As a child, I never owned the original N64 version of Majora's Mask or Ocarina of Time; mostly because my dickbag of a brother was obsessed with racing games all the damn time. So when I finally got Majora's Mask on the VC, I was very excited to delve into the world of Termina at long last after having read into it for so long. It took me a super long time to actually get into it and beat it, though. I've owned the game for 2 years now and in my first try I played until beating Woodfall Temple before dropping the game to play some more I had on the list. Once I picked it up again to really focus on it, it was a hell of a trip.
This game made me feel things that I expected to feel, and a few moments made me feel numb to the whole experience. Some things were so strange even by Zelda standards that I couldn't help but stop emoting in some moments due to the sheer amount of "What" I was experiencing.
Majora's Mask is a direct sequel to the Ocarina of Time; the game which began the entire split timeline of Legend of Zelda. Once again, you are Link; and you're looking for a friend that you had lost throughout your legendary journey to save Hyrule (It's heavily implied to be Navi). You are robbed by a Skull Kid in the opening cutscene and jump into Termina to chase him; and on the way he curses you to the form of a Deku Scrub. Weird, I know. You arrive to the prosperous Clock Town and look up to see a hideous moon gazing down at you and creeping ever closer to the town you emerge from. The story is horrendously great and so beautifully dark that you'll most likely experience your entire playthrough with a small tinge of depression gnawing at the back of your head.
The graphics in this game were a serious step up from Ocarina of Time. Everyone is animated more naturally, Soldiers look so much better than they did before, the Scarecrows really know how to move this time around, the juggling and dancing twins really impressed me even when I played the game 13 years late. The landscape of Termina was really cool to take in and memorize. However there were some moments that felt monotonous and tedious, as any game does. I think the place I found the most tedious had to be the Great Bay or Ikana Wasteland, though.
The Happy Mask Salesman is my favorite character ever now. He can bend reality to his will and whim. I wonder if we'll ever see someone as powerful and delightfully creepy as him ever again, or just him; I'd like to just have him in another game. I also didn't find Tatl at all annoying, even if she is kind of a bitch. Then again, though, I never found Navi to be annoying, either.
Voice acting is slightly more extensive here than it was in Ocarina. Everyone has a little voice clip that plays when you talk to them. A grunt, a shout, or a giggle. As always, Link is the one with the most voice acting. The music was really weird for me. It gave off the impression of happiness and prosperity in many cases, but had that undertone of impending doom. Mostly it's only noticeable when you either look up, or stick around during the Final Day to feel the rumbling of the Earth.
As usual, my favorite weapon was the Hookshot. The Gold Trim looked pretty. The Ice and Fire arrows had way more utilization in this game than it did in Ocarina. In Ocarina, I never used Ice Arrows outside of trying them out for the first time, and I barely used Fire Arrows and opted to use Din's Fire instead. There was no Boomerang in this game, which was weird but whatever. And I broke the Economy by abusing Light Arrows to get Rupees. And the Lens of Truth were still fucking cool.
Masks were huge in this game. Everyone used the Bunny Hood in combination with the Inverted Song of Time 90% of the time they were playing this game. My most used mask had to have been that, or the Stone Mask. Oddly enough, I never liked using the transformation masks and avoided using them unless I had to. Human Link was my preferred form.
The bosses of these games were particularly strange, but were all enjoyable and unique. My favorite had to have been Odolwa, I found his chilling chanting pretty...well, enchanting. And as always, my favorite enemy to kill had to have been the Iron Knuckles. And Tektites still freaked the fuck out of me in this game, always jumping out of giant Snowballs. What the hell, Tektites?
I really enjoyed most of the minigames with the exception of Honey and Darling's shop. Those guys were dicks. And I think everyone should admit right now that they made a hobby out of killing Sakon by detonating his Bomb Bag. Sure, the first time it may have been an accident, but you didn't stop doing it over again, did you.