The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

[rodvcpetrie]

I am playing through this again and because its been years since I completed it, it feels like a new game to me in some ways.

I know a lot of people don't think of this as a good Zelda game but I am one of those Zelda fans that really thinks its a great addition to the series. It is a lot more darker in tone (well at the time it was, now it depends on your perception of a dark tone) as it deals with impending doom for the land Link is in.

One of this game's great strengths, like Ocarina of Time, is the music. I especially love the Song of Healing and of course The Song of Time. I also enjoyed the return of the Overworld Theme. I do realise most of the indoor music was the same as Ocarina of Time but I think makes it more connected to Ocarina of Time.

So I give this 9/10 - I would give it ten if it were a bit more deeper like Ocarina of Time.

[Bitchacho]

I was a newb and read a Walkthru so I could get all the masks and own the last boss. nowhere near as enjoyable as OOT but still good nonetheless.

Being a Deku Shrub was such a freaking bummer. I would have rathered a sequel to OOT rather than playing as some gay little creatures. Oh well, dems the breaks.

[mcerto]

i enjoyed it more than OoT, i thought it had a better story, better characters, and better levels, eg ikana castle and the temple after it. and when you collected all those masks and got the fierce diety mask (fierce diety being a horrible translation, as it should be "oni link") it was just kool to have the power of a god, and beat the bosses into the ground.
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[Cerebral]

The term 'Oni' isn't a translation at all. It's Japanese.
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[NismoR34]

Majora's Mask is still my favourite Zelda game to date, but then, I haven't played as many titles as most of you have. Regardless of this fact, I just enjoyed Majora's Mask a whole lot more than its predecessor or indeed the other titles such as Wind Waker. I think this is for different reasons though, there is just a whole lot more to the game than other installments. I mean, on one hand the game follows in OOT's footsteps beautifully and just continues your immersion into the world of Zelda. On the other hand though if you look a little deeper into the game you find something that not a lot of other games have, let alone have nailed in the way that Majora's Mask did. It was one of the first games that showed me a new side to gaming, this side being an emotional one. Every character had their own personality, their own story and their own 'thing' about them, not to mention how these characters fitted into the overall game. I dunno, it just worked as far as I am concerned and yeah, it was great.

Someone else will probably sum up my thoughts a lot better thought so I'll shutup.
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Raptured Reality

[?oe?oe]

Majora's Mask is a awesome game, and though I finished it in two weeks (pretty much everything), so many things happened. It was a 'full' game. Going through just three days and seeing that each character actually had a life, they did things, they had personality, emotion, troubles, etc. It was an amazing experience.

It was very rewarding when you 'finished' a character and it was recorded in that book. Using all those masks were also cool. And that was only the beggining...: you could also transform into a Deku, a Zoran(?) and a Goron.

It may not be as epic as Ocarina, but it was more personal, and that makes all the difference.
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[Andronicus]

^ NismoR34, I totally agree with you - it just worked.

I found the world of MM to be so involving - there was so much stuff going on around you at any one time, and you could choose what you wanted to pay attention to. The passage of time thing was an awesome addition as well, and the way the impending doom became more and more prominent as the days progressed.

Overall, I thought the game was absolutely awesome - while I found OoT to a lot more epic, I really enjoyed a lot of the additions that MM brought to the table. Both were incredible games for the N64.
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[kwissy]

A few months ago I finished it again. It was relly fun but I wish I still had OOT. I think my brother traded it in to get the gamecube cheaper. I'll just buy it on the virtual consol.

[Frozencry]

I personally saw it as a massive letdown and after buying it, stopped playing halfway through, then about 6 months later went back and finished it.

I thought the immersion factor was there, the visuals were great, awesome soundtrack as always, and the gameplay ruled. What DIDN'T work I thought was the whole mask thing and how you have to reset the timer for 3 days every hour or something. That annoyed me alot and personally really took away the enjoyment. But that's just me. It still was a great game, but nowhere near as good as I expected it to be.
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[Infested Jibbs]

My thoughts on Majora's Mask
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[rodvcpetrie]

That was a very good review there Jibbs. I feel that the game is more than just hacking, slashing and puzzle solving, it also has humanity as well.

[mcerto]

i actually felt it was more epic than OoT, the whole race against time thing, turning into a god in the last battle, what really made it feel epic was that fight against the ikana king, and then that temple, it just seemed...epic, like you had to face your demons, and fight the evil, and then when you flipped the temple, it just got trippy...think i might play it again now

P.S i agree completely with every word you said jibbs, you are now my new friend (you have no say in it )
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[Infested Jibbs]

I'm glad i was not the only one to 'experience' MM, rather then simply play it
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[Mark]

10 out of 10 game for me. Nothing has come close to what I had experienced with that game. Epic story, beautiful gameplay and stunning visuals that was way ahead of its time and honestly hasn't been matched.

I think the amount of depth and interaction within the game really did it for me. It's very rare that you can experience a game where everything just fells so real - people going about their daily routine and so much emotion that it would make your mummy cry. It's beautiful.

The side quests and main story were also a great incentive. I loved having the ability to fulfil some of the game's other stories and understand some of the lesser known characters, besides focusing on trying to save 'another' land.

The detail with the environment and dungeons are second to none. I loved running through dungeons with so many puzzles, baddies and the pressure of trying to find those damn fairies.

I don't know, there always seemed to be a goal in that game with everything you did. You just weren't saving these fairies in dungeons, you were aiming for new rewards. You were just intruding on other people's business, you were trying to save their lives.

The ability to transform was also great and put a great mix on Link's abilities and what was available for him to explore. Having the ability to swim at great speeds and slam your body into walls was something the series hadn't experienced.

I can't really express how much I loved this game. It was, and still is, stunning and it's hard to imagine a game surpassing it any time soon.
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[David]

This thread inspired me (espescially Jibbs and Mark), so I decided to grab the game out again. Luckily I have the Zelda Colletor's disc, so I just chucked that in and started a new game.

I forgot how incredible some of the textures are in the game! Sure, I'm playing it in high res with a component connection now, but it's still an N64 game. And it honestly looks better then most PS2 platformers. Another point is the atmosphere, and sense of urgency about everything. The problem with games like this is that they have many brilliant moments, but for the last five years my only experince with the game has been turning on a completed save file and running around the world, which is semi-pointless and has tainted my memory.

I'm just about to get the Ocarina back, I'm waiting for midnight of the third day while I write this post. Hell I may even play it through again, it's quite short if you skip all the side quests (I got all the masks last time). Actually, probably not, I've got too many Cube, DS and PS2 games to finish before December 7.

[Cerebral]

I never got to finish this game.

The generation kinda ended once the GCN came out and I haven't bothered with it since. I managed to make it ti the Ikana Canyon before I stopped, and now I seem to have misplaced my Expansion Pak, so I can't exactly whip out the old 64 and give it another whirl.

If it's on the VC, I'll definately get it, otherwise I might try and find a cheap Exp pak off eBay or CC. Once the holidays arrive, I definately want to tackle this game, as it's the same, yet vastly different to Ocarina of Time. No a small feat when they're using essentially the same assets.
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[rodvcpetrie]

Don't forget, you can fast forward time once you have your ocarina and also slow it down