Majora's Mask is deeper than Ocarina of Time, but that probably isn't for the best.
User Rating: 9.1 | Zelda no Densetsu: Majora no Kamen (w/Memory Pack) N64
In 1998, Nintendo released their first 3D installment of their highly acclaimed series, The Legend of Zelda. The new game, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was hailed by many not only as the best game of the series, but as the best game on the Nintendo 64, and possibly as the best game on any platform. Now, nearly two years after that masterpiece, Nintendo has created one of the most immersive gaming experiences in recent memory, a game where you'll be hard-pressed to stop playing once you start. The relatively new N64 expansion pak allows for top-of-the-line graphics and sound, and although the game runs on the same engine as Ocarina of Time, its technical improvements are noticeable. Majora's Mask takes place shortly after the events in Ocarina of Time. Link and his trusty horse Epona are riding through an unknown forest when they are assailed by an odd-looking character named Skull Kid, who is wearing an even odder-looking mask. He steals Epona and most of Link's items, and disappears through a cave. Link gives chase, and eventually confronts him. Skull Kid then turns Link into a Deku Scrub, a younger version of the amusing tree/salesmen he encountered in Ocarina of Time. Deku Link leaves the cave to find himself in the land of Termina, a huge new area which is composed of a large town called Clock Town surrounded by four main areas: a swamp, a mountain, an ocean, and a canyon. It turns out Skull Kid has sinister plans for Termina, as he stands atop the impenetrable Clock Tower, drawing the moon closer and closer to the ground. For three days, Link searches Clock Town for Skull Kid, eventually finding him when the Clock Tower opens up with just a few hours remaining before the moon strikes Termina. Link recovers his Ocarina from Skull Kid, and plays the Song of Time (from Ocarina of Time) to turn back time three days. He then runs into the Happy Mask Salesman (also from the previous game), who transforms Deku Link back to regular Link. It is then that Link is given his real quest. Go to the four main areas of Termina, awaken the four guardians that are imprisoned there, and save Termina from Skull Kid and the moon. When the three days are up, Link can play his Ocarina and start over. Starting over can be frustrating, as you lose a great deal of what you accomplished in the previous 3 days. All your rupees, bombs, arrows, and other non-crucial items disappear, as does your progress in all dungeons. In fact, each area of Termina is inflicted with a crucial problem that becomes unsolved as soon as you solve it. The swamp water is poisonous. The mountain is freezing over. The ocean's temperature is rising. And the canyon is inflicted with numerous undead. Going into the dungeon in that area and slaying the boss will undo those problems, but once your three days are up, you lose your progress. Once you beat one of the four bosses, you keep its remains permanently, but showing up at a depressing scene over and over can wear on you a bit. In addition, Clock Town has problems of its own, with a huge festival approaching but serious doubts about the moon's proximity clouding its future. Early on, you'll receive a notebook where you can keep track of everybody's problems that also go away and come back depending on the day you're on. If that all sounds overwhelming, it's for a reason. Majora's Mask can consume all time that you have, free or otherwise, as your seemingly endless quest to save Termina can be more daunting than any Hyrulian adventure. Because playing for three hours may not even make a dent, many players will be turned off by Majora's Mask obsessively huge list of tasks and often frustrating three day system. Unlike all of the other games in the series, you cannot just pick up and play Majora's Mask for 30 minutes for a fun session of Moblin and Octorok thumping. Although there are only four main dungeons (as opposed to the eight in Ocarina of Time), Majora's Mask will take just as much time to beat. The four dungeons are truly huge, and defy conventional classification. One dungeon requires you to turn it upside down to explore half of it. The overall difficulty is comparable to previous games in the series, although the nonlinear nature of the game (including a nonstop barrage of side quests) make for slightly more difficult puzzles. The gameplay is very similar to that of Ocarina of Time. You still must press the Z button to auto-target enemies, and you assign items to the C slots. However, the masks idea which was briefly introduced in Ocarina are now the focal point of the game. There are over 20 masks, some of which merely enhance the chance of certain events occurring; other masks actually transform Link into the aforementioned Deku Scrub, plus a giant Goron warrior and a versatile Zora guitarist. The sheer amount of gameplay in Majora's Mask is astonishing, and truly shines as one of the best parts of the game. Visually, Majora's Mask looks similar to Ocarina of Time, but you'll soon notice that this game's visuals are much more ambitious than the previous game's, with the dungeons really standing out as massive structures that put the likes of the Fire Temple and Water temple to shame. Link and the other characters look just as outstanding as they did two years ago, if not more so. The music in Majora's Mask is excellent. It may lack the wide variety that Ocarina of Time had, but it really creates an excellent atmosphere that reminds you that the moon will crash into Termina in just a few days. That is, Majora's Mask displays a much darker and grittier atmosphere than Ocarina of Time. As you're hustling to grab one more heart piece with the timer counting down, you'll be sweating to play the Song of Time to get the heck out of there. The sound effects are also superb, with each swipe of a sword at a blade of grass sounding sharper and better than just about any game out there. In many ways, Majora's Mask relies too heavily on Ocarina of Time, as it looks and sounds similar, and features similar gameplay. But the content of the game is anything but similar, as the quest is much more ambitious and pressing. That quest is the source of the game's greatest strength and greatest weakness. Die-hard fans of Zelda and video games in general will dive headfirst into Majora's Mask, forgoing sleep and food in the process. But more casual gamers and gamers who fall somewhere in between are likely to be turned off by Majora's Mask. It's a hard game to get into, but once you get in, you'll have a hard time getting out.
