Navigation
menu
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
I don't say things like what I'm about to say often. Nor do I take statements like these lightly: This could be the best adventure game of all time.
Unlike FAR too many of today's adventure and RPGs, this one isn't saddled down with a gratuitous amount of CGI cut-scenes. There are no random battles. You don't need to slaughter countless minions to raise your experience levels. There is just gameplay. Loads and loads of gameplay. But not the repetitive: trudge through a dungeon to find the exit, find the next dungeon, repeat; that we see so often. Majora's Mask never gets boring. A lot of the time when reviewing games, particularly second rate games, I find myself asking the question "will this EVER end?" That never happened here. It's clear when and where the game WILL end. But there's a lot of things you need to do before you get there. The IDEA behind this game is brilliant. The world will end in three days, when a huge celestial object crashes into the planet. I know you're thinking Armageddon, but the game is more like Groundhog's Day. See, at the end of three days, you start all over, at 'The dawn of the first day', and live the same three days over again. It may not be the first time anyone has thought of it, but it's the first time I've seen it in a game. All of the characters and events in the game have a preset three-day cycle. They go about their daily routines over and over again, unless interrupted by you, or some set of events that you've put into motion THIS time around. What may turn some people away from this game is that it IS a Zelda title. For me, I love the series. But I know others find the games cater too much to a younger audience. So what if the celestial object in the game is the moon, which happens to have a big face on it, and not a Texas sized meteor. And maybe the entire planet isn't at stake, just your part of the country. And there are some very cartoon-like characters. But take that all away, and you still have an amazing gaming experience that would impress the most jaded, 'I only play mature games', gamer. I for one love the Zelda series, and all that comes along with it. Cartoon characters and all. I was a little thrown off that in this particular game, there is no Zelda. I've played all the games in the series, and although I might not follow the lore as closely as some (see VGF network website Nintendo Land), I kinda missed the "save the princess" angle. Maybe I missed something and one of the characters 'becomes' princess Zelda in the future [please E-Mail me if anyone knows otherwise].
One of the problems that many adventure titles suffer from is monotony. Let's face it, some of the coolest and most innovative things in any new game quickly become tiresome after a few hours of play. And any adventure title should last more than a just few hours. Designers have always had a difficult time with this fact. Some ignore it, other simply end the game prematurely (thereby not allowing the game to get monotonous, but also cheating gamers out of more gameplay). Nintendo has implemented some brilliant ideas into the N64 Zelda titles. The game's structure is fluid. Meaning, it changes as the game progresses. In the beginning, it's up to you to find and explore any new areas. The quest IS the exploration. Later, however, once you've explored most areas, and have the lay of the land, it would be quite boring to have to travel (on foot, or by trusty steed) across the vast world. Conveniently, just as the game risks becoming a little tiresome, Link discovers a way to warp from area to area. Thus, the old problem of "I've finally found the quest item I was looking for, and now I need to get HERE. But HERE is really far away" (remind anyone else of Resident Evil?) The graphics are a little blocky, but still up to standards of the best N64 games. Unfortunately, until the Gamecube is released, Nintendo fans will just have to look at the graphics on PCs and other next generation consoles and wait patiently for the next coming (of Nintendo consoles that is.) The score is excellent, and the familiar old sounds straight from the days of the original Legend of Zelda are still there. Somehow that sound that you hear in Zelda titles when you discover a secret passage under a blown up boulder, or from behind a crack in the wall, is still very rewarding. I half expect to hear it when I'm playing OTHER adventure titles. I guess that's yet another thing that makes this series so good. And Majora's mask is by far the best of this great series. Highs:
Lows:
Final Verdict: Non-Linear doesn't quiet encompass how epic this title really is. When you begin the game, you are thrown into a world filled with people, events, and stories. And just as every adventure title should be, Majora's Mask is all about exploring and gameplay. Pure gameplay. Admittedly, you do have to complete the main 'dungeons' in a certain order. But it's not an arbitrary order. It's a tightly knit story where one quest leads to another. Overall this game has great puzzles, a great story, it's the perfect length, and has everything a gamer could want in an adventure title. Simply the best. Overall Score: 10 Additional Images:
Image
1
|
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||
