This review contains spoilers
(Replay) Man, I knew I loved this game, but I didn't know I loved it this much.
To get it out of the way, this game has easily the best gameplay in the entire series to me, it's not even close. We'll see if TotK tops it (I doubt it will) but this game has three fantastic dungeons (Great Bay and Stone Tower have been my top 2 in the whole series for a while now, and they probably still are), fun movement, fun minigames, and the game as a whole is a phenomenal exercise in routing that, in my opinion, make it the absolute best 100% run in all of gaming (I 100% every playthrough). Time management IRL is like my favorite thing ever, this game was literally made for me.
But the gameplay isn't even half the reason I love this game. The story is both a masterful continuation of OoT's themes and is also great on its own. Link went through a journey with a child's mind in an adult's body, learning what it truly means to mature and grow up, and now Link has an adult's mind in a child's body. The details of him being able to use all the adult weapons that he couldn't as a child in the last game (like the hookshot and hero's shield) are great at showing his maturity, but he also has to deal with adult responsibilities and fears that he can no longer run away from. We all wish we could go back to those days where we had no real worries or stress (just like how Link in this game is trying to find Navi, the one who represented his carefree childhood innocence and who has now left him). The sad truth is that we can't just run away from or ignore our problems forever (the unstoppable force that is the moon representing this fact on top of the fear of inevitable death), but we can put in the effort to live our lives so that when our fate catches up with us, we won't have any regrets. As so many of the wonderful story moments and side quests in this game try to tell us, strengthening your relationships with those you love is always worth it in the end.
Clock Town has the most humanized and realistic NPCs in all of gaming to me and learning about how much of their lives they've built up, how intricate their schedules and relationships with others are, only to have to watch their varying reactions and responses to all of that being washed away in a single moment during the haunting final hours segments is one of the most immersive experiences I've had in a game in a long time. Even putting aside Clock Town, there are so many tiny details packed into the NPCs of this world, so many interactions and conversations you'll discover for the first time on each playthrough. Some of them gave me chills.
"By doing one good deed, a child becomes an adult." The line that bridges the gap between OoT and MM.
I'm not used to writing reviews as long as this, but the ultimate point is that with great gameplay and an amazing story, MM has always been, and always will be my favorite Zelda, and I'm ranking it higher on my top 10 immediately.
To get it out of the way, this game has easily the best gameplay in the entire series to me, it's not even close. We'll see if TotK tops it (I doubt it will) but this game has three fantastic dungeons (Great Bay and Stone Tower have been my top 2 in the whole series for a while now, and they probably still are), fun movement, fun minigames, and the game as a whole is a phenomenal exercise in routing that, in my opinion, make it the absolute best 100% run in all of gaming (I 100% every playthrough). Time management IRL is like my favorite thing ever, this game was literally made for me.
But the gameplay isn't even half the reason I love this game. The story is both a masterful continuation of OoT's themes and is also great on its own. Link went through a journey with a child's mind in an adult's body, learning what it truly means to mature and grow up, and now Link has an adult's mind in a child's body. The details of him being able to use all the adult weapons that he couldn't as a child in the last game (like the hookshot and hero's shield) are great at showing his maturity, but he also has to deal with adult responsibilities and fears that he can no longer run away from. We all wish we could go back to those days where we had no real worries or stress (just like how Link in this game is trying to find Navi, the one who represented his carefree childhood innocence and who has now left him). The sad truth is that we can't just run away from or ignore our problems forever (the unstoppable force that is the moon representing this fact on top of the fear of inevitable death), but we can put in the effort to live our lives so that when our fate catches up with us, we won't have any regrets. As so many of the wonderful story moments and side quests in this game try to tell us, strengthening your relationships with those you love is always worth it in the end.
Clock Town has the most humanized and realistic NPCs in all of gaming to me and learning about how much of their lives they've built up, how intricate their schedules and relationships with others are, only to have to watch their varying reactions and responses to all of that being washed away in a single moment during the haunting final hours segments is one of the most immersive experiences I've had in a game in a long time. Even putting aside Clock Town, there are so many tiny details packed into the NPCs of this world, so many interactions and conversations you'll discover for the first time on each playthrough. Some of them gave me chills.
"By doing one good deed, a child becomes an adult." The line that bridges the gap between OoT and MM.
I'm not used to writing reviews as long as this, but the ultimate point is that with great gameplay and an amazing story, MM has always been, and always will be my favorite Zelda, and I'm ranking it higher on my top 10 immediately.