Well, Christmas has been, and I've got Majora's Mask. So far I'm in the Snowhead Temple, and I have to say, this is a great game. The game makes great use of the N64 expansion pak, giving slightly better graphics, and fitting more sprites on the screen at once.

The gameplay and controls are basically identical to Zelda 64 (Ocarina of Time), with the A button for action, the B button for sword, and the C buttons for items, except that the A and B buttons have different uses when you're wearing transformation masks (Deku, Goron, Zora and Fierce Deity's Mask). There are a lot of cut scenes in this game, and whoever made this game must really like making the screen go blurry in some cut scenes and when putting masks on (like when you get punched in Perfect Dark).

There are only four main dungeons (Temples), but there is a lot more to do outside the dungeons. There is a lot of character interaction, and myriads of sub-events, which you can keep a record of in your Bomber Notebook. Majora's Mask is pretty hard, but not too hard (my second day of having the game and I'm in Snowhead Temple). Hopefully it'll get harder. Well, actually, although it's not all that hard, I'm happy to say, it is harder than Zelda 64. Especially Termina field. In Zelda 64, Hyrule Field was way too easy. As a kid, daytime there were no bad guys, and at night there was nothing except some measly Stalchildren, who you could easily ride past. In Majora's Mask, at daytime there are red and green Chuchus (definitely nothing to be afraid of), there are fire-breathing Dodongos, there are birds that steal your rupees, and more. At night, there are lots of enemies, like Wolfos and stuff. This makes the game much more fun.

The sound and background music are very good (as usual). There are a lot more sound effects in this game, and every person has their own designated sound effect (I hope one day Nintendo puts real voices in their Zelda games). There are lots of new catchy tunes, plus a lot of music taken from Zelda 64. One BIG improvement is in Termina Field - listen, and you will hear CLASSIC HYRULE MUSIC, one of the things Nintendo was stupid enough to leave out of Zelda 64.

One major improvement Nintendo has made in this game is Clock Town. It is heaps better than Hyrule Castle Town Market. There are lots of sub-events, games, things to do, and one of the great things is that people have their own schedule, so you can't always find them in the same place every time.

The Bomber Notebook is an item you receive fairly early in the game, and you can add people's names to it when you meet them. It keeps a record of important conversations with them, items or masks you've received, and when you've solved the person's problems, it keeps a record of this.

You'll find that many of the people in Termina look just like people from Zelda 64, but with different names and different occupations. For instance, the two guardians of the Spirit Temple, Kotake and Koume, are no longer bad guys. Kotake is a potion seller, and Koume runs a Tourist Shop with a boat cruise. Talon the ranch owner owns the Milk Bar Latte. The Two Lovers, Honey and Darling, who now have love hearts above their head and kiss each other, run a gaming shop. These are only a few examples. In this game there are normal people (Terminians) who live mainly in clock Town, although there are exceptions, like Cremia, Romani and Grog, who all work at Romani Ranch, and the people at Mountain Village, etc. Then there are the Dekus. South of Woodfall, there is the Deku Palace, with the Deku King, the Deku Princess, the Deku Butler, Deku guards and more. And there are Deku Salesmen (or is that Salesdekus?) spread throughout Termina. Then there are the Gorons, who live east of Snowhead. Also are the Zoras, at Zora Hall and Great Bay, including the Zora band, the Indigo-gos. Then there are the Gerudos at the Stone Towers.

There are twenty-four masks to collect in this game, plus four boss masks, which you can't put on (they're kind of like medallions or spiritual stones from Zelda 64 - you have to collect them). Out of the twenty-four masks, there are four transformation masks - the Deku mask, turning Link into a weak little Deku Scrub that blows bubbles out of it's snout, can float around from Deku Launch pads, and can play the horns. Then there's the Goron masks, which transforms Link into the Bongo playing Goron hero, Darmani, who can perform the Goron roll, and even have spikes cover him while he does it, has a strong punch, and a mighty pound. Also there is the Zora mask, which turns you into the legendary Zora guitarist, Mikau, with his swimming talent (he is a Zora, after all), can use his fins as boomerangs, and his electric current protective barrier. Finally, the Fierce Deity's Mask, transforming Link into the mighty ONI LINK!!! I won't say what he does or how you get him, but he sure is cool! These plus all the other masks make a great collection.

In my opinion, this game is better than Ocarina of Time, but I'll let you reserve judgment until you buy this gem.

HOME