Majora Mess? (Zelda Majoras Mask (N64))

Member Name: craigus_moorus

Product:	Zelda Majoras Mask (N64)
Date:	30/05/01 (512 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Enjoyable, engrossing game

Disadvantages: Genre is tiring

Don't get me wrong here - I love video games, and have loved every Zelda game that they have produced. I have completed 100% of every Zelda game that has been produced, but I am starting to see the series become a little uncreative. This game is pretty amazing, with an original plot, and it wisely makes use of all of the characters from the original N64 game, but changing them around. This is not the problem. The main problem is that it is almost starting to parody itself without meaning too - each new Zelda game has you looking for magic mushrooms, or getting a super sword, etc. This means that I completed half of the puzzles in this game without even needing to think, because I "know" how a Zelda game works and thus usually the most complicated, hardest place to go is the way to complete a puzzle. The problem seems to be that apart from the time aspect of Majoras Mask, nothing extra seems to be going into the new game. Each Zelda has its "parallel world" twist, whether that be jumping back and forth in time (both N64 games), or back and forth to the golden world (SNES). I was quite disappointed with the gameplay when it came to fighting for instance. The z-targeting could have been to so much more effect - remember all of those arcade fighters such as Soul Edge and Tekken etc? The enemies could be limited to only attacking one at a time if the z-targeting meant a real fight. Also, each enemy becomes a little cliched, each and every "end of all" guy being indestructibe apart from the "secret weak spot". Majoras Mask is fun and playable, as well as being damn difficult sometimes (althought mostly because of difficult camera angles).
Also, hello, plotline? It seems like the whole Hyrule World needs to be completely expanded to allow many more different types of people into the world - to be honest each game feels really artificial. I mean, it could be easy if each game we play we are only allowed to see a small part of
what is really a very much larger world, but we are actually told each time that the maps encompass an entire world!
Even though I have only talked generally about Zelda games mostly in this opinion, I should really talk a little about this game more. This game is really great. The mask aspect of it does does add a lot to the gameplay, I sepnt the first couple of weeks of play just running around chatting to all of the folks, in all the different combinations of masks (some of the responses are v cool). The castles are better in this one than the previous one because they are shorter, but don't let that make you think less difficult! I have to say I spent a lot longer on the original games on the NES than on these new ones... by winning hundreds of items each time you enter a dungeon, there was no real reason to have money in this game, or magic - as the infinate magic trick was quick to produce as much as you'd ever want. Also, with the Blast Mask, you never had to have bombs... there are lots of things I don't like, but hey, I didn't make it.
I would recommend this game to anyone, with a warning to Zelda fans... wait till the GameCube Zelda comes out, and wait with baited breath...

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