Day 43: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time & Majora's Mask
Time for another Zelda game, and time for another double decker entry. This one goes to the always classic N64/3DS duology, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask. Remember when I said way back when I talked about Pac-Man World 2 I had to change an entry around at the last minute. Yeah, I originally intended on having these two games be different entries in this marathon, but eventually I decided that these two deserve to share the glory as my favorite Zelda game. So let's start with Ocarina of Time.
Part 1: Ocarina of Time
Our hero Link is brought to the Great Deku Tree by Navi the fairy, (who is overrhated at best, stop hating on her, come off it!) and the Great Deku Tree warns Link of a wicked man from the desert, A.K.A Ganondorf, who wants to conquer the world and now it's up to Link to stop him. So after visiting Zelda, Link searches for the Spiritual Stones which he brings to the Temple of Time where he finds the Master Sword that takes him seven years into the future, long past when Ganondorf just…fucked up the world. Now Link must go to the other five temples of Hyrule to get assistance from the other sages of Hyrule so they can imprison Ganondorf once and for all.
So the story is something you'd expect from a Zelda game, but with time travel involved. Actually the time travel is a nice gimmick as there are plenty of puzzles to solve involving this mechanic such as planting beans in the past allow them to grow in the future, and you can use those fully grown beans as platforms to reach areas where you can find Golden Skultulas or Heart Pieces. And the Spirit Temple involves going through one half has Child Link and the other half as Adult Link. And on that note, I really like how each of the sages, bar Rauru, are all characters that Link befriended as a child. It's almost like Link grew up with these characters.
In fact, I've heard a lot of people say that Ocarina of Time is about growing up, leaving your home like Link did in search of a big adventure out in the big world, and how characters from your childhood may come back when you're an adult. Some of them remember you like the friends they are, and others like the Kokiri don't even remember you. If this theory is the case, then Ocarina of Time has one of the most brilliant themes in any story I've heard.
But I'm done gushing about the story, let's talk more about the gameplay and the world of Hyrule. I already talked about how traveling between the past and the future is an interesting gameplay mechanic, so let's talk about the overworld. Hyrule, while it doesn't look like much by today's standars, was a big deal back in 1998. Tons of NPCs to interact with, all with unique sidequests for you to complete. Collecting a woman's Cucco's will give you a bottle to use for potions, fairies, and a vast assortment of other items, collecting skultula tokens will help lift the curse off of these innocent people in an abandoned house, helping save Lon Lon Ranch from Ingo gives you your horse Epona, a series of errands leads to you getting the powerful Big Goron Sword, I could go on. Bottom line, Ocarina of Time gives you a lot to do, with great rewards. Most of these sidequests are fun, as such they have fun and interesting ways to beat them, and the reward is usually worth it in my opinion.
The dungeons in this game, Water Temple not with standing, are very well thought out, fun to go through with loads of fun puzzles and a great boss battle at the end, and very atmospheric. Actually, you know what, even the Water Temple has some atmospheric music to go with it. There, that's the one good thing I have to say about that dungeon, don't get used to it!
On the subject of bosses and atmosphere, the final battle against Ganon is one of the most cinematic and atmospheric Zelda bosses so far, and really set the bar for most final bosses following it. The atmosphere is perfect, dark skies loom above as you fight in the ruins of Ganon's Castle and fire surrounds you two. Each strike Ganon gives to you elicits a scream of pure terror from Zelda. The music is ominous and adrenaline pumping, telling you that this is the final battle. Also, on the N64 version, some people complain that you can't see Ganon at all given he's mostly in shadow, I think that works to the battle's advantage because it emphasizes the fact that you're going up against a fearsome beast, and sometimes not seeing anything is scarier than what you can see. This is regarded as one of the best final bosses in gaming, and for good reason.
Alright, I'm done gushing about the final battle, let's move on.
Combat really stepped up here. Since this is the first 3D Zelda, a lock on feature has been implemented so taking down enemies can be done much more efficiently. As usual to take down each enemy, you're given a wide variety of arrows, bombs, shields, swords, etc. to get the job done.
The titular Ocarina is also a great gameplay element as it can help solve puzzles to advance through the dungeon or advance the story, help Link in a sidequest, and Sun's Song is a godsend for anyone not patient enough to wait for time to pass.
So yeah, with all of these positives, Ocarina of Time is one hell of a way to start Link's adventures in the third dimension.
And then we get to Majora's Mask…
Part 2: Majora's Mask
Set some time after Ocarina, Link goes on an adventure in search of Navi who disappears after the last game. It's at this point when he meets a Skull Kid wearing, what else, Majora's Mask. He robs Link of Epona and his Ocarina, and turns Link into a Deku Scrub. Deku Link then finds himself in the land of Termina and meets up with The Happy Mask Salesman, who tells him that Skull Kid robbed him of Majora's Mask and needs it back in three days…which is also how long it takes for the moon to fall down to Earth and kill everyone. Now Link must find a way to turn back into human, save Termina from all of the damage Skull Kid caused, save the world from the apocalypse, and return Majora's Mask to the Happy Mask Salesman, all in three days.
Let's start by talking about the gameplay, because it really hasn't changed much since Ocarina. You have your lock on feature, a vast assortment of weapons and shields, and you go through a dungeon with lots of puzzles and enemies with you fighting a boss at the end, you get the picture. But then we get a vast assortment of masks to go with that vast assortment of weapons and shields. The Bunny Hood allows you to run faster, the Great Fairy Mask allows you to find Stray Fairies throughout each dungeon which you need to reassemble the Great Fairy so you can get an upgrade, and the Stone Mask allows you to sneak by stealth required areas unnoticed. There are even masks that are required for a certain puzzle, like the Keaton Mask is needed to meet a Keaton so you can take its quiz, the Captain's Hat is needed to open the graves in the Ikana Graveyard, the Bremen's Mask is needed to turn this farmer's chicks into Cuccos, and more.
And then we get to the transformation masks, and they add new elements to Link's overall gameplay that turn this game into a new beast entirely. The Deku Mask turns Link into Deku Link. With it, he can blow these bubbles from his mouth, and use these flowers to fly into the air to either reach higher platforms or air bomb enemies with Deku Nuts. The Goron Mask turns Link into Goron Link. Goron Link is given stronger punches, a ground pound, and you can harness your inner Sonic the Hedgehog and roll around at the speed of sound. The Zora Mask turns Link into Zora Link. This allows Link to swim underwater indefinitely, use his fins like boomerangs, and he can use his magic to create an electrified shield. Finally there's Fierce Diety Link, which can only be unlocked in the final area. With it, you can trash literally any boss fight like they're nothing!
The Ocarina returns in this game, and it's used for the same reasons it was in the first game. Use it to solve puzzles, open up dungeons, and overall progress in the game. But then we get the Song of Time and the Song of Healing. The Song of Time has a much bigger role in this game than the last one as it's needed to go back to the first day when the moon inches closer and closer to Termina. You can also use Inverted Song of Time to make time go to a standstill, and Song of Double Time to move ahead so you don't have to wait until a certain time for something to happen. As for Song of Healing, that's how you get the Transformation Masks from Darmani the Goron and Mikau the Zora, as well as the Gibdo Mask from Pamela's father. In the former, when we play the Song of Healing, we get visions of the happy life they wanted. Darmani wanted to be adored as a hero by his people, and Mikau wanted to see his girlfriend Lulu again and play with his band, the Indigogos. But, naturally, this doesn't happen, and they die with the only things remaining are the Transformation Masks. As for Pamela's father, he was turned into a Gibdo and after you heal him, Pamela runs up to him crying happily that he's back to normal. The interaction here is absolutely heartwarming.
Dad: (Embracing his daughter) Pamela! What have I been doing this whole time?
Pamela: You…haven't been doing anything. You had a bad dream. You were just having a little nightmare.
Dad: …Pamela
And on this note, I want to talk about probably my favorite thing in this game: The humanity displayed during the final day and especially during the final hours of the game. This is mainly shown through this game's side quests.
When you meet the Cucco farmer at Romani Ranch, he's well aware of his fate and he accepts it rather stoically. When you solve the debate in the Mayor's office, Mutoh, who wanted to hold the Carnival of Time regardless of the circumstances almost as if nothing is wrong, is left alone where he says this after his worker left him for shelter…
Mutoh: Cowards! All of you! Not a one of you stayed! My apprentice will be disgusted with all of you! I'll have a fine carnival without you…If you're going to fall then fall already!
If I didn't know any better, and it's just a theory, I'd say Mutoh wanted the Carnival to go on so that he can at least be happy in his final moments.
There's the Swordsman at the dojo, who tries to act tough by saying he'll chop the moon in half, but come the final day he's in the back room scared out of his mind.
There's Cremia and Romani, whose side quests require almost the entire three day cycle. Cremia is aware of everything that's going on, but Romani isn't. So come the final day, assuming you've done everything right, you find the sisters in the barn and Romani, still blissfully unaware of what's going to happen, says that she is going to be given Chateau Romani, this game's version of alcohol. Cremia is basically giving her little sister alcohol to dull her senses to everything that's going on. Furthermore, she asks Cremia to sleep in her bed with her so that she doesn't have to suffer alone, and when you leave they say goodbye, but Romani says it like there's tomorrow is going to be there while Cremia knows that isn't the case.
There's the Postman who wants to flee town and search for shelter, but he's someone who is so dedicated to his work he doesn't want to leave since fleeing town isn't on the schedule, so you have to give him Kafei's letter so he can give it to his mom, the mayor's wife, so she can order him to leave town!
On the subject of Kafei's mom, she's at the Milk Bar drowning her sorrows, worrying about her son's life unaware that he's been turned into a little boy thanks to Skull Kid.
There's Mr. Barten, the Milk Bar's Bartender, who says that throughout the end of the world he was hoping he'd see his favorite customer…and that customer is you! You the player, and you as in Link!
And then the big one, the Kafei sidequest. In this sidequest, you help Kafei and Anju in a series of missions, in an attempt to have them meet again. Come literally an hour before the end of the world, and the two of them get married, with Link as their witness, and give these final words:
"Please take refuge, we are fine here. We shall greet the morning…together"
And just about all of these moments are set to the most distressing and beautifully tragic pieces of music I've ever heard, made all the more harrowing due to the red skies, earthquakes, and the clock tower bell ringing.
All of these moments deliver serious goosebumps, pull at your heartstrings, and are made all the more amazing when you defeat Majora and restore peace to Termina.
The characters and overall story in Majora's Mask really overshadow the dungeons and mingames as a result.
If Ocarina of Time is more gameplay oriented, the Majora's Mask is definitely more character/story oriented. Together, these two, in my opinion, make for some of the best Zelda games, the best N64 games, and my personal favorite Zelda games period.
Long live Hyrule and long live Termina.
