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    The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

    Game » consists of 21 releases. Released Apr 27, 2000

    The follow-up to Ocarina of Time sees the series stalwart Link embark on a journey to save the land of Termina from being crushed by the moon in three days. To defeat the Skull Kid, Link has to live the same three days over and over again.

    lies's The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Collector's Edition) (Nintendo 64) review

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    • 9 out of 9 Giant Bomb users found it helpful.
    • lies has written a total of 12 reviews. The last one was for Halo 3: ODST
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    A Fantastic Deviation

    Nintendo is a company of franchises. Quality franchises no doubt, but Nintendo thrives on it's few killer properties. Zelda. Mario. Metroid. These games are all longstanding series, and whenever a new iteration is released, it includes some minor gameplay tweaks, graphical updates, and a new story; but the core experience generally changes very little. While these experiences are always solid, sometimes the same ol' same ol' gets stale. Enter The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Nintendo threw tradition out the door with Majoras Mask, and the results are phenomenal.

    The previous Zelda game on the Nintendo 64 was Ocarina of Time, the first 3-D Zelda game. That's a hard act to follow, and Nintendo, smartly, didn't make Majora's Mask a direct competitor with Ocarina of Time. Majora's mask keeps the controls from Ocarina, but completely revamps the gameplay. Majoras Mask takes place in the land of Termina; most specifically, Clock Town and the surrounding lands. Entering Termina on a personal journey in search of a beloved friend, Link's journey is quickly interrupted when he encounters the devious, masked Skull Kid. Skull Kid attacks Link, and takes his takes precious Ocarina of Time. Link gives chase, intent on retrieving his treasure, but upon confronting Skull Kid, Link finds himself outmatched, and ends up cursed, encased in a body of a Deku Scrub. After befriending a new fairy, Link sets out into Clock town, where he quickly learns the source of all this trouble. A mask. More specifically, the titular Majora's Mask, whose powers Skull Kid is using to bring destruction to Clock Town. Skull Kid's plans will be completed in three days, giving Link little time to stop him. The length of a day in Majora's Mask has been increased to close to twenty minutes, from the measly 2 or three it took to complete a full day/night cycle in Ocarina. But one hour won't cut it to defeat Skull Kid, and after reclaiming his Ocarina, Link can travel back to the dawn of the first day, or slow the flow of time, so time isn't generally much of a factor. When traveling back in time, the citizens of Skull town forget Link, and he loses minor items, but keeps major ones, such as heart pieces or masks.

    Masks are a major factor in Majora's Mask. There are many masks for you to collect, scattered through the game, with functions as varied as allowing you to create a marching band full of animals, to helping you inquire as to the location of a missing boy. There are three main masks that Majora's Mask utilizes prominently. These masks allow you to change form from your normal human shape, to that of another race, such as the Deku Scrub. These new forms have new abilities and weaknesses, and help spruce up the gameplay. Playing in these forms isn't a chore as you might expect, but instead very entertaining and rewarding. Zipping around the Goron racetrack while curled up into a ball is a exhilarating experience, and there are certainly more like it within Majora's Mask.

    Majora's Mask features less than half the dungeons found in Ocarina of Time, yet you'll probably still squeeze about the same amount of play time from both. How is this? As has already been mentioned, the central hub of Majora's Mask is Clock Town. Since it is a TOWN, there are many denizens whom you may interact with. And here, we come to what is undoubtedly, the single thing most important aspect of Majora's Mask.

    The NPCs all feel real. They have their own schedules, they have their own interactions and motivations. They move about the town doing what they need to do. They comment on the weather. Shops close at night, and shady characters emerge. Majora's Mask achieves what no game has ever done: it breathes life into EVERY. SINGLE. CHARACTER. It's truly something that you must see for yourself to comprehend, but it's an amazing feat, and one which makes the game just amazing to play.

    So of course, you'll want to interact with these amazing characters right? And here we encounter the other important thing about the game. Majora's Mask is mostly built around side-quests. You'll unearth these quests by talking to the right person at the right time, or listening to a noteworthy exchange between two NPCs. This is going to be a love it or hate it sort of thing, but Majora is packed full of side-quests for the adventurous soul. Of course, you CAN play the game just for it's dungeons, but your enjoyment and value is going to be severely reduced, since the game only features four dungeons and a smattering of required non-dungeon play.

    Majora runs on the same engine that powered Ocarina, and it holds up well. Incremental improvements have been made to keep the game from feeling dated, and they do a good job of it. Majora sports higher-res textures, larger environments, slightly enhanced music, and a large world. And thats not even taking into account that the game must keep track of the whereabouts of 30+ NPCs while you're off gallivanting through the mountains. Sadly, you'll see many of the character models from Ocarina repeated here, one of the few corners Nintendo cut on this ambitious sequel.

    As amazing as Zelda is, occasionally the game gets a bit too ambitious. You'll notice some frame-rate drops when the screen gets a bit too crowded, and the sound doesn't match up to the epic score contained in Ocarina of Time. Only occasionally will you run into camera problems, but it will pop up as a problem once or twice. Zelda is a spectacular game, but sometimes a wee bit too ambitious for it's own good.

    So, in closing, Zelda: Majora's Mask is an ambitious game, and a game that manages to deliver on nearly all fronts. Amazing characters, great new mechanics, updated presentation, Zelda does not disappoint. While some of the close-minded may not appreciate this game, for those who can accept something new, this is a masterpiece, and undoubtedly one of the greatest games of all time. It's a new level of immersion, and a worthy brother to Ocarina of Time. Play it now. Remember it forever.

    1 Comments

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    Claude

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    Edited By Claude

    One of my favorite games of all time. Nice review... I need to buy the VC version. I haven't played Majora's Mask since the year it came out.

    Other reviews for The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Collector's Edition) (Nintendo 64)

      It's creative, and surprisingly dark and twisted for a Zelda game 0

      With the success of Ocarina of Time, a sequel was in high demand, and fans wanted to play it as soon as they could instead of waiting six years for the next one to be released. Well, Nintendo heard the cries of gamers all over the world and two years later The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask was released for the Nintendo 64. The first thing you should know about Majora's Mask is that it requires an expansion set to play. So if you haven't played this game yet and want to, start looking on Ebay f...

      2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

      Zelda: Majora's Mask Review 0

      It may be that some have played only as far back in the franchise as A Link to the Past, but there are those among us who found Majora's Mask to be one of the most enjoyable Zelda titles to date. Inversely, many have criticized it for its not being "a true Zelda game," but this seems an unfair statement. At its core, Majora's Mask is a true Zelda title, sporting all the familiar elements: a multitude of items, challenging dungeons, impressive visuals and gameplay elements like its boss battles. ...

      2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

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