Onward and upward as they say. "Who's they?" you ask. Well, that's for you to find out. I say it enough for they to be me though, so "Onward and upward," as I say.
Last week on My Cinema I had a sort of horror movie theme going on, this week I have a science fiction theme going. Naturally, I follow all of that up with My Arcade having some kind of theme this week, and we're making it masks. No not just Majora's Mask, although that is what today will focus on, primarily.
TITLE: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
NO TIME TO WASTE:
I won't regale you with information like the premise of this game, I posted on it just yesterday! And I can't really break this down into the same sections as that one, because I don't have another theory to theorize about. No, I just kind of felt like talking about the Mask some more. Call it laziness, call in unoriginality, call it an obsession if you must.
I just really like The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Don't get me wrong, I loved Ocarina of Time too, but this installment in the Zelda series calls out to me, like the darkness in Majora's Mask calls out to this guy:
But maybe it's an infatuation with masks, and not the game itself. I mean, Code Geass is probably my favorite anime series, and it focuses on a masked protagonist. Gundam is potentially my favorite anime franchise, and it stars masked antagonists all the time. My favorite recent movies have all been superhero movies, but my least favorite superhero is Superman, a.k.a. the maskless one.
All of that can be explained away in other manners though, except for one of those, the first one, the one before Code Geass, Zelda. Because this game is basically reviled as the unwanted offspring of Ocarina of Time, why shouldn't it be? The game is built using almost entirely rehashed characters from Ocarina of Time, it's entitled the Legend of Zelda, but the titular character appears during one, maybe two, flashbacks. It doesn't even take place in Hyrule, it takes place in some distant land called Termina. In reality, I spent more time playing Ocarina of Time as a child than I ever did Majora's Mask. So why?
Well, I like to blame it on the masks, the game focuses on a mechanic all its own, the main character gaining special abilities from his headgear. Now, this isn't new, even in the franchise, because it's based on the same complaint many people have, the characters are just rehashed from the previous game. Right down to the happy mask salesman, from whom Link receives several of the same masks that appear in Majora's Mask. But, that's a side quest, there's no necessity to obtain those masks, although they are necessary for 100% completion, of course. Majora's Mask centers on you needing to collect masks to progress, particularly the three transformation masks: Deku, Goron and Zora.
Each of these transformation masks changes Link's shape, giving him new abilities and varying limitations. Most notably the Deku form and Goron form are unable to swim, drowning if they enter deep water. Through the three primary transformation masks Link inhabits the body of a deceased member of the race, taking on their spirits' burdens or some such.
But besides those three transformation masks, there is the issue of the game being themed around masks. There are 24 masks that Link can wear in the game, 20 of them not being transformative, and an additional six that are collected through the duration of the game, four of them being the remains of bosses and two acting as side quest items. Collecting all 20 non-transformative masks will allow you to obtain the 24th mask at the end of the game, the Fierce Deity mask, which is the most powerful transformation in the game, but can only be used in the final boss fight. But never mind that.
20 masks that do not transform you, but add other abilities to the character, some of them completely useless outside of obtaining more masks, like the Bremen Mask, which just lets you lead animals around while playing the ocarina, or Kamaro's Mask, which is just used to dance so you can obtain a piece of heart. This sounds like a drawback to the game, but I love it! Maybe that's because I love side-questing in video games though. (Seriously, I played the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion [also has a magical mask in it, which I love] for months on end and only completed the main storyline after completing every major side-quest line in the game, and a lot of the not so major ones.) Then there are more practical masks like the Bunny Hood (obtained using the Bremen Mask), which lets you run twice as fast, not only does this let you get around more easily, but it is the key to some side-quests, or the Blast Mask, which serves as a bomb in case you run out, or just don't want to buy any!
On my current play through, which I started about four nights ago (I don't play much, but when I do I try to accomplish something) I have really only acquired the masks above and one or two more. Because that's kind of what I love about the game, collecting masks, side-questing. If there was a game where the main quest centered around completing side-quests, that would probably be my favorite game. Don't worry, I realize that's an oxymoron, and I don't care. It's not that Ocarina of Time doesn't have side-quests either, it's just that I prefer the mechanics of Majora's Masks rewards.
I realize of course that this was basically a huge mess of rambling, and it didn't serve to reinforce all of the good things about Majora's Mask, in fact I really only talked about the masks, not the atmosphere or quality controls or whatever. Just masks. But that was kind of my point wasn't it? Anyway, be looking out for my posts later this week, they'll probably deal with Dofus and the Masqueraider, Oblivion and the Grey Fox, and more than likely some classic masks in games!
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