Not an artist: The final three items from Oracle of seasons that are sure to give you a boost.

 The final three items from Oracle of Seasons that are sure to give you a boost. 

Blowing Wind: The winds of change carry us into the future. The sixth essence of nature is in the depths of the Ancient Ruins guarded by what I always thought was a carnivorous cactus creature.

This set of bellows can push a blast of air strong enough to make any furnace burn hot, but it also convinces the user that they should be recognized as the greatest of their trade. This curse has caused apprentices to turn on their masters, siblings to murder each other in cold blood, and other unspeakable acts of jealousy. It is unknown where the curse originated, but no one has yet connected the bellows and the curse, allowing them to pass through many hands.

Not an artist: Five items from Oracle of Seasons that offer comfort amidst the horrors of the hollow lands.

Five items from Oracle of Seasons that offer comfort amidst the horrors of the hollow lands.

Nurturing Warmth: This essence is a bit of a visual mismatch. The symbol representing the essence is a warm looking campfire, but the essence itself is the comforting warmth of spring and summer that allows things to grow. Link finds the essence at the end of the Unicorn’s Cave guarded by a monstrosity that is mostly just one large eye covered in writhing tentacles.

In the twilight age of the world, as the primal flame that brought life and warmth to all things burns down to embers, only the smallest sparks of light and life still burn. These fires offer comfort and healing to those brave or mad souls who wish to fight against the inevitable darkness that will consume all things. These flames must be nurtured by mortal hands, and as each of the firekeepers fall, out goes another point of light in the ever growing dark.

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I really liked Dark Souls and I also don’t think I will ever play another Souls-like game again. I am just not at the point in my life where I can get repeatedly beat down by a game for hours in the vain hope of making progress. Maybe I’ll feel differently once the world stops repeatedly beating me down for months, but until then, I’m looking for more hopeful games to play.

You can help others feel hopeful by being excellent to everyone,

-Ceph

 

Not an artist: Four items from Oracle of Seasons used to figure out what should be done.

 Four items from Oracle of Seasons used to figure out what should be done.

Gift of Time: The second of the eight essences of nature. Link must defeat the dodongo in the Snake’s Remains to earn this essence. With it, he is reminded that patience is a virtue and even the best things take time to grow.

According to its creator, they did not invent the device, rather the idea for the device came to them through divine inspiration. Whether or not its divine origins are to be believed, there is no doubting that this device is able to answer questions with absolute truth. Unfortunately, the device only answers questions by responding with a series of symbols that must be interpreted by experts using extensive reference material or extremely rare savants.

Not an artist: Five items from Oracle of Seasons that are not exactly what they seem.

 Five items from Oracle of Seasons that are not exactly what they seem.

Engine Grease: Tick Tock, the Horon Village clockmaker, is in desperate need of a beautiful bird to complete his most recent clock. The magnificent bird that Syrup gave Link for the mushroom is just the piece Tick Tock has been searching for to finish his magnum opus. In exchange for the masterfully crafted bird, he gives Link some engine grease. To be fair, he probably only uses the highest quality lubricants, but the trade still feels a bit one-sided.

The grimy antique brass lamp is a fully functional lamp. Unfortunately, no amount of cleaning will ever restore its original luster. Also, no amount of rubbing will release a djinni to grant you three wishes.

I'm not an artist: The final five items from Oracle of Ages found in deadly finales.

The final five items from Oracle of Ages found in deadly finales. 

Sacred Soil: This is the fifth Essence of Time Link gathers. He must defeat the smoke demon Smog in the Crown Dungeon to recover the sacred soil.

Most avoid tombs and barrows for fear of disturbing the slumbering dead. Even the threat of shambling corpses and vengeful spirits was not enough to keep adventurers away from a newly opened barrow rumored to contain an untouched treasure behind an impossibly long entry corridor. Many eager bands of adventurers have entered the non-euclidean tomb and none have ever returned. 

I'm not an artist: The penultimate five items from Oracle of Ages you can find long after an apocalyptic disaster.

The penultimate five items from Oracle of Ages you can find long after an apocalyptic disaster.

Ancient Wood: This is the second Essence of Time Link recovers in his adventure. This essence is guarded by a crush-happy floating stone head with four faces in the depths of the Wing Dungeon.

It wasn’t long after the collapse that nature began to reclaim the civilized places. Weeds pushed through cracks opened by wind, rain, and ice. Now those first seeds that sprouted in those first cracks are great old trees grown tall with the passing of time.

I'm not an artist: Five items from Oracles of Ages used in a quest for vengeance.

Five items from Oracles of Ages used in a quest for vengeance.

Broken Sword: The broken sword is the final item Link trades for in the Oracle of Ages trading sequence. An old Zora living in a sea cave along coast of the Sea of No Return is nostalgic about their younger days of being a famous musician. They are willing to give Link this broken sword in exchange for Rafton’s sea ukulele. They mention that they can fix anything, which begs the question, why didn’t they fix the broken blade? To really finish off the trading sequence, Link has to take the broken sword to Patch on the Restoration Wall to have the Biggoron Sword reforged from the shards.

Pure evil had manifested itself in her world as a living blade that spreads its corruption to any it touches. Those in service to the evil blade destroyed everything and everyone she held dear, leaving her with an insatiable thirst for vengeance. No mundane blade could combat the living blade of evil, so she spent decades in the single-minded pursuit of creating a living blade of her own.