One of Link's darkest, and most engaging, quests to date.
Unlike its predecessor and previous tiles in the series, "Majora's Mask" features a much darker and more engaging plot. The darker presence was either adored by fans or hated. Link has been declared the Hero of Time for saving Hyrule from the evil forces of Ganandorf. Link soon leaves Hyrule and sets out with his horse Epona on a personal quest of friendship. But one day while he's walking through the woods, a thief wearing a mysterious looking mask, accompanied by two fairies, attacks link and tries to escape with his ocarina, as well as his horse. When Link catches up, the thief called Skull Kid uses the magic of the mask to transform Link into a Deku. Skull Kid escapes, but one of the faries named Tatl gets left behind and is forced to accompany link. Link soon comes across a mask salesman who says he can help Link return to normal if he can get his ocarina back, as well as his mask that was taken by the skull kid. However, the salesman says he will be leaving in three days. And on top of that, a giant evil-looking moon in the sky will crash into the town in three days as well. Eventually you do get the ocarina back and the gameplay found in here is quite different than "Ocarina of Time". Time and various masks that you'll wear are the most important aspects of this game.
The gameplay, while similar in a lot of areas, is more different than that of Ocarina of Time. Like the first game you will be traveling through time, only this time you will be slowing time, fast forwarding, and repeating the same 72 hours using your ocarina to do a lot of sidequests and mini games to collect tons of items and more masks. Some were rather turned off by the game's time aspect and relying more on side-quests and less on dungeons, while others such as myself see it as a welcomed addition to the series. However, what few dungeons there are fiendishly clever in their design, more so than the previous Zelda games. Plus, the 3-Day cycle is a rather innovative idea that should return in future Zelda titles. The masks themselves are really interesting as well. Your three primary masks are the Deku mask, Goron Mask, and Zora mask The Deku mask turns you into a Deku shrub, allowing you to jump across water and fly by launching from giant flowers. The Goron mask turns you into a hulking goron, which isn't really useful for up-close combat, but rather is mainly useful for breaking certain objects, rolling at high speeds, and even sustaining lava. The Zora mask allows to to swim underwater and even generate a force field. These masks are very useful in their own way to help you, and of course there are tons of others that can help you progress through the game. There are four dungeons total in this game and the puzzles are just as challenging and rewarding as before.
If you have played the previous game, you should instantly be familiar with the controls. There are a few changes added for the masks, but overall the controls are still spot on.
The graphics engine hasn't changed a lot since the first game. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing since the game still looks fantastic. The game is very colorful, retains that Zelda atmosphere, and the environment and character details are excellent. There are some more added graphical touches this time around thanks to the inclusion of the expansion pak that is required to play the game. The music is also fantastic as well, but unfortunately a lot of music is recycled from Ocarina of Time. However, it is great to finally hear the original Legend of Zelda theme music for the first time since A Link to the Past.
PROS:
-While the graphics engine has remained the same, it's still a great looking game with some noticeable improvements
-Dark and engaging story
-Fiendishly clever dungeons
-Same excellent control from the first game
-3 day cycle concept is genius
-Good music
-Masks are very interesting
-After many years, the Legend of Zelda theme song is back
CONS:
-Alot of music and sound effects are recycled from the first game
This game sort of tore fans of the series. A lot of people still prefer "Ocarina of Time" and others say "Majora's Mask" is better. Personally I do like this a little more than the original. Either way both games are masterpieces and they are some of the very best games for the N64, as well as great purchases for the Wii Virtual Console and GameCube.