Link may be the hero of this story, but he's not the main character. The residents of Termina, with their own individual scheduled lives, their fear of impending doom, regrets, hopelessness, sad naivety, and denial are what drives this games narrative.
If Ocarina of Time was the hopeful hero story of Star Wars: A New Hope, Majora's Mask is certainly the more mature, darker Empire Strikes Back.
Gameplay wise, it's everything Ocarina was plus the addition of 3 new "playable characters". The mask system is extremely unique and provides interesting rewards for side quests beyond simple heart pieces or glass bottles of the other games of the series. The way some of them build off of each other in a series of longer sidequest meant the rewards you were getting not only increased your life bar, but opened new doors for you figuratively and literally to progress other side quest that may have dead ended on you.
The 72 hour in game time loop is frequently pointed to as a gimmick or made the game feel stressful, but I don't think the game would have worked without it. The feeling of not being able to complete every side quest or dungeon in one loop gives meaning to what you choose to do with this chance. Just like the people of Termina, you are forced to pick and choose who you save and what you do with what little time you have left.
This game may not have aged well, but it's impact on my life when I was an 11 year old kid was profound and it still impacts me today at 34 years old.
If Ocarina of Time was the hopeful hero story of Star Wars: A New Hope, Majora's Mask is certainly the more mature, darker Empire Strikes Back.
Gameplay wise, it's everything Ocarina was plus the addition of 3 new "playable characters". The mask system is extremely unique and provides interesting rewards for side quests beyond simple heart pieces or glass bottles of the other games of the series. The way some of them build off of each other in a series of longer sidequest meant the rewards you were getting not only increased your life bar, but opened new doors for you figuratively and literally to progress other side quest that may have dead ended on you.
The 72 hour in game time loop is frequently pointed to as a gimmick or made the game feel stressful, but I don't think the game would have worked without it. The feeling of not being able to complete every side quest or dungeon in one loop gives meaning to what you choose to do with this chance. Just like the people of Termina, you are forced to pick and choose who you save and what you do with what little time you have left.
This game may not have aged well, but it's impact on my life when I was an 11 year old kid was profound and it still impacts me today at 34 years old.