Standing out from the crowd amongst the other Zelda titles, Zelda Majora's Mask was an unusual yet amazing game.
Nintendo had struck gold when Ocarina of Time released to the N64 back in 1998. Now it was time for Nintendo to make a worthy sequel to its epic predecessor! Zelda Majora's Mask was Nintendo's biggest experiment along with Donkey Kong 64 that used the new fangled Expansion Pack during the time. Majora's Mask would be the first Zelda game ever to test this new technology out that would allow bigger areas, and only slightly better graphics. It was only during that time that this achievement was one small step for Nintendo and one giant leap for console gaming! Majora's Mask was one weird game and you will probably never see another Zelda game like it. As strange as this Zelda title may have been it really deserves allot of praise because it was the first Zelda title to altogether abandon Hyrule, Ganon, and even Zelda herself with the exception of Link's Awakening but technically since Link's Awakening took place in a dream world it doesn't count! *lol* But anyhow let me begin the review! *Puts on Review Mask*
Storyline: Zelda Majora's Mask picks up right after Ocarina of Time. After Link seals away the evil Ganondorf and becomes the proclaimed Hero of Time he decides to leave Hyrule on Epona to get some alone time and to also search for an invaluable friend (Navi) that was close to him. During his journey he ends up in some remote place in the Lost Woods where he is stalked by the 2 fairies Tatle and Tael. The fairies scare Epona causing Link to fall off his horse which knocks him out. It is then that the masked culprit the Skull Kid reveals himself out of the eerie fog wearing the very mask that will cause all of your troubles later on. The Skull Kid pick pockets the epic Ocarina of Time and then decides to play stupid notes on it! (*that laugh he made was terrifying*) Link awakens to see the Skull Kid playing with his precious Ocarina and attempts to try and get it back. But the Skull Kid quickly lunges out of the way and steals his horse! Link in a ditch effort grabs on to Epona and is dragged through the forest in a chase scene before the Skull Kid finally kicks him off and escapes! Link follows the trail the Skull Kid took and finds himself falling down a strange hole into a mysterious parallel world. Link finally catches up with the Skull Kid but soon learns that he got rid of his horse and also learns just how evil the Majora's Mask can be! The strange powers of Majora's Mask turns Link into a mere Deku Scrub. With an evil cackle the Skull Kid leaves Link poor and defenseless. He also accidently leaves one of his fairy companions Tatle behind. Tatle decides to help Link at first to just get to the Skull Kid. Link then meets the Happy Mask Salesmen who tells him that an imp in the woods stole his most precious mask. He agrees to break the spell of the Deku Scrub curse only if Link is able to get the Majora's Mask back. But things later suddenly spiral out of control and get VERY serious! You later find out that the Skull Kid threatens to let a giant menacing Moon crush the entire parallel world that is Termina on the eve of a festival that is held in Clock Town every year. You have 3 days to quickly figure out a solution to this problem and to also seek out the 4 who are there!
Gameplay: The game play of Majora's Mask is very much like Zelda Ocarina of Time's gameplay. Much of the same gameplay mechanics are still present from Ocarina of Time but just with changes. For 1 the Song of Time is your best friend in this game as you will need to use it to slow the flow of time during the 3 day countdown to keep the Moon from falling on your head! Number 2 being that you are able wear 3 masks that alter your physical appearance into either a Deku Scrub, Goron, or Zora. These 3 masks alone really add a unique spin to the game. And lastly number 3 being that Zelda Majora's Mask focuses allot on side quests! The majority of this game for that matter is one huge side quest! You have an entire screen in your inventory devoted solely to collecting the different masks in the game! Not only that but there is the Bomber's Notebook you get from completing one of Majora's Masks many side quests! There is a ton of content in this game to keep you distracted from the main quest which will involve you going to the 4 dungeons of the Swamp, Mountain, Ocean and Canyon and freeing one of imprisoned 4 Giants. Just experimenting with the different masks and trying to get them all 100% is a challenge enough by itself. The same can be said for most of the side quests because you can only do certain side quests during a certain time of day or DAY period! (Example: Kafei's Side quest)
Graphics: Majora's Mask's graphics are only slightly better than Ocarina of Time's graphics but by not that much. Everything is still 64 bit blocky in a way but again this game came out back in 2000 so what do you expect? The Nintendo Expansion Pack only allowed what could be allowed for Majora's Mask's 3D environments and it did a very good job at doing so even if it is now considered dated technology. Once you pick up a controller and play this game you will immediately be immersed and forget all about the graphics looking dated! The amount of side quests in this game will be enough to entertain you!
Value: This depends solely on if you want to just complete the dungeons or complete ALL of the side quests 100% through! This game has allot of replay value if you rushed through that is! There are over 24 masks to collect each with their own different abilities! If you take the time to collect every mask you will be rewarded for your hard work by obtaining the ultimate Fierce Deity Mask! But you must first giveaway all of the masks you collected and then pass 4 dangerous trials before you actually get to play with it! It's a pretty lethal mask that is only of use to you when the time is right!
Overall: Zelda Majora's Mask is ALMOST as good as Ocarina of Time but it lacks the dungeons that made Ocarina of Time my favorite. This game more than makes up with that with its side quests however! It can be a pretty lengthy game if you focus on completing all the side quests! This Zelda title was a rather strange game as it was the first game to ever center its storyline on a strange and yet deadly mask! It also brought the weirdest character into existence and that would be Tingle. You just don't see too many games that do this and that to me made Majora's Mask a one of a kind game. Standing out from the crowd amongst the other Zelda titles, Zelda Majora's Mask was an unusual yet amazing game.
Uh...Link will win. This review was brought to you by Wolflink001.