Time is an Illusion (Legend of Zelda - Majora's Mask (N64))

Member Name: Midrange

Product:	Legend of Zelda - Majora's Mask (N64)
Date:	14/09/08 (10 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent concept, familiar feel, yet different, well made "sequel" of sorts

Disadvantages: The time travelling can be annoying at times!

After the truly epic and wonderful "Ocarina of Time", Nintendo were going to have a pretty hgh standard to beat. "Majora's Mask", in my opinion, does meet that standard - but in a very different way.

The Legend of Zslda series of games has been alive is the late 80s. The basic concept is that a young, forest dwelling boy called Link is pulled into a series of adventures, quests, dungeons, puzzles, mysteries and general excitements. As well as being an adventure game, the N64 Zelda titles have included a great deal of fighting - swords, shields, grappling hooks, bows and arrows and magic spells - cool stuff eh>

Majora's Mask is set in a parallel world known as "Termina". This land is, rather unfortunately, doomed. The moon, which has been enchanted by a strange spell, is falling and threatens to crush all of the land in 72 hours. Enter Link.

The game plays wonderfully - excellent 3D control, special targeting and tracking systems for fighting and a range of camera angles makes sure you can appreciate every detail of this virtual world. There's lots of fighting to be done (from birds in the fields to terrifying bosses at the ends of the dungeons) and puzzles to be solved. The game's strongest feature however, dungeons and demons aside, is the ingenius inclusion of "time".

Time in Termina runs along with the game. Termina has 72 hours to exist, you have 72 minutes to save it... or do you? Well, fortunately, with the Ocarina of Time in hand, Link is able to travel back to the beginning of his adventure - giving the player another handy 72 minutes to save the world. The Ocarina can also be used to speed up or slow down the passage of time - again, very, very useful. As you might expect, travelling in time makes for some careful game-strategy. You must, for instance, make sure you complete a certain stage of the game in one "block". You can effectively "freeze" your state of play to continue later - but sooner or later you will have to finish that blasted dungeon before returning to Day 1.

The dungeons in MM are very cleverly designed. The dungeons, for me, form the "main" part of the game (though there is a lot more to explore). There are four dungeons in total, each one with a ingenious central element. For example, in the Stone Tower, Link is able to rotate the entire level such that the ceiling becomes the floor and vice versa... causes all sorts of confusion at first, but you get the hang of it!

Another important feature of the game are the masks. There are many, many masks to collect and wear. Each one has a special property - be it "explode your head", "makes you run faster" or "turns you into a giant". Som masks have to really be worked for, others are picked up along the way. The "final" mask of the game, which can only be retrieved when you enter The Moon is the Feiry Deity mask - which transforms link into an adult.

There's a great sense of atmosphere in this game. The new world is strange - yet some of the familiar favourites return for guest appearances - such as the blue and red spiders. Many of the items are similar to previous games - a good thing in my book, as an experienced Zelda player. Newcomers to the Zelda series will find it easy to pick up - the game introduces you to each new event and leads you through a kind of "training" session before the real fighting begins. A great game... though quite disturbing at times. Just wait till you battle Majora's Mask at the end!

Summary: Save the world as the moon falls using your brain... and your sword!