The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

"Just like old times, only with lots of new features."

Introduction
One of the most frequently asked questions about this game that comes up is: ''Is this a new game entirely, or is it just like Zelda: Ocarina of Time, with a few changes?'' To start off, I will tell you that the mechanics of the game are just like Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Why? Because they are continuing the series, and need to keep the same items along the way, only now they've added new features, items, areas, etc. The most noticable new item is right in the title itself, the Masks. Basically, there are 2 different tyeps of masks: you have transformation masks, which allow Link to transform into a certain type of species.

For example, when wearing the Deku Mask, Link will transform into a Deku Scrub, allowing him to talk to other Deku Scrubs and perform actions other Deku Scrubs perform. The same thing goes for the other transforming masks (Goron Mask, Zora Mask, etc.) Then you have the non-transformation maks, which allow Link to do things he couldn't do before. For example, when wearing the Great Fairy Mask, Link will attract any fairies nearby inside a dungeon. Each non-transformation mask serves a different purpose. Just like Ocarina of Time, there are certain major tasks to be completed with several mini games along the way.

The 3 types of areas in the game are: the overworld, which is the area outside of a village or dungeon, etc. The overworld is the route you take when travelling to a village or dungeon. Another area of the game would be the villages (also known as shrines, kingdoms, towns, etc.) Towns usually have shops, and no enemies within, villages are a bit like towns, only they aren't very ''fenced in'' from the overworld. The 3rd type of setting is the ever-so-famous dungeons that you saw in Ocarina of Time. Dungeons contain locked doors and lots of puzzles you need to solve, and most of the time have mini-bosses and one main boss.

You are now allowed 3 days of play time before the moon falls and you get game over. No, that doesn't mean you only have 3 days to beat the game, keep reading. You can always see what day you are on by looking on the clock on the screen. 30 seconds in real life = 1 hour in the game. 3 days is plenty of time to finish a specific task, that's when you play the Song of Time which will bring you back to Day 1, and you can continue with what you were doing. When you play the Song of Time you will not only be brought back to Day 1, but you will also (unfortunately) lose all rupees, arrows, bombs, etc. Why? Because you didn't have them in the past.

There are now owl statues that you can use to remember your place in the game. That way, when you play the Song of Time you can quickly transport to an owl statue location without having to go all the way back to where you were (when you play the Song of Time, you are automatically brought back to Clock Town, not where you left off on Day 3.) In the Japanese version of the game, playing the Song of Time is also saves your game, but that will change in the U.S. version. Another new feature of the game is the dungeon fairies. In each dungeon, there are 15 fairies you must find, if you find them all and return them to the Great Fairy in her fountain, you are rewarded for it. This is optional, really, but if you want to upgrade your magic meter, etc. you should do it.

Another question that is frequently asked: ''What's the difference between the U.S. and Japanese releases of the game? I already bought the Japanese version, and I don't want to by the U.S. one if it's the same game.'' So far, the only 2 ''changes'' I know of are: The saving system may change in the U.S. release, and the cinema of when you find your horse, Epona will be slightly modified in the U.S. version. Other than that (and the text changing from Japanese to English :P), the games are identical, no change in gameplay or character names. Should you buy the U.S. release if you already bought the JP version? It's really up to you, whether or not you have the money to spend. I suggest this only if you are a fanatic of the game, because both of them are pretty much identical.

Finally, the big question about the color of the cartridge. Japanese gamers will not receive any ''gold'' colored cartridges, just the standard gray. Some stores offer the gold cartridge as a bonus for pre-ordering the game, while others don't. It all depends on what store you go to, and what they are offering. Electronics Boutique is offering the ''limited edition'' gold cartridge if you pre-order the game from them, and yes the gold cartridge is limited, and a few months after the U.S. release (note that this review was typed in September of 2000) they will start selling the gray cartridges only. So, once again, it all depends on who you buy it from, and what time you buy it.

Graphics: 9/10
Before I go any further, I must tell you that the 4MB Expansion Pak is required to play this game, just like Donkey Kong 64. Now, about the graphics, they are pretty much the same as before, only about 30% enhanced to look more crisp and clear. Nintendo decided to go a bit on the wild side this time and added a lot of motion blur, just to give the game a sort of ''dreamy'' type of feel. Some of the FMVs have the backgrounds removed, just a black screen with the characters and motion blur, gives the game a sort of dream sequence kind of feel. The characters, enemies, bosses, etc. still look pretty much the same. Backgrounds, bushes, trees, etc. are the same (when I say the ''same'' I'm comparing them to Zelda: Ocarina of Time.)

Most everything (other than FMVs, etc.) look identical to Ocarina of Time, only more clear, crisp, and life-like, because of the Expansion Pak. When Link remembers things from his past quest in Hyrule, you will notice that the FMV is in black & white, to symbolize his rememberance of the past (for instance, when Link learns the Song of Time, he will remember back to when he first got his Ocarina in Zelda: Ocarina of Time.) Some very minor changes in structure of the graphics (when compared to Ocarina of Time) would be the face of the owl, which now looks more thin, and the treasure chests, which are now different colors and types.

All-in-all, Zelda: Ocarina of Time had great graphics, so you will naturally expect wonderful graphics with it's counterpart, especially when you have the Expansion Pak enhancing the graphics by 30%. Many people were surprised to see such 3D graphics in Ocarina of Time, meaning they will love the new additions Nintendo has put in to Majora's Mask.

Sound: 8/10
A few new background themes, along with some new songs as well. You will get several songs that you heard in Ocarina of Time, but there are a whole handful of new ones to listen to as well. Parts of the background music, (the overworld for instance) sounds similar to the one in Ocarina of Time, but the village music is totally different. The sound effects are all the same, with the addition of some new ones (the putting on and taking off a transformation mask, for instance.) The main noticable change here would be the songs. You will not only be learning some old-time favorites, but a whole bunch of new ones which have their own purpose.

One thing that hasn't changed is the dungeon sound effects. The same opening/unlocking of closed doors, the same rupee collection tune, and yes, even the same surprising sound when you open up a treasure chest and get something big (or not so big for that matter.) Link still makes those grunting noises, just like he did in Ocarina of Time, but you will now hear some rather amusing noises from random characters. For example, the sounds made by the guards when you talk to them in the mayor's office. They may not be great, but they sure are hilarious to listen to. Sound effects really have no change here, but you will be getting several new songs on your ocarina.

There are now 4 different kinds of instruments you can play the Ocarina with. Naturally, you play the blue Ocarina with normal Link, but you get a different instrument when you play as a different character. When playing as Deku Link, you will play with a Tuba, when playing with as Goron Link, you use a set of bongo drums, etc. What's so great about that? Well, you now get some sort of variety instead of hearing the same thing over and over on the same instrument. It gets kind of repetitive after a while when you don't have something new to listen to. As usual, there are no voices in the game, just text. Voices would take up way too much space, so you must be able to read in order to understand the game. :P

An overall summary of the sound in the game: It's pretty much just like before only with several new tunes to listen to. A few more changes wouldn't have hurt the game, but hey...there's nothing I can do about it. Expect a bunch of new background tunes as well as some keen sound effects, especially when it comes to playing songs on the Ocarina. Good sound, it could have been slightly improved upon (and a few changes wouldn't have hurt), but I'm not one to complain.

Gameplay: 8/10
''Gameplay'' means 2 things: game length and game challenge. Several people referred as Zelda: Ocarina of Time as ''too easy.'' This may or may not be true, it all depends on the person playing the game. I myself found the game to be of average difficulty, with a few challenging puzzles/bosses along the way. Why am I talking about Ocarina of Time, you ask? It's because Majora's Mask has the same type of gameplay mechanics as Majora's Mask did. Is Majora's Mask easier than Ocarina of Time? No. The game isn't as straight-forward as it was in the past, you now have the option of collecting items if you wish, or if you don't.

What exactly does all that mean? You pretty much get to make your own decisions now. Things are still pretty self-explanatory in the game (e.g. - 3 doors are blocked off, leaving only 1 door open. Where do you go?) but Nintendo succeeded in designing the game for gamers of all ages. In fact, all the Zelda games are designed for gamers of all ages. Why? Because of the characters and setting, which aren't childish, and not too serious, but just in the middle, making the game enjoyable to play for all. Majora's Mask is not very easy, and it's not very difficult, the overall challenge level is average.

Another point to bring up is the repition of the setting. Some gamers complained that in Ocarina of Time, it got boring just going through the same dungeons that all looked the same, and constantly revisiting the same areas of the game. Personally, I like that in a game, but I cannot speak on behalf of all gamers (obviously.) Some people like to see tons of new areas, and don't like to revisit an area once they've spent a lot of time in it. That's the way Zelda is made folks, get over it. It's not really the background of the game that should be focused on, but rather the obstacles you play in that background.

Now, for the actual length of the game. We all know that Zelda: Ocarina of Time was very long, no doubt about it, but is Majora's Mask equal in length? Unfortunately, no, it's not. Basically, you will be playing a total of 70% game time when compared with Ocarina of Time. This can actually be a good thing, because when a game gets too big, gamers lose interest, that's why I believe Nintendo cut down on game time, so gamers would have more reason to play it again once they beat it. Overall, the game challenge is pretty average, and the game length is pretty average. Why did I give gameplay a ''9,'' you ask? Because while being average, it is very fun.

Features: 9/10
Ah, the fun part, the features! The most changed item from Ocarina of Time is the features of the game. There is now a new time system (which was explained in the Introduction section of this review) along with the new masks, new characters, new songs, new items, new enemies, new bosses, new places, etc. A little more on the masks...When Link wears a certain transformation mask, he will become that character, along with gaining that characters special abilities. For instance, when transformed into Goron Link, you can do a Goron Stomp to make certain doors open, or you can roll into a ball and break up anything that gets in your path.

When playing as Deku Link, you can use little flowers on the ground (known as ''Deku Launchers'') to Launch Deku Link into the air, giving him the ability to glide. Other features include but are not limited to: dungeon fairies (in each dungeon, you can find/collect 15 fairies, then return them to the great fairy for a reward), new ocarina sounds (when playing the ocarina as a different character, you will have a new instrument to play with), masks (the whole new object of the game, there are transformation masks, and other masks which allow you to do certain tasks), a notebook (you will now have a notebook to log events from the game), tons of new puzzles (several new ''side-quests'' or ''mini-games'' to accomplish while playing), etc.

Some returning (from Ocarina of Time) features include but are not limited to: heart pieces/containers (every 4 heart pieces you collect increase your life meter by 1), weapons (you still have your bow and arrow, sword, bombs, etc.), items (bottles, deku sticks, deku nuts, etc.), rupees (the currency system is still rupees), and more. The Gold Skulltulla quest is no longer in the game, but instead it has it's own little side-quest (in 1 building), rather than it being a part of the whole game. To sum it all up, you will be getting almost all of the features the game used to have, plus several more to make the game much better.

Replayability: 8/10
There are now several (I mean several) things that can be done after you beat the game. You can go back and collect the masks or heart pieces you missed. There are mini-games that never get tiring (the gold skulltulla mini-game, the archery mini-game, all the mini-games in clock town, etc.) You can go back and collect the 15 fairies in each of the dungeons, and return them to the great fairy for rewards. A real challenge is to play the game a 2nd time, and try to beat it without getting any power-ups (i.e. - beating the game with only 3 hearts on your meter.)

There are many optional items in the game that you may have ''skipped over'' or ''ignored'' while playing the 1st time around, making it possible for you to play a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or even 5th time collecting all the fairies, weapons, masks, heart pieces, playing all the mini-games, beating records, challenging yourself by not collecting power-ups, etc. Once is never enough when playing a game such as Zelda. The overall replay value is very good, and I assure you, you will be getting a good 3 full complete plays at the very minimum out of this game.

Overall: 9/10
People refer to Majora's Mask as a ''side-quest in the Zelda series'' but I can tell you different. The game is totally different when it comes to gameplay than Ocarina of Time, the graphics are improved, and there are lots of new features to keep you busy. Right away you can tell Majora's Mask isn't as big and as complex as Ocarina of Time, but it is anything but a ''side-quest in the zelda series.'' Who would I recommend this game to? To be frank, I'd recommend it to any gamer. Nintendo has made the game so that first-time Zelda players will still understand the storyline, etc. without having to play the previous games in the series.

When people ask me the question: ''Which game is better, Majora's Mask or Ocarina of Time?'' I give the simple answer of: They are both equally alike. Majora's Mask isn't as long as Ocarina of Time, but it makes up for that with all the new features Ocarina of Time didn't have. Whether you are a first-time Zelda player, or you've followed the series so closely you know what kind of underwear Link wears (btw, for those who don't know that would be ''Fruit of Hyrule'' okay, lame joke...) you will by all means enjoy playing this one, and I can almost guarantee this to be one of the top games of the year 2000.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/29/00, Updated 09/29/00