I don't want to jinx it, but I'm four dungeons in, and I'm really enjoying this!

I played Seasons for a bit last year, got to the third dungeon, and didn't have any desire to play more. Part of what turned me off was that the game borrowed so much from Link's Awakening. But having come around on the Switch remake of LA being the definitive version of that game, it's neat to me that the Oracle games retain a nice excuse to visit the old Gameboy style of Zelda. These are kind of like the definitive retro Zelda games now.

I actually played Ages for a little bit a few months ago and dropped it because of how much story stuff it was frontloaded with as compared to Link's Awakening, but compared to Spirit Tracks, oh man, this is a real palate cleanser! So breezy and retro and immediate. It's a delight!

I always gravitated towards Ages more as a kid than Seasons. I'm not sure if that's why I'm enjoying Ages more now, or if it's just my mood. Time will tell; I'm excited to finish this one and then start Seasons over from scratch to find out. The novelty of an epic 16 dungeon long Zelda game is tantalizing...!

Also, the writing in this game rules. It hits the same notes as the writing in Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Link's Awakening. So bizarre.

I've always really enjoyed the Oracle games; they're so breezy, digestible and well-paced. The new mechanics such as the ring system, seed-planting and novel new arsenal items all help give them an identity of their own. Which is good because I think the reuse of so much music and art is a bit of a hindrance, and I personally could've done without the OoT/MM cameos.

But yeah, overall a strong couple of adventures. If pressed, I think I prefer Seasons since some of the back-and-forth in Ages wore on me, but Ages has some of my favorite single-room puzzles in the series. Seasons' Zelda 1 references landed nicely with me too (and I feel that game still hasn't been referenced all that much in the main series so it was welcome). Playing a linked game is a real treat too! I might actually prefer these to Flagship's own Minish Cap, another strong entry but not quite as snappy and immediately appealing IMO.

@TriforceBun

Jonathan Blow said once that BOTW and TOTK have fake puzzles. I think what he meant was that they put 2 and 2 right in front of you without any misdirection, narrative, or real challenge beyond a tutorialized interaction. Shrines are more like magic tricks or showcases than true puzzles.

But I just played a room in Level 4 of Oracle of Ages that really was a genuine puzzle that required multiple steps to figure out, with little twists along the way as I progressed! It was great! I hope there's more like this.

I find the ALttP style of Zelda, with its lock-and-key adventure game design, to be a bit superficial by the modern standards of ALBW and BOTW/TOTK, but these Oracle games are so weird and snappy that it works for me.