Destructoid user Togail summed up in a single photograph.



This is my wonderful contribution to the community blogs. Good day, gentlemen.

Majora's Mask is as simple a game as it is a complex one. As heartwarming a game as it is soul crushing. In all my years as a player, I have yet to encounter another experience in media that affects me as deeply as Majora's Mask did, on such a personal and emotional level. The following is a shrine to an overlooked classic, a letter to those who didn't experience it, and my personal take on what I hold up as my favorite video game.

The premise


Anyone who picked up a gaming magazine back in 1999 should understand the premise of Majora's Mask, but assuming you've been in the dark all these years, let me break it down for you. You play as Link, the same Link who slew Ganon back in 1998. The game begins with a scene of our hero riding Epona through the Lost Woods. Those who took the time to read the manual would have known that Link had set off on a quest to find, "A lost and beloved friend", or something to that effect. Most assume that he was seeking Navi.

Events quickly spiral out of control as we are introduced to the antagonist of the game, Majora's Mask. Everything a Zelda fan holds dear is lost, including the familiarity of Link's human form. After having Tatl fill the role that Navi has left open, and a brief foray through a wooded section, we're introduced to Termina and the crisis that has befallen it. The player is then given three days (about 54 minutes of real time), to find a way to the top of the Clock Tower, retrieve his Ocarina, and defeat Majora's Mask.

If the player is successful in this first mission, he will retrieve his Ocarina. Upon playing the Song of Time, you are warped back to the moment you first stepped out into Clock Town, and everything is as it was before the Moon started its final descent. Congratulations, you've been introduced to the main gimmick of Majora's Mask, and given your first taste of the God-like powers you now possess. With your human form restored, you'll set out on a quest to cleanse four temples of the evil that resides within them.

The execution


We've reached a point of divergence. Here is where most fans either become enamored with the world of Termina and explore it in full, or become daunted by the strict limits of the three day cycle and give up in favor something less, well, strange. Those of you who gave up, take note. If you play Majora's Mask the "right" way, you'll find that repetition rarely rears her ugly head.

I'm well aware of how wrong that last sentence sounds to anyone who is a fan of Zelda. Up until Majora's Mask, Zelda games were instantly familiar to returning fans. An emphasis was put on adventuring at your own pace and leisure, and while there was often an impending threat, it had never been pertinent to the point that if you were to stand still, there would be ramifications. Majora's Mask takes that convention and throws it out the window. No more unfocused wandering. You have to have a purpose, a schedule. When you begin a new three day cycle, you'd best have a clear idea of what you wanted to accomplish in mind, lest you waste time and can't accomplish your goals.

Luckily, players are granted a boon in two hidden songs, both involving the Song of Time. If the player plays the Song of Time backwards, time will be slowed to half speed, effectively extending your 54 minute timer to nearly two hours. If you needed to advance ahead to a specific time on a specific day, you can play the Song of Time with double notes, warping you ahead twelve in-game hours. It's not a perfect system, but with these two things in mind, it becomes far more manageable.

Anyone who plays Majora's Mask will have to learn how to use the Song of Time effectively, in all three of its incarnations. A good example of this crops up later in the game, when you set off to complete the fourth and final dungeon. The player is presented with a long and arduous event in the form of Ikana Castle, a dungeon that you are required to complete to complete in order to learn a song that will grant you access to Stone Tower Temple. In the process of gaining access to Ikana Canyon, exploring and conquering Ikana Castle, and first entering Stone Tower Temple, I returned to the first day three times. It's important to note that although I returned to the past three times over this course of events, I did not encounter any repetition. Using strategy, I allotted time to objectives, warped back to the first day, and used the Song of Soaring to return to Ikana Canyon with progress made.

Majora's Mask is not impossible to play, nor is it repetitive. The potential is there, but for gamers of our caliber, it is unlikely.

The little things


This is the crux of my love for Majora's Mask. The little things. Never before had I played a game that put such a strong emphasis on bringing a world to life, replacing a set of static NPC's with ones that lived out their lives from day to day, getting into trouble, and giving off the impression that these minor elements of the story were living, breathing beings.

Instead of waxing on for several thousand words about each individual moment, as it would be very possible for me to do so, I've picked out the two moments that have stuck with me, that I can remember in excruciating detail. One is the story of a Goron who had trouble moving on after death, haunted by the fact that his people were suffering. What stuck me the most is encompassed by a simple, thirty second cutscene. The other takes place over the course of an entire three day cycle and tells a story of unrequited love and unwavering devotion.

The first event involves the spirit of a Goron named Darmani the Third. After Majora cursed Snowhead, the home of the Gorons, with an eternal winter, Darmani took it upon himself to go to Snowhead Peak and cleanse it of the evil that had manifested itself there. The blizzard blew him into the valley below, killing him. Upon arriving at the Mountain Village and obtaining the Eye of Truth, you'll be able to see his spirit. He'll implore you to follow him, and if you comply, you'll be taken to his grave.

It's here that you are presented with his harrowing tale and are forced to heal his wounded soul. A short cinematic plays, something that I cannot imagine will have the same impact on you as it did on an eight-year old me nine years ago. This cutscene marks the first time, and one of the only times, a game has nearly brought me to tears. It could have been my loose understanding of what death was, or it could have held a relevance with me at the time that I can't recall. However, in spite of this, that short scene has stuck with me, and made a huge impact on me as a person. It's the scene that made me reexamine the video games I had previously played, a scene that turned me into a little Reverend Anthony that is consistently expecting more from video games as a medium and is constantly disappointed.



The second event is much more subtle, and far more difficult to pull off. It's also incredibly easy to miss, as the entirety of the sequence is optional. I could have recounted it here in text format, but I've instead decided to embed the crucial moment, the one that made the whole of the experience worth it.

You're given a few minutes of in game time to return to Clock Town, to be there when Kafei meets Anju in a room within the Stock Pot Inn. If you carry out this task, you'll be stuck waiting until there's barely a minute left, nervous that you'll get caught in the destruction that the Moon will soon wrought. Kafei will arrive in the nick of time and you'll be treated to a touching scene, as well as the Couple's Mask, something you can use to get a Piece of Heart. Despite the issue of Majora having turned Kafei into a child and in spite of their impending destruction, they embrace. They utter a final line before you're given the order to flee; it's a line that has stuck with me over any other moment from this game.

"Please take refuge. We are fine here. We shall greet the morning... together."

B'aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw.

The time system may have been stressful, and initially hard to grasp, but thanks to moments like these, it was entirely worth it. If you haven't played Majora's Mask, I implore that you give it the fair chance it deserves. If you have played it, but didn't enjoy it, I'd make the suggestion that you return to it with the knowledge of the slowed time flow and with a greater emphasis on managing time. Hell, if you knew about those things, maybe this game just isn't for you. To everyone else, thank you for sticking with me for this long article. I admit that I wrote it more for me than for you.

Please, under no circumstances should any of you attempt what I have done in this video.

You hear me, Internet? What the hell are you waiting for? Why are you reading this? Why aren't you downloading RunMan: Race Around the World instead? While I'm of the opinion that the above video should be all of the proof that you need that this is one of the finest indie games ever made, I'll humor you.

RunMan is a game where you run to the right, sometimes to the left. You kill enemies. Always running. The game features very innocent looking graphics that resemble something a child would dream up while he was daydreaming in class. GO DOWNLOAD RUNMAN.

Want more? Here's a list of features ripped straight from the site:

Run through 35+ levels across 6 unique and preposterous zones!
Complete ridiculous feats of speed to earn shiny medals!
Unlock 4 lovable secret characters and probably some other stuff!
Colorful, bright, crude, colorful graphics!
Classic tunes courtesy of masters like Robert Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Blind Blake, and more!

This blog has been a long time coming. Fresh off of completing Final Fantasy VI on the SNES, III if you're one of those people, I assumed that the denizens of Destructoid would like to know what I thought of the experience. Conceited of me, isn't it? After a failed blog attempt that I have now hidden in shame, several sleepless nights, and a few kilos of cocaine, I'm finally ready to tell you all about it.

As an experience, Final Fantasy VI is fantastic. It doesn't do much to hide the fact that it's a traditional JRPG, but honestly, it doesn't need to. The Esper system provided enough variety to keep me engaged, and the diversity of the fourteen character party provided more than enough unique abilities to sate my lust for complex battle systems. I'm getting ahead of myself though, why don't we start with the basics?

As some of you know, Final Fantasy VI takes place in a steampunk setting, throwing you, the player, into the middle of a war between an evil Empire and a resistance faction known as the Returners. Sure smells like Star Wars in here, doesn't it? The Empire has recently acquired a new weapon known as Magitek armor that has allowed them to stamp out most all resistance and declare itself ruler of the free world. The story centers around Terra, a young girl whose mysterious ability to use magic has helped fuel Magitek's development and the Empire's rise to power. After a few dozen hours of epic adventuring, we come to find out that Espers are the source of magic, some things about the War of the Magi, Terra is half human, half esper, and after a continent is raised into the sky by Emperor Gesthal and Kefka, Kefka destroys the world.

Is that enough plot summary for you? It had better be.

Personally, while I found the overall story of Final Fantasy VI interesting and engaging, the little moments nestled inside it are what kept me coming back for more. Though I was perfectly happy to infiltrate a Magitek research facility to learn more about the evils of the Empire, I found the death of Cyan's family, a moment that takes up mere minutes of gameplay, more compelling. Sure, defending the Esper Tritoch against the Empire's army and battling Kefka atop a cliff was satisfying, but it pales in comparison to discovering the truth behind Shadow's past.

What about the opera house scene, Krow? Uh, what about it? Sure, it's entertaining, and it's a break from the relatively typical fantasy fair the rest of the game off , but I don't understand why people laud this scene as one of the finest moments in Final Fantasy VI, let alone the series as a whole. It didn't have near the impact on me that the aforementioned little moments in the game did, and when it was all over with, I shrugged and moved on with my quest. Please don't beat me to death king3vbo.




More than the story, I greatly enjoyed the combat. To be honest, I can't give you a very clear reason as to why, suffice it to say that I did. Perhaps it was giving Locke the ability to kill any enemy in one turn? I can't say for sure. What I can do is show you how I fared against Kefka's monument to pain and the Godly magician himself in the videos at the end of the post.

Final Fantasy VI helped to confirm a few things for me as a long time fan of the Final Fantasy series. For one thing, I learned why I can play any of the titles in the series nearly endlessly like some people play Gradius III and Ikaruga, and not feel like I'm wasting time. It's a little weird, possibly a bit stupid, and it's very likely you won't understand it. Each Final Fantasy title is familiar to me, regardless of whether or not I've played it before. There is a system in place that I've experienced before, a musical style I've grown fond of, and a sense of working my way from a level one wimp to someone who can kill a God without flinching. Aside from satisfaction via gameplay, the cast of characters in each title is one I'm instantly familiar with. When I pop in a Final Fantasy, it's like I'm visiting old friends. Is this sad and nerdy? Fuck yeah it is, but it's also true.

When I had first entered the World of Ruin, and it dawned upon me that I was going to be marching around looking for my lost comrades, that the overall plot had come to a griding halt, I was initially discouraged. As I traveled the world, peering into the shattered lives of my lost companions, I realized that I was grateful. I'd been given an opportunity to understand the fictional people I had been traveling with for so long, a brief glimpse into their tiny, pixelated lives. Of course, Final Fantasy IX was brilliant enough to weave moments like that into the overall plot of the game, but we're not talking about that right now. We're talking about final Fantasy VI, and it's a damn fine game in its own right.

You should play it if you haven't, and if you have, you should play it again. So sayeth I.

Welcome, welcome! After hearing that the Chronotorious album by The Bad Dudes was receiving a limited run of 1,000 copies made, I rushed to make a purchase. I had such confidence in the people behind this project that I didn't even bother checking out the samples before I made my purchase. Was that confidence well placed? Is Chronotorious worth it? Read on soldier; I'll tell you all about it.

Before I tell you though, why don't we have a picture fapfest?



Here we have the shiny cover of the Chronotorious album, featuring artwork by the very talented Brianne Drouhard.



Here we have the back of the Chronotorious case. It features the full track listing with the original songs from Chrono Trigger in brackets next to the new mixes.



Is that a Nu? I think it is! Written underneath our lazy friend are the words, "All life begins and ends with Nu." I'm giddy that they managed to sneak in one of my favorite, cryptic quotes.



Wait, there's more? Upon unfolding the insert, we're treated to even more artwork by Ms. Drouhard. This one sees the ensemble dancing Charlie Brown style around a campfire, bringing to mind the famous scene where the group questions the nature of the rift in time. Notice that Magus is scowling. He's always so grumpy!



To the left of the campfire dance party, we have an introduction to the adventure we went on all those years ago.

"It all began aeons ago, when man's ancestors picked up a shard of strange red rock.
It's power, which was beyond human comprehension, cultivated dreams in turn, love and hate were born.
Only time will see how it all ends."




Up next we have the CD itself. It shows off the party in its entirety, each doing a pose befitting their character and storylines. It makes me happy just looking at it!



Not only has everything we've looked at so far been amazing, but there's even more to gaze upon! Here we have the pack in poster, drawn by Steph Laberis. It's a depiction of Zeal, and it's going up on my wall immediately.



Here's a zoomed in shot of Chrono, Marle, Lucca, and the Nu.





Ah, what do we have here? There's more to this poster than meets the eye. Here we have a description of each song by the artist who wrote it, as well as a cute rendition of Gato. As you can see in the zoomed in view of Gato, the girls go wild for him.



Finally, here's a picture of my shaggy head holding Chronotorious up for the camera. Why? Because.

If you'd like to read the descriptions on the poster, check out the gallery for the larger sized versions of all of these pictures and even more tasty shots.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's get into the meat of it. Chronotorious features sixteen different tracks by various members of The Bad Dudes, each with his or her own style and flair. If you're a fan of diversity in music, Chronotorious has it in spades. I'm going to list out each of the tracks below, along with my thoughts and impressions on my favorites. It almost feels wrong talking about music this good, as I'm no musician, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.

1. CHRONOTORIOUS - The album starts off with this electronic/funk arrange of Chrono Trigger, the original games main theme. It features an eclectic mix of various instruments, including the piano and an electric guitar. It's good stuff.

2. Castle Rock - A remix of the theme that played within Guardia Castle. More than any of the other tracks on this album, this song scream Chrono Trigger. It's a nice song to kickback to.

6. B.A.M.F. - An arrange of the battle theme that plays when you confront Magus, this may be my favorite arrange on the album. Composed by Dhsu and Mustin, the track switches between a more electronic/funk sound and the tones of a piano. My opinion may be biased by my love of Magus a character, but that love tells me they couldn't have captured him any better than this.

14.Forest Steppin' - A remix of the theme that plays in Guardia Forest, this is the other contender for my favorite on the album. I can't quite put to words just why I love it so much, other than to tell you that I do.

Should you purchase Chronotorious? Yes, you most definitely should. For a mere $12 you'll be getting some of the best Chrono Trigger mixes out there, high quality art work, five bonus songs, and you'll be supporting some of the best video game musicians in the business. Without a doubt, this is a must own for any Chrono Trigger fan.