Majora's Mask: 5 Hours

Luckily, the tricks and tactics I learned in Ocarina of Time have helped GREATLY while playing this game. I have beaten the swamp boss, collected the 15 faeries of that area and am working on getting into the mountain area.

I am thoroughly impressed at how this game works. The three days that you re-live over and over and over have SO FRIGGIN' MUCH to do! I sometimes really need to focus on my objective and try to avoid some of the side-quests (I can do those when I'm almost finished).

If you have played Ocarina... I think you need to pick up Majora's mask.

What a fan-TAS-tic ending!

So I go home from work on Thursday sick. I'm tired as hell, but when I lay down my eyes are glued open. So what to do... what to do... might as well try to finish this game...

And just as the 35th hour rolled around, I defeated Gannondorf. HURRAY! Then I needed to escape the tower.

"Huh? Strange ending..." I thought. Then... I realized that it wasn't over... and I had to fight GANNON! And what an epic battle it was! That I had the uber-two-handed sword made it that much easier... the trick is: (SPOILER ALERT!!!)
...
...
...
...
...
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Attack the crotch.
...
You heard me right. If you stay facing his 'package' you can eventually slip between his legs and hit his tail. He can't hit you if you're that close to him.

And then I enjoyed the fruit of my labors: the ending (at 35 hours and 46 minutes). And what an ending it was! Truly, one of the top three best endings from any game I have played (best one still being 'Kingdom Hearts').

Review time!
It took me some time to get used to how Ocarina of Time wanted me to think as opposed to the other games. It was different and annoying at times, but I enjoyed the game all-in-all.
The graphics were really good. And while they were very much Playstation 1 graphics genre... I loved having no loading times. I'll pay more for no loading times. The princess (grown-up) was absolutely stellar. She was well-rendered and quite beautiful (for a video game character) with her eyes that spoke volumes... (dreamy sigh)

The only bit I didn't like about the game was the expected venturing about. I did discover that the game map helped out more than I thought it did in that every location had a circle. If it was flashing, something there was unresolved. If it had an arrow, then the main side-quest had something there next.

For giving me such a fun game and for a really wonderful ending, I give Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 4 Driving Warios

Now, I have the cart for Majora's Mask and a RAM expander for my system. I'm sick at home this weekend (and pretty tired right now as I type this) so I'll start when I feel better.

Ocarina of Time: 30 Hours

13 and 3/4 hearts, 5 sages found, the UBER two-handed sword, all but 2 seeds planted, and 4/5 of the Desert Dungeon cleared, it's night, I'm on Epona, and I'm wearing the silver gauntlets.

Let's roll.

Zelda was right!!

So, the comic of Wario wondering how the doors open when torches were lit was very funny... I wondered that myself...

But I'll be damned if an ancient inventor didn't figure it out!

Heron of Alexandria made many cool devices including the world's first VENDING MACHINE! And one of those inventions (I sh*t you not) was a door that was opened by lighting torches.

Ocarina of Time: 27 hours

Ok... this is rediculus. The dungeons are great. The story is fantastic, and the characters are really intriguing.

"GETTING THERE" SUCKS @$$!!!

To find the Din's Fire spell I had to go to an area that was a dead end in a place that I would never have gone. To get to the Water Princess I needed to show a letter to her father... but the letter specifically told me not to.

So many hours later, I'm changing the rules. YES! You heard me right. These N64 games are completely different. They're not even like RPGs... they're relying on you spending tons of time wasted looking around. they don't even give you clues. "Look for Din's Fire to light all the torches". I would have even accepted "I hear that there's a spell to make a circle of fire. I've looked everywhere except on the way to the castle."

How hard is that, folks?

So... rules change...

"Because of the requirement of playing the game in a swift manner, if in Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, or Twilight Princess the player spends more than 2 hours looking for an entrance in vain they may refer to a walkthrough."

Ocarina of Time: 22 hours

Ok, I have been sick recently so I have gotten little gaming in while I rest my aching head... but I have come to a realization:

WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN!

Let me explain.

I am finding that things that I have encountered before in the game will be revisited... no matter how small. This is upsetting. In fact, it's downright frustrating.

So folks... when you play a Zelda game make sure you write down everything people say. Make sure you write down interesting features around the land so you can re-visit it later on.

Me, I'm screwed. I'm gonna have to go all over the land TWICE (now that I can time travel). Anyways, I'm working on the Ice Dungeon.

Ocarina of Time: 17 Hours

Ok. I figured out what was wrong with my playing this game. I was playing it thinking it would be swift like the previous games. Well, swift in that I could do it in less than 24 hours. I also forgot that this was SUPPOSED to make you venture around and enjoy the game that way.

Now, I am 7 years older in the game and the familiar side-quests are gone. That's when I knew that this game was different than the rest... and that's when I really started to FEEL this game. I'm gonna slow down and try to think differently now (a little too late). Perhaps I can reconcile myself with this game.

GameJew sings to Miyamoto

'THE' Miyamoto. As in Shigeru Miyamoto. As in the creator of Mario, Link... yes THAT Miyamoto!

CHECK THIS OUT!

That's all there is to it: GameJew is groovy. I'd really like to meet him someday.

Ocarina of Time: 7 Hours 20 minutes

Thanks again to Psyguy for letting me link to the Wario-in-Hyrule comic 'Greed'.

Well, I played more Zelda last night and i'm getting pretty frustrated with how this game plays. It's becoming too much like II and IV for my taste.

I am getting used to the controls, but this "figure this out on your own with no hints" is getting REALLY OLD REALLY FAST! I can't buy bombs, the Goron guy won't talk to me... and he hates both my songs (Zelda's lullaby and the Sun song), I can't get into the spinning pot although I could land on it when it wasn't spinning, and what the hell are all those bomb-flower thingys? And why do I need to talk to people three times to get information out of them? I don't want to talk to them three times... THEY TALK TOO LONG AND YOU CAN'T SPEED UP THEIR TEXT!!!

And why does that irritating bunny-eared/winged faerie thingy keep interrupting my travels?

"Hey! Listen! Let's brag to Saria about us saving the world?"

"Listen! She'd be impressed! Let's tell her!"

"LISTEN!! YOU'LL GET LAID IF YOU TELL HER!!!"

(swat) (flutters to ground)

THERE! Now you're a floor-rie!

A Wario comic!

Ok. This is just too weird. A comic about Wario... who goes to Hyrule!

Too cool.



Looks like he's having the EXACT same problems I'm having!

Ocarina of Time: 4 Hours

Well, I can see how this game would have been revolutionary at the time the N64 came out, but I'm just 'not feelin it'. Personally, I LOVE the 2/3 view from the last few games that I have played. This just does not feel 'Zelda' to me. Eh, we'll get some more playing in the next few days and see if I'll be inspired to be a fan of this new way of playing.

I am amazed at how Nintendo continues to push people's minds with the series. That's the challenging part of each game in that you have to figure things out for yourself... no hints. Thinking to use the stick to make a torch to burn the web is not something arrived at very easily. It makes for fun (but frustrating) play. Well, the Doku Tree level is done so now I head off to the castle. Thought it would go faster... this one's gonna be tough.

To be honest, I have been more excited about SNES games than this one. (sigh) But complete the challenge I must.