The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64)
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
