There's a certain level of quality to a Nintendo product that I'd forgotten about since Ocarina of Time was introduced back in '98. Even Majora's Mask's manual oozes care and quality. While the game does have its problems, the care taken to keep these problems from ruining the experience is always evident.

Majora's Mask requires the RAM Expansion Pak in order to play, but the presence of the extra RAM isn't all that visually apparent. There are some richer textures and scenes are slightly more complex in terms of the number of polygons on the screen, but the screen resolution is still low as ever. Despite this, some of the cinema scenes really do have some striking imagery.

The actual gameplay is essentially identical to Ocarina of Time, but the game's situations and save method provide an entirely different experience. Unlike the last several Zelda games, there is no way to permanently save your game at will and come back exactly where you left off. Instead, the game progresses through three days of game-world time, and when Link plays the Song of Time he can revert time to the first day of play. This saves the game, but there's a huge catch: you lose almost everything you've acquired while playing. Yes, you keep the major weapons and items, but all ammo, money and even the items in your bottles are lost. Even the dungeon keys you've acquired will disappear. Not only that, but everything you've accomplished is undone. If you've turned winter into spring by defeating a boss, going back in time reverts everything to winter and you must defeat the boss again (a shortcut to the boss is provided though). 

There is a way to save your exact position and status, but this save is only temporary. If you find one of the owl statues scattered across the land you can save your status and location until the next time you resume the game. If you don't save normally after resuming this save, anything that you acquire will be lost and you will revert to your last permanent save. Basically, the owl statues are for emergency saves only.

The masks that were present in Ocarina of Time play a critical role in both the gameplay and the story of Majora's Mask. There are three masks that actually transform Link into a member of one of Hyrule's three native peoples. Changing back and forth between one or more of these masks is often necessary for even the basic game puzzles. There are also many additional masks that play key roles in the side quests that run throughout the game.

In many respects, Majora's Mask is an overwhelmingly complex game. In order to complete the game, Link must keep track of as many as 20 different townspeople and their schedules. Fortunately the game provides a notebook that lists key figures and when they are available. However, the notebook doesn't help at all when it comes to the part of the game that occurs outside of the city's gates.

Like the very first Zelda game, there is very little direction from the game or the characters. This can be extremely frustrating given the game's time limit. It is completely up to the player to figure out where to go and what items are necessary to get there. The clues that were ever-present in Ocarina of Time are either missing completely or are even more subtle this time around.

Majora's Mask is the first game I've ever seen that makes twiddling one's thumbs a mandatory part of the game. There are times that setting out to accomplish a goal means that you must put the controller down and simply wait out several hours of game-world time (one hour in the game is about one minute real time). Worse yet is that if you miss an objective or get stuck, you must save and start over. Every conversation and every little errand must be done again.

This is easily the most challenging Zelda game since the horridly difficult Zelda II: Adventure of Link for the original NES. Think of it as an expert version of Ocarina of Time. If you're not intimately familiar with Ocarina of Time's gameplay and puzzle style, you'll be stuck almost immediately. 

Adding to the difficulty is the fact that the bad guys in Majora's Mask are vicious. The first boss character, for example, is more difficult than any boss in Ocarina of Time (even Ganon!). In order to defeat enemies, several different techniques need to be employed. The days of boss characters with a single, easy to spot weakness appear to be over. I defeated the first boss with just half a heart left, and only by executing a move of sheer desperation. Fortunately, if you loose all your hearts in Majora's Mask, you simply get kicked back to the entrance of the last major area you've visited.

When it comes down to it, I can't remember ever experiencing such extreme feelings when playing a game. It can be downright maddening to spend the game's three days attempting something, only to have all the hard work reset when you save. On the other hand, it is clear that Nintendo has spent a lot of time play-balancing, so for every maddening thing there is something that shines equally in its brilliance. In this respect the game is a very mixed bag and may not appeal to as many people as Ocarina of Time. What it really comes down to is how much patience and time the gamer has. If you can spend a large amount of time with the game, you'll discover just how compelling it can be. 

The bottom line is that to make any progress in Majora's Mask, each game session is going to come close to the 72 minutes allowed between saves. Additionally, each play session must be carefully planned out. Add to that having to repeat large parts of the game from time to time and you can get a better picture of the commitment required to play and enjoy the game. It's incredibly complex and it often reveals things to the player that remain inaccessible until hours and hours of more time have been invested.

I'm approximately half way though the game as I write this review. In total, I have found it to be a tiring but enjoyable experience. The fact that I've kept playing through the numerous frustrating aspects is testament to Nintendo's mastery of game design. They know just how much challenge and repetition a player can take before they stop having fun and give up. For gamers with exceptional patience and a lot of time available to play, this game is more than worth its cost. On the other hand, if anything you've read here sends up some red flags in your mind, give it a rental before plunking down your cash to own it.

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