BATTLE SYSTEM INTERACTION ORIGINALITY STORY MUSIC & SOUND VISUALS CHALLENGE Needlessly Irritating COMPLETION TIME 20-40 Hours OVERALL 2.0/5.0 Rating definitions

   Hot off the heels of the success of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, the first 3-D installment of the series for the Nintendo 64, the Big N began work on a second chapter of its franchise for the RPG-starved system. The second 3-D installment, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, does things a little differently than its predecessor, but unfortunately, this change isn't for the better, and some of the very flaws that plagued Ocarina plague its sequel, with things, in fact, being a bit worse this time around.

   Combat, in essence, is the same as it was in Ocarina, albeit with one major difference I'll cover. Once again, Link can make use of a Z-targeting system to lock onto enemies for attack, though like in Ocarina, the Z button is also the button used to bring the camera behind Link, and locking onto foes in the first place is a real pain in the ass, especially if enemies are chasing you. Link, like before, has a variety of tools he can use to fight the enemy, from bows and arrows to the hookshot.

Link never dared to put on mascara ever again

   One new feature is Link's ability to use a few masks to transform into various forms (they sort of border on spoiler, so I won't specifically mention them), which have different controls and attacks. While the system seems interesting at first, most battles, in my experience, even those against bosses, basically turned into simple slugfests made needlessly difficult by the lousy targeting system and camera. You'd think Nintendo would've gotten a handle on the camera and controls after Ocarina, although its sequel proves otherwise, and things don't exactly work out well throughout the game.

   Questionable design follows the player outside of battle, as well. Looming large, and in sense restrictive, is the time system, where Link has only 72 hours to wander the world before it collides with the moon. Time moves pretty quickly where Link is, although he can use his ocarina to play the Song of Time (those who've played Ocarina will know what it is) backwards to slow the flow of time, or play each of its notes twice in a row to advance immediately to the next night or day. He can also play it normally to save his game and return to the morning of the first day, although he loses all non-important items such as rupees, arrows, bombs, contents of his bottles, and sidequest items, and returns to Clock Town, this game's main hub of business. As for rupees, though, Link can store them at a bank where they won't disappear even after playing the Song of Time.

   Players can also save and quit their games at Owl Statues found across the world, and to which Link can immediately teleport after getting the Song of Soaring sometime into the game and playing it. There are also a number of masks Link can use outside of battle for various purposes, and which are necessary to complete the innumerable sidequests. There are some mini-games, too, but they're very hard, especially with the lousy 3-D control. Underwater controls are probably the worst, though. It can also be a bit difficult to figure out how to advance the game, even with your fairy's occasional cryptic notes. In the end, things could've definitely been better in terms of interaction.

   Even if it fails at doing things differently, Majora's Mask is pretty inventive, chiefly with its mask system, and despite returning many elements from Ocarina.

Link rushes off to the Hyrulian Olympics

   The story contains far less development than Ocarina, unfortunately. Link, after the events in that game, goes off on some journey with his horse Epona outside of Hyrule. In the middle of a forest, some guy called the Skull Kid steals Epona and Link's ocarina, and Link, of course, must get them back and in the meantime stop the Skull Kid, wearing the titular mask, from crashing the moon into the land of Termina in 72 hours by seeking the help of four guardians, and, of course, lots of other masks. Though the concepts are nice, the pacing of the plot just doesn't work, with few cutscenes in between the endless wandering across the land, and the story could've easily been better.

   The music is passable, though, yet not a whole lot to write home about. There are some nice pieces, such as the Clock Town theme and the Termina Field music, basically a remix of the Zelda theme, although like in Ocarina, things get a bit too atmospheric in dungeons and during the night. The voices are acceptable, and mercifully sporadic, although more memorable music certainly wouldn't have hurt.

   The visuals are just as nice as they were in Ocarina, with pleasing, fitting colors and detailed sprites, even if they still have a general sense of blockiness, although this is one aspect where the game doesn't completely fall flat on its face.

   The game's difficulty, finally, depends upon how well the player grasps the awkward controls, with playing time being around the same as Ocarina, anywhere from twenty to forty hours.

   In the end, unfortunately, Majora's Mask proves to be yet another bone in the graveyard that is the Nintendo 64's abysmal RPG selection. As I've said before, things just don't work as well in 3-D as they do in 2-D. While different can be good, moreover, little that Majora's Mask accomplishes is very good and certainly not enough to overcome the needlessly frustrating control and gameplay.