The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons are games that releas

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons are games that released simultaneously for the Game Boy Color and could each be played in two ways: a “regular game” mode available to those who only have access to one game, or a “linked game” that becomes unlocked by entering a code obtained by beating one of the games at the beginning of the other. In a linked game, the story is expanded, featuring more locations and an additional final dungeon.

The linked game mode of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages contains a segment between the third and fourth dungeons (absent from the regular game) where a bat-like creature called a Vire briefly abducts Princess Zelda and holds her captive in a tower. In this segment, Link must ascend a vertical screen with ladders while fireballs roll down the ledges in order to reach Zelda at the top.

This is all a big reference to the Donkey Kong arcade, which features a similar structure of ledges and ladders in the first level, as well as barrels that move identically to the fireballs, and ends by reaching Donkey Kong, who is holding Pauline captive.

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