If you’ve ever seen the movie Groundhog Day or any of the Back
to the Future films, you’ll feel right at home in Nintendo’s latest offering
in the Zelda series, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. The game takes
place over a 72-hour period, which you will relive again and again and again until
you’ve saved the proverbial day. However, unlike Bill Murray’s unfortunate character
in Groundhog Day, you’ll yearn for the chance to return to this enchanting
world, where political intrigue and remarkable characters and places surround
you.

In short, the story proceeds this way. An evil “skull kid”
drags our hero, Link, unwillingly into another world by stealing his horse and
his ocarina. In this other world (named Termina), it seems the moon is falling.
Yes, it’s literally falling down out of the sky towards nearby Clock Town, and
in three days’ time–boom, Clock Town is history. This is all happening because
Link’s nemesis has stolen an artifact called Majora’s Mask, and its sinister power
has transformed him into quite an evil being. Your job is to get the mask back
before the three days is up, thus ending the curse and saving the town.

You’ll
find the village of Clock Town quite amazing in and of itself. The complexity
of plots, conspiracies, and events occurring between all of its inhabitants is
a bit overwhelming. Luckily, you are provided with a notebook to help keep track
of it all. Each citizen of Clock Town does his/her own thing, and you’ll see the
people walk back and forth between stores and houses. Depending on what time you
are coming through, you always have a chance of meeting someone new and possibly
obtaining some new information.

Time is one of three major features of the
game, and it is real-time, albeit extremely truncated. An average day in the game
will last about 18 minutes or so, and to help you keep track there is a clock
located on the bottom of your screen at all times. I am usually scared off by
the advent of time limits–time limits in general restrict your freedom and deter
exploration. But the time limit is Majora’s Mask is much different; it
adds an entertaining new twist to the gameplay. Early on in the game, Link manages
to get his handy Ocarina back, and with it he can play certain tunes that affect
the world around him. Within his repertoire is a valuable song that allows you
at any time to save your progress and start back at hour zero. It might sound
contradictory, but you use it quite a bit. It would be tough to finish this game
in 10 three-day cycles; in only one, it’s impossible.

Time plays a larger
factor than just providing an ending to the game. You’ll find out quickly that
most of the events and people around you are time-sensitive as well. Some examples
of this might include meeting someone at exactly 5:00 pm, waiting for the mailman
to deliver the mail at precisely 8:00 am, or visiting a certain shop that is only
open between 9:00 pm and 11:00 pm. In addition, there are certain areas of the
game that you cannot access until day two or three, which reduces your available
time to finish some tasks. Time will affect nearly everything you do in Majora’s
Mask, and Nintendo has done it in such a clever way that you can’t help but
smile while solving the puzzles around you.

Previously, I mentioned Link’s
ocarina, and in case you weren’t aware, this is a flute-type instrument. Princess
Zelda gave him this very special ocarina in the first N64 game, and it proves
to be equally valuable in the sequel. The ocarina produces the next major feature
of the game–songs. All told, you will learn around a dozen songs during the game,
each with its own unique purpose. Some will help you affect the flow of time,
as mentioned before, and others will help you influence the major characters of
the game. Two things are certain, however–you will need these happy tunes to
finish the game, and you will inevitably be humming these same tunes during work
the next day (I’m still not sure if this is good or bad!).

Masks, not surprisingly,
are the last integral part of Majora’s Mask. Throughout the game, there
are 24 in all, but you’ll only need a select few to actually finish the story.
Usually they are gifted to you for specific accomplishments, and you’ll find that
with the acquisition of most new masks, new “doors” within the game
will open. A few select masks will temporarily change Link into a different creature,
which also allows for progress in new areas. The mask idea was first introduced
in The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, but it plays a much more prominent
role here.

The graphics in this game are quite striking. Beautiful coloring
and effects are everywhere, and with the large size of some areas, it’s hard to
believe the game runs as smoothly as it does. Some areas in the distance can become
fuzzy, but this is a minor fault that doesn’t affect gameplay much at all. The
world is fully 3D, and with the addition of real-time and changing day and night
cycles, the immersion factor is at an all-time high. The worlds that Link travels
through are complex and intricate, with varying degrees of difficulty. The first
world you visit seems to only whet your appetite, as it is fairly linear, but
as the game progresses the terrain becomes more challenging and levels more elaborate.
Before it’s all over, you’ll see thick swamps, snow-covered mountains, sandy beaches,
underground dungeons, and more.

Gameplay in Majora’s Mask is rich
and detailed, as is the case with most of Nintendo’s major titles. You will almost
never be completely stuck, as there seemingly are always other places to go or
new things to try out. I finished this game in a somewhat standard period of around
30 or 40 hours, and even though I completed the endgame, I left many objectives
unfinished within the town and the four major areas surrounding it. To be honest,
I was surprised so much could be left undone while still being allowed to “finish”
the game. But in the end, that’s the beauty–just like Fight Club, you
decide your level of involvement. I’m sure the game could easily be stretched
out into 60+ hours if you decided to complete everything.

I have a difficult
time finding any faults with Majora’s Mask–it’s challenging, fun, and
well-designed. The one beef I can come up with is the “kiddie” factor.
I fully admit that, being 32 years old, I often felt silly playing this game because
of the some of the cutesy characters and overly happy music. This is a minor thing
at best, and being a big Nintendo fan, I’m quite used to it by this point. I’m
also used to that strange look my wife gives me when coming into the TV room.

For
you adventure purists, I feel obligated to tell you that there are several situations
that require action, namely the cliched big “bosses” in each major area
of the game. To this I say: get a grip, you can do it. But seriously, to ditch
Majora’s Mask for this reason would be a shame, mainly because the majority
of the game is spent thinking through scenarios and exploring the vast areas of
Termina. This is the ultimate adventure for someone like me. I only wish other
companies were making games as well as Nintendo made Majora’s Mask.

Final
Grade: A

If you liked The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask:
Watch:
Groundhog Day, Back to the Future, The Mask, Meteor
Read:
The Time Machine
Play: Any of Nintendo’s Zelda series