E3: Zelda: Majora's Mask impressions

[05.16.00] » So many places to explore, so little time...

    For both the first video of their E3 press conference and the final holiday season of their 64-bit console, Nintendo turned to a familiar star – Link. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask sees Nintendo taking the finely honed gameplay of the franchise and adding a more serious theme, as well as using a completely original story structure.

   Instead of Ganon kidnapping Princess Zelda, Majora's Mask pits Link versus an evil moon intent on crashing into the world. To add to the danger, the Ocarina of Time and Epona are stolen from Link by the Deku Kid at the beginning of the game. The player has three days to recover the Ocarina, whose mystical power can take you back in time in order to reset the moon's position and give Link a fresh start. A gameplay day equals roughly 12 minutes; so expect to keep a watchful eye on the time if you wish to survive.

   When Link plays the Ocarina and is transported back in time, he can keep all the major items he has collected, such as his bow or his masks. While more easily found items such as bombs and Deku nuts must be found again, Nintendo reassured the GIA that this was this is “an easy task.” Progress in dungeons is reset, and people whom Link spoke to will not remember knowing him, creating a kind of “Groundhog's Day” effect.

   Also new to the game are a number of items, most noteworthy among them being the 24 masks which Link can acquire. Each of these masks plays a much larger role in gameplay than in Ocarina of Time, with the Zora mask allowing Link to not only swim better, but walk along the ocean floor and glide through the water without having to paddle at all. The context-sensitive action buttons also change depending on which mask you have on. Other new additions to the inventory include a Powder Keg, a Pictograph Box, the Great Fairy's Sword, and a Bomber's Notebook, none of which I found a use for in the demo.

   The E3 demo offered 8 different options, ranging from a Goron race to “Clock Town” to a sample boss battle. Controls were just as silky smooth as found in Ocarina of Time, and curling into a ball for a downhill race as Goron link was a great deal of fun. The construction of a tower could be seen in Clock Town, with the building getting progressively taller until Link used the Ocarina of Time to transport back to the construction's beginning. Only the Goron's race section had been translated to English, and while the word choices were fine, I'm hoping they decide on a smaller font for the game's final release.

   Overall, the game played wonderfully and the mask transformations added yet another level to the already deep gameplay. The same small touches that made Ocarina of Time so extraordinary have not been overlooked here, whether it is a young Goron who begins crying if you refuse to participate in his race or the same band of unusually happy carpenters that appeared in the previous title. Expect Zelda to take the gaming world by storm again this November 20th.