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Majora's Mask

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If anything or anyone has the power to put the stop to this thing called PlayStation 2, it’s going to be Shigeru Miyamotyo and Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. What Nintendo did is expand on OoT, added a couple of new features and ideas; and we have an OoT-type feel to it, but a completely new and different way of playing games. It’s not some reincarnation of OoT, it’s a game in itself.

And while it may look and feel like OoT, there’s just simply more to it. It makes the perfect side story to any series. Basically everything you couldn’t do in OoT, it’s all covered. Take the character interaction, for example. Now they have way more of a personality, specific character traits, and a whole new way of interaction with elements.

Features

  • Young Link has new and better capabilities
  • A vast, new, expansive and glorious 3-D world for you to interact with
  • 4MB Expansion Pak updates the game graphically
  • The masks have a more important role
  • Same 3D engine as found in OoT

Story–IGN64.ign.com

“Link’s new journey begins where The Ocarina of Time left off. After he rid Hyrule of evil he decided to set out on a quest that would benefit him. He went searching for an adored friend whom he set apart from when his legacy turned legendary. In the middle of this journey Link stumbles into a mysterious new land named, Termina (Note: Termina appears to be based off the word “Terminus”, which denotes a limit or ending point). Through word of mouth, Link hears that Termina is in peril because the moon is unmercifully crashing down towards the earth leaving only a matter of days before the land breaths its last breath. On this new territory Link is riding his young steed through a thick forest, when two fairies scare his horse throwing him to the ground leaving him unconscious. It turns out the two fairies are working at the hand of an evil masked thief and all-around troublemaker. Link awakens angered to find them toying with his Ocarina of Time, which was given to him by Princess Zelda. This masked villain steals Link’s horse and eventually curses Link himself. This is where the story begins and just three days – 72 Hours– later it will end if you don’t halt the moons death march towards the land of Termina. Link isn’t sure where this disguised troublemaker fits in, but the end of the world awaits if he doesn’t vow to help these people.”

Gameplay

Well, since MM is so rich in gameplay, I’ll try to do the best I can in summarizing the finer points in the game, and how it’s different from it’s counterpart.

The minute you pick up your controller, pop in MM and begin playing, your sucked into a world unparallel to anything you have ever experienced playing. The game becomes part of you, and 4 hours actually seem like 4 minutes.

The main part of the game are the masks, in which there are a total of the 24, and four special masks that allow you to transform into different creatures, plus a total of 20 others that you will collect throughout the game. Your enemy has stolen one of the Happy Mask Shop’s priceless masks. The shopkeeper then offers to lift the curse off you if you get his mask back. The masks play such an integral part in the game, that you will often have to come back to certain areas with a new mask; areas that had previously been inaccessible.

Termina’s capital, if you want to call it that, is Clocktown, a huge sprawling city that’s surrounded by all of the elements (snow, swamp, beach, desert, etc…), separated into different areas of exploration. Beating certain areas of that area (such as bosses), lifts the curse from that area. If the water was poisonous at the swamp, beating the boss in that area will make the water clean again.

There are actually four temples, and surprisingly, beating them (all) can take anywhere from 20-50hrs of gameplay, depending on your skill level. Often, you will encounter many side-quests that must be completed before you can even gain access to the temple. But once again, it all comes down to the masks. You can’t even access some temples if you don’t have the proper mask with you, and you can’t even complete the objectives within the temple if you don’t have a certain mask for that part. I’ll leave it up to you to find out what mysterious powers these masks hold, since each one has a unique set of abilities that it can do.

My last point in the gameplay part is Time. Once again, MM will also revolve around time, since Link is working on a pretty tight schedule, having to save Termina within 3 days before the moon comes crashing down, obliterating Termina and ultimately destroying Hyrule. Some might argue the point that slapping a time-challenged game on you takes away from the fun, but it actually works out better than anticipated. Each day is only about 18 minutes long, so times by three gives you a whopping hour of gameplay. Don’t get discouraged, though, because now the Ocarina of Time comes into action.

With the OoT, you can warp back to the beginning of the three days, with all of the major points saved, like obtaining a special item, for example. I’ll leave it up to you to decide how you can turn 18 minutes into a couple of hours, since there are very clever ways of doing so.

Notes

Majora’s Mask is quite simply astounding. Breathtaking. Brilliant. Nintendo has created the Holy Grail of the Nintendo 64, and I guarantee you will have a tough time putting the controller down. Definitely the game of the year for Nintendo 64.

Pictures (IGN64.ign.com)

Movies (IGN64.ign.com)

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