manga manages to give certain characters depth and drama, most of all, the Captain of the Ghost Ship.
Great read, can only recommend. 🙂

[Everett · Rating 4 out of 5]

After being let down a bit by Oracle of Seasons, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I was afraid it would have the same issues that the last one had, with too much time wasted at the beginning to have a thorough journey and a lack of the key magical theme of the story. Thankfully pretty much every single issue I had with the last book was fixed in this one, and there was even a point while reading where I thought that this might have been a five star read for me. This book isn't perfect by any means, and in the grand scheme of things this book doesn't really stand out, but I did enjoy it and I was really glad to see that it was an improvement. Based on the little knowledge I do have of the game, I can tell that this book is quite the departure of the game. Although the main story beats were the same, in this one we got to learn about some original characters which helped make the story well rounded, and it also made it so the threat of Veran feel somewhat personal. It wasn't just Link helping the people of Labrynna, he was helping his friends and protecting his own existence.

One of my biggest issues with the last book was the inconsistent pacing, with my biggest issue being that the exposition took forever to be told, and by the time you get to the actual thick of the story, half the story was gone. Thankfully with this book the story didn't take its sweet time to get off the ground, with pretty much everything being laid out for you within the first chapter or two. That meant we really got to know the struggles that the characters were going through, we also followed along some side plots when with the last book we didn't get the time to do that, and we saw the struggle the people of Labrynna were facing with our own eyes. In Oracle of Seasons we learn that with the seasons out of wack the plants will die and it will doom Holodrum, but it felt like an empty threat. But with this we saw as more and more people were drafted to work on the tower, as it grew larger, and as more and more people worked to the extremes. It was sort of dark considering that the whole land was put under slavery just to soothe Queen Ambi's broken heart.

One thing I really liked was the addition of Raven in this story and everything that he stood for. He wasn't just any normal hero, he had an attachment to Link, and just seeing them interact with each other gave the story this sparkle that it really needed. He was a great addition to the series, and the fact that he doesn't appear in the game only makes this book more special. I also really liked Ralph, and I think he's one of the better companions in the manga series so far. He was a sweet, emo kid who tried a little *too* hard to be the hero, and in the end he did take on that role very well, but for the most part he was more of a hindrance than a help, but in a good way. As for Veran, I thought she was a stronger villain than General Onox. General Onox was just an evil guy, and he did it by using brute force, but Veran was more cunning and was powerful through her ability to take control of others, although I did like the fight against General Onox better. Her final form reminded me of It because both her and It have similar final forms.

Another thing that the Oracle of Seasons didn't do well was the Rod of Seasons and the general use of the seasons in the book. The Rod of Seasons was only used once or twice, and it wasn't introduced until the two-thirds mark, while the Harp of Ages first showed up in the second chapter, which is also the same time when you meet Nayru. Both Link and Ralph use it in the story, and them time traveling actively adds to the story. You'd think it would be easier to work with seasons because time travel can be finicky and hard to work with, but this book dealt with it pretty well, of course keeping in mind that this is the Legend of Zelda and anything can happen if you want it to.

++Potential spoilers ahead++

I only had a few issues with the book and they were mostly small things that didn't make sense. At this point I've gotten used to these "because story" plot devices, but that doesn't make them any less annoying. One thing we have is the fact that Raven conveniently had some mystery seeds, and even though those got destroyed, Roperi's plant also conveniently ended up being the right plant to grow a mystery seed. Even though this wasn't one of those "because story" moments, I also didn't fully understand why the captain and his crew were stuck in the ocean and how they became living skeletons. I guess it didn't need to be explained because this whole world is magic so all sorts of things happened, but I'm still curious about it. I also mentioned in the Oracle of Seasons review that Link falls way too easily for traps, and the same thing happened again. I can understand Link getting tricked when Veran controlled Impa, because he hadn't met Veran yet and didn't know it was even a threat, but I don't get why he fell for it when it happened to Ralph. Ralph suddenly becomes really quiet, his personality flips, and he's SUPER shady and Link took no notice. Link, I love you, but man are you stupid sometimes.

I don't know why I spent three hours on this review and I don't know if I'll ever be able to recover from this Legend of Zelda obsession. For every single one of the manga I read I do at least one hour of research and then I spend way too much time writing out every single one of my thoughts even though absolutely no one is going to read this. I'm pretty sure this review took me longer to write than it took me to read the book, although part of that may be because I'm watching Pointcrow's subathon and he's doing his taxes last minute and we watched Kung Fury and I absolutely don't regret it even though I have to go to school early tomorrow morning and at this point I'm only going to get five hours of sleep. Anyway, subscribe to Pointcrow because he is amazing and does a lot of Legend of Zelda stuff.

[J-Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without remembering the game, I think I enjoyed this book more than “The Oracle of Seasons.” My memory of both games are blank, but I enjoyed reading about this one more.

In this one, the storyline flowed more cohesively than the seasons one. Also, the characters were interesting rather than having a whiny Kangaroo and Witch. Instead of a whiny Witch and Kangaroo, there is a whiny noble, but he had his own individual identity rather than just being there. Also, this one had Raven which is my favorite person in this entire series because he is just so yummy and sweet!

10/10 will read again (for Raven)

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following the details of "Oracle of Seasons", Link has left Holodrum and enters into Labrynna, later meeting Naryu, one of the Hylian deities. Link meets Veran, who later serves as the villain in this entry. Veran uses people (for it is her ability) to control them for her own glory. He later uses Naryu's harp to return to the past and use the Queen of Labrynna for her legacy. Link and a few friends enter the past to stop Veran while running into those they have only heard about, never meeting...

As an aside, I have not officially played through "Oracle of Seasons". I am unaware of the gameplay plot lines or if the novelization is an accurate representation.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unlike the previous book (Oracle of Seasons) I feel this is so directly connected to the volume before you will miss a lot if you have not read it before starting this one. General Onox has been defeated and Link encounters family from the distant past. The story is lighthearted even with what is at stake, this book never takes itself too seriously. They have the right blend of parole and joyous moments sprinkled throughout this volume. This book tells a story which continues to thread through these Legend of Zelda books and think they are fun, but I also don’t know if they progress enough for my taste per installment.

[ChaosStrolling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have 0 knowledge about this game, but this was my favorite of the series so far!

I usually enjoy a time travel story and this one was great. There were multiple moments that felt like they must’ve been ripped straight from the game, like Link finding explosives at the perfect time or there being just enough trees on the island to build a raft, but it was just funny.

I absolutely love Raven and Ralph. They’re fantastic characters that have great funny moments when they’re together. So many cute celebratory panels of them with Link after having won a fight.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rewive

The legend of zelda oracle of ages

It’s about link a knight in training.
Link is princess Zeldas personal guard.
When Zelda get a bad dream about the past and the future.
She send her attendant and Link to save Nayru the oracle of ages.
Sadly the are too late and the evil Veran possessed Nayru.
So Link most go back in time to save The oracle of age, himself and the future.

I would recomend it to a legend of the zelda fan.
It a must read.

[Blaine Bentley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, which focuses on the Oracle of Ages, I liked a lot more. Interestingly enough this one doesn’t follow the story of the game nearly as much as Seasons, but I enjoyed it much more. This one didn’t feel as rushed as Seasons. This allowed me to better enjoy the game and it felt like progression and growth (as little as they are), came for naturally in this book. I really liked the idea of Link meeting and working with an ancestor (something that doesn’t happen in the game).

[Engel Dreizehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel also the game plot has been stripped and condensed as the sole "boss" is Veran but she does trick Link the same way in the Manga as in the games and also the plot is focused on the building of the tower. In addition, the manga contains a familiar looking new character that is linked to well Link.

[Javier Galíndez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuando me presentaron a Din, la Oráculo de las estaciones, quise conocer a las demás oráculos y resultó ser Nayru es igual de hermosa que Din.

Hay nuevos personajes como Ralph, Reina Ambi, Capitán Pirata, Ropely y, nada más y nada menos que, un antepasado directo de Link llamado Raven.

Raven ha sido lo mejor de lo mejor en la historia, es imposible no quedar enamorado de su forma de ser.

[Arielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This manga was okay. It was a fast read and I liked where the story went. Would I read it again? Probably not. But that's mostly because I didn't find anything that necessarily hooked me the way I do with book I rate highly. All in all, enjoyable, just maybe not as good as the others.

[Minerva · Rating 4 out of 5]

**** 4 stars ****

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

WORDS!!!

[Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

[Chase L. C8B · Rating 4 out of 5]

way better than the part one and very inspiring towards heroism.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was alright, probably the least entertaining from the series imo. It just didn’t feel like a zelda theme, lots of strange characters and the story kept tidying up the plot too quickly.

[Grant Wolbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite but also a great book

[Kiri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one has a special place in my heart because this was the first Zelda game I owned. Plus, I'm a sucker for a good time travel story.

[Stephen Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny for all ages!!!

[Jaden John · Rating 5 out of 5]

really good

[Mateo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

[emmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

hahaha sir raven😏😏

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

D picked this out at the library and read it quickly (7th grade) - it's a black and white comic style book - he loves books like this and reads them often and quickly

[Electroclan17 · Rating 4 out of 5]

[3.75] This one is way better than Oracle Of Seasons in terms of manga. It doesn't feel all over the place anymore. I had low expectations going into this one after seasons.