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The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

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Written by: BoneStormer

The NES had two great Zelda games. The SNES only had one (even though
I still say Link to the Past is the best Zelda to date). So when I heard
that another Zelda would appear on N64 I was surprised. Especially since
after a six year wait between Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time, the
next Zelda was coming only two years later. Then I found out that it was
just going to reuse the Ocarina engine. Uh-Oh. But let me say, after playing
this game to death the past few days, you won't care how similar this
game feels to Ocarina. Majora's Mask is another Nintendo masterpiece.

Story: In short, the town of Termania is having its annual carnival,
but there's one problem. The moon will crash into the town in three days
when the carnival is set to begin. The story in this Zelda is actually
very entertaining, unlike some other Zeldas. It also has a darker feel
to it. When you put on different masks and other events in which they
use a cool motion blur effect, it can be quite unsettling.

Graphics: If you've played Ocarina of time, you know what to expect
here. The graphics are basically the same. If it wasn't for the fact that
DC and PS2 games look so much nicer, Majora would look really good. It's
actually a pretty nice looking game. The fact you HAVE to have an expansion
pak really doesn't add a lot, but you can see much farther (there is no
fog, but there is some pop-up) and there are more enemies on screen at
a time. Which is a BIG plus over the last game where my biggest knock
on Ocarina was the lack of enemies.

Sound: For this being N64 with its carts, this game sounds pretty
good. The music is just OK, and is very similar to the music in Ocarina.
The sound effects are much better though, but again sound very similar
to those in Ocarina. Yet they convey a nice sense of atmosphere. Hearing
the carpenters hammering away trying to prepare the town for the big upcoming
festival is a nice touch.

Gameplay: "Smooth as butter" comes to mind. It plays
just like Ocarina which is to say it plays VERY well. Still, too many
items and too many gameplay elements are too similar to Ocarina for this
game to get a perfect score. However, different masks give you new abilities,
but it does not go to the point of annoyance having to switch between
the different masks (unlike having to take those boots off and on in the
water temple of Ocarina) since a simple press of a c-button takes it off
or on again. It's easy to control, and just "feels" right in
your hands. The game gives you 72 "hours" before the moon crashes,
but really there is little time pressure. (Very small spoilers ahead.
Skip to 'Replay' if you want.) Basically, you can save whenever, where
ever, but you warp back to day one. You will do this MANY times before
you complete this game. You can also save your exact point at owls, but
only if you quit right then, and when you reload it, it's erased. (So
no cheating;) Still, this makes money pointless since it's way too easy
to get a chest, put your money in the bank, warp back to day one, and
get the chest again. Then again, in what Zelda has money ever been a problem.
You rarely ever need to buy anything. My only real gripe with the gameplay
is that sometimes you have to seemingly do the same thing twice before
you get results or a different result (but this probably has to do more
with the timing of the event which can very depending on the time of day
and which specific day it is).

Replay: Hard to say yet since I haven't beaten the game yet. There
seems to be a lot to do in this game with so many side quests to take
care of. Still, once I beat Ocarina, I played awhile looking for things
like spiders and heart containers I missed, but I never actually played
the whole game through again.

Overall: Wow! This game lives on little side quests that you must
perform (which is why I'm sure it was originally called Zelda Gaiden),
and it's oh so much fun! Plus I would say that this game is harder than
Ocarina, but still not one of the harder games you will ever play. The
first puzzles may give players who never experienced Ocarina a tuff time,
but if you have played Ocarina you know how to take care of them. If you're
a fan of Zelda, this is a MUST buy! In fact if you own a N64 it's a must
buy. I mean come on, these days there just isn't much to get on N64 anymore.
I'm sure you noticed above how many times I said, "Just like Ocarina,"
but don't let this throw you. This a completely new game. The idea of
having only 72 hours really adds a lot. Even though it can be annoying
having to basically restart the game all the time (you only keep your
items when you go back to day one, EVERYTHING else resets), it's used
as a plus not a minus. Think the movie Groundhog Day to see some ways
it can use this in its favor.

Gameplay: 5.0
Graphics: 4.5
Sound: 4.5
Value: 5.0
Originality: 3.5

Final Score: 5.0   (out of 5)