A different aproach
Majora's Mask is a sequel to Ocarina of Time in a certain way, you are the same Link. But Hyrule is not your land to explore anymore, Termina is. This might have decieved many players, but frankly the change isn't so bad.
Graphically, Zelda Majora's Mask is some what better than OoT, some textures have been modified, upgraded if we wish. There is still the use of the same NPCs found in OoT, which can be fun at times as we can notice that some of the characters have similar traits of character in both games (but this isn't the main attraction of the game). The game is also much darker than OoT, just a glimpse of the moon may send shivers down the spine of a young player. The story line in Majora’s Mask is also darker than what Zelda usually offers, based on Life and Death, Nintendo might have wanted to show a much more mature side of Zelda, even though the game was aimed to a younger audience. No Ganadorf in this land of Termina, we are fighting against an evil force hidden in Majora’s Mask. The absence of Ganadorf may also be a let down to some fans, but it does follow the story of the series of Zelda, and having a new evil force isn’t that bad, some changes do help.
The gameplay has practically not changed, Link may some times do his occasional somersault that isn’t that helpful but neat. The real new innovation of Majora’s Mask is the use of masks that do a tremendous work on enriching the game play. We can now play as a Zora, Deku Scrub, Goron and the Fierce Diety, and frankly you can never get tired of it!
The music is as wonderful as in OoT, the use of a changing melody as the days go by in the town is very astute, creating an atmosphere as the days go by. The use of different instruments (depending the mask that you ware) also participate in the diversification of the music. But Nintendo did think about their fans, some of the famous tunes found in the precedent games are still included in this chapter of the series.
As for the length of the game, the use of traveling through time makes the game theoretically never ending. You may redo any quest that you want, making the replay value extraordinary, no need to restart/remake a file, just go back in time and play as long as you want.
Nintendo has therefore shown a will to innovate, and Majora’s Mask is a great way of showing this. I do think that it is one of the best chapters of the series and even now I do enjoy picking up my old Nintendo 64 and playing it.
Great work Nintendo.