The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Reviewed by Roger Sheng
Right, now, with Sega Dreamcast and Sony Playstation 2 in stores, you
may think getting a game for the Nintendo 64 is stupid. But, Nintendo
proves that they are always better than other systems. Nintendo released
this game on the same day as Playstation 2. Nintendo couldn't choose a
better time to release a sequel to the greatest game ever.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina
of Time. The story begins where the last story left off. Link is in the Lost
Woods, and he meets a strange kid wearing the mask. The kid takes off and
steels his horse, and his ocarina, which was his most prized possession from
Ocarina of Time. Link chases after him, but ends up into a new world of
Termina. The strange skull kid turned Link into a Deku Scrub. The kid left
behind his fairy, Tatl, who ends up being Link's friend in his quest. Link lost
the kid, and is now trapped inside little deku kid's body. He than meets the
mask collector from the Happy Mask Shop, who says the skull kid stole a
valuable mask from him, a mask with strange power that could destroy the
world... which is what it's exactly doing. The mask caused the moon to fall
into the center of the world. The mask salesman says he'll turn him back to
normal once he finds his ocarina. He found his precious musical instrument,
and started his journey.
Graphics: 9 out of 10
This game uses the N64 expansion pack, but the game still reuses similar
character designs from OoT for the characters in this game. There are a
few breathtaking views, perhaps as much as OoT. The graphics are good,
but not different. However, there is one major improvement. In OoT, when
you're in a house or a store, you'll see it from a certain camera angle, and
the picture is blurry. In this game, there isn't a time you get a 2d view.
Music and Sound: 9.1 out of 10
This game reuses the sound effects from OoT, and some of the music too.
However, there are some new background songs that provide the mood.
Also, they have the Over world theme from past games, which wasn't in OoT.
Replayability: 8.1 out of 10
This game is fun, but not as long as Ocarina of Time. They tried to make it
longer with more side quests and notebook entries, but this game ends up
being a bit shorter than OoT. (Not as short at Yoshi's Story.) Despite all
this, the game still tops the list as the best sequel for N64, and one of the
best games for its system. I just with the game was longer.
Other stuff: 9.9 out of 10
This game uses a similar engine to Ocarina of Time, which I thought was
one of the best engines ever. The R button is used to raise the shield. The
yellow up button is used for a first person perspective. The other three
yellow buttons are used for certain items, which are selected when the
game is paused. Such items include transformation masks, the ocarina,
the hero's bow, bombs, and other items. The A button changes depending
on your location and position. The B button is mainly used to the sword.
The Z button is used for a Z target system, where an enemy or a person
is selected, and Link could move certain directions but still face the
enemy. This is the most useful when used with arrows, so you don't need
to aim. One biggest change over Ocarina of Time would have to be the saving
system. In OoT, you could simply save by pausing and pressing B. In M'sM,
you have two ways of saving. The moon is falling, so there's a time limit
to beet the game. However, you don't need to finish the game in 72 hours.
In this game, an hour is a minute in real time. Your expected to beat certain
objectives and travel back in time to complete other objectives. In this game
there are side quests that could only be done in certain times, and sometimes
more than one objective has to be done at that time, whether it's helping
certain characters and running errands. Each time, you use your ocarina to
travel back in time, the game is saved, but a few things get lost. Rupees
(money) your carrying and ammo (arrows, bombs) disappear. So does
dungeon keys and boss keys. Also, all the troubled people you helped return
to their normal state of loss. However, not everything is lost. Any mask or
major item you obtain is saved when you travel back. You keep weapons like
bows and bomb bags. You also keep the masks. You could keep rupees if you
put them in the bank. You can also warp immediately to the boss in the
dungeon if you already beated it before. Also, if you needed to stop playing,
but don't want to travel back in time to save, you could go speak to an owl
statue. You'll exit the game saved at its current position.
There are 24 masks in the whole game you can collect. There are three
masked necessary to obtain if you want to beat the game. These three
masks transform Link into a Deku, Goran, and Zora, each with powers and
weaknesses. The Deku mask makes link launch out of flowers, shoot bubbles,
and do spin attacks. It's vonerable to fire. The Goran mask makes Link to roll
into a ball, make powerful punches, and strong pounds. The goran's really
heavy, so he can't walk fast or swim. The Zora mask turns Link into a creature
that could swim, make energy barriers, and shoot boomerangs. The Zora is weak
against fire and ice. Also, for each form the ocarina changes shape. Deku Link
plays the pipes, the goran plays drums, and the zora plays the guitar. Also, there
are twenty masks that don't transform Link. These masks could be used to talk
to certain characters, and they'll react differently to certain masks. Some of
these mask to have a few effects, though. There are masks that make Link run
faster, be invisible, explode, talk to dogs, talk to frogs, and harch.
Overall: 9.8 out of 10