Zelda Retrospective: The Legend of Zelda - Majora's Mask Review

With the sixth generation of consoles looming, Nintendo attempted to fight back against Sony's third-party-consuming Playstation console--a beast of their own creation--by experimenting with a disk-based add-on for their Nintendo 64 known as the 64DD. The project was scrapped due to poor sales and Nintendo eventually moved on to the Gamecube, abandoning the games in development for the system. Ocarina of Time was actually a proposed launch title for the add-on, but development of the 64DD was delayed and Nintendo instead decided to port it to their currently-existing Nintendo 64 console. Of their aborted projects, two remain as legendary "what-if" titles: Ura Zelda and Zelda Gaiden. Ura Zelda would have served as an expanded version of the original and would have been inserted into the 64DD while Ocarina of Time was in the console; this was intended to be similar to the NES Zelda "second quest" feature, where players would approach dungeons in different orders with a much higher difficulty ceiling. Ura Zelda featured new dungeons and enemies, but the general idea of the expansion was implemented into the Gamecube Collector's Edition bundle titled "Master Quest." The other game was released almost in its entirety, though because it was developed for somewhat more powerful hardware it still required that strange Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak. You know the one. Zelda Gaiden finally saw the light of day as The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

Review: The Legend of Zelda - Majora's Mask

Because Majora's Mask was intended to be a pseudo-expansion to Ocarina of Time, very little changed in the way of gameplay mechanics. I'd love to delve into it the way I did its predecessor, but truth be told there really isn't much left to say. Link occasionally performs a flip when he jumps, the UI looks a bit flashier, and the overall graphics are just a bit improved. This should go without saying, but if the core gameplay was what impeded your enjoyment of Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask isn't going to sway your opinion.

The story is a direct sequel to Ocarina of Time, as was expected of each flagship Zelda title: Zelda had Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past had Link's Awakening, and by now the time had come for Ocarina of Time to get its sequel. Since Link was sent back to his original timeline and successfully stopped Ganondorf's plan, Hyrule was saved from collapse and Link became a lauded hero. With Navi's work finished, she mysteriously vanished without a word to Link, and with the call to adventure still beckoning him to the wild the young hero embarked on a quest to find her. He's not on a journey for long before a masked Skull Kid from the Kokiri Forest steals the Ocarina of Time, hides Link's horse Epona, and transforms Link into a Deku Scrub.

With only a few minutes played as Link, players are forced to enter the game's hub, Clock Town, and play through a small series of events before finally regaining control of Link. Clock Town rests in the direct middle of Termina and is under threat of its moon falling, also caused by the Skull Kid. Despite the fact that the player finishes their goal  of restoring Link's body within an hour or so of gameplay, the much larger problem of the falling moon needs to be addressed as it could spell the end of the world.

The brilliant design of the opening sets expectations for the player: small individual stories make up the game's narrative, and each subplot leads back to the Skull Kid in some way or another. By solving each problem individually, the plot eventually wraps around to the Skull Kid and the end goal of the story. The game's main conflict, and the primary gimmick of Majora's Mask, is the restricted time limit. The moon will fall in three days, and there's simply no way to get it done within the time allotted.

The Song of Time returns from Ocarina of Time with a highly expanded use: in order to maneuver around the time limit, players can use the Song of Time to reset the in-game clock back to the first day. In order to take full advantage of this feature, many of the game's side quests occur on a set schedule, so in order to completely finish everything in the game players need to constantly be on the look-out for quest triggers and follow each schedule accordingly. Only a few side quests have narrow timing windows, so it's lenient on that front.

Speaking of side quests, this is easily the most side quest-heavy Zelda in the entire series. The other side of this detail is that it's also one of the shortest if players are only focused on the main story; in an interview, Shigeru Miyamoto revealed he had wanted to try a small and very dense Zelda focused on revisiting areas for hidden detail and finally had the chance to do so with Majora's Mask. You might not be aware of this, but because of this focus on short stories in a detail-rich world Majora's Mask is more of a favorite among a "hardcore crowd" compared to Ocarina of Time.

Since the developers wanted to create an atmospheric title, the atmosphere of Majora's Mask is quite eerie and at times far more disturbing than that of Ocarina of Time. The darker tone this time feels much more intentional, given that some of the creepier moments of the previous game are due in part to its technical limitations. Majora's Mask is a subversion for Ocarina of Time, exemplified by its original title Zelda Gaiden (or Zelda Side-story) and this is most apparent when approaching the game's multitude of characters--most of them are based on existing characters from Ocarina of Time down to their character models. For players who have invested time in the original game, this can create a menacing dissonance. If the team behind Link's Awakening were attempting to create a tone similar to Twin Peaks, then I'd say Majora's Mask gracefully nails the landing--a sentiment also shared by Zelda frontrunner Eiji Aonuma. The fact that Link travels to Termina through an underground passage that literally turns the world upside down should give the player a hint about how strange the journey is about to become.

Despite the small number of dungeons, each one feels unique and they all serve as an important milestone for the story. Because each region of Termina is separated into distinct corners of the map, conquering the dungeon feels like putting each area to rest. The oppressive atmosphere comes into play when it becomes clear players will never be able to clear every dungeon without resetting time, ultimately leading to feelings of hopelessness. Each boss can be fought multiple times so there is a chance for players to save all of Termina, but the game never rewards players for doing this and instead continues its three-day time limit; even in the best of circumstances, Link is trapped in Termina seemingly forever.

The density of the game world further emphasizes the role of side quests: if the player merely continues through the game to make a beeline for the ending, then by the final boss they'll only have up to seven Heart Containers as opposed to eleven hearts in Ocarina of Time and fourteen in A Link to the Past. Side quests offer Pieces of Heart and other helpful items like bottles, and returning after its absence from Ocarina of Time players can once again permanently upgrade their sword. Although I stand by my stance that it wasn't necessarily worth the trouble in Ocarina of Time, the sword upgrade is almost necessary given the small size and weak power of Link's beginning sword. It's not a very difficult side quest either, but it does take the player's allotted three days to complete. If the player wishes to find a substitute for the Biggoron Sword, there's a side quest for a similar weapon as well.

The typical reward for major side quests are the main focal point of the game: mask collecting. Much like Ocarina of Time placed such a high value on music, Majora's Mask focuses almost entirely on collecting masks--all of which serve some purpose either in the story or in the completion of some of the longer side quests. Furthermore, three of the four major areas each have their own mask allowing Link to transform into a member of the fantasy races established in Ocarina of Time: a mask for the Deku Scrubs, one for the Gorons, and one for the Zora. Each mask is utilized over the course of the game and, much to the game's credit, there's never an instance where Majora's Mask seemingly forgets the original items exist--unlike Ocarina of Time, where nearly half of Link's arsenal is completely unusable depending on the timeline. The fantasy races will also react to Link differently depending on which mask he's wearing and even which race he appears to be, a small detail which helps make the world feel that much more established.

Masks inundate the world of Termina, so when the player is given one as a reward it comes off as being a precious memento or keepsake by the character giving them away to the player. It's a unique way of world-building that I think a few players might miss out on if they don't give a few side quests their due time. Furthermore, aside from the races and a number of returning character models, there's almost no link to Hyrule in the entirety of Majora's Mask. The Triforce is never mentioned and both Hyrule and Zelda are only seen briefly; I'd have personally preferred to see Link-centric sequels and spinoffs be emblazoned with the title The Adventure of Link (so far example, The Adventure of Link: Majora's Mask) as a callback to the first sequel in the series, but Nintendo is short on rugged, handsome critical-minded people like myself, so The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is apparently okay for a game that features the titular character for no more than about two minutes.

Like Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask is not without its share of flaws. Unlike the prior game, these flaws come more from the actual design of the game rather than the growing pains of the medium. The only way to permanently save is to reset time; if players want to save while exploring a dungeon, they need to leave and quick-save at an Owl Statue which then kicks them out of the game. Further aggravating this problem is that these quick-saves also delete themselves after the player gets into their game. It serves its point that resetting time is an option players should consider wisely, but given that this resets bombs and arrows it can get annoying to start a game again and be forced to farm for these items.

Keeping track of side quests can be a hassle as well. Players can pick up a notebook which tracks the schedule and completion of the important characters, but learning their schedule and planning ahead can be a bit annoying. Having a woman tell you to meet her in her hotel at a certain time only to discover that hotel closes hours before that is one such example, and it persists through multiple side quests. I don't want to have to reset the clock every time I screw up a quest, but because it feels intentional I guess this complaint can be chalked up as subjective. Anji might just be a forgetful idiot, and if that's the intention I guess I just overlooked it.

The 3DS version mitigates both of these problems by allowing players to warp to specific hours and there's also a new item to keep track of many of the game's side quests, but as I pointed out in my mini-review, this version comes with its own set of issues. The hit to atmosphere is retained from Ocarina of Time 3D, and many of the bosses have somewhat different patterns for no discernible reason. Like Ocarina of Time 3D, players need to seriously consider if the game's tradeoffs are worth it. Considering how heavily the game's atmosphere adds to the overall feeling of Termina, it's a much more difficult consideration than Ocarina of Time 3D.

Verdict

While not as influential as Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask is a worthy sequel and flips many of the series conventions on their heads. This is the point in time when Zelda had fully come into its own as a series and experimentation was beginning to creep into all of Nintendo's titles. Thanks to the perfection of the formula in Ocarina of Time the developers managed to create a unique title which stands apart from its predecessor. I would recommend players tackle Ocarina of Time first to truly appreciate Majora's Mask, but the vibrant, detailed world and charming characters make this a great addition to the series. Just please avoid the Gamecube Collector's Edition of Majora's Mask. Nobody deserves that headache.



Zelda 3D remaster mini-reviews:
http://subjective-objective.blogspot.com/2016/03/mini-review-zelda-remasters.html

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Mini-reviews: Zelda Remasters

The Zelda franchise is one of the most revered series of video games, and the first game was my personal entry into video games as a whole. The series has suffered from some mixed feelings due to a seeming need to innovate, but even a bad Zelda is a pretty good video game. I didn't really want to spend too much time on reviews for these remasters, but enough has been changed that I think a quick overview of them would be useful. These are not reviews for the original games, so if you want to hear a more detailed overview of one in particular let me know. Or don't. Who cares?


Ocarina of Time 3D

The first of Nintendo's 3D Zelda fix-ups and arguably the best, Ocarina of Time 3D fixes many issues of the original while retaining the timeless feel of the Nintendo 64 release. Many of the main character models have been completely revamped, although a negative consequence of this is that many NPC models look badly dated in comparison. Don't let this defer you, though: Ocarina of Time is the game which defined 3D gaming for many people and it is as good today as it was then. The game also implements many improvements seen in later games, a notable example being that the player can now assign the two boot items to a quick select. The touch screen allows for more items to be assigned to buttons than before; as an added bonus, the ocarina has its own dedicated slot. Including this, the player is allowed five items to be equipped at once compared to the original's three. When using the ocarina players are also able to take a look at all the songs collected so far, saving time for those who don't feel like memorizing the buttons. And, most important of all, the framerate has been improved from capped 20 frames per second to a solid 30. If you have a chance to play any version of Ocarina, this is it. If you have a 3DS, this game is essential.

You might want to take note of two specific complaints some players have with this release. I personally don't see these as issues, but it's enough for others to view as detracting from the original. The first criticism is aimed at the new lighting system present across the entire game. Some believe the new lighting detracts from the atmosphere of the original; while I agree somewhat, I don't know that it's as big a deal as is presented. This isn't Silent Hill, the brown fog in many areas of Ocarina is simply a relic of low draw distances and, personally, I didn't even notice it was gone until someone pointed it out. Another complaint is that the Gamecube version's Master Quest mode has been toned down dramatically, although I would argue that it is a bit less frustrating while still presenting a better challenge than the original game. The new Master Quest flips the entire world similar to Twilight Princess on the Wii, and this is going to come up a bit later but in all honesty, just trying to go through Ocarina in a flipped version of what I've grown used to for two decades now is a challenge of its own. Given that these are the only two complaints I can think of and how heavily subjective they are, I don't think many people are going to mind.

The Wind Waker HD

The Wind Waker HD is the second of Nintendo's remasters of 3D Zelda games, this time on the Wii U. Like Ocarina this HD re-release presents substantial improvements over the original with a few caveats. Wind Waker was always one of the more contentious games of the series; while I personally believe it is easily the best 3D Zelda, many were put off by the games cel-shaded art style, proving once and for all that style can be wasted on the masses. This version of the game offers improvements of its own that are equally as massive as changing boots to quick items in Ocarina of Time 3D: the player can now buy a sail that dramatically increases speed while sailing from island to island while cutting out the need to change directions of the wind, although this trivializes some timed events that require precise sailing. The infamous Triforce hunt at the end of the game has been massively overhauled, giving a far better and less time-consuming experience than the original. As an added bonus, Nintendo even fixed the original game's inverted camera. I hate inverted cameras and you should too.

Like Ocarina, Wind Waker HD "corrects" the visuals of the original release, although this time I'm not quite as enamored with the visuals as I was with Ocarina of Time 3D. The original's distinct, flat cel-shading has been replaced with a global, realistic lighting system that is a bit less appealing than the original. HD Bloom effects are in place and it's some of the most egregious use of this lighting that I've ever seen, even worse than the Xbox 360 version of The Elders Scrolls IV: Oblivion. However, this is a heavily subjective complaint and given all the improvements, it's not worth it to look over this version. I have to admit though, unlike Ocarina 3D not much has been done in terms of framerate; in fact, in some areas framerate is dramatically worse as visual effects begin filling the screen. The original wasn't perfect either, but given that so much work was put into this game I'm surprised Nintendo didn't try a bit harder to touch up the framerate. All in all though, if you haven't picked up Wind Waker this, like Ocarina 3D, is the version to get.

Majora's Mask 3D

Here we have a game that's not quite as impressive as the rest, and while I'd also say this game is improved over the original it's not by very much. Majora's Mask 3D adds several new features, such as a much streamlined Bomber's Notebook which makes many of the game's sidequests easier to handle--if you haven't played Majora's Mask before, this is definitely an improvement. Sidequests are the majority of the game, so being able to track them down with better frequency is a plus. This game also adds a tutorial stone like Skyward Sword, the rightfully-maligned most recent console game in the series. I used it myself for a few of the peskier hidden items in the game, but it's out of the way and you can avoid it completely if you want. Another improvement over the original is that the player can now save at any of the owl statues in the game; in the original these were presented as quick saves which were erased when you picked up the game again but in the 3DS release these statues are the primary method of saving, which is far better than having to reset to the first day every time you wanted to permanently save your file. The updates from Ocarina 3D are all present, and if you're playing with a New 3DS you can even use a brand new third-person camera. 

With that comes a few complaints that are much more present here than in Ocarina 3D. First off, that game's lighting really does affect the atmosphere of Majora's Mask. Notably the tonally darkest game in the entire franchise, Majora's Mask is actually hurt by the inclusion of brighter colors. Fewer characters were given radical model overhauls as Ocarina 3D, which means you'll see far more dated characters than in that game. Majora's Mask 3D is something of a less creepy game than its original release, which is kind of a bummer for people who are only going to play this version. Boss fights are tweaked in very weird ways, especially the third dungeon's Gyorg. The third dungeon, as well as the area around it, show off two of the more annoying changes in the game: in the original release, the player could use ice arrows to create a makeshift bridge across bodies of water. It was kind of a novelty gimmick, but players (specifically speedrunners) could use that feature to skip huge portions of water-based puzzles. In the 3D remake, players can only create ice bridges on designated sparkling areas in water for seemingly no reason at all. An even more annoying change that has absolutely no bearing on the game at all is that Zora Link could hop above water like a dolphin--you can still do that, but only by using precious magic to speed up while swimming. Why was this even deemed worthy to tweak?

All of this and they didn't even include a Master Quest or Hero Mode--yeah, once you beat the base game that's it. For the rest of these releases to have one of these two additional modes (even Skyward Sword and the absolute perfection of A Link Between Worlds had Hero Mode!) and Majora's Mask 3D to be missing it is a disappointing oversight that harms the remaster's appeal. If these changes to the game seem like a drastic overhaul then take note that they are, and in many ways it's less impressive than the original. However, the improvements to framerate and ease of use might be all you're looking for, so please keep all that in mind when deciding on playing this or the original version. If you want the original, do keep in mind there's a fairly rare Gamecube disc and if you're too lazy for that and don't want to dig up a Nintendo 64, that version is also available on the Wii (not Wii U) Virtual Console. Of all the re-releases, this is the one you might want to seriously think about before deciding on a version.

Twilight Princess HD

The most recent release in the Zelda 3D touch-ups, Twilight Princess HD is something of an anomaly as it adds very little to the original game. If you have forgotten, the Wii version of Twilight Princess was flipped on its vertical axis, making Link left-handed--if you couldn't tell, this is an HD re-release of the Gamecube version with minimal improvements. Textures appear to have been reworked all over the place and it's nice to see Twilight Princess in its intended form and in widescreen, but compared to the other titles there aren't a whole lot of improvements. The Tears of Light moments in the game have been reduced, but that's not nearly the same as Wind Waker's Triforce hunt. The rupee wallet has been increased in size and the game doesn't patronizingly remind you rupee size every single time you load your file, nor does it make you close rupee chests if you can't hold anymore in your wallet. A new item has been added to streamline the Poe hunting sidequest in the game, if you're into that.

All that aside, the game's framerate isn't quite as stable as the Gamecube or Wii versions. Some areas in the game have notable dips, although they're typically only in areas with a large amount of fog. They're not as bad as some of the framerate problems seen in Wind Waker HD, but they're curiously still present. This game is simply a case of whether or not you really want to play Twilight Princess again, as it's not exactly the best game in the franchise--it's not the worst either, just very by-the-numbers. Like I said, a mediocre Zelda game is still a very phenomenal video game, so if you want your fix this is as good a game as any. If you have the original version or if you're a masochist who has grown used to the Wii controls, I don't think it's a necessary upgrade. With its new textures, though, you might notice just how jarring the cartoonish character designs are as opposed to the overwrought dark new Hyrule. Wind Waker might have a cartoon art style, but characters in Twilight Princess look like cartoon characters dropped into a Lord of the Rings knockoff and it's frankly a bit ugly. Should have just keep the Wind Waker style and told the naysayers to deal with it.

I personally think it's a better version simply due to the unobtrusive HD remastering (as opposed to Wind Waker HD) and that, curiously, I have never been able to play the game without severe audio crackling. Thankfully, that's not present here. I hinted at this when discussing the earlier games but Twilight Princess HD has its own Hero Mode; however, much like the game's design it heavily borrows from Ocarina of Time in this respect. This game's Hero Mode is vertically flipped, so if you're used to the Wii version or if you want a challenge then it's available from the beginning. There's also some meaningless amiibo support, although the Ganondorf amiibo allows you to take double damage if you really want a challenge. The thing is, so little has been changed here that I would only recommend it for people who had gripes with technical issues of the Gamecube release--if you're fine with that version, this isn't going to do much for you. Unless you're picky about fine details, you can take this one or leave it.

The Verdict(s)

Nintendo has painstakingly tweaked every single entry in the series, although in some places they fixed what wasn't broken or went backwards in some respects. Ocarina of Time 3D and Wind Waker HD are dramatic improvements to games that were great to begin with, but Majora's Mask 3D trades nearly every positive for minor, though persistent, annoyances. Twilight Princess HD adds almost nothing to a game that really needed a few ounces of personality that would require a complete overhaul. Each case is different and almost all of them take away something from the original release, but Nintendo did their best with what they had and if want to revisit these amazing games or haven't played any of the originals, I'd say the remastered versions are the way to go.