I bought Majora's Mask a few years ago, and have been playing through the game. Does it live up to the perfection that was present in Ocarina of Time (for N64), or does it fail miserably like Zelda 2: The Adventures of Link (for NES)?
Since it was a sequel to Ocarina of Time, I had expected it to include many of the same elements as Ocarina of Time did... The gameplay is similar, yet vastly different; Epona is present; Link still has the Ocarina; but the similarities end there.
Majora's Mask was a huge departure from the classic formula that have made Zelda games so good: save Hyrule from Gannon. Instead of saving Hyrule, Link has been sent to an alternate dimension, called Termina, where he has only 3 days to save the world from an evil Skull Kid who has been posessed by Majora's Mask!
Link must wear three special masks in order to use the special abilities that will allow him to make it through Termina. A Goron mask, a Zora mask, and Deku mask. Each mask transforms Link into a version of the character that his mask represents. Because of these transformations, the gameplay is very different than any previous Zelda game. Link now has a wealth of new abilities, such as the ability to shoot bubbles from his mouth while wearing the Deku Mask, or the ability to swim underwater wearing the Zora Mask, or the ability to Ground Pound while wearing the Goron Mask.
While not in mask transformation, Link controls exactly the same as he did in Ocarina of Time, complete with the same Z-Targeting feature. This is very fortunate, because I enjoyed the way Link controlled in Ocarina of Time, it really suited the style of gameplay.
Thankfully, Nintendo included the classic Zelda theme music, which was mysteriously absent from Ocarina of Time. The music fits the game perfectly, although I still think some of the reused tunes could have been scored a bit better.
The graphics in Majoras Mask are actually pretty good, much crisper than Ocarina of Time's graphics. The game is required to use the expansion pak, and because of this, the framerate is not as smooth as the Ocarina of Time's and the graphics sometimes seem a bit blurry or muddy. The character models look similar to the ones in Ocarina of Time.
The world of Termina consits of 4 sub-worlds, each with a village and temple to conquer. Only 4 temples in a Zelda game would make this game very short, but there is so much to do in the world of Termina that you will spend plenty of time playing this game.
Still, I think Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto should have added more temples and dungeons to conquer, because 4 really is not enough for a Zelda game. It really diminishes the quality of the game, since it can be played through very quickly if you only travel through the temples and ignore the other objectives.
Since it is a Zelda game, I would have to say Majora's Mask is worth checking out as a rental, not a purchase. It has many faults, and it just doesn't seem to live up to the high expectations that were set by the Ocarina of Time.
My score: 8 / 10
Any of your comments would be welcome. Just post them here.
---------------------------------------------
Edited by - Mario Maniac on 8/8/2003 5:48:50 AM