Before I start the article itself, I should probably introduce myself. I am Vaehran, another guy who had Nano.fi posting rights shoved in his hands. That because I am a not-that-longtime friend of our – hm – benevolent ruler, and an awesome guy, too.[citation needed] Plus, I had even known him online before. I, of course, appreciate this newfound power. Or, I am happy to help and write a little myself. Whichever explanation you like better. (We have a great sense of humor here, you see.)
And now to business. I’d say there are no real spoilers in this article, although I do cover the game (The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask) in detail. I’d say this tells you about as much detail as a review would (this isn’t one).
A world of wonder
The adventure game series The Legend of Zelda is a living legend in more ways than one. Put many times up there as one of the greatest video game series of all time, and being such a beloved franchise in general, I wouldn’t really bother to introduce it.
Having played the 1998 masterpiece Ocarina of Time on Wii’s Virtual Console last fall, I set out to get its sequel next, and have now beaten it. Where Ocarina is a traditionally epic fantasy fable – that’s not to say it’s somehow not interesting or exciting, as it really is a masterpiece – the sequel, Majora’s Mask, is a melancholic journey through a very broken world. While it’s not grand-scale epicness like Ocarina, its greatness shines through elsewhere.
Majora’s Mask throws a very young and unprepared Link (the player’s character) into the land of Termina, which is about to be crushed by a falling moon in three days. A falling moon with a creepy face, I should add. If that sounds weird, I’ll say that it gets even weirder… and that that’s exactly the point.
Anyway, with this theme constantly in the back of your mind, you set out to explore the bizarre world. (Hey, I’m allowed to use the you-passive in English!) Most people just live their lives in the midst of all that’s happening, not believing in the imminent death and destruction. There are also other major and minor concerns, and the people are helpless in the face of both these and the moon. Termina is really messed up.
What makes this so sad and, from a reality perspective, interesting, is that Termina is alive. No, I didn’t just give you a major spoiler. I mean that it’s populated by well-made characters with depth and emotion. (You also get to peek into the cultures of the Zelda world!) The game is thick with atmosphere. It’s a dreamlike world, everything is strange and shrouded in mystery and incomprehension. You don’t really belong in this world, and you’re almost an outside spectator. You know what’s happening more than the people of Termina, and it’s sad to see them unknowingly headed where they’re headed.
There’s sadness, emptiness and concern in a world of wrongs. There’s mystery, unknowledge and pure strangeness to keep you from a proper understanding. And there’s a little joy amid the chaos, like a sad smile, legends and stories, genuinely freaky moments, true triumphs and things to wow the player.
It’s an amazing world, story and atmosphere.
A Zelda adventure with a unique flavor
Set in this extraordinary land is a solid 3D Zelda, and with their adventure and exploration it’s a great fit. In this installment, the at-the-time new Zelda formula was tweaked and crafted to suit the theme and to offer new experiences.
First off, the destructive moon sets you a time limit of 72 hours-that-are-really-minutes, but you soon learn to slow the speed to one-third of the original. Before you run out of time, you have to go back in time to the very beginning of the three-day cycle, losing much disposable stuff and progress in dungeons and sidequests. That means you aren’t shoved back to the drawing board or suffer motivation-devastating losses, but you have to start what you were doing from the start.
Gameplay-wise, the three-day limit with time continuously going forward enables the characters and the world to have schedules: a person may be in one location at a certain time and visibly walk to another an in-game hour later, for example. Pretty neat, huh? The limit also adds to the atmosphere. But, it can’t be overlooked that a time limit is, of course, your enemy, as it’s supposed to. It’s not all the time, but when you’re faced with the limit, it can be annoying. Especially if you’ve worked your way through a tough dungeon (it was tough if took you almost the whole cycle) and are facing a boss just to run out of time and have to do the dungeon again to try again. That is to say, the limit is not arbitrary but you won’t like it.
Another unique feature are masks you collect and put on for some effect. With masks you may get abilities, different treatment from non-player characters (e.g. their dialogue may vary depending on which mask you’re wearing), and, of course, a really weird-looking face. A few are even transformations. In Zelda games you usually always play as normal human Link, a same type of character. Getting to be of another species entirely, with appropriate skills, is very refreshing and just fun. And they’re way more fun than the wolf of Twilight Princess.
And, of course there are ordinary items too. However, nearly all of them are from Ocarina of Time. As such, the dungeon puzzles (the ones involving items) are pretty much continuation for Ocarina, exploring their possibilities further. One fairly single-purpose item in Ocarina even gets a new life here. Not that what I’m referring to is particularly interesting, but still. The good thing is, reusing items is not boring this time. These are some good items, and the dungeons are of course great, too. I didn’t even notice until I needed to write about them for this article. So, the team succeeded in getting away with it… such sly people!
(By the way, once you’re done with the dungeons, try to remember each dungeon item you got… yeah. Sly.)
I already mentioned the dungeons. Ah, dungeons. The peaks of excitement on each Zelda journey… though, Majora’s Mask’s “living, breathing” world probably outdoes them this time. Anyway, everyone loves dungeons. And here are four excellent ones more. Each is very distinct: in theme, puzzles, atmosphere and this time somewhat also form – I mean, towers, halls and such. The cohesive final products are enjoyable, even if they don’t beat Ocarina’s best. (What could beat the Water Temple? Yeah, I’m being serious – that’s my favorite. Rest assured, though, people who don’t appreciate it the same: there won’t be water and “hey, where’s a key?” moments in the same dungeon… but separately.)
There is also a wealth of sidequests, mainly inside the central Clock Town. Though much based on schedules – waiting minutes to get to a certain time can bore you – they are interesting and also full of Termina’s storyline depth (you get to really know the characters), and of course mainly fun.
Even without the sidequests, Majora’s Mask is a huge experience even if it doesn’t sound like it, what with only four dungeons and all. However, it took me about the same time as the nine-dungeon Ocarina (although I did do a little side stuff – in both).
Final words
Some hold Majora’s Mask higher than even Ocarina of Time. It depends on the person, but the main thing is, both are excellent and Majora’s Mask is very different, very unique. It’s an amazing game in its own way, and even if you won’t place it above the other Zeldas, it should be experienced and the difference is also, of course, refreshing. (And each Zelda is a great game anyway.)
To me, personally, Majora’s Mask was a thrilling and awesome experience. I am hesitant to put it above Ocarina, but it’s very close behind. As far as story goes, however, Majora’s Mask is second to none.
Our site owner Noun doesn’t have Majora’s Mask, even though he has a Wii and has played Ocarina and all that. So, hey, pal: get it. It’s only €10. And you like weirdness.
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