Virtual Console's 300th Game

By: Pedro Hernandez, Staff Writer

In E3 2005, Nintendo confirmed that not only would their new console be backwards compatible with GameCube games and accessories, it would also have NES, SNES, and even N64 games. The service would be known as the Virtual Console. With only a required minimal fee, players could go back in time and download many classic games. More consoles and games were added later, such as the Sega Master System, the Turbografx and even arcade games.

On May 19, 2009, Nintendo celebrated a milestone; the Virtual Console saw the release of its 300th game. Since the Wii's launch, Nintendo had been updating the Wii Shop Channel with at least one Virtual Console game every Monday, in North America. Their efforts paid off greatly when the 300th game was reality. What was that game? The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask for the Nintendo 64. A game once thought would be impossible to be a Virtual Console game due to its sheer size and game design, Majora's Mask was the main event everyone was waiting to see.

The game itself, however, is an odd game in the prestigious line of Zelda games. Technically a direct sequel to Ocarina of Time, it stars Young Link as he returns to his home in Hyrule. While traveling, he is attacked by a skull kid wearing a disturbing ceremonial mask. The Skull Kid steals Epona and Link's Ocarina. Being the brave hero that he is, Link gives chase to the strange creature. The chase lands him on a mysterious land unlike Hyrule. Just as he begins to wrap his head around his surroundings, Link is turned into a Deku Scrub by the Skull Kid! He then meets the creepy Happy Mask Salesman, and who informs Link that the mask the Skull Kid is wearing belongs to him and MUST be retrieved due to its evil powers.

The land Link finds himself in is called Termina (which is Spanish for "end", "to be finished", why? You'll see…). It looks like Hyrule, has villagers that look and act like well know Hyrule inhabitants, and looks like an overall colorful place. But when Link looks at the sky he realizes that a giant, creepy moon is looming over the town, threatening to kill everyone in three days! Link has to recover his ocarina, find his horse, turn back into a human, and prevent the destruction of Termina. All of a sudden, fighting Ganondorf doesn't sound so bad…

Majora's Mask, for the most part, played like Ocarina of Time. Players could still lock onto enemies, jumping was automatic, and switching between items was a breeze. But some additions were made that made the game play similarly but not exactly like its predecessor. The moon serves as a constant threat, and it WILL crash on Termina in three days, meaning that players do have three days in order to complete each of the game's dungeons and side quests. In addition to this, Link had the ability to use and collect masks. There were many masks that had different attributes and effects, but three of them were special, and crucial to the completion of the quest. The Deku Mask turns link into a Scrub that is light and can fly, but is weak to fire. The Goron Mask turned Link into a huge Goron capable of super strength. Finally, the Zora Mask turned Link into a Zora capable of swimming underwater. These three forms were important in completing the dungeon's puzzles.

Link's ocarina also plays a big role in the adventure. Like in Ocarina of Time, Link can play the ocarina in order to manipulate time and space. Playing a certain tune would slow down time, giving players more time to complete their mission. Other tunes made the flow of time go faster. There were also some songs that affected the other characters when played in front of them. This is important to note because players will be using the same songs in order to complete many of the game's side quests. Link is stuck reliving the same three days over and over, and the inhabitants will continue to live their lives the same way over and over. But Link can affect these events if he desires.

Each character has a story to tell, a mission to accomplish. The player has to mess with the fabric of time in order to see each story to its completion. Because of this, the story has a much larger presence than in Ocarina of Time.

THAT MOON!!!!!!

The game is a winner on many accounts. But despite its amazing efforts, some players grew really frustrated with the design. Simply put, players wanted to feel at ease when playing it. The constant menace of the moon created many tense moments and little time to fully complete a dungeon. It's because of this that the game is not as celebrated as its predecessors, putting it along side Zelda 2 and Twilight Princess as the Zelda titles some players don't seem to like.

Still, the game must be applauded for trying something new. Nintendo could have easily borrowed the Ocarina of Time engine, create a few dungeons and called it a day. Instead, they created a whole new world that felt familiar but wasn't the same. The gameplay was very polished but added new elements that made it a charmer. Having it be the 300th Virtual Console title is an honor that this sometimes forgotten title deserves.