The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

reviews
IGN	9.9 / 10
Meta-ratings
GameRankings	92%
Metacritic	95

Logo from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Original title

ゼルダの伝説ムジュラの仮面

transcription

Zeruda no Densetsu: Mujura no Kamen

Studio

Nintendo EAD
SRD (programming)

Publisher

Nintendo

Senior Developer

Shigeru Miyamoto (producer, supervisor)

Takashi Tezuka (supervisor)

Eiji Aonuma , Yoshiaki Koizumi (Directors)

Kōji Kondō (composer)

Erstveröffent-
lichung

Nintendo 64: April 27, 2000 October 26, 2000 November 16, 2000 November 17, 2000 GameCube: November 7, 2003 November 17, 2003 March 19, 2004

platform

Nintendo 64 , Nintendo GameCube , VC

Subject

Game mode

Nintendo 64 controller , Nintendo GameCube controller

medium

256 Mbit game module

language

German English French

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask ( English f. The legend of Zelda: Majora's mask ; Japanese ルダの伝説ムジュラの仮面 , Zeruda no Densetsu: Mujura no Kamen , literally: The legend of Zelda: Mujura's mask ) is one of Nintendo developed action-adventure video game for the Nintendo 64 console. It was released in Europe on November 17, 2000 as the sixth installment in the Zelda series and is the second title in this series to be released for the Nintendo 64. The title found 3.36 million buyers worldwide.

In 2003 Majora's Mask appeared together with Ocarina of Time , The Adventure of Link and The Legend of Zelda in the limited game collection The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition for the successor console Nintendo GameCube . In 2009 it was published as a virtual console game for the Wii console . The game collection received a PEGI rating of “7+”, the Wii publication “12+”. On February 13, 2015, a revised new edition of Majora's Mask was released for the Nintendo 3DS portable game console .

The protagonist is the young Link , who has to prevent the moon from falling on a city in a three-day time loop and has to master four guarded temples and help various characters out of their individual needs.

action

The intro sequence of the game reproduces the events of the previous Zelda title Ocarina of Time and ties in with its plot.

In search of Navi , his fairy from Ocarina of Time, Link rides deep into the Lost Forests with his filly Epona . There he is attacked by the Horror Kid , a childish demon who already knows Link from the lost forests, and robbed of his ocarina . The Horror Kid wears Majora's mask , an animated, malicious object that influences the actions of its wearer. In pursuit of the thief, Link finds himself in a world called Termina . The Horror Kid transforms him into a little Deku child, a humanoid plant being. A short time later, Link finds himself inside a clock tower in Unruhstadt , a town centrally located in Termina. Here he meets a traveling mask dealer who reveals himself to be the actual owner of Majora's mask and offers Link to help him restore his original shape in exchange for his stolen mask. The mask dealer grants a period of three days for this task.

In the further course it turns out that the Horror Kid conjures the moon on a collision course with Balance City and the impact coincides with the expiry of the deadline given by the mask dealer.

In the last night before the end time , Link succeeds in confronting the Horror Kid and regaining his ocarina. With the instrument it is possible for him to travel three days back through the time of his first meeting with the mask dealer. The mask dealer teaches Link how to free himself from his Deku form with his ocarina and expects to receive Majora's mask from Link in return. When he realizes that Link has not received it, he begs him to get the mask in order to avert greater disaster.

In his human form as a weapon bearer Link is now allowed to leave the city. He explores the country and seeks four large-scale temples, each of which has to defeat a guard in order to awaken one of four giants . These giants represent the protective gods of Termina. In order to gain access to the temples, Link has to deal with the problems of the residents of the respective temple and gain their trust. For this, Link has the opportunity to change his shape in order to pass himself off as a member of the individual peoples.

After Link has awakened all four giants, he faces the Horror Kid again. With a song he summons the four protective gods from the four cardinal points, who together catch the moon in its fall and lift it into the air above the city. Majora's mask reveals itself as an individual and detaches itself from the Horror Kid, because she is tired of the Horror Kid's weakness. The mask gets inside the moon and increases its gravity , which threatens to exceed the forces of the four giants. Link follows Majora's mask into the moon and challenges her to fight. After left victory, the moon dissolves into thin air. The mask dealer takes the now lifeless mask into custody and Link leaves Termina.

Gameplay

Many of the mechanics and functionality of the game were adopted from the first N64 Zelda game, Ocarina of Time . This concerns the controls in general as well as the concept and handling of most game objects (" Items ").

control

Controller as used for Majora's Mask .

The player looks at Link in third person and operates the game with a gamepad . The play figure is controlled with the analog stick under free camera guidance in three-dimensional space. If Link runs over the end of a platform or on a raised level, it jumps automatically. Three buttons can be freely assigned by the player and can be assigned weapons, equipment or masks. Attacking with the main weapon, the sword, and blocking with the shield are assigned to fixed buttons. Depending on the situation, a multifunctional button is used to interact with non-player characters (abbreviated as NSC ) or game-relevant objects and for special movement maneuvers.

An independent cursor in the form of a little fairy marks opponents and other interaction objects in the field of vision of the game figure. Objects marked in this way, such as opponents, can be focused at the push of a button. With this function, Link always remains facing the marked target and the camera guidance is set so that both Link and the target can always be seen at the same time. Another effect is that aiming with weapons is automatic. For example, enemies that would be difficult to hit by manually aiming at them can be targeted with projectiles .

The Termina game world

In the middle of the game world is Balance City, where the game starts after a short introductory phase. A field extends around the city, through which one reaches four thematically different areas: a poisonous swamp, a snow-covered mountain range, a beach on the ocean and the realm of Ikana, inhabited by ghosts and the undead . In each of these areas there is one of the temples that Link must visit. Outside of inhabited settlements, the player can encounter hostile creatures that leave behind consumable items such as money or ammunition after their death. On the upper world there is a day-night alternation, with other types of enemies in greater numbers at night.

The structure and atmosphere of the four labyrinths , called temples in the game , are subject to a theme that is based on the respective environment. For example, the temple on the ocean is largely under water and houses water pipes that feed mill wheels.

The goal in each labyrinth is to get to the end boss of the temple and knock him down. A labyrinth is made up of separate rooms or areas. Doors that lead into a space that has not yet been explored can be sealed with a lock. Scattered over the labyrinths are chests whose contents enable or facilitate further exploration of the complex:

Each temple houses a map that shows the labyrinth in its entirety; without a map, you only have an overview of the rooms you have already visited.
A compass shows all the unopened chests on the map, as well as the room where the boss is waiting.
Small keys remove the seal for any locked door in the temple, but they are used up and can only be used in the respective temple.
A new piece of equipment can be found in each temple.
The master key removes the special seal on the door to the boss.

Chests can be hidden when entering a room and only appear under certain conditions, for example after killing all opponents in the room, after pressing a switch or after solving a puzzle. Sometimes the player needs the item that can be found in the current labyrinth, for example some opponents are only vulnerable with a certain weapon. Thus, the player may be forced to turn around and explore the labyrinth elsewhere if he lacks the right utensils or small keys. The master key and the special item are each guarded by an intermediate opponent and must be fought for.

Items

In the course of the game, Link collects equipment that is used in the fight against adversaries, to solve puzzles and to reach unvisited areas. These items can usually be found in remote or guarded locations. Such objects are, for example, the bow , small bombs or empty bottles in which liquids or small living things can be stored.

The Ocarina of Time is a musical instrument taken from the previous Zelda title. After the instrument is set up, five keys are used to play, each key representing a musical note. Each learned song is a defined sequence of notes, after which a corresponding melody sounds. The songs open up different functions, for example the song of the wings lets the character travel to certain points on the map; the song of liberation, in turn, captures ghosts and magic in masks, which can then be added to the inventory.

A major focus and also a dominant theme of the game are masks . A total of 24 masks can be found in the game and put on the character. Most masks make the NPCs react differently to Link and have a special function that is unique in the game. This special function can result from the reaction of certain NPCs to the mask or enable a new ability to act, such as a dance. Some masks also harbor useful skills in the long term, such as the rabbit ears , which make the character run faster. In addition to these masks with relatively small functional extensions, there are three primary transformation masks . When they sit down, they change the shape of the character. Link can transform himself into a Deku , a plant-like being, into a goron , a stone humanoid, into a Zora , an amphibious sea man and into the so-called fierce deity - this mask can only be used with bosses and is not absolutely necessary to complete the game. In each of these forms he has individual, new attack techniques and ways of moving. Furthermore, the player gets extended access to information and areas of the respective people, if he presents the transformed protagonist as a member of the same species. There are two other masks that transform Link when used, but their use is limited to fighting bosses.

Time warp

The main feature of the game is the three-day time loop in which the game is played.

The player begins a time loop in Clock Town . Link has three days until the moon hits; an hour in the game is actually one minute, which is an approximate time frame of 72 minutes; No time elapses during automatically running sequences and the display of text dialogues. When the player first hits the night of the last day, Link must face the Horror Kid to get his stolen ocarina back. If this is successful, the player is introduced to the hymn of time in a short sequence .

By playing the hymn of time, Link jumps back to the point in time at which the time loop initially began in Unruhstadt. He loses all consumable items such as arrows and bombs, money and keys for labyrinths as well as special items that can be obtained in barter deals or only under certain conditions. From temples, he keeps the map, compass and trophy from the boss in addition to the special equipment.

At the same time, this type of time travel is the only way to permanently save the game. The game can be exited to the title screen at individual, predetermined points on the upper world without losing any progress. However, this backup is not permanent and will expire when you restart the game.

Thus, the player is under time pressure if he wants to devote himself to lengthy tasks, want to influence timed events or explore one of the large-scale temples. However, it is possible for the player to use the so-called "Ballad des Kronos", the hymn of time played backwards, to slow down the time, which gives the player more time. If the time limit set by the game expires, a sequence is shown in which the moon strikes the city and Link is hit by a burning shock wave . All game progress that was made in the relevant loop instance is lost.

Optional content

Characteristic for this game of the Zelda series is the noticeably high number of smaller tasks (secondary tasks) that the player can fulfill in addition to his main task, which is relatively short of mastering "only" four temples. In this way, Link also gets most of the masks, as only a fraction of them are necessary to quit the game. You can also try various mini-games or explore the overworld. This is rewarded with items or increased carrying volume of consumable items.

Many of the side quests involve characters who follow their own schedule over the course of the three days and can be found in different locations at specific times. These circumstances can change due to player interference. In the notebook of the bombers such characters are recorded, along with relevant papers, the rewards may already obtained, and relevant times at which the link can interact with them to schedule and courses of action to influence these characters. This notebook can be viewed in the pause menu. The current time is always displayed at the bottom of the screen while the game is running.

15 small, so-called stray fairies can be found in each of the four temples . If you collect all of these and bring them to the appropriate fairy source near the temple, links' fighting attributes are upgraded, for example the damage received from attacks is reduced. It is also possible for the player to expand the left heart bar , which represents his life energy , by collecting heart parts and heart containers .

technology

Majora's Mask is a 3D computer graphics game and the second title in the Zelda series that uses this type of display. The graphics engine was adopted and modified from its predecessor, Ocarina of Time . In direct comparison, the character models have more animations and polygons , and a higher number of them can be displayed on the screen at the same time. However, some items were taken over unchanged without the labeling being adjusted. For example, there is a sign at the entrance to the Romani Ranch , which is known in Ocarina of Time from the village 'Kakariko', because there is still translated “Welcome to Kakariko” to read. Motion blur is used in atmospheric cutscenes .

Kōji Kondō and Toru Minegishi are responsible for the music in the game . The upper world theme known from previous Zelda games has been re-introduced and can be heard on the field around Clock Town. The four areas with the four temples are underlaid by slow songs, with the melody being the same in all four areas and only the instrumental accompaniment changing, which depends on the respective theme of the respective area (gloomy atmosphere in the swamps, cold atmosphere in the Mountains, harbor atmosphere in the rivers and eerie atmosphere in the canyon); if the guardian of a temple is defeated, one hears the aforementioned main theme in the adjacent area instead. In the central city, a song in different variations can be heard on each of the three days, which accompany the growing moon. No background music is played on the upper world during the nights. If Link approaches a hostile creature, a special melody accompanying the fight is faded in. Stylistically, the music is partly reminiscent of the sound of the music of Chinese operas . In 2000, in addition to the release of the original soundtrack, a music album called The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask Orchestrations was released , which consists of arrangements . The songs originally intended for an endless loop were given a defined ending, and in some cases additional sections were also composed. The title does not contain any voice output, only the protagonist's cries and exclamations from individual NPCs .

The game is on a 32 MB large module . There are two saved game entries available to ensure progress; the score is saved directly in the module on an EEPROM memory chip . At the beginning, an empty score entry is given the name with which the protagonist is to be addressed in the game. An Expansion Pak is required in the console to operate the game . The optional Rumble Pak is supported for force feedback .

development

After the completion of Ocarina of Time in 1998, the next Zelda project was to develop a modified, more difficult version of the game for the 64DD . The project title was Ura Zelda ( 裏ゼルダ ) and can be translated as Alternative / Other Zelda . Eiji Aonuma , a director responsible for the design of labyrinths and the enemies in them at Ocarina of Time , asked the Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto to be allowed to work on a completely new Zelda instead . Miyamoto transferred the responsibility for this title, which was provisionally called Zeruda no Densetsu: Gaiden ( ゼルダの伝説外 ), to Aonuma ( Gaiden here means something like concurrent story ). Eiji Aonuma replaced Shigeru Miyamoto as the lead designer behind the Zelda series. Miyamoto was involved in the planning phase in his role as supervisor and got involved in the final stages of development. Aonuma had to promise Miyamotu to bring the title out within a year. In the planning phase, the basic concepts were determined to relive the same three days over and over again and to explore the processes involved, as well as to transform the protagonist into other characters .

The actual development began in August 1999. The development team of Ocarina of Time was almost unchanged for this title. Miyamoto instructed to complete the development quickly and to effectively use the engine that had been developed for the predecessor . The time pressure to which the development team was subjected found its way into the actual game, in the form of constantly working craftsmen who are in doubt as to whether their building project can be completed on time.

The Japanese version is missing some details that were added later to the other language versions. In the original game there is no way of temporarily saving the game and interrupting it within a time loop. In return, however, there were three instead of only two saved games to be occupied.

reception

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask achieved a score of 92% on GameRankings from 33 aggregated ratings ; Metacritic aggregated 27 ratings to a score of 95.

The game was generally rated positively. The demanding level of difficulty, the atmosphere in the game, the large number of secondary tasks and the concept of the various masks and their powers of transformation were positively emphasized. The US network IGN praised the scope of the game as well as the gameplay, which is strongly based on the origins of the series and thus gives rise to a Zelda feeling.

“Majora's Mask will challenge you. No matter how many times you've played previous games in the series, the combination of difficult puzzles, more enemies, and a time limit will test even the best players out there. (Majora's Mask will challenge you. No matter how many previous parts of the series you've played, the combination of difficult puzzles, more enemies, and the time limit will put even the best of players to the test.) "

- Craig Majaski : Gaming Age

Majora's Mask was perceived as darker than its predecessor. This is how Matt Casamassina (IGN) compares the game with a grade of 9.9 / 10 with the second Star Wars film:

"Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is, as far as I am concerned, The Empire Strikes Back of Nintendo 64. It's the same franchise, but it's more intelligent, darker, and tells a much better storyline. (Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is, as far as I'm concerned, the "Empire Strikes Back" of the Nintendo 64. It's the same franchise but it's smarter, darker, and tells a much better story.) ”

According to Dale Weir (GameCritics.com) , the time limit in the game creates a lingering sense of tension:

“What ultimately sets Majora's Mask apart from its predecessor is the deliberately heightened sense of tension that permeates the game. This tension is accomplished by the new time limit that Nintendo now imposes on players. "

The occasional drop in the frame rate , the quality of individual textures and the synthetic-sounding MIDI music were criticized. The unusual storage system together with the time limit could also deter players.

“Some of the textures are low resolution, but Nintendo has done a fantastic job of making the most out of the limited power of the N64. […] Admittedly the sound is very N64-ish; meaning there's a lot of MIDI that sounds like very synthesized. [...] I only have a few small complaints about Majora's Mask and that is the occasional framerate drop ”

- Fran Mirabella III : IGN

Craig Majaski sees the cause of the deficiencies in the change in design management:

“At the beginning of the game I think the time travel feature will initially put off many people. It's highly original of Nintendo to make you continuously start over in a game, but it's also unorthodox. [...] Instead of being able to save game progress at will, it can now only be done at prearranged save points in the game. [...] If there is a flaw in this game, this is it. [...] the game's new features have not been perfected and the frantic pace can feel unbalanced — no doubt a factor due to Miyamoto's lack of involvement. Despite these problems, Majora's Mask is a wonderful place to visit. "

The predecessor title Ocarina of Time was also used as a benchmark for the evaluation . With Fran Mirabella III, for example, already known elements are not included in the evaluation. Positive changes are the adults more accessible action and the removal of superfluous clues:

“This title would have received a perfect score had it not been for the fact that Zelda: The Ocarina of Time already introduced so much to the 3D world of software. Majora's Mask is that good, and better on some levels. It has a storyline that adults can finally get into, and there aren't tutorials around every corner insulting your intelligence. "

Other critics, however, see the latter aspect as a negative point. Fritz Schober (gamigo) “ misses a bit of the common thread and a guiding hand. Since you can do all the jobs independently and the main story is initially limited to one job, namely bringing back the majora mask, after each completed subquest you often get the feeling "and now? What should I do now?". Perhaps a clearer story line would have been better here. "

Jeff Gerstmann wrote for GameSpot that the differences to the predecessor would generate shared feedback and rated the game with 8.3 out of 10 points:

“Between the game's time-sensitive nature and its heavy reliance on side quests and minigames, it's tough to really get involved in the game's storyline. [...] Majora's Mask is a great game, but it isn't for everybody. Even though it uses the same engine that drove Ocarina of Time, and the gameplay is the same on the surface, the adventure is extremely different. Some will appreciate the game's differences, while others will find the game's focus on minigames and side quests tedious and slightly out of place. "

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D

The Legend of Zelda logo: Majora's Mask 3D

Original title

ゼルダの伝説ムジュラの仮面 3D

transcription

Zeruda no Densetsu: Mujura no Kamen 3D

Studio

Nintendo EAD Tokyo
Grezzo

Publisher

Nintendo

Erstveröffent-
lichung

February 13, 2015

Subject

Game mode

Japanese, English, German, others

Current version

1.1

The version for Nintendo 3DS was announced in November 2014; it was released on February 13, 2015, parallel to the new handheld iteration New Nintendo 3DS . This 3DS port was the most requested for a longer period of time. In addition to the standard version, a Steelbook edition with extra content was released in Europe , as well as a New 3DS package together with a handheld console themed according to the game.

Development of the game began after the completion of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D .

In its first week of sales in Japan, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D sold a total of 230,065 copies. The 3D remake surpassed the launch of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds , which sold 224,143 units in its first week of sales.

On February 27, 2015, a patch was released that fixes a critical bug in a mini-game that consists of losing your sword. In addition, the performance has been improved.

Manga

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Japanese: ゼルダの伝説ムジュラの仮面 Zeruda / Zelda no Densetsu: Mujura no Kamen , literally: The Legend of Zelda: Mujura's Mask ) is a single volume that includes the game The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask adapted. In Japan, Akira Himekawa's title was published in paperback by Shogakukan in 2001 . In the United States, the manga was released on February 3, 2009 under the title The Legend of Zelda, Vol. 3: Majora's Mask by VIZ Media . In December 2009 Tokyopop published the manga in Germany.

Some events in the manga differ from the game template. So Link transforms itself back into its real form directly from the Deku-Link after its time jump. Nor does he make an agreement with the mask dealer. In addition, this one does not take Majora's mask in the end. Link destroys the mask and chases the dealer away. The four giants do not rush to the left ocarina game, as in the game, to catch the moon falling on Clock Town. You come out on your own and save the city.

The volume contains a 19-page bonus story called The Legend of Zelda - Majora's Mask - Exclusive Bonus Story . This follows on from Akira Himekawa's afterword and addresses the origin of the eponymous mask. It tells the story of a creature who is the only living being in a world. One day another being - a warrior - enters the realm. The being that has devoured all the inhabitants of the world threatens the warrior to eat him too. But he outsmarts it in the course of a conversation and makes it dance until it falls over dead. With the death of the creature, the world around it also falls apart, since it only existed through it. All that remains is the being's armor. The warrior takes on the tank and uses it to make Majora's mask, into which he works the power of the creature.

literature

Akira Himekawa , Eiji Aonuma : The Legend of Zelda - Hyrule Historia. Tokyopop, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-8420-0859-5 , pp. 151-153.
Nintendo (Ed.): The Legend of Zelda - Art & Artifacts. Tokyopop, Hamburg 2017, ISBN 978-3-8420-3950-6 , pp. 44–51, 182–201.
Nintendo (Ed.): The Legend of Zelda - Encyclopedia. Tokyopop, Hamburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-8420-4957-4 .

Web links

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask , Majora's Mask 3D at Nintendo.de
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask , Majora's Mask 3D at MobyGames (English)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask , Majora's Mask 3D in the Internet Movie Database (English)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask , Majora's Mask 3D in the Zeldapendium
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask , Majora's Mask 3D at ZeldaEurope.de
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask at ZFans.de
Tobias Schmitz: Inside Nintendo 59: Under time pressure - How Majora's Mask was born . In: Nintendo-Online.de, February 7, 2015

Individual evidence

↑ http://www.mobygames.com/game/n64/legend-of-zelda-majoras-mask/credits

↑ the-magicbox.com: video game- relevant messages ( Memento of November 26, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) of March 25, 2004, (English, accessed on January 28, 2009)

↑ Nintendo.de: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Retrieved May 24, 2019 .

↑ Zelda.com: Inside Zelda ( Memento from August 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive )

↑ ^a ^b nintendo.com ( Memento of September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ): Diary of a translator for Majora's Mask (English, accessed on January 28, 2009)

↑ nintendo.com ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ): Interview on the development of Majora's Mask with Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka (Supervisor) and Eiji Aonuma (Director) (English, accessed on January 28, 2009)

↑ ^a ^b IGN.com: Majora's Mask. Retrieved May 3, 2017 .

↑ ^a ^b GameRankings.com: Majora's Mask. Retrieved February 1, 2017 .

↑ ^a ^b Metacritic.com: Majora's Mask. Retrieved February 1, 2017 .

↑ golem.de : New 3DS and Zelda appear in mid-February 2015 on January 14, 2015 (accessed on January 14, 2015)

↑ MCVUK.com: Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask re-make for 3DS confirmed. Retrieved May 24, 2019 .

↑ MCVUK.com: Nintendo Direct: New 3DS dated, Majora's Mask hardware announced, digital Wii games coming to Wii U. Accessed May 24, 2019 .

↑ gamepro.de : The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D - Development has been running since 2011 from November 10, 2014 (accessed November 10, 2014)

↑ Tony Barthelmann: View of the sales figures for Majora's Mask 3D , message at jpgames.de from February 26, 2015.

↑ Eric Sohr: Software update for The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D available - UPDATE. ntower, February 27, 2015, accessed February 28, 2015 .

↑ ign.com Overview of the Legend of Zelda manga series (accessed February 5, 2016)

↑ The Legend of Zelda. German Comic Guide , accessed December 29, 2013 .

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on August 11, 2007 .

[1] ttp://www.mobygames.com/game/n64/legend-of-zelda-majoras-mask/credits