Lortano's impression: Majora's Mask 3D
So yes, being the young bastard I am, I never actually got to play Majora's Mask or Ocarina of Time when they first came out. At the time I was around two years old, so sadly Zelda puzzles would have been beyond my ability back then. But Nintendo in it's Wisdom (And lack of originality) decided to release the two again on 3DS. So, a week ago I decided to pick up the game and see why many people call it the greatest Zelda game of all time.
Storyline/theme/general tone
From the opening scene, I could tell that this game was going to be something fun. The tone was wonderfully dark, even if I find Link slightly bright for the environment, he certainly didn't take much away from the awesomeness that followed. I'll spoil little, but suffice to say Skull Kid's little gift to Link was slightly horrifying. The Happy Mask Salesman is something else entirely, the fact that he never moves fluidly, always in jump cuts, simply adds to the creepy tone beneath the Clock Tower. From the opening line "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" he simply steals the show, his importance also shown on the cover art at the top of this post, he's only second to Skull Kid.
I must confess that, for the first two hours, I was confused. Very, very confused. There was a deepening sense of dread in my head as the first three days passed, slowly. I only understood why when I listened to the music that always stays in the background. It was slowly speeding up over time! By the third day it was a chaotic mess, which certainly fit the horror that hung above Clock Town. the Moon's face was certainly a shock, after all, you can't get away from it. It always hangs there as a grim reminder of what will happen if you fail. The fact that the people I met over the three days slowly dwindled as more and more fled the town, the fact that the guards stood and waited, watching the moon fall, it truly was something I had never seen in a Zelda game before.
Oddly enough, the game's chief mechanic also helps provide the sense of dread. The ability to travel back to the first day undoes your progress. Put it simply, you complete the first dungeon, thus restoring Woodfall to a non poison state, and then realise you've got five minutes before the moon crashes and play the Song of Time. You check back, that progress is entirely undone. The swamp is poison, same as always. This applies to every action, every person you help, and unfortunately you do not have enough time to help everyone in the game. It really is strange that in a Zelda game you can't actually save everyone, normally everyone gets saved to a certain extent, but here. Well...I'll move on to the characters at another point.
Gameplay
Ah yes, Gameplay, the one thing that nobody complains about in Zelda. Well, here the Gameplay is similar to Ocarina of Time, so auto jumping etc is the norm. The two dungeons that I have checked so far have been nothing short of fun, even if you've got the pressure of watching the clock tick as you desperately try to figure out what to do. I particularly love the different instruments you get when you transform into the various forms. It feels so great to hear the song of time played on Bongos. Otherwise, normal running around and fighting wise, it's standard. The lack of crosshairs on the bow did put me off at first but I quickly learned how to aim properly.
The three day mechanic is genius, the characters follow set routines unless you do something to change it. It begs the question: why don't other games use this mechanic? The only game that tried it was Lightning Returns, and we all know how well that game went (So bad that Jesse Cox gave up three episodes into his Let's Play.) It really adds flavour and depth to a game that's already pretty deep and flavoursome anyway. There are two new songs in the 3DS version that allow you to skip and slow time. I used the time skip a few times but because I'm hardcore (Gotta be in these 12 rated games) I never used slow time, I liked the tension of reaching the Boss in a dungeon with five minutes left until moonfall.
Villain
Can one really speak the name Majora without remembering the nightmare fuel that Nephalim created with that laugh? In any case, his debut outing is simply...disturbing. There are many ways to see Majora and his puppet (Skull Kid). Me personally, I'd see Skull Kid and Majora as similar. Skull Kid is a prankster, an innocent one at that. Majora too, sees himself as innocent, yet his pranks are on an astronomical level, sending the moon itself down upon Termina because he can. From what I have read about the ending, he really sees you as the bad guy because you want to stop him doing as he wishes. Ultimately, he is not really the 'villain' per say and that's what makes him so effective and adds to the sense of horror, because at the end of the day, you are trying to beat up a kid with a mask on his face, even if that mask contains something truly frightening.
Characters
From Clock Town, I now see what Skyward Sword was going for with it's central hub. Skyward sword's characters certainly had at least a little depth to them, but nothing compared to Majora. Yes, the characters are all reused models from Ocarina of Time, (which I'm going to put down to the budget rather than what the theories about Link being dead say) but they are all different from those characters and, most importantly, fundamentally different from other characters in the game.
So, let's focus on the important ones we can see on the cover art. The Mask Salesman I've covered, so lets head down and to the left, to Anju. What more do I need to say about Kafei and Anju, anyone who played the original need only to sigh as nostalgia swoops over you. The two were engaged to be married but Skull Kid cursed Kafei into becoming a little boy. The whole sidequest evolves around getting them back together, and from what I understand it requires you to wait until the very end of the third day to get them back together. Which ultimately makes things a lot worse for the player, for three reasons. First, the two resolve to die married under the moon, as it is merely a few minutes from falling. That is heartbreaking to say the least. Secondly, in helping them, you also missed the chance to help dozens of other people, the Gorons are still frozen in Snowhead and the monkey got boiled alive by the Deku. Thirdly, and here's the real kick in the teeth. Ultimately, it doesn't matter, because to prevent a game over, you have to play the Song of Time, thus erasing that progress, with only the mask you receive to show for it. You spawn back at the base of the Clock Tower, to see the First Day, with Kafei emerging from his hiding place to post the letter that starts the whole sidequest.
So yeah, these characters are undoubtedly the greatest in Zelda.
Final thoughts and overall rating.
People call Zelda 2 the Black sheep of the Zelda family. I'd call this the Blue sheep of the family. No 3D Zelda has tried anything like this, before or since, and for me that adds to it's uniqueness in the series. This is a game where you get game over by standing still in the middle of the main town after all! It's strangeness and the overall sense of dread and horror really got to me. I think what really sums it up is the aforementioned cover art. Compare it to Ocarina of Time 3D,
Ocarina of Time is all about Link and his journey, the cover shows him and Epona, really the main characters. Majora is about everyone but Link. Who exactly is the main character of Majora? It's a very good question. In the end, can we really judge Skull Kid and Majora, when Majora gives you the mask that can easily destroy him? The game asks some serious questions of the player, especially when it comes to the end of the game. If you choose to use that mask to destroy Majora, what really is the difference between you and him? It's questions like this that really bring me to my rating.
I rate this
9.5/10
It's not the greatest Zelda, but not by much. It looks great on 3DS, it plays great, it's storyline is dark, it's characters are wonderful. A must buy if you've never played it before.
Reply With Quote
Re: Lortano's impression: Majora's Mask 3D
. to happen any more (looking at you, Kafei)).
