Ladies and gentlemen, start your emulators! It is time for another episode of RetrOS, giving you your spooky fix of nostalgia by reviewing games from your childhood!
This episode is a Halloween special. This year, we turn the clocks back to the year 2000 by reviewing a game.
That YouTube's biggest creepypasta was based on. Does this game deserve the praise that the Zelda community has? Or is this a case of childhood nostalgia?
Let's find out!
Big shout out to Ted, who saved a GBA game reviews on this channel for suggesting Majora's Mask in the first place. Now, let's get into this.
Nintendo's Legend of Zelda is one of the most recognisable franchises in Nintendo's portfolio. In 1998, Nintendo released a game that is hailed as one of the greatest games ever made. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Even today, Ocarina of Time is still one of the most timeless classics of the N64 library. During the development of the slightly remixed version of Ocarina of Time for the disk drive add-on for the N64. During the cycle, Myamoto challenged that small development team to create an entirely new game, using the same engine.
Here's the kicker – they only had one year to complete it! This title's development cycle was only 15 months. This was done by reusing Ocarina of Time's assets.
The story takes place several months after the events of Ocarina of Time. Our protagonist Link, while searching for his missing fairy companion, Navi, was ambushed by unknown unknown assailant corrupted by a mysterious mask.
Link's horse and the fabled Ocarina of Time were stolen. To make matters worse, the moon will crash into Hyrule in 3 days! It is up to you to embark on a quest to awaken four guardians, then confront the assailant, to once again save Hyrule!
The accessibility scores are as follows –
Visibility 10
Due to the game's age, there are no colourblind modes available in this title. To be honest, there is very little need for one. From what I played, no element can cause an issue for a colourblind player.
Audibility 10
As par for the course for a Legend of Zelda title, there is no spoken dialogue present in this game. All the dialogue is text-based. Back in those days, imagination had to fill in the blanks.
Mobility 9
In the decompiled version of the game, which was used to test it, you can use any more during controller to play this game. But, in the original N64 version, there is no way to customise the controls. This is extremely important as the N64 controller is very large and hard to use.
The game's inventory system is similar to Ocarina of Time. You can bind items to whichever C-Button you want. This somewhat replicates a customisable control scheme, but, in the words of Dr Evil, "just 1 calorie, not even enough!"
So, this game is easily playable for a player with a mobility impairment, but when using original hardware, the player will experience issues.
Gameplay 10
In short, this game is like Marmite. You love it, or you hate it.
. Because the development of this classic was only 15 months long, it's pretty impressive!
What makes this game truly stand out from any other title in the series is that you have 3 in-game days to save Hyrule. This is a little extra challenge when tackling side quests, temples and the like.
Obviously, this game is not designed to be completed in a single three-day cycle, so, in a weird sort of way, this game rewards you for taking your time. Getting certain items early on in the game, for example, the bunny ears, which increase Link's Speed, can make certain puzzles which appear later on in the game a lot easier to accomplish.
Also, in dungeons, there are stray fairies that are scattered around each temple. Collecting all of them, then taking them to a nearby Fairy's Fountain, grants you additional abilities or strengthens existing ones.
In summary, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is an excellent RPG that builds on the foundation of Ocarina of Time, while adding new content and mechanics to give players additional challenge. This title, along with Ocarina of Time, is both timeless classics that can be played time and time again!
OVERALL SCORE 97.5%
See you guys in the next review!
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