| Reviewer: legokingcandy | Date: July 25, 2022 |
| MM is probably the best possible sequel imaginable to it's cult-classic elder sibling, Oot. Majora's mask took what Ocarina of time had laid down, and just vaulted with it. Everything from the music, gameplay, and story, has yet to be matched (TO AN EXTENT) by any Zelda game to date. Sure, there have definitely been better games since then, (Zelda games even) and for a 20+ year-old game, that's to be expected. I've never felt the same way in a Zelda game since I first played this back in 2011, and without further ado, lets get going.
Graphics: 7 Graphics wise, the polygons and textures are very hard to look at, and have aged like milk left in the basement for 20 years. For an N64 game, it is probably one of the best looking games on the system, but comparing it with anything made on the GameCube, ps2, ect. onward is just an unfair battle. The mucky, blocky, look of the game. unprepossessing would be the best word to describe it, but this is mostly due to the technical constraint of this 26 year-old 3D brick. To give it some credit, these downsides sortof fit with MM's style in a way where it kind of helps drive the depressing, grim, overtones and the overall jank that is the world of Termina, so I will give it that. The game's art style is absolutely stunning (in my mind's eye at least) every area looks unique and it has this strange, grittiness to it all, which ties into the main theme in the best way possible, and I could just talk for hours about how much I love it and all the different aspect that make me love it even more. (DEFINITLY CHECK OUT NERREL's TEXTURE PACK. JAW DROPPING.) Sound: 8 The music is pretty amazing. Everything from heart-rending tracks, to moving melodies. For example, the song of healing, clock town, overworld, observatory, milk bar, and many more making it probably one of the best sounding games on the n64. The area-specific music (four main area themes) is very annoying in my opinion, but the canyon rendition is actually pretty good. The rest suck major butt. I could say more, but I'm no expert and I don't wanna bore you. Gameplay: 7 The main quest is alright. 2 of the main dungeons are fun the rest are either too boring, or too maze-like/ overly complex. Stone tower is probably the only dungeon you actively want to replay, but then again it's up to personal preference. The elegy of emptiness is very annoying, and every dungeon has a unique annoying gimmick, the sub-dungeons/pre-requisites before the main dungeon kind of stink, and feel like a chore sometimes especially if you run out of time midway through. The gameplay of MM is pretty run of the mill Zelda wise, aside from a few specific moments. The side quest's really take the cake. Won't say too much but they are the best part about the game. The whole time limit system is a pretty cool idea and has a very good execution. It forces you to plan out your cycle and it makes every save feel super satisfying, (that is if you finished what you were doing in time!!) The boss fights are fun, the final boss is amazing, everything you'd expect from a Zelda game. (I probably missed a few things but I don't wanna be here all night) Pretty fun, nothing spectacular. Overall: 9 I would recommend this to anyone, but if you enjoy it or not is up to personal preference. Very much so worth your time, and is definitely something everyone should give a try. |
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| Reviewer: legokingcandy | Date: July 25, 2022 |
| MM is probably the best possible sequel imaginable to it's cult-classic elder sibling, Oot. Majora's mask took what Ocarina of time had laid down, and just vaulted with it. Everything from the music, gameplay, and story, has yet to be matched (TO AN EXTENT) by any Zelda game to date. Sure, there have definitely been better games since then, (Zelda games even) and for a 20+ year-old game, that's to be expected. I've never felt the same way in a Zelda game since I first played this back in 2011, and without further ado, lets get going.
Graphics: 7 Graphics wise, the polygons and textures are very hard to look at, and have aged like milk left in the basement for 20 years. For an N64 game, it is probably one of the best looking games on the system, but comparing it with anything made on the GameCube, ps2, ect. onward is just an unfair battle. The mucky, blocky, look of the game. unprepossessing would be the best word to describe it, but this is mostly due to the technical constraint of this 26 year-old 3D brick. To give it some credit, these downsides sortof fit with MM's style in a way where it kind of helps drive the depressing, grim, overtones and the overall jank that is the world of Termina, so I will give it that. The game's art style is absolutely stunning (in my mind's eye at least) every area looks unique and it has this strange, grittiness to it all, which ties into the main theme in the best way possible, and I could just talk for hours about how much I love it and all the different aspect that make me love it even more. (DEFINITLY CHECK OUT NERREL's TEXTURE PACK. JAW DROPPING.) Sound: 8 The music is pretty amazing. Everything from heart-rending tracks, to moving melodies. For example, the song of healing, clock town, overworld, observatory, milk bar, and many more making it probably one of the best sounding games on the n64. The area-specific music (four main area themes) is very annoying in my opinion, but the canyon rendition is actually pretty good. The rest suck major butt. I could say more, but I'm no expert and I don't wanna bore you. Gameplay: 7 The main quest is alright. 2 of the main dungeons are fun the rest are either too boring, or too maze-like/ overly complex. Stone tower is probably the only dungeon you actively want to replay, but then again it's up to personal preference. The elegy of emptiness is very annoying, and every dungeon has a unique annoying gimmick, the sub-dungeons/pre-requisites before the main dungeon kind of stink, and feel like a chore sometimes especially if you run out of time midway through. The gameplay of MM is pretty run of the mill Zelda wise, aside from a few specific moments. The side quest's really take the cake. Won't say too much but they are the best part about the game. The whole time limit system is a pretty cool idea and has a very good execution. It forces you to plan out your cycle and it makes every save feel super satisfying, (that is if you finished what you were doing in time!!) The boss fights are fun, the final boss is amazing, everything you'd expect from a Zelda game. (I probably missed a few things but I don't wanna be here all night) Pretty fun, nothing spectacular. Overall: 9 I would recommend this to anyone, but if you enjoy it or not is up to personal preference. Very much so worth your time, and is definitely something everyone should give a try. |
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| Reviewer: Ledjon | Date: May 15, 2011 |
| This has to be my favorite Zelda game of all time. To be honest, I'm not much of a fan of the series myself. It's fun, but it's not very deep, or at least in my eyes. But I daresay that Majora's Mask is the best in the series as of yet.
Graphics: 9 I thought the graphics were wonderful and much better than OoT, as far as Nintendo 64 games go. Can't get around the polygons, but that's just a system limitation. Sound: 8 MM had wonderful quest songs that I really enjoyed listening to. I liked the overworld song quite a lot as well. It gave you a subtle feeling of urgency and contained a bit of a dark theme to tell you that sh*t's literally going down. However, the pre-dungeon area-specific music annoyed me, in that it was the same theme with a little thematic variation: that is, little creativity. Gameplay: 9 The only thing I don't like about MM's gameplay - and the whole Zelda series in general - is the battle system. It's executed very well, there's a whole arsenal of weapons at your disposal, and there's some interesting enemies to beat up, but something just doesn't feel right about it. That aside, normally I would give a Zelda game a 7 for background, just because it's usually so limited in emotion. However, I'd give now MM a 9, simply because there's just so much to it. Think about it: it's a whole country, full of people, that's going to be crushed by their moon in three days if you don't find a way to stop it. While every Zelda game has a threat of some sort, it doesn't come to you if you just decide to not do anything for a while like it does in MM. Every person has their own reaction to the impending disaster, from acceptance to denial to frustrated panic. On top of that, you have all the deaths of non-enemy characters, more than in any other Zelda games. What struck me the most is that three characters died, and you effectively took each one's soul so that you could wear it as a mask. This dark aspect of MM is dumbed down farther than it could have been, but the game was intended for enjoyment and recreation and not in-depth analysis and deep thinking. But it's still a lot more than in other Zelda games, where the formula is simple: go to dungeon A, beat boss, explore the land, find kickass item, go to dungeon B, explore more, ... defeat final boss, and rescue the princess. Overall: 9 Considerably darker and more realistic in terms of story (people dying, evil can possibly destroy everything, regardless of there being a hero, impending doom, etc.), MM is, as said before, my favorite Zelda game as of yet. I would recommend it over OoT any time. You could say it's short, but that doesn't matter, as the game has tons of other things to make up for it. ...I'll be honest, I actually averaged my three scores to get my overall score. So yeah, there you go. Fun fact: My name is not a weird spelling of "legion" or "legend". It means "lion" in the Northern Sámi language. |
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| Reviewer: NicholasCobalt | Date: May 3, 2009 |
| Hey this is NicholasCobalt a long time fan of Zelda games. Link's Awakening was my first game period and it has highly affected my opinion of other Zelda games. Because I went from original storyline of the game boy sequeles of Link to the Past to the original Zelda for NES, my appreciation for the original is no less than anyone else, but my appreciation for Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time was less, simply because the story was the same, gameplay mechanic and graphical upgrades are nice and all but Nintendo was too afraid to step away from what sells after Zelda II: Adventure of Link until this!
They took a great game engine, improved upon it and elaborated the story. This compared to Ocarina of Time is Link's Awakening compared to Link to the Past. Graphics: 10 First thing I thought when I started it up was Whoah, expansion pack for the win. Looking back I think they may have been able to do better with more time but you can't hold deadlines against a great a game, the true power of the Expansion Pak for the 64 was never achieved, but this game sure came close. The detail in NPCs, clothing in the game, graphical effects, lighting and textures all do exactly what they are meant to do. Sound: 10 Koji Kondo outdid himself with this one, not only does the game have a great background music score, the songs you learn and use in game are amazing, and recorded Five Times! The original whom you learn the song from, and playing it yourself as Link and spirits of Zora Goron and Deku. Musica has been a driving factor in all the Zelda games, from a Flute drying a lake in the first one, conducting wind to guide your ship, to simply saving your game here. Combat sounds haven't changed much since Ocarina of Time but they fit well. Gameplay: 10 You live in a world you know, only because you have lived it before. While obviously everyone is following a preset track the world is alive, everyone has something to do, and they do it unless you interrupt them of course. In addition to the great gameplay of Ocarina of Time they added a fourth dimension to a greater extent than ever before, this isn't just growing older, visiting the mirror world or altering the seasons, no you have to be aware of what you need to do as well as when it needs to be done. Overall: 10 There isn't a better game for the Nintendo 64, this game really brings the old feeling of Zelda back and gives you a rich immersive world to get lost in for hours at a time. Definitely worth picking up a copy and dust off your old 64 for. Not only are there many side quests to do, but you're finally offered a way to track them! Have fun playing and take care. |
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