The Nintendo 64 was home to a great many greats, both single titles and full series, and I've basically played none of them until tracking them down for this 1001 list. I have seen many of them, however, and I often know enough about them to know what's going on in a general sense at least, but The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is a game that I don't know an awful lot about.
I know that it's got something to do with time, and probably a lot to do with a mask, but beyond that, I don't have much of a picture. It's another 3D Zelda game on the N64 that passed me by as I was off playing umpteen PlayStation games in its stead.
What have I missed this time?
 |
| What Ocarina? |
 |
| What horse? |
Fun Times
After a rather dull bit of blurb to kick things off, Majora's Mask sees a mysterious masked figure mug a young Link before riding off with his Ocarina and Epona the horse. Good. I can't stand the sight of Link in this form. I might have said in the past that these kinds of graphics don't look too shabby, but they've been showing their age of late.
Granted, I've been playing a lot of Dreamcast titles recently, and yes, hardware limitations and cartridge constraints will push the developers into places they'd rather not go, but still - I don't like this kid.
Oh, that is even better. We've been turned into a Deku Scrub, complete with our traditional green costume. This is great. I wonder how long we can last in this form.
If you've played Ocarina of Time, then you're familiar with the controls as a whole, but the peculiarities of being a Deku Scrub are revealed in some short tutorial rooms. Diving into plants in order to launch into the air and fly around using flowers is a new trick that'll open up the world a little more, no doubt used to solve some platforming puzzles in the future.
Hearts, rupees, items on the C-stick... it's so familiar you can even sing along with the jingles before you open your first treasure chest.
If you were after more of the same, but different, then Majora's Mask most definitely seems to have the Zelda fan covered.
Uh... yeah... alright, buddy.
This is the different bit that got put into the same stuff. Majora's Mask is all about time, and how little of it you have left before unmentionable nasties come and ruin your day - although, that's arguably already happened to Link, what with being turned into a Deku Scrub and all.
Everything about this game is focused on three days before the moon crashes into town, quite literally. Not a fan of timed missions in gaming? Buckle up...
You might imagine that those 72 hours occur in real time, giving you plenty of scope to get a whole shopping list of side quests done and out of the way while still managing to save the world. Well, not here, I'm afraid. These hours will tick by quick, and the puzzle is in making the most of them.
Our partner, for the time being, Tatl, gives us our starting point, so we ought to get exploring and find the North Gate of this place. Luckily for me, I bump into Tingle, who is only too happy to sell me a map of the town.
That's... not the right image... anyway. We find the shrine just a few feet beyond Tingle, only things aren't going to be so easy.
One stray fairy, coming right up. Armed with a map of the town, and seeing that it's not split into too many parts, we should be able to just roam about and wonder into it somewhere. I even caught sight of it in the intro video, so that should be my starting point.
En route, I'm distracted by a signpost that, out of nowhere, explains the second whole point of this game - to use your time to help people. There are quests and stories throughout this world, and characters move through it according to their own personal schedules.
I'm a little concerned that this is explained to me via a signpost and not told to me by an essential figure in a cutscene or something, but we'll see where it takes us.
One fairy returned and one new ability earned - the power to blow bubbles. Wonderful. I'll have to hope that'll come in hand-oh, it will, just outside the shrine, okay then. In true Zelda fashion, that which you have recently unlocked is likely to be needed within minutes, and it's the case here as we head outside and help little Jim pop a balloon.
Frustrations
It was around this point where I started to sag. Games with a story are all about one thing leading to another - that's generally how stories work - but this one was getting to me early on. First I was tasked with finding a fairy. Now, to get a code to a secret exit outside the town, I have to find Jim and four of his mates, all before tomorrow.
Why do they have to be so bloody agile? It's like trying to grab a greased up stick of butter. Even cornering the fools is no easy feat, and there are four more...
It took me hours to get this code. It better be useful.
Don't remind me, Tatl. Let's just make some progress at the Observatory.
That moon is pretty close, isn't it? I think this astronomer should have spoken up a little sooner. The moon has also shed a meteoric tear that happens to have landed by the door, so I ought to just hop on down and pick it up. It'll probably come in handy.
What?! That was one day already! And you want me to do how much in three days? I better get a move on. Where are we going?
Useful. Seriously, where are we going?
Are you kidding me? I need some leads.
Go on...
Oh, yeah, really funny. I'm on the clock here.
And you couldn't help just a little?
This is hopeless. It's also game design, clearly shoehorning me towards where I need to be, but not in any specific kind of way, which means instead of having a vague idea of where to be and what to do, I'm Z-targeting signposts and talking to people who don't care about Deku Scrubs.
Finally. Progress. Guess I should have spoken to him earlier when I ran past him hunting down annoying children.
I've now got access to a heart container piece, but still no idea of where to go. And then I spot her.
Because of the whole 'having a routine' thing, I had to chase this woman - a character I'd not seen here before - through half the town just to have an opportunity to speak to her, in a desperate attempt to further the plot in any way.
Oh good Lord. Nothing. I've wasted hours. And the annoying thing is that I bet she's sad that the love of her life has been turned into a frog. This frog, perhaps.
It's just a hunch, but I can't do anything about it right now. I need to find someone with some brains around here.
For the love of all that is Holy, what do I need to do here? Spying a diary in the next room, I'm clued into an event happening at a bar of some sort. This is some kind of environmental storytelling, eh? Tasking players to check their environment as though it was a real place. Real people leave real diaries, that could be a fun way to discover the stories that unfold in this town, right?
FFffffff...
...inal Word
I left Majora's Mask right here. My one other lead was that a door would open at midnight, which sounds important, but it also looks like two hours away, and I'm fed up of this town and its inhabitants already. They don't appear to care about me, why should I care about them? Because a sign told me? Chuh, yeah, right.
This time limit isn't strict. Without spoiling too much (I hope) it resets when it runs out, and you just keep on exploring in some kind of Groundhog Weekend until you do whatever it is you need to do. That sounds as faffy as it does with a strict time limit, to be honest, and it's one of the reasons Majora's Mask is so hit and miss.
On the one hand, it's a striking design. What other game has done such a thing on this kind of scale with a series as big as Zelda? On the other hand, it feels like side quest on top of side quest getting in the way of the main quest.
What is the main quest? Just to get a mask back and turn back into a chubby little Link? If that's all, I think I might just pass. I'll hang out as a Deku Scrub if that's alright; just flying with my flowers until the moon dooms us all.
I doubt I'll pick up a controller the next time I experience Majora's Mask. I'll probably watch it because I do think that as an idea, the time thing sounds interesting. I wonder how well it's pulled off.
A great many players probably already know how well it's pulled off, and so recommendations aren't necessary. If you liked Ocarina of Time and want more, give Majora's Mask a shot. I'm not sure if I'd prompt you to play Majora's Mask on its own though. It's a little too out there for my tastes.
Fun Facts
Thanks to the four years spent building Ocarina of Time, development of Majora's Mask would take only a year, with a smaller team to boot.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, developed by Nintendo EAD, first released in 2000.
Version played: Nintendo 64, 2000, via emulation.