The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000.)
Gaming platform: Nintendo 64

-This game was created by Nintendo
-It is the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
-The Legend of Zelda series started in 1986 on the Nintendo Famicom (NES outside Japan)

Story

The main character, Link, was searching for a friend in the woods when a mysterious imp ambushed him. He stole Link's horse and his ocarina (a musical instrument). Link chased after him, but when he found him the imp turned Link into a deku scrub (a race of small plant-like creatures) and escaped. Link eventually finds a mask salesman who tells Link that the imp stole one of his masks, Majora's mask, which is an extremely dangerous mask. He says that he needs to leave the country in 3 days, and if Link can get back the mask and his ocarina, he will return him to normal. The imp is actually trying to bring down the moon within 3 days so it crashes into the planet, but on the 3rd day link manages to get his ocarina and using its power reverses the flow of time to the first day, keeping his ocarina. The mask salesman returns Link back to his former self, but when he finds out that Majora's mask hasn't been retrieved, he becomes angry and explains the dangerous potential of the mask. Link must seek out 4 giants who will stop the moon from falling on the 3rd day, and defeat the mysterious enemy.

Gameplay

This game is an action adventure. You explore, fight monsters, fulfill quests and collect items. Majora's Mask in particular is focused on side-quests, if you only complete the necessary tasks, the game isn't too long, but it is packed with tons of side missions that really make the game. What's unique about this game is its 3 day system. I have never seen something quite like this in any other game. You have a certain amount of time to do things. Different events in the story trigger depending on what day and hour it is. When 3 days pass, you lose and start from where you last saved. Now, the trick is that you are able to go back to day 1 any time you want. In doing so you lose your progress, your money, and some items. However, you do not lose your important items and the songs you've learned. For example, you're trying to acquire a song that will unlock a new place. When you get it, it's evening of the final day and the moon will soon crash down. You reverse time and go back to day 1, but you now know the song and proceed with your adventure. You can also skip half a day anytime, and slow down time which is extremely helpful. Collecting masks with different powers is also a main theme in the game. 3 special masks will allow you to transform into different creatures. You can save by either going back to day 1, or at save point statues. When you save at a statue, you automatically exit the game, and when you load the save file it will be deleted so you cannot just load the game when you screw up.

Final thoughts

This is my favorite Zelda game, and one of my favorite games of all time. The gameplay is fun, the graphics are amazing for the Nintendo 64, and the music is beautiful. I love the new ideas and concepts (the way the cutscenes are done, the interaction between characters, the way the story revolves around what time it is in the game).

Post created by Wal

Extra end of the world clip: