Dark, original, thought provoking and, most importantly, fun. As close to perfection as gaming has ever come.
Graphics: They show their age now, but for the time, they were amazing. They hold up fairly well, actually, because there is a consistent frame rate, despite the large areas and bosses, and the artistic design is second to none. As a matter of fact, the only other game, in my opinion, to even hold a fighting chance in the art department against this game is Twilight Princess. The bosses are awesomley designed, the dungeons are remarkable and everything animates fairly smoothly, especially Link. Many would complain that alot of the character models being reused is laziness on the designer's part. There may be something to that, but it fits with the storyline, and there are many new ones, anyways. Plus, the game was released 2 years after OoT. But, many of the reused models are enhanced and look better than in Ocarina, so quit complaining! 10/ 10
Sound: There are several themes that are reused from Ocarina, and that's not a bad thing. Where this really shines, however, is the new music. Each new track is outstanding to listen to. They all sound excellent, and the main theme in Clock Town is fantastic. A subtle thing I liked is that, on each new day, the instruments and speed of the main theme changes. The sound effects are all carried over from Ocarina, so no complaints. 10/ 10
Story: This is my favorite story in games, period. (Followed closley by Okami and Knights in the Nightmare.) It starts off with Link riding Epona in a forgotten sector of the Lost Woods (don't ask me how he got her up that vine wall. That is really the only plot hole in the story.) He's looking for Navi, his fairy companion who left him at the end of Ocarina. When, suddenly, he gets attacked by a Skull Kid. (The same one who befriends you in Ocarina.) The Kid is wearing a strange mask. He, and 2 fairys, steal your horse and Link sets off to find her. After going into a cave and falling down a huge hole, Link awakens and gets turned into a Deku Scrub by Skull Kid. Then the mischeif maker (which is really understatment of the decade) flees into another cave. After pursuing the Kid, Link walks into a strange room with a huge door. Standing there is the Happy Mask Salesman from Ocarina. Basically, he tells Link to get his Ocarina back so he can be changed back. The catch is that the town outside the clocktower Link's in is going to be destroyed in 3 days. The events that unfold later is an incredible journey through a doomed world. Something I liked about the story is that, unlike Navi, Tatle, your companion in this game, is actually an active character in the story and has an interesting backstory. It's a highly original save the world story, especially for the series. The only time Zelda is even mentioned is in a flashback, when she teaches you the Song of Time. There are also many different interesting subplots to find, and definitley add alot of personality to this already great story, in that you see citizens being affected by the events unfolding around them, powerless to do anything. It also tells you enough so that you will be satisfied with it, but leaves just enough mystery to make you fill in details on your own. The story has pretty much everything you could want from a game. 20/ 10
Gameplay: The gameplay is very unstandard for the series. Yes, you go to dungeons and fight monsters and stuff. However, you have a time limit. 3 days, or about 72 minutes real life time. It's a good thing you find a song to slow down time and even travel back to the beggining of the 3 days, or else this would have been impossible.
There are 4 regoins to explore, in addition to the already bustling Clocktown. You go through each in this general order: Reach new zone; find new mask; solve someone's problem; learn a new song and maybe get a new item; find entrance to dungeon and clear out said dungeon. If you only play through the 4 dungeons, then beat the game, you'll miss most of its content. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The dungeons are all varied and are some of the toughest in the series. There is a fairly strong focus on puzzles, and there are some real brain busters. They are all very well designed, and each one introduces a new challenge. The forest one has you making a giant pillar turning. The Ice one has you knocking down columns of ice so you can reach the top of a huge tower- esque structure. The water one has you changing the flow of water to your advantage. And the Stone Tower one (I really don't know how else to classfiy it.) has you flip the entire temple upside down. They are all very tough and creative and very satisfying to play through. And, this game has some awesome boss- and sub boss- battles. All of the bosses are massive, and fairly challenging. But, they are all fun, and make good use of the skills you have. The sub bosses nare mostly original, as well, in that they are unique enemies you can only fight in their respective dungeons. (Although, there is a hidden mini boss rush cave for you to do.) They are also challenging and fun.
And now to talk about everything else. The overworld is fairly massive, and there's tons to do. There is an abundance of sidequests, and can easily double, triple, hell, maybe even quadruple your playtime with this game. Each person has their own story to tell and problem to solve. Everything about sidequests you hear is stored in a handy Notebook for you to keep track of. And there is a fairly big variety to them, as well, including one that spans all 3 days and earns you several masks in the process. These troubled folks help add to that atmosphere of normality, with an underlying sense of dread and impending doom that permeates this game. And you'll want to find all the masks, or else you'll miss out on Feirce Deity... Each person has their own schedule, and it helps add to the fact that this feels like a living, breathing world.
The tasks that you need to do in order to access dungeons are often vague, leaving you to figure out what to do. This always requires exploration, so that's always a good thing. And the locales that you explore are indeed various and hold and atmosphere all their own. Some people won't like that you have to figure out everything for your self, but that's because they've been raised on newer, easier games.
The 3 day repeating structure actually works quite well, and the only real annoyance with it is that you lose ammo, rupees (But, just deposit some in the bank and they'll remain in there, no matter how many times you travel back to the beggining.) and certain items. They aren't too difficult to come by, however, so it's not a big deal. And, when you travel back in time, everything resets. You keep all your health, tools, songs and other important stuff like that, but everything resets. That means you can replay most everything from the game. Yes, that's right. If there was a dungeon you particularly loved, you can replay through it all over again. Or, if you just want to fight a boss, a convenient portal in the beggining of a completed dungeon takes you straight there. This adds incredible value to an already valuble game.
A new system is introduced, the masks. There are about 20 or so to get, and each one has a legitamte funcion. Granted, some are more useful than others, and some are just used to get other masks. However, they all have a purpose, and are integrated very well into this outstanding game. And there are 4 transformation masks, each of which changes Link's physical form. They are all fun to use, and 3 of them have very interesting backstories. They are basically a way to change into people that the Skull Kid caused to die, and, possibly, as a way for the characters that they were to get revenge on the Kid. The Deku Scrub transformation's backstory isn't entirley obvious at first, and you have to connect several dots on order to figure it out. As said above, they are very well used in the game. 10/ 10
In reveiw, Majora's Mask is a game with a great sound track, good graphics and an awesome story meets gameplay approach. The gameplay serves the story, but, at the same time, the story serves the gameplay. For instance, the people in need give you sidequests, but they also contribute to the story and atmosphere on a very personal level. I've never seen a game do this as well as this one does. (Assasin's Creed did a fairly good job of it. It's too bad the story was sub par and the gameplay was average.) This is a very complete package, and is the best experience gaming has to offer, period. If you are looking for a great Zelda game, a great adventure, a classic, a great story, or just a great game, look nay further, for you have found it. It's my opinion that every gamer should play this. It's unique in many different ways, but also sticks to a well know and succesful formula. And, I know I'll take alot of flack for this, but it's better than OoT.
Nintendo, could you perhaps let gamers revisit Terimina in a future game so we can see how it has changed since Link has been gone? Please?
If you've come this far, I thank you for reading my reveiw of my favorite game ever. Again, keep in mind that this is the only 10/ 10 you will ever see me give. Happy gaming and have a safe and happy holiday!