Welcome to VC Weekly, N-Europe’s guide to the wonderful world of Nintendo’s download service. Written by Sam C Gittins

I would have written this edition quicker but I simply couldn't decide on what I wanted to wear while writing; in all seriousness though, it has been a busy month and I've never played a game to do with fashion before but for the good of this feature sacrifices must be made. The former title however I'm more than familiar with as it's one of my favourite games in existence. Anyway enough from me and on with the games! 
  
Available for download this week we have...   

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Nintendo Presents: Style Boutique

 
Price: GB £8.99, EU €9.99
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Released: 2000
System: N64 

While many remember Ocarina of Time for being the first Zelda game to envision the series in the third dimension, it seems somewhat strange that its sequel which greatly improved on each and every element was so grossly overlooked by many in comparison. Released near the end of the N64's life-cycle Majora's Mask proved to be much more of a deeper and darker entry than any Zelda title that had proceeded it, something which would define its legacy to this very day.

Following on from the events that took place in Ocarina of Time, the game begins with Link searching for a childhood friend whom he had parted ways with. Riding along the outskirts of Hyrule within a forested area all seems calm until suddenly Link's horse - Epona - is startled by something which results in our hero falling to the floor; upon Link's awakening he is none too pleased to find a strange Skull Kid standing before him wearing a truly devilish mask while attempting to "play" the Ocarina of Time. 

Link then attempts to grab onto the masked menace but he is unsuccessful as the Skull Kid jumps onto Epona; managing to grab onto the petrified pony, our hero is then dragged a fair distance before having to let go. After giving chase and falling into the unknown, Link comes face to face with the Skull Kid once more, gets turned into a Deku-Scrub, meets with a strange mask salesman and to top things off; ends up in a town within a parallel land which has a menacing moon hovering ominously above threatening to crush everything in a mere three days!

That unsettling moment when you realise... I don't think we're in Hyrule anymore!

All of the above happens within the first few moments, which just goes to show how much more of a dark, menacing tone this Zelda game has; not to mention the time limit that looms over you continually marking the ever-present threat in the sky above. Indeed it's the limit itself which makes for one of the best mechanics used in the series, because once you grasp the concept and how to use it to your advantage rather than seeing it as a barrier; a whole world of possibilities will open before you.

Set within the world of Termina, this is truly a place that you can become easily absorbed in as while most of the character models are taken directly from Ocarina of Time, their personalities are completely different. Take for instance the character models of young and adult Malon who are now two completely separate identities going by the names of Romani and Cremia, running a ranch together as sisters.

Many other previously known characters are present here alongside newer entries such as the now legendary Tingle (much to peoples delight or disgust depending on your viewpoint) who is a Thirty-Five year old man garbed in green... spandex who sells maps for a living and is a complete lunatic to boot. What nearly all of the characters have in common though is that they each follow their set paths during the three day period and they all have their own story to tell which will more often than not lead to a side-quest and it's here that the game truly shines.

There's something eerie about that Link statue... it almost feels like it's following you.

Of course there is still a traditional quest of epic proportions to pursue involving traveling to far off lands and delving into deep dungeons (some of the finest examples ever created)  but it's all constructed in a very concise  way. Indeed one of the first things you will notice upon entering Termina Field (aside from the riveting rendition of the classic Zelda Overworld theme) is that the land has four distinctly different sections, each leading to their respective area. But it is the manner in which it is all combined seamlessly in one excessively eclectic mix of a place which makes the field and the town it surrounds feel like the game has more of an established central hub than any other in the series.

It's the mask mechanic which makes the game stand out more than anything though as you can collect over twenty different masks during the course of the game including ones that allow you to actually take the form of a Deku Scrub, Goron and even a Zora. Each of these forms has their own abilities such as flight and mucus spraying for the Deku, swimming and projectile attacks as a Zora but perhaps the best ability of all belongs to the Goron form which actually allows you to roll like a Goron and believe me when I say that there is no feeling that can quite match rolling around the whole of Termina Field at top-speed, it's a genuinely memorable moment.

Truly I am merely scratching the surface here though, personally I have played through this title three times previously to this re-release and to give you an idea of scale I limited myself to a solid three day play-through (the same three days that Link has) for this version and in that time I only managed to complete the game in as bare-bones manner as possible with half the hearts, less than half the masks and no major equipment upgrades aside from the obligatory quest related ones. So as you can probably gather from this, if you were to say play this game today for the first time (if thats the case I truly envy you, as the first time playing it is always magical) then you potentially have a gaming experience waiting for you to complete which could last you anything from a week to a month.

Tatl - "Hey Link! Look, it's a cute dog... you should definitely say Hello to it!"

Believe me when I say that there is no issue regarding longevity here, the world of Termina is your playground for as long as you choose it to be and if that happens to be until you've gotten everything obtainable in the game then... have fun because you will be here for a good while, running around underneath the moons sadistic smile. It's also worth mentioning that the game takes full advantage of the N64's expansion pak to produce some truly vibrant visuals all wrapped up in a wonderfully wicked art style, backed up by a sumptuous musical score featuring some truly moving melodies accompanied by a good few classic compositions (thanks to Koji Kondo) all of which help to bring extra atmosphere to the delightfully dark world around you.

Unfortunately it all has to end at some point (like this review) and that is the only negative aspect I can think of when it comes to this game; as it truly has it all and manages to successfully deliver what I would deem to be the most complete entry in the Zelda series to date.

As for which of the two titles is better though, in my eyes it's as simple as this; Ocarina of Time brought the series into the third dimension and delivered everything that fans expected from it at the time but Majora's Mask took the foundations of its predecessor and managed to build something much grander on top with layers between each tier made up of the main things that its brethren lacked including character development, an immense amount of side-quests and a more central hub. Indeed the only thing in contrast that Majora's Mask lacked was the fishing mini-game (this was corrected in the most recent version) which although much loved is still a relatively small price to pay for what's on offer.

The Goron Races! AKA one of the best mini-games in Zelda history!

Of course in the time between the Virtual Console release on the Wii and this the Wii U VC release (50Hz but still better than the glitched GC port) there has been a complete remake for the 3DS in Majora's Mask 3D so it would be amiss not to mention it, as on the whole it does a very good job indeed in upgrading the visuals to make a fully portable version which runs in 3D and at a superior framerate to boot! It is a shame then perhaps that Nintendo saw fit to alter certain gameplay elements which would ultimately change certain mask mechanics within the game in an arguably negative way for anyone who fondly remembers the original, the refinement of the Deku Scrub and Goron forms I most definitely approve of but personally Zora Link having his flippers clipped on the grounds of the original form being "unwieldy" was a change to far for me; while it's true that while in Zora form it was easy to bash into things while in the water, the amount of freedom along with that brilliant dolphin-like quality you could attain from leaping or descending in the waters of Zora Bay is unmatched for me; so for that reason while I respect the 3D remake, the original will always have this part of the game over it and no amount of Chateau Romani will change that.    

In conclusion Majora's Mask manages to better Ocarina of Time in almost every respect, both are monumental games that really cannot come any more highly recommended; for me personally though this is as good as the series gets. As a standalone game it is well worth investing your time and points in; if you have yet to experience this masterpiece then truly you owe it to yourself to do so as it's one of the finest games ever conceived.  

I'm not going to pretend that I know a lot about clothing as alas though I am already the age of Thirty-One, no fashion sense has come to me yet, for I am merely a man with a passion for Videogames, so my base of knowledge consists of three questions which are relevant to me; Do these jeans still fit? Is my footwear comfortable? And of course, Does the T-shirt I'm wearing have some sort of gaming theme to it? So long as the answer to all of those questions is a resounding "Yes" then I don't really tend to give fashion much more thought other than that. 

Starting out like a fashion-focused version of Animal Crossing but in a vaguely more realistic setting, you assume the role of a starting out Stylist as you find yourself in a clothing obsessed town after you've created your player character from the various presets you'll likely have come to expect by now, in other words you have enough freedom to create an avatar just not to an outlandish degree. You begin working in the Strata boutique (after a foregone conclusion of an application, who else is going to apply?) which is ruled/run by a local stylist named Grace along with her minion/assistant Renée, it's up to you to impress them with your skills basically.

Naturally you'll want to work towards running your own store so you can treat this as the trial, in any case the main way you play is the same as you try to create outfits which are tailored to your customers needs who will enter your shop with a helpful backstory which will give you a clue as to what they're after; there is also a budget to consider which helps to narrow your choices down. You then show it to your client, they will buy it if they like it or they may even buy more if they love it so pleasing them is the key to your success, it's possible to buy more stock from the Buyers' Centre in town which will give you sixteen distinctly different fictional brands to choose from. Beyond this you can customise your shop or even your apartment, go out and do "girl stuff" like getting your hair done or getting some new makeup... Yay?! It's what you make of it though so you probably already know if this is your kind of game or not.   

"It's so..." stunning? stupendous? supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? That's got to be it!

There are enough solid visuals to ascertain clear differences between outfits, thanks to the simple presentation which shows off the art style well you may well be won over by the charm of it all, personally I can appreciate the title objectively but it's not something I'd want to stare at for too long; anyone looking for this kind of title though will surely love its aesthetic appeal.Even though it may well be befitting to this style of game, the soundtrack is complimentary at best featuring several different tracks for your shop which do well for providing some background music but after each track loops after the first minute I'd be surprised if you didn't grow tired of it rather quickly, the sound effects are nice enough but I really don't have much else to say other than if you like the feel of the game then you'll probably endure or enjoy the music.  

While it's undeniable that there are plenty of other DS titles which are likely higher up on peoples lists, it's hard to deny that this is one of those titles which actually works really well on the Wii U Virtual Console as thanks to the various screen orientations, you can have both screens on the Gamepad which works a lot better than having to hold a DS system like a book, a lot more relaxed in any case. For anyone who has been interested in this unique series for a while and may feel like being fashionably late, this is a good a chance as any although it could perhaps do with having more of a sale price as you can still pick up the original for around five pounds though I suppose it's worth the extra few quid if you desperately want to try it out on the Wii U, plus you can share all your outfit combinations on Miiverse... so there's that, just don't be expecting any Nintendo wi-fi functionality, oh you weren't? Then that's just as well.

That's it for another installment of VC Weekly which will return again soon. So until then, enjoy the rest of the week and Game On!