{"id":3185,"date":"2014-08-21T23:34:47","date_gmt":"2014-08-21T23:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=3185"},"modified":"2014-08-22T17:51:48","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T17:51:48","slug":"you-were-just-having-a-little-nightmare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=3185","title":{"rendered":"You were just having a little nightmare…"},"content":{"rendered":"

I haven\u2019t really written a straight-up review of anything since my first year at Saint Thomas University when I wrote album reviews for the Brunswickan, which was actually the newspaper for the other university on campus \u2013 the University of New Brunswick.\u00a0 They were just two-or-three paragraph blurbs about various n\u00fc-metal albums of the day, and weren\u2019t exactly the most well thought-out things I\u2019ve ever written.<\/span><\/p>\n

In any event, this review of\u00a0Majora\u2019s Mask<\/i>\u00a0may get a bit long-winded, but it needs to be written.\u00a0 The game has garnered a lot of attention as of late \u2013 you know,\u00a0because Internet<\/i>\u00a0\u2013 and I felt the need to at least get my opinions on the game out there.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Time<\/a>

Time to see how deep the rabbit hole goes\u2026
what could possibly go wrong?<\/p><\/div>\n

The first aspect of gameplay I need to talk about is right there in the game\u2019s title.\u00a0 Masks played the role of \u201cfun little side-quest\u201d in\u00a0Ocarina of Time<\/i>, and collecting them all really wasn\u2019t high on my Give-A-Hoot List.\u00a0 Sure, you might\u2019ve gotten some different responses from NPC\u2019s when you spoke to them, but that wasn\u2019t nearly enough to motivate me to seek out all eight of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

After chasing Skull Kid through the forest in\u00a0Majora<\/i>\u2019s introduction sequence, you\u2019re given some not-so-subtle hints that masks play a much bigger and more functional role this time around.\u00a0 To begin with, you\u2019re not Link\u2026\u00a0 well, you are, but Deku Link honestly feels like something out of another game entirely.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Of<\/a>

Of all the forms you get to play as, Deku Link\u2019s is pretty much the least interesting.<\/p><\/div>\n

At the end of a tutorial-like segment to get acquainted with your special abilities, you meet the character responsible for this whole shemozzle at the base of Clock Town\u2019s main tower \u2013 the Happy Mask Salesman.\u00a0 Majora\u2019s Mask was in that massive backpack of his before he was ambushed by the aforementioned Skull Kid, resulting in the evil mask being stolen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Good<\/a>

Good going, guy.<\/p><\/div>\n

The game\u2019s title + assuming\\hoping you don\u2019t have to play as Deku Link for much longer + an introductory character with a huge bag of masks begging you to get an important mask back = \u201cgee I wonder if masks play an important part in this game?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"I<\/a>

I didn\u2019t, really\u2026 but thanks.<\/p><\/div>\n

So that\u2019s the first part about this game that bugged me on my first (incomplete) playthrough \u2013 sure, the idea of changing into characters was kinda fun, but don\u2019t take a sort-of-boring thing from the first game and make it the next game\u2019s MAIN THING!<\/span><\/p>\n

Anyway, counting the three main form-altering masks (Deku, Zora and Goron), there is a grand total of 24 wearable masks that Link can find which grant him special abilities.\u00a0 For example, one mask gives him the ability to bomb things by running up to them and pressing a button,\u00a0while another alerts him to the nearby presence of fairies to regenerate health.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some masks don\u2019t serve much of a purpose, other than to help complete some side-quest involving an NPC.\u00a0 Collecting all of them can be quite the painstaking process, sometimes involving long waits (even with the in-game clock sped up), and the payoff at the end of the game is barely even worth it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I was already somewhat disinterested before changing back to Link\u2019s normal form.\u00a0 Like I\u2019ve done with many other games, I eventually came back to it and soldiered on.\u00a0 Surely, there must be more to it than that.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Wheeeeeee!\"<\/a>

Wheeeeeee!<\/p><\/div>\n

The other big thing about\u00a0Majora\u2019s Mask<\/i>\u00a0is its three day cycle.\u00a0 Clock Town and Termina\u2019s residents are fearful of the moon looming overhead, and for good reason \u2013 not only does it have a freaky face on it, but it\u2019s also getting closer and closer with each passing moment.\u00a0 In just three days, just as the \u201cCarnival of Time\u201d is in full swing, Mr. Moon will crash into the Earth (or whatever planet it takes place on) and end life as they know it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Creepy.\"<\/a>

Creepy.<\/p><\/div>\n

The in-game clock is definitely one of the most interesting aspects of the game.\u00a0 At first, I thought it might be similar to a Mario game or any other platformer with a time limit, and that I\u2019d feel pressure to complete tasks as quickly as possible and only succeed in the nick of time.\u00a0 Thankfully, that\u2019s not the case.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though the length of \u201cone day\u201d lasts about 18 minutes, there are two songs Link can learn on his Ocarina to change the flow of time \u2013 one to slow the clock down to half-speed, and one to speed it up to twice as fast.\u00a0 If you\u2019re like me and enjoy taking your time to explore, you\u2019ll be playing the \u201chalf-time\u201d melody about as much as you played Zelda\u2019s Lullaby in\u00a0Ocarina of Time<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the very end of the first act, you learn another song that saves the game and takes you back to the first day in the cycle.\u00a0 Here\u2019s where it gets a bit weird\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\"As<\/a>

As though this wasn\u2019t weird enough\u2026<\/p><\/div>\n

From the very beginning of the game, you have a very clear goal \u2013 to save the world from impending doom.\u00a0 To do this, you must summon the \u201cFour Giants\u201d referred to at the beginning of the game\u2026\u00a0 using past\u00a0Zelda<\/i>\u00a0experiences, you can fairly easily deduce that each of the Four Giants are found at the end of four separate dungeons.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s strange is the side-quest-like things you have to do in order to get to these dungeons.\u00a0 For example, to get to the Snowhead Temple, you have to do the following;<\/span><\/p>\n

Visit the Goron Village to trigger a conversation with Kaepora Gaebora\u2026
\nFollow the talking owl on an awkward invisible platform chase\u2026
\nGet the Lens of Truth at the end of the chase\u2026
\nGo back to solid ground and use the Lens to talk to the ghost of the Goron Darmani\u2026
\nFollow him on a chase all the way back through the way you entered the area\u2026
\nScale a tall cliff to enter the cave in which Darmani resides to get the Goron Mask\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

*phew*<\/span><\/p>\n

Go all the way back to the Goron Village and enter the main hall as Goron Link\u2026
\nSpeak to the Goron Child and find out why he\u2019s crying\u2026
\nSeek the Goron Elder, only to find he\u2019s encased in ice\u2026
\nLook around for some kind of hot substance to melt the ice\u2026
\nFind some, melt the ice and speak to the Goron Elder\u2026
\nLearn the *first part* of the Goron Lullaby\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

*deep breath*<\/span><\/p>\n

Return to the Goron Shrine and play what you know for the child\u2026
\nLearn *the rest* of the Goron Lullaby from the child and put him to sleep\u2026
\nTravel through the treacherous\u00a0 Snowhead Mountain path\u2026
\nUse the Lens of Truth to be able to see the somehow invisible Giant Goron in front of the temple\u2026
\nPlay the Goron Lullaby to put the Giant Goron to sleep, who then falls off to the side to reveal the temple\u2019s entrance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gah!<\/span><\/p>\n

While I certainly understand the concept of changing the way you progress and get to the next objective, they felt like menial chores that would normally be reserved for side quests.\u00a0 Once again, it was something that was once optional but was now necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

On top of all that, one of the most interesting aspects of\u00a0Zelda<\/i>\u00a0games up until then was the dungeons themselves \u2013\u00a0Majora\u2019s Mask<\/i>\u00a0has four fairly challenging and well thought-out temples before the game\u2019s final act, and that\u2019s it.\u00a0 The rest of the game\u2019s fortresses in-between dungeons aren\u2019t too bad, but feel a bit tacked-on; sort of like\u00a0Ocarina<\/i>\u2019s Bottom of the Well and Gerudo Fortress stages.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"I\u2019d<\/a>

I\u2019d rather have more steak and fewer potatoes, if you know what I\u2019m sayin\u2019.<\/p><\/div>\n

Here\u2019s the flipside to all that side quest-like stuff the game treats as the main attraction \u2013 in terms of the writing, the situations these characters are faced with and how you get to help and interact with them, it\u2019s among the most heart-felt and emotional stuff in the entire series.\u00a0 No Zelda<\/em> game does it better, if you ask me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sure, the gameplay in dealing with some of these situations can be a little on the bland side, but even those little and seemingly meaningless interactions with the Gorons give you that warm and fuzzy feeling inside.\u00a0 \u201cI helped make the end of the world not-so-crappy for you!\u00a0 Hooray!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the subject matter can actually be pretty dark, which is another thing people enjoyed.\u00a0 Nintendo games have often shied away from topics like religion, and are quite well-known for censoring any reference to tobacco or alcohol.\u00a0 One challenging sequence deals with one of those things, albeit indirectly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Romani Ranch is somewhat like\u00a0Ocarina<\/i>\u2019s Lon Lon Ranch in that it\u2019s where you find Epona (again).\u00a0 The Ranch is also the main provider for Clock Town\u2019s \u201cMilk Bar\u201d, which is a nightclub-like area Link can only get into with special membership.<\/span><\/p>\n

\""Hey<\/a>

“Hey bartender… hit me with your finest buttermilk.
On the rocks.”<\/p><\/div>\n

The Ranch\u2019s caretakers are a little girl by the name of Romani and her adult sister Cremia.\u00a0 Romani says that her big sister won\u2019t let her try the Ranch\u2019s signature product \u2013 Chateau Romani \u2013 until she\u2019s old enough to drink it.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, if you visit them on the Final Day, Romani is delighted at the prospect that her sister is finally letting her try the Chateau Romani later that evening.\u00a0 Speaking to Cremia reveals that not only has the adult sister accepted that there is no hiding from the end of the world, but that there\u2019s no reason to tell her little sister the fate that awaits Termina and its residents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cremia\u2019s allowing Romani to drink Chateau Romani \u2013 an obvious nod to many wines from France having the word \u201cChateau\u201d in them \u2013 allows the older sister to acknowledge the younger one\u2019s passage into adulthood.\u00a0 Furthermore, it\u2019s believed by some game theorists (yep, they exist) that Cremia intends to get Romani intoxicated enough that she won\u2019t be able to feel the inevitable chaos that comes with the Moon collision.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Sheesh!<\/a>

Sheesh! Talk about sad.<\/p><\/div>\n

My main gripe about these amazing little interactions is the fact that you constantly have to go back to the First Day.\u00a0 If you help someone out, get something out of it, then save the game, it essentially undoes everything you just did.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you help Romani get rid of the aliens at the Ranch (long story) and then happen to visit her later on, she\u2019ll tell you all about her plight all over again.\u00a0 It gave me a helpless feeling, one that came with the thought that no matter how many people I try to help, I just end up having to go back and un-do everything to help someone else \u2013 usually myself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Majora\u2019s Mask<\/span><\/i>\u00a0changes things around a bit from a gameplay perspective and makes you connect with its characters in a way that had never really been done in a\u00a0Zelda<\/i>\u00a0game before.\u00a0 Truth be told, the only other time I felt an awww-inducing emotional moment was during\u00a0Wind Waker.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When Link leaves Outset Island for the first time and his grandmother watches from his front porch, I\u2019ve gotta say\u2026\u00a0 that got me.<\/span><\/p>\n