When I beat the Ocarnia of Time, at the ending when... oh nevermind, I don't want to spoil it for anybody else who hasn't played Ocarnia of Time yet. But for those of you who have, you know what I'm talking about. But ever since, when that happened, I had been waiting for a sequel to arrive. And, what to my surprise to I read when I was surfing the web one night? THE LEGEND OF ZELDA:MAJORA'S MASK, was in the making. I've pretty much given a walk through of the very beginning Cinema, and the new and cool features you'll find in this game.

Link starts out this game riding through the woods on his faithful stead, Epona, when two fairies named accordingly, Tatl and Tael, appear and scare Link off Epona. A Skull Kid, wearing Majora's Mask, appears and starts playing with Link's Ocarnia. Link then wakes up and finds them. The fairies and the Skull Kid steal Epona, and as they were getting away Link grabs on to one of the foot looses, only to then be dragged and finally fall off. Link follows him and the Skull Kid ends up turning Link into a Deku Scrub. The Skull Kid then runs off. Link follows and ends up within the town clock of Clock Town.

He there meets the owner from the Happy Mask Shop, who pleas to him to get a very beloved mask back, Majora's Mask. The owner tells Link the story of how the Skull Kid stole Majora's Mask, a mask that holds evil power to whoever wears it. Link goes through the double door, to be in the presence of Clock Town. He finds out that the Skull Kid has summoned the moon to crash into Termina. You then have three days and tree nights to get your beloved ocarnia back. once those three days are over, time will start over again, giving you another chance to undo another magic spell he's put apon Termina. When time starts over, you keep all important items such as, masks, weapons, etc. Money is gone unless you deposit it into the bank before time ends. From then on you're set to free the world of Termina of its doomsday, and get the mask shop owner's Mask back. you go to such levels as forest, ice mountain, and canyons, gaining and earning masks to complete certain tasks.

It's an important part in this game to find and earn different masks, each helping you in one way. Three of the masks you get that are the only ones that transform you, are the Deku Mask, Goron, and Zora. Each one transforms you into that species. Deku into a deku scrub, goron into a goron, and zora into a zora. For each transformation, you have different abilities and weaknesses, the deku scrub allowing you to use deku flowers to float over crevices and the ability to walk on water (for a limited time). The Goron mask allowing you to heave heavy punchers and to curl up into a ball and roll at high speeds, one set back, drowns in water. The Zora mask turns you into a Zora, being able to swim at high speeds and having an unlimited supply of air underwater. Many of the other masks such as the Bunny mask, allowing you to run faster, Stone mask, allowing you to sneak by enemies, and the Great Fairy mask, which attracts any stray fairies. There are 24 different mask, each one having its own strengths and weaknesses.

Music plays an important role in Majora's Mask, as did Ocarnia of Time. You still have the ocarnia, but when you're transformed into one of the three transformation masks, you have a special instrument for each one. Such as a tuba like looking instrument for the Deku, drums for the Goron, and a guitar for the Zora, which is the coolest out of the three.

Now, instead of finding the Great Fairy in different locations like Ocarnia of Time, in Majora's Mask, there are 15 little fairies spread throughout each level. To upgrade your magic and stuff, you have to find the 15 in each level and return it to the Fairy's Fountain somewhere near the entrance to each level. When you return the 15 different fairies to their respected fountains, they combine to form one Great Fairy. Evidently, the Skull Kid has put a curse on the Fairies, and it spread each one into 15 different fairies, each being scattered out through the levels that the fountain is closest.

For all you race fans out there, this game even has an event for you. Once you get the Goron mask from Darunia, you can blow up the big rock in Goron Village once you learn how to use a goron bomb, and go inside to find a race track where you race in as a Goron in a ball with spikes at high speeds, in the game that is. Other mini-games include racing on your stead, Epona, which you find sometime after you beat the snow level.

Graphics- Though it's of the same cosmetic caliber as Ocarnia of Time, Marjora's Mask sets itself apart by being a deep and original experience rather than just a superficially modified sequel.

Play Control- Swimming as a Zora(it's like flying a jet fighter) will surely be one of the yeares most memorable ways to get around. Whether you're masquerading as the Zora, Deku, or Goron, the differing controls and situation-based button functions always handle like second nature.

Game Design- While you must play the same three days over and over again, Majora's Mask never plays like a broken record. The 72-hour cycle is really a framing device meant to add pressure to your already difficult tasks and dungeons ( the last two will make your head spin), and there's rarely any tedious back tracking, even with the character-swapping element that the shape shifting masks add.

Sound- Deftly underscoring the shifts in time and mood, the local scores subtly vary as time goes by.

Satisfaction- Don't dismiss Majora's Mask as a simple side quest to Ocarnia of Time. The game's structure is like no other, the experience is as epic as any other Zelda, and it's story is perhaps the strongest in the series.

The ESRB has given this game an "E" rating, which means that this game is meant for everybody to enjoy. The game contains animated violence, the sword play is never graphic, and the dark, tragic story ultimately ties together with a wonderful and positive moral worthwhile to audiences of all ages.

From different reviews, and by how many copies of Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask has sold, it has a chance of bypassing Ocarnia Of Time. But even if it does, I think the Ocarnia of Time is better than this long awaited sequel. I hope you enjoy this game as much as I do.

Recommended: Yes