If you were really lucky, you were able to pick up The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time back in 1998 when it was new. This game changed the industry forever, and it blew everyone’s mind with its presentation and depth. After playing a short demo in Target when the game came out, I remember how hard it was waiting for Christmas morning to rip the wrapping paper off of my own copy. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of sitting in my room with the radio on as I searched for every last Golden Skulltula. After completing the game I remember concluding that no game could possibly top it, or even match it, until future consoles showed up.
That sentiment meant that the release of Majora’s Mask was a complete non-event for me, and I didn’t even bother looking up reviews. Maybe it had something to do with the timing; Majora’s Mask came out toward the end of 2000, and it’s possible that I thought that Nintendo couldn’t have possibly produced anything even resembling the polish and creativity found in Ocarina in such a short amount of time. The fact that I would have needed to go out and purchase the N64 “Expansion Pak” concluded the matter: Majora’s Mask just wasn’t for me.
Fast forward 16 years, and I’m discovering Majora’s Mask for the very first time. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This game represents almost everything that makes Nintendo’s first-party games among the most loved and highly praised in the world. If you’ve played Majora’s Mask , then you already know what I’m talking about, but for those of you who never got around to giving this one a shot, you really owe it to yourself. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite games of all time, and I’m even taking part in a weekly game club as I play through. What makes this game so special? How much time do you have? If I have to brief I’ll just tell you that the use of color and tons of creative side quests are what make it so special to me personally.
Color is something that Nintendo has always done really well. It’s strange, but I swear you can tell a Nintendo game apart from all the others almost immediately. It’s like Disney in that way; Nintendo just has its own vibe and its own magic, and the colors in Nintendo games are always so vibrant. In Majora’s Mask there’s an astronomer’s tower that you ascend early in the game, and the winding staircase that you run up looks like a solidified rainbow. It’s stunning. The front desk at the treasure chest shop has a similar effect and I love to stare at it. It’s incredible that in 2016, when video games are cranking out visuals that are practically photo-realistic, textures and colors from an N64 game still stop me in my tracks. Then again, I’m still mesmerized by the original Rainbow Road from Super Mario Kart (a track gloriously recreated in Mario Kart 8 ).
It’s also incredible that the gameplay holds up as well as it does. I’m having so much fun navigating these dungeons and experimenting with all of these side quests. Just knowing that there are some characters I may never meet and masks I may never collect has me constantly resetting this doomsday cycle in order to explore every nook and cranny of the main town (you have three in-game days to complete any given quest before the moon crashes into earth, killing everyone). I never would have received a bigger bomb bag if I didn’t happen across an elderly woman getting robbed at the stroke of midnight outside of town; I recently scored a piece of heart by supplying some toilet paper to an undead hand that rose out of a toilet at the local inn; I played hide and seek with the members of a charitable secret society run by children to get my side quest journal. When it comes variety and creativity, Majora’s Mask is a strange and peerless treasure.
And get this: as a Souls fan, I can honestly say that Majora’s Mask has a darker, more interesting tone, and more rewarding exploration than Dark Souls 2 . Having played both games back to back, I have to give the nod to Nintendo for creating the more immersive and coherent game world. There are also some themes and scenes in this game that I can’t believe made it into something marketed to young kids; it can be very grim and psychedelic.
As of now I’m about halfway through the game, and still progressing. If you’re a fan then shoot me a comment below telling me what your favorite part of the game is. Does anyone else share my love for the rainbow staircase and rainbow desk in the treasure chest shop?