Feature: Gamestyle remembers: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64)

"Dawn of The Final Day - 24 Hours Remain". You'll be seeing this foreboding message many times during your play through of the game. The first time you step out into Clock Town and look skywards, the menacing grin of the moon ominously stares back. While retaining many of Ocarina of Time's features, Majora's Mask represents what is probably the biggest departure from the "traditional" Zelda game formula since Adventures of Link. Taking it's cue from the time mechanics briefly touched upon in Ocarina, this builds an entire game around the concept and the final product proved to be one of the most unique games around at the time, and is considered by many to be the best entry in the entire Legend of Zelda series, and certainly the darkest.

Taking place shortly after the events of the previous game, Link is robbed of the ocarina and his horse, Epona, by the evil(?) Skull Kid and his accompanying fairies Tatl & Tael. The ensuing chase results in Link being thrown through a mysterious portal in the Lost Woods and thrust into Termina, a pseudo-parallel world of Hyrule, and upon doing so is transformed into a Deku Scrub in the process by the Skull Kid's magic. A mysterious mask salesman promises to return Link to his human form, if in return he retrieves the fabled Majora's Mask from the Skull Kid. Now to the part which probably put a lot of people off of the game: the moon will crash into Termina in seventy-two hours, which in real-time is roughly one hour. Initially this seems like a very strict and unfair time limit, and the constant reminder of the countdown on the HUD seems to reinforce this. Add to that the fact that you are unable to save the game for the first hour-and-a-half or so and it's understandable as to why this could be off-putting. Thrusting so much pressure onto the player within the opening section of the game could seem like a little too much.

But it's not. Music still plays a very important role, and once you retrieve the ocarina back and learn a few songs, you have the ability to manipulate time. You can skip forward to dawn of the next day, slow down the flow of time, or return to dawn of the first day. Returning to the first day saves your game but causes you to lose certain items in the process such as arrows and rupees, although the latter can be safely stored in the town bank. Owl statues scattered throughout Termina allow you to save at that exact moment in time, but this save is deleted the next time it's loaded.

Another integral feature new to this game was Link's familiar inventory of items being replaced with masks granting various abilities. While the majority of masks aren't required to complete the game and are mostly side-quest related, the three main ones are essential. Each one allows Link to take the form of either a Goron, Zora or Deku. Donning the Zora mask and swimming through the crystal clear waters of the Great Bay remains one of the most memorable experiences in a Zelda game. Transforming into a boulder as Goron Link and rolling around Termina Field at blistering speeds was equally as enjoyable.

One of the main criticisms levelled at Majora's Mask was its lack of dungeons compared to Ocarina of time, with there only being four in the entire game. What more than makes up for this though, is the wealth of side-quests available throughout Termina. While the dungeons are your typical Zelda designs, the depth and quality of the side-quests really made this game what it is.  Near the beginning of the game you are given a notebook which is used to keep track of everyone who has an available side-quest. It shows the time at which their side-quest starts and any important events you have taken part in that relate to it. The best example the game has to offer is without a doubt the epic Anju & Kafei quest in which you have to reunite the soon-to-be-married couple. This quest spans the entire three days and involves numerous sub-quests and masks until it's conclusion. Other memorable quests include finding a piece of paper for an arm sticking out of a hotel toilet, or fending off an alien invasion at the local ranch to save the cows from being abducted.

Majora's Mask certainly stands out from the rest of the series. It provides what is possibly Nintendo's best attempt at a "mature" story and the darker tone only helps to make this game what it is. The sense of foreboding and dread throughout the game is near perfect, from the constant tremors on the third day as the moon draws closer, to the atmosphere in the final moments before the moon impacts Termina. You can forgive this game for introducing us to Tingle, and instead celebrate the break from tradition in order to provide something different. It has certainly stood the test of time and still impresses visually to this day, mostly thanks to the excellent art design. Given it's recent release on the Virtual Console, there has never been a better time to pick up what is possibly the best game in the entire Zelda series.

Words by Matthew Francis