Tingle's first appearance deserves every bit of respect it gets.
I want more games like Majora’s Mask. I’m just an illustrator so it’s maybe a little rude to demand things that I have little ability to contribute to, but at the same time I’ll just say it again. I want more games like Majora’s Mask.
Clock Town is such a densely detailed place that I sometimes find myself forgetting that there’s also other locations in Majora’s Mask. I would have been just fine with Clock Town being the only location in the game. Even after decades of replaying it, I’m still finding out new things about the people who live in Clock Town. Did you know that Anju has her own Kafei Mask that she’ll wear for you if you meet her at the laundry pool on the second day? I didn’t until my 4th or 5th replay.
Characters like Anju have more going on than their peers, but each character has a little something to them, like the uptight Swordsman being a coward on the night of the final day, or the Swamp Tourist Center Guide who is revealed to be Tingle’s father, being very embarrassed with his son. It makes Clock Town, and Termina as a whole, more rich. But that richness goes deeper when you take the three day time loop that gives almost every major character a schedule for those three days. (I think Tingle is excluded from having a set schedule and is instead at whatever major location you’re at so you can get the map for that area).
Clock Town starts off as the most involved Zelda village, and then makes sure that nothing of the standard Zelda fare comes remotely close to it.
But then you’re given the permission to leave the walls of Clock Town and there’s a whole Zelda game out there. Maybe a few less dungeons to explore and conquer but I think with the buffet of side quests to choose from, it’s a fair trade. And I would take four solid dungeons over six weak ones any day, and Majora’s Mask has some pretty solid dungeons. Any time a Zelda dungeon makes you think about the space you’re in like it’s a 3D object and you have to learn this object as much as possible to proceed, it gets a thumbs up from me, and Majora’s Mask has a good handful of dungeons like this. Especially the impeccable Stone Tower Temple.
My only gripe with Majora’s Mask is it takes an obscene amount of time to be able to save your game for the first time. It’s like, I dunno. Half an hour before you can save. What if you have to stop sooner? You’re out of luck! You gotta start the game again from the beginning some other time. And this has happened to me more than I’d like to remember. I’ve started Majora’s Mask more times than I’ve played it.
And I’ve played Majora’s Mask several times and completed it at least two times.
Alright I guess I have another gripe about Majora's Mask, I guess the mirror shield in this game is pretty ugly and should have looked like a sun to visually show that Link is going against this lunar apocalypse that Termina has been trapped in. But that's not ruining it for me.
Whether you're a Zelda Freak like me or just someone who likes video games, you should play Majora's Mask. It's really special.
I want more games like Majora’s Mask. I’m just an illustrator so it’s maybe a little rude to demand things that I have little ability to contribute to, but at the same time I’ll just say it again. I want more games like Majora’s Mask.
Clock Town is such a densely detailed place that I sometimes find myself forgetting that there’s also other locations in Majora’s Mask. I would have been just fine with Clock Town being the only location in the game. Even after decades of replaying it, I’m still finding out new things about the people who live in Clock Town. Did you know that Anju has her own Kafei Mask that she’ll wear for you if you meet her at the laundry pool on the second day? I didn’t until my 4th or 5th replay.
Characters like Anju have more going on than their peers, but each character has a little something to them, like the uptight Swordsman being a coward on the night of the final day, or the Swamp Tourist Center Guide who is revealed to be Tingle’s father, being very embarrassed with his son. It makes Clock Town, and Termina as a whole, more rich. But that richness goes deeper when you take the three day time loop that gives almost every major character a schedule for those three days. (I think Tingle is excluded from having a set schedule and is instead at whatever major location you’re at so you can get the map for that area).
Clock Town starts off as the most involved Zelda village, and then makes sure that nothing of the standard Zelda fare comes remotely close to it.
But then you’re given the permission to leave the walls of Clock Town and there’s a whole Zelda game out there. Maybe a few less dungeons to explore and conquer but I think with the buffet of side quests to choose from, it’s a fair trade. And I would take four solid dungeons over six weak ones any day, and Majora’s Mask has some pretty solid dungeons. Any time a Zelda dungeon makes you think about the space you’re in like it’s a 3D object and you have to learn this object as much as possible to proceed, it gets a thumbs up from me, and Majora’s Mask has a good handful of dungeons like this. Especially the impeccable Stone Tower Temple.
My only gripe with Majora’s Mask is it takes an obscene amount of time to be able to save your game for the first time. It’s like, I dunno. Half an hour before you can save. What if you have to stop sooner? You’re out of luck! You gotta start the game again from the beginning some other time. And this has happened to me more than I’d like to remember. I’ve started Majora’s Mask more times than I’ve played it.
And I’ve played Majora’s Mask several times and completed it at least two times.
Alright I guess I have another gripe about Majora's Mask, I guess the mirror shield in this game is pretty ugly and should have looked like a sun to visually show that Link is going against this lunar apocalypse that Termina has been trapped in. But that's not ruining it for me.
Whether you're a Zelda Freak like me or just someone who likes video games, you should play Majora's Mask. It's really special.