Editorial | The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Helping with depression and anxiety: A 15 year retrospective.

 

By Sam Coles:

There are times in life where situations can be rather cumbersome and laborious to put it lightly, however there are games that you can go back to over and over again to give you a sense of comfort. As the game is turning 15 years old in the year that is 2021, I thought it would be great for me to go over The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and how it helped me in my darkest times in my mid to late teens and early 20s. Let’s talk about it as it helps to get things off my chest.

When I was a child in my secondary school years I wasn’t exactly well liked nor had many friends, this was mostly due to my nerdy tendencies and introverted attitude to social life. Most of the time I was bullied due to my accent being posh and I went to a school in a less than favourable area, so I was mocked for have a well cut accent as well favouring a more intellectual approach to life. Anyway most of my days were somewhat lonely and I would hide away in books, however it was one afternoon that changed my life.

I was at a friend’s house and he was playing his PS3 and it was a fantasy game with total freedom that caught my eye, I asked him “What is that game”? His response was “Oblivion”. So after that my Dad got me the game for the PC because at the time I didn’t own a console at all, and when I got it installed on my PC which was pretty beefy for the time I was immediately enamoured with the game. I wouldn’t put serious hours into the game until I got it for Xbox 360 in 2009, when I got one for my 16^th birthday.

The game started off a bit dull as you were in a dark and damp dungeon, and I suppose that is the point when they lead you up to the big reveal of the world of Cyrodiil. What a reveal it was with the first moment you step out of the sewers, where the sun pierces through the clouds as you see an ancient ruin from another civilisation in front of you. It was at this moment that made me realise video games are more than games, they can be these living and breathing worlds where I can get away from the grim, depressing and anxiety filled reality I was experiencing at the time.

I was enraptured with this world immediately, at first I thought about doing the main quest but like most Elder Scrolls games I did a 180 and waked in the other direction. That is what made me fall in love with this game was the total freedom it offered me, where you could go to your local tavern have an ale, steal people’s property and sell it to the thieves guild or become an assassin and kill important figures within the empire. There is so much to do that it almost puts modern open world games to shame, or if you are like me just explore with no goal in mind taking in the scenery.

Speaking of scenery for a 15 year old game it still holds up surprisingly well, yeah the character models are horrifying as they look like a shrivelled baked potato. Anyway vegetable analogies aside the scenery still looks beautiful, with rolling green hills, large forests rich with vegetation and populated towns and cities with people that go about their business. That’s another aspect that I like that helped me deal with things the towns and how they go about their business, yeah it’s pretty static these days but it was very impressive for the time as each NPC has a routine and it made it feel alive.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a game that helped me with the darkest parts of my life, and to this day it is a game that I will boot up if I’m feeling down or just need a bit of nostalgia to escape the world. It’s a game that I hold very close to my heart and it made me the gamer that I am today, If you have the chance give it a go it’s widely available on PC and Xbox One/Series consoles via backwards compatibility.

My favourite games from 2020.

 

By Sam Coles:

Another year into the void known as human existence, however 2020 felt like a child throwing a temper tantrum dragging its heels with how laborious and never ending it felt but I digress. Anyway this year had some great games to keep up us occupied as we spent our time in doors more than usual, so I want to go over some of my favourites of the year. Now remember these are my personal picks, so if you disagree that is fine but be civil and if you don’t see a certain game on here I either didn’t play it or didn’t gain my interest. Got it? Good, let’s begin.

The Last of Us: Part II

Oh boy talk about starting this list off with a contentious pick as this game was met with the same amount of reception as a McDonalds meal, with painful bowel movements. Horrible analogies aside The Last of Us: Part II is actually a very good game and Naughty Dog tell a great story with lots of twists, visuals that push the PS4 to its limits and gameplay that lets you experiment with each approach. I like how the game doesn’t punish you for going loud, where I felt it did in the original but that doesn’t mean it isn’t more fun to take a stealth approach. Taking the combat in a stealthy manner is a lot of fun as the game gives you a dizzyingly amount of ways of taking down your foes. This can range with the standard switch blade, bow and arrow to the more creative and excessive such as shrapnel trip mines. Coupled with the sheer brutality with the violence and gore, it really makes for a tense scenario.

Resident Evil 3

Oh dear am I trying to get myself killed on the internet? No, but I thought I would get the more contentious picks out the way first to somewhat cushion the blow so you can put your torches and pitchforks down. Anyway after the resounding success that was the remake of Resident Evil 2 in 2019, people speculated if they were going to do the same treatment for RE 3. Then a year later we got a remake of Resident Evil 3 and it was good, I know people took issue with the more action focused direction and certain feature were cut from the original. However if you play the original it always had a more action heavy focus with its gameplay, and in terms of the cut content well remakes are not supposed to be point to point recreation from the original as it is a different interpretation. It took the core gameplay of the RE 2 remake and tightened the controls, with faster and more responsive shooting coupled with a dodge mechanic. The graphics are even better than the RE 2 remake  the RE Engine is a technical marvel where it strives to provide both high fidelity visuals and performance.

Mafia: Definitive Edition

I feel that this list going to be filled with remakes as 2020 was the year for them given current events; anyway Mafia Definitive Edition was a bit of a left field surprise. Originally released in 2002 (my god nearly 20 years) Mafia was always a game that liked but even at the time its high difficulty and archaic design put me off the game. So when they announced a remake I was immediately interested, it basically fixed most of the issues from the original. For one the presentation is something that immediately stands out, the character model in particular look amazing with full body performances making for a convincing scene. Not only that the car models look exquisite with great looking reflections, as well as excellent damage modelling. I played this all on a base Xbox One and it still looked fantastic and it ran well, unlike a certain game from a certain Polish developer who I won’t name but I digress. The combat has been tweaked to fit modern conventions, with a cover system and tight and responsive controls. Overall if you are looking for an engaging crime drama in video game form, then this is the game for you.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

A really pleasant surprise in early 2020 with this game when things were still somewhat normal, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is truly a beautiful game and is another example that cements videos games a legitimate art form. The game has a beautiful visual aesthetic, it’s like a water painting in motion coupled with the emotional musical score which I now listen to on the regular. The game is a Metroid-vania platformer where you start off weak and helpless, but over time build up abilities as you traverse the beautiful yet dangerous world. The game is not easy this game gets rather difficult in places, but the difficulty is fair.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

 It was a bit of a no brainer that you would see this game on my list given my love for the series, but Yakuza Like a Dragon was a great game and fantastic change in direction for the series. The game starts off fairly normal, well as normal as it gets for a Yakuza game where you play as Ichiban who takes the fall for a murder and is put in prison for 20 years. The game starts off dark and grim but then takes a completely different turn into the absurd, as Ichi is a huge fan of Dragon Quest (he never shuts up about it), where he wants to be a hero. This is thematically appropriate as the game is now a turned based RPG instead of a brawler, when I first heard they were going in this direction I did have a bit of trepidation but now I have played it, I found it works really well. Not only that Ichiban’s personality really shines through, he is idiotic buffoonery is hilarious but at the same time he is loyal and kind to those who he loves.

Despite the year being rather oh dear 2020 was a great year for video games (mostly), lots of great titles and rebirths of classic games. Truly a great year for gaming as we had to spend more time in doors, let’s hope that 2021 will fill us with more great experiences.

Cyberpunk 2077 - Thoughts so far, on console.

 

By Sam Coles:

Cyberpunk 2077 almost became a myth within the video game industry, first announced in early 2013 (I wasn’t even 20) it disappeared as it was used more of an elevation platform to announce The Witcher 3. Everything was quiet until E3 of 2018 when CDPR finally showed off the game in motion, well what we thought the game would play like but I’ll get into that later. After delay and delay the game is finally in my hands on PS4, so is it a good game? Yes and no, leaning more towards the no in terms of technical issues. Just a disclaimer this is not a full review as I have yet to finish the game, more of a first impressions of the game, so let’s get into it.

Cyberpunk 2077 takes places in Night City during the titular year where you play as a mercenary named V, where he is out to make his mark in the city. V can have three distinct backgrounds which will effect dialogue, he can be a Nomad someone who lives in the Badlands outside of Night City, Street Kid where he gets involved within the gang culture and Corpo where he is a corporate slave to the world. Anyway he is tasked with obtaining a special chip called “The Relic”, however everything goes wrong, his friend gets killed and is shot in the head and left for dead in a landfill. The story is very engaging and well written the voice acting across the board is leaps and bounds of what we got with The Witcher 3, V and his interaction with Johnny Silverhand (played by Keanu Reeves) is excellent and adds a bit of comedic flare.

Now let’s get into the gameplay and technical side of things, I will be discussing issues before and after the 1.04 patch. Let’s start with gameplay, as fun as this game is it’s not anything innovative as they were touting within their marketing. It’s an open world game with the same stock standard mission structure that we have seen from the past seven years, and there is nothing wrong with that at all but the way it has been presented I was expecting something more.

Combat is meaty and satisfying; guns have an excellent weight to them when you pull the trigger coupled with the fantastic sound design for each firearm. I wish I could say for the same for melee combat which is rather pathetic, I feel like I am waving a wet fish at someone’s face and not a sword that could cut through steel and the same goes for the stealth takedowns. You can go silent which is serviceable, but the stealth takedowns are not good as clothing will clip through your arm when you have someone in a headlock and when you snap someone’s neck it sounds like a bag of pork scratchings. 

The game is not only about shooting as this is an RPG at the end of the day, in most instances you can solve scenarios in a diplomatic manner with branching paths with the dialogue. I like this as it makes you think on your toes as you have to be careful with what you say, and makes a nice change of pace of filling someone’s skull with cordite.

Now let’s tone down the positive and twist the dial to what gets Sam’s knickers into a twist, let’s start with the massive sticking point before the patches the framerate. I was very suspicious that CDPR showed no footage of the base PS4 and Xbox One, and when the game came out it was abundantly clear why. The game when it came out and even with the 1.04 patch ran abysmally, now I’m not talking about a framerate drop here and there we are talking about framerates as low as 15 frames per second. The last time I checked it is not 1997 and I’m not playing Goldeneye, for a 2020 release framerates this low is unacceptable. I had to take a break when analysing the game initially, the low frame rates were making me sick and that doesn’t happen with me playing games.

Next are the bugs and glitches which were and still are everywhere, with the initial release the textures were awful. Character models would have horrendous pop in issues where they would look like plastic figurines dipped in lava, and then their textures would pop back in as if they realised “Oh sorry we’re late”. Car models also have the same issue, where sometimes inside of the car would look like as if they are filled with bin liners, coupled with the external paint work having the same issue.

Glitches also stem from your own character model and animations, sometimes when you change your clothes (armour) V would suddenly be nude in the specific area you would change. I don’t really want to be wondering around Night City with my meat hanging out. Animations are bugged too where I would be shooting someone with my fingers and hands, due to my gun failing to load in my hand so I’m basically going bang with my own voice. Hilarious if it was a joke feature, but it’s not it is immersion breaking.

I want to take the time in this section to add a bit of a personal statement to this situation, as I feel rather disappointed in CDPR. It’s not that game is terrible because it’s not when it is working, as it has a solid foundation with its world and story. However I feel that CDPR completely dropped the ball and they have lost a sizable trust from me, these are not the same people I fell in love with in my late teens and early 20’s with The Witcher 2 and 3. I hope they have learnt a big lesson from this, and take the time to fix it and get it right. It is going to take more than a simple apology.

To conclude I cannot recommend Cyberpunk in its current state, the foundation is there but the execution is about as flaccid as a battered sausage with no filling. The bugs, glitches and overall performance is not good enough, this is not a hardware issue as there have been some great looking games on the base PS4 this year. This is an optimisation issue, and I hope CDPR are now taking the time to fix this, very disappointed and I hope they will take the time next time.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon Review - Persona 5, but with organised crime.

 

By Sam Coles:

The Yakuza series is a game franchise I have fallen in love with over the past few years, it is a series that has always struggled to gain an audience in the west. However in 2017 its popularity exploded onto the scene with Yakuza 0, and here we are now with a new instalment which is a soft reboot of the series. We no longer play as the hardened veteran The Dragon of Dojima and the game is no longer a brawler, this time it is a turned based role playing game. Does this work for this franchise? To put in short terms, yes!

The story starts off in the year 1999 where we take control of a young Yakuza member named Ichiban Kasuga, or Ichi as he is affectionately called by his friends. He is ready for the new century; however things take a turn for the worse as his boss asks him to take the blame for a murder so he can protect one of his most trusted captains. Ichi is then sent to prison for 20 years and expects a fan fare welcome as he gets out, but no such luck so he tracks down his old boss. Unfortunately he is not welcomed back with open arms, he is shot and left for dead but fortunately he is nursed back to health by a homeless man named Nanba who was once a nurse. They slowly form a bond and become close friends as Nanba shows him the ropes of surviving the homeless lifestyle, where he then helps him go on a quest to find out why his former employers turned on him.

Like the other Yakuza games the story is very dark but has goofy moments, however in this game there are more goofy and fun moments which I welcome with open arms. They do include English dub in this game, but I’m sorry it’s not very good so I stuck to Japanese with English subtitles. Ichi is a loveable character he is extremely loyal, but he is a bumbling idiot and I can’t help but love him because of it. His Japanese voice actor brings this across more than his English counterpart, and it is brilliant as he references Dragon Quest for the 50^th time.

This time the gameplay goes into a new direction as this is a soft reboot of the series, it is no longer a brawler but a turn based RPG. Now I know this would turn a lot off and I’m usually one of those people, but unlike other turn based games there is more interactivity then one would expect. If you are familiar with Persona 5 then the UI layout will be instantly familiar to you, with the buttons for different menus splayed out on the left hand side of the screen. Think of it as a hybrid between Persona 5 and Paper Mario (yes hear me out), you have the standard fare of turn based attacks but you can block, dodge and increase damage with attacks with will timed button presses. It’s great as it makes the combat feel less stagnate compared to other games within the genre.

Like other Yakuza games there are slew of side stories and activities to partake in, where you can play classic arcade games, drink, play darts, pool and more than I can handle sometimes. Again like usual it is a nice change of pace from the main scenario, and again is always oddly engaging to take part in these side stories and activities as they can be stranger than what you find in the main story.

Presentation wise it looks fantastic and I was playing on a standard Xbox One, the Dragon Engine once again shines showing a huge amount of detail. What I like is the presentation with Ichi’s over active imagination when you engage in fights, enemies will transform into more fantastical characters as he thinks that he is in a real world RPG. It’s a nice touch and adds to Ichi’s childlike buffoonery. The pure spectacle of the combat is what truly shines with the visuals, with particle effects flying everywhere when Ichi winds up a punch before hitting them like a sledgehammer. Not only that the summons are a joy to watch, which these can range from lobsters attacking your foes to Goro Majima running down a skyscraper as he throws thousands of knives which then electrify the ground. It’s over the top and that is what makes both the gameplay and presentation excellent.

Are there any issues with the game? Well to be honest nothing really got in the way of my experience too much, but I suppose I should talk about the one issue that sticks out like a hairy crisp in a bowl and that is the framerate. The framerate does stutter from the time to time on the Xbox One platform, this happens mostly in combat when particle effects take up the majority of the screen not only that it happens in the cutscenes too. This doesn’t happen too often and honestly I have myself to blame for playing it on a 7 year old piece of hardware, but worth mentioning.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a fantastic step in a different direction for the series, it still retains the dark serious crime drama narrative but this time turns the goofy metre all the way up. The turn based combat really suits the series and is a breath of fresh air, as we have had the same brawler combat for about 15 years at this point. Ichi is an endearing character where he is extremely loyal, but he is also a bumbling idiot which makes him more lovable. If you are looking for a J-RPG with a crime drama flare, then this is the game for you.    

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Review - That title is a mouthful.

 

By Sam Coles:

The Call of Duty franchise has been going for nearly two decades which makes me feel old, anyway it is a series that certainly has its detractors but if you take it for what it is then you can get a lot of fun with it. This year’s Call of Duty has had a rather rocky development cycle, as the folks at Sledgehammer Games were supposed to be spear heading the project. However things took a turn and sailed into stormy waters, so Treyarch and Raven Software had to take it over to get the project done. Despite the somewhat rushed development, it is still a fun game with some questionable issues I will get into shortly. This is Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (that is a mouthful).

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War takes place during the titular period in the late stages of the war in the neon lit 80’s, 1981 to be more precise. You play as Bell who is a silent protagonist which the last time we saw this was Modern Warfare 2, but honestly it works within this context which I won’t spoil. You are tracking down a Soviet agent codenamed Perseus, who has come out of hiding to shift the balance of the Cold War which could possible turning it into nuclear war. The campaign is rather entertaining and it’s nice to see returning characters such as Hudson, Mason and Woods however this campaign is incredibly short where it is over when things start heating up.

What I like about Cold War’s campaign is that it is not a constant shoot, shoot, bang, bang affair, as it embraces the Black Ops part of the title. The game embraces the espionage side of things, you will be sneaking around in enemy territory snapping photos and hacking computers. It’s a nice change as this campaign has more quiet moments compared to other games in the series, although its tone is more Hollywood in style compared to the more serious Modern Warfare.

Gameplay goes back to the more stripped back and fast paced nature of the series, rather the more slower and tactical movement of Modern Warfare. It feels quick, fluid and tight to control but I feel that a lot of guns lack impact but this is mostly due to the sound design for the weapons sounding as about as intimidating as a wet fart.  However the more traditional gameplay gives me a warm feeling of my teenage years, where it is simplistic but hard to master.

In terms of multiplayer the previous paragraph is applicable in terms of gameplay feel, Treyarch have brought back the pick 10 system when it comes to perks and guns but maintained the excellent gunsmith system from Modern Warfare. Where you can create weapons that are practical, or some rather absurd creations that are not exactly combat proven. Time to kill is higher compared to over COD games, which is fine but it does create some inconsistencies where you can pump five bullets into someone’s head and they still stand as straight as a lamp post.

Visually and here comes the word of the review it is inconsistent, there are moments where the graphics really shine such as the vibrant and lush jungles of Vietnam. However the game can look really washed out and it looks less appealing than Modern Warfare (2019), it’s not a bad looking game but it just looks rushed in certain areas coupled with the more stiff animations.

Now let’s get onto the technical issues, let’s start off with the performance (on Xbox One) it doesn’t run that well. This game has constant stutters throughout the gameplay and in the cutscenes especially the cutscenes, they slow down to a crawl. I have to say the performance issues are rather baffling considering that there does not seem to be reason for these issues, the game is not particularly demanding in the graphics department.

I also ran into some glitches, the major one I ran into was at the start of the campaign where they teach you CQC moves where you can either take a human shield or do a completely over top finisher which saying it’s overkill would be putting it lightly. Anyway digressions aside I decided to take him as a human shield, but my new meat shield wouldn’t die and I could not despatch him with a new grenade friend in hand so I had him for the rest of the level. A baffling glitch where I had to restart the entire mission.

Overall I did enjoy my time with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, but it just feels like it was put together at the last minute. The technical issues do drag down the experience, which honestly if you are looking for a better and more recent Call of Duty experience I would suggest 2019’s Modern Warfare.  

Watch Dogs: Legion Review - No you can't hack Big Ben.

By Sam Coles:

Watch Dogs is a franchise that had a rather rocky start to say the least, with its first reveal of the original game back at E3 2012 (god I feel old) showing off some amazing graphics where we were presented with a  game that was still good looking but lacking certain details. Fast forward to 2020 and I honestly feel that the franchise has finally found its footing, balancing its tone with serious and comedic fun. Welcome to London and this is Watch Dogs Legion.

Watch Dogs Legion takes place in modern day London were a rogue hacker group called Zero Day have caused a series of explosions across the city, where they frame Dedsec another nobler hacker group for the event. UK government sees no other option so they hire the not so subtly named Albion private security firm, to patrol the streets of London with their drones, identity scanning checkpoints and armed guards basically putting London under martial law. The story is rather entertaining it can be fun but is not afraid to go into more darker subjects, such as human trafficking and the fine line between humanity and tech as they try to merge dead people’s mind with artificial intelligence (yes really). It knows when to present serious subjects, but at the same time knows when to bring a certain amount of levity.

Gameplay is similar to the first two where it takes inspiration from the Grand Theft Auto series, where you can hijack cars and assault the local law enforcement but with a hacker twist. However this time you no longer follow a singular protagonist as there isn’t one, but instead you take control of several randomised NPCs across the British capital. So there is no central protagonist as Dedsec themselves act as the main characters, where you take control of London one region at a time. It kind of reminds me of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate where you take over London region by region, although this game doesn’t have the laborious street gang fights.

 

In each mission the game this time compared to the first two does encourage a non-lethal approach, as this is London most NPCs don’t tend to carry guns as they are somewhat of a rarity in the UK. Anyway the game lets you scope out the fourth coming area with cameras, cute spider drones, delivery drones as well as body cams. Plus this gives you the chance to mess with the enemy as you can make cars drive themselves, explode barrels, send lewd text messages to distract them or make their technology malfunction and shock them. It gives you a huge amount of tools to utilise without killing anyone, and ultimately feels more satisfying sneaking in, getting the info you need and slipping away like the ghostly hacker you are.

Not to say that you can’t go loud and cause chaos across the London Town, which you can and is it rather fun to get into trouble with local law enforcement especially when playing as an old lady. It is always hilarious seeing an old lady deck a police officer or doing a stealth takedown on an Albion operative, it’s like she is finally taking her frustration out on the youth.

Driving feels good not realistic by any means but it feels fantastic as you nail it around the corner at 90 degrees, where you then tail whip someone with your rear end. I am rather mean in this game so I get endless joy hitting people off their motorcycles, it’s like a moth to a flame I’m instantly drawn to it and no I’m not a dangerous person honest.

Visually the game looks great in terms of its environments and main characters, the streets of London have been recreated beautifully coupled with the slick rain effects on a stormy day. Main characters look really good with excellent attention to detail, however I cannot say the same for the NPCs you will be taking control of. The randomise characters do not look that great, they look washed out and something I would have seen on a mid-gen Xbox 360 game they are not appealing to look at all. Now this is to be expected as you can’t expect every character in the streets to have exquisite detail, no that would be an unrealistic expectation. However it does leave a bit of a sour taste in my mouth as they are the characters you are controlling for the majority of the game.

Other issues mostly stem from performance and picture quality, now to preface this part I was playing this on an Xbox One not S or X the old VCR player as some have nicknamed. The game has performance issues on this platform as it seems to be pushing the limits of the system, the game tries to runs at 30 frames per second and it succeeds for the most part. However when things get busy with explosions during firefights, things start to lag and stutter like me after a few drinks and it can be hard on the eyes. Screen tearing is also an issue on this platform, but to be honest this seems to be an issue with Ubisoft games in general and not just this generation of consoles.

Overall Watch Dogs Legion is an enjoyable game, it seems Ubisoft have finally found their feet with the series with both gameplay and tone with its narrative. Exploring the city of London is a joy, coupled with the fun and chaotic gameplay. Yes it does have its issues on the Xbox One (have no say about PS4), but what is here is a fun and entertaining experience.

Editorial | Majora's Mask 20 Years Later.

 

By Sam Coles:

When we think of the year 2000, we think of a new millennium but these days we are shocked how it is now 20 years since that year. A lot of great gaming experience came out that year with the PS2 first launching in Japan and Europe, the first Timesplitters and the subject of this article The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. A game that had a rather tumultuous development to say the least, turned out to be one of the most unique Zelda titles in the series. So let me take you on a journey through the dark and twisted tale within the land of Termina, this is The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 20 years later.

Let’s rewind back to the late 90’s when production of Ocarina of Time wrapped, they had left over material and some at Nintendo wanted make a remixed version of Ocarina. However Eiji Aonuma suggested to make another game instead, and then he was given 18 months to make another game. I am of course over simplifying the situation, but it shows what pressures he was under when creating Majora’s Mask which explains its morbid and pessimistic tone. So much so Eiji Aonuma would constantly have nightmares, so much so one of them would coincidentally make it into the game with Deku Scrubs chasing him. Despite the short production period Majora’s Mask turned to be a great game, it reused Ocarina of Time assets and character models but it works in the game’s favour as it presents itself as a parallel universe to Hyrule. Laborious development aside let’s talk about the game itself.

Majora’s Mask is an unusual game in the Zelda series due to the fact it is a direct sequel, it takes place after Ocarina of Time where Link is in search of a lost friend which is heavily implied to be Navi the fairy. When he is slowly riding through the forest his ambushed by Skull Kid who is wearing the titular mask, he steals Link’s Ocarina and horse and turns him into a Deku Scrub. Link then bumps into the Happy Mask Salesman who says he can help him transform himself back to his former self, but he first needs the Ocarina back in his possession. This comes with a big price as he has only 72 hours to do so, because the Moon is slowly descending towards the planet where it will kill everyone in the near vicinity.

The narrative in Majora’s Mask was a huge change in tone; it no longer went with the whimsical and fairy tale aesthetic but instead went with dark and morbid themes such as death and loss. In a way it reflects the troublesome development it had which led to these themes, and honestly stands out as one of the more interesting games in the series from a storytelling perspective.

What makes the game standout in terms of the gameplay is the 3 day time mechanic, and the masks themselves. Let’s start off with the most contentious aspect of the game the 3 day time limit; at first when I played this as a kid I did not like this mechanic at all as I found it too stressful. However as a teenager and young adult I adapted to the system as you have to use the Ocarina to control it, you can slow down time by playing The Song of Time backwards which will give you three hours for the 72 hour cycle instead of the gonad crushing 55 minutes. When you understand how to manipulate time via the Ocarina, the burden of stress of the situation becomes less cumbersome.

The masks are also a major mechanic in the game; you have three transformation masks you can use throughout the game not counting Fierce Deity or Giant Mask. You have the Deku which you get at the start of the game, Goron and Zora masks. These aren’t just meaningless magic McGuffins, as they represent the deceased characters you find in the world as you use The Song of Healing to sooth their last moments.  The most mysterious one is the Deku mask as you don’t receive it from a dying Deku Scrub and for years it was shrouded in mystery of who it is until you meet the butler in the Deku Palace who remarks that “You remind me of my son”. It’s those small yet significant moments that really solidify this game’s storytelling, as it doesn’t insult the player’s intelligence and lets them put the pieces together.

Anyway back to gameplay mechanics of the masks, each of them have their uses and weaknesses such as the Deku being weak to fire and can’t leave town as they don’t have effective weapons. However they can burrow into flowers and glide for a short time, which helps traverse areas that lack stable ledges. Gorons are strong, can travel around Termina fast as they roll up into a ball but they are slow when walking and attacking. The Zora mask lets you swim quickly and breathe under water, coupled with some slick combat manoeuvres. What I like about this aspect of the game is that you integrate within each community as you take on the persona of each dead character, they don’t see you as Link as you just ghost along within the land as someone else. People barely register Link’s presence, as they see him as the the Deku, Goron or Zora he is disguised as. It makes his efforts meaningless almost as they attribute his efforts to the race he has transformed into.

It wasn’t all perfect though with the game, like most Zelda games there is always that one dungeon that is infamous for being irritating and this is in the form of the Stone Tower Temple. Now in concept it was a unique idea where you would have to flip the entire temple to get to certain areas, however it was the laborious nature of having to play The Elegy of Emptiness multiple times. This song would produce rather nightmarish versions of you in all forms to help way down switches, sounds rather standard but if you know what you are doing you would have to play this song over 30 times which I don’t need to tell you how annoying that is. Unfortunately they did not fix this in the 3DS version of the game, which is rather baffling as they fixed the issues with the Water Temple in the 3DS version of Ocarina of Time.

In terms of visuals Majora’s Mask looks much better than Ocarina of Time, considering the darker tone of its story the graphics have more colour to them. My favourite area being the swamps with the warm reds and pinks, everything is densely detailed and does not have that baron wasteland that is Hyrule field in Ocarina of Time. They do reuse a lot of assets but it works in the game’s favour as I said early with the whole parallel world concept. Everything just looks better, which is helped with the use of the Expansion Pak.

Majora’s Mask 20 years later still stands out as one of the most unique games within the Zelda series, yes certain mechanics can be rather tedious but it was bold for doing something different. The story had a dark tone and the world of Termina was more interesting than Hyrule. I would say give this a go if you can, but to experience it properly play the N64 original on native hardware or on the GameCube collection.