Underrated Game - Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Can anyone explain to me why The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time receives so much love from gamers when discussing the best Zelda games of all-time, yet Majora's Mask gets barely a mention? What does OoT have that Majora's Mask doesn't? To me, they both offer lengthy, awe-inspiring gameplay, intelligent and exciting storylines, and everybody's favorite pointy-eared hero equipped with his trusty Master Sword. Sure, Ganandorf and Zelda fail to make an appearance, but is that really so bad? They could use the break.

The story behind Majora's Mask centers around a mysterious figure known as the Skull Kid who stumbles upon a mask which grants the wearer incredible powers, but also puts them under a spell which forces them to do the mask's evil bidding. While wearing the mask, Skull Kid causes all kinds of mischief including stealing Link's Ocarina of Time, turning Link into a living flower known as a Deku Scrub, and sending the moon on a collision course with earth.

As you can imagine, none of this sits right with our hero and it is up to him to get back the Ocarina, regain his human form, defeat Skull Kid, and rescue four legendary giants in hopes they can stop the moon from wiping out all life on the planet.


The reason that I love Majora's Mask is that this game offers us all the things we love about the Zelda franchise - the dungeons, puzzles, weapon power-ups, and larger-than-life bosses - and also cranks the energy up a notch by introducing a new feature that I found very appealing: the capability to earn new skills by collecting different masks hidden throughout the game. Each mask that you discover adds a new ability or power-up to Link's arsenal. For instance, the Zora mask allows Link to breathe underwater and dual-wield a pair of boomerang-like blades; the bunny hood allows Link to run faster and jump higher; and the Goron Mask transforms Link into a large beast with incredible strength.

As you make your way through the game you have to be aware of the clock that is counting down on the bottom of the screen, as you only have 3 days (in game-time, which is actually a lot less than that in actual time) to complete your missions. If you run out of time before completing everything you need to you get a front row seat to the Armageddon.



This minor problem can be counteracted by playing The Song of Time on the ocarina, which turns back the clock to the first hour of the first day, awarding you another 3 days to complete your quest. While this may seem like an unnecessary annoyance, I promise you that it only serves to add an exciting new component to the game-play which is easy to get used to.

Another thing that makes Majora's Mask stand out from the other Legend of Zelda games is the way it strays from the normal Zelda storyline and seems to be more of a spin-off of Ocarina of Time than an actual sequel.



Now, don't get me wrong. I love The Legend of Zelda and I realize those 4 storyline cliches are the ingredients to a successful game, but in my opinion Majora's Mask offers a better, more satisfying gaming experience because it dares to be different and doesn't care whether you like it or not. Keep running out of time? Tough cookies. Can't find all the masks? Majora's Mask doesn't want to hear about.