The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: 20th Anniversary Discussion.

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

Two years ago on the forums, I wanted to do a little something to celebrate the 20th anniversary of 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'. Also back then, I said that I would do the same thing for 'The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask' when its 20th anniversary came along. And now, here we are albeit a bit late given how other events took priority.

This was the earliest time on the calendar that I could do this so please understand.

Anyway, feel free to discuss whatever you like about this underrated video game, both the original and the Nintendo 3DS remake. This thread will remain open for several days or so.

[MidnightFire1222 1,682]

I adore Majora's Mask. I've only played the original (well, a Gamecube port of it) but I loved it. It's probably my second favorite after Twilight Princess. I've always been partial to darker storylines and characters having one, if not several, transformations. Zora Link is perhaps my favorite of the main transformation masks, but I do love the Fierce Deity/Oni Link mask as well. It's a shame it can only be used against bosses.

[Chadbacca 375]

I still own the Limited Edition N64 cartridge with the holographic label, and it's something I will never give up. Sadly, I never 100% completed it on N64, but I did for the GameCube port. One of my favorite things about Majora's Mask that Ocarina of Time did lack was the ability for you to re-experience key events in the story without starting a new game just by playing the Song of Time to go back to Dawn of the First Day. Yeah, you would lose your bombs, arrows, consumables, and whatever rupees you didn't deposit at the Clock Town bank, but it's honestly not too hard to get ammo and money.

[Will Guide 21,325]

3 hours ago, MidnightFire1222 said:

I adore Majora's Mask. I've only played the original (well, a Gamecube port of it) but I loved it. It's probably my second favorite after Twilight Princess. I've always been partial to darker storylines and characters having one, if not several, transformations. Zora Link is perhaps my favorite of the main transformation masks, but I do love the Fierce Deity/Oni Link mask as well. It's a shame it can only be used against bosses.

The Zora mask is my favorite too. I know most fans don't like how it's Nerf in the 3DS, but I personally don't mind, especially since by that point inn the game, I have access to milk that grants unlimited magic for the rest of the cycle. While it is debatable wheter the original N64 version or 3DS version is superior, I personally enjoy them both. They each have their strengths and weakness.

 

Majora Mask is unique in the Zelda series for motivating me to help out everyone I could. Even the minor NPCs had something that I could assist with. In other games, I only interact with the required NPCs and never really build a desire to help them. And so they would become forgettable. But not in Majora's Mask.

At first I was a little fearful of that game seeing it second hand back in December 2000 at a daycare at 10 years old. But after playing a rental of it from Blockbuster in early 2001, I couldn't get it out of my mind. I even had haunting dreams of me in Clock Town trying to help the people despite my own worries if I wasn't up to the Challenge.  It wasn't until 2005 that I finally got a N64 copy for my N64 system. Once the game became available on the Wii virtual console in 2009 and some years later on the Wii U, I didn't really have a reason to keep my N64 system anymore.

Plus Majora's Mask is my Personal Introduction to the Groundhog Day Loop trope. Because of that game, any story with that plot point of reliving the same cycle over and over fanscinates me, for better or worse. So you can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to find that the Sunset Shimmer special from a few years ago was a Groundhog Day Loop trope.

This game defined my life and my hobby as a Legend of Zelda player. And I am so happy that the Forums decided to bring attention to it since this year is its 20th anniversary. And given the pandemic going on in the world, Masks have because quite the important thing this year. How fitting. 

23 minutes ago, Chad327 said:

One of my favorite things about Majora's Mask that Ocarina of Time did lack was the ability for you to re-experience key events in the story without starting a new game just by playing the Song of Time to go back to Dawn of the First Day. Yeah, you would lose your bombs, arrows, consumables, and whatever rupees you didn't deposit at the Clock Town bank, but it's honestly not too hard to get ammo and money.

Exactly. And some people forget that you don't have to do EVERYTHING in one go. And there's a way to slow down the countdown to Doomsday, giving you more time to get things done. It's implied that once Termina is saved, all the good you did in the previous cycles merged into one golden ending. Thank you, Goddess of Time!

[Will Guide 21,325]

Plus what's also wonderful is that 5 years ago on the day before my 25th birthday, this was released on YouTube!

https://youtu.be/o4hAPbRGt78

Did You Know Gaming's video on Majora's Mask! What a beautiful birthday present it was!

[Rising Dusk 26,072]

What a wonderful idea!  A game that does deserve a bit of celebration.  I remember lugging my N64 with me to my grandparent's house the summer vacation after it's release and binging the game instead of socializing with my cousins.  So many masks to collect with the last ones being quite a challenge.  So many alien ships to shoot down and bandits to fend off to get Link some yummy milk for infinite mana and unlimited Fierce Deity action.  Interesting to have to remember figuring all that out on my own since the internet wasn't the most useful for guides at the time yet.

At that time in my life, I was just barely wrapping my head around the deeper concepts of death, grief and limbo the game was trying to tell.  I just couldn't get enough.  It felt like the game aged with me since Ocarina of Time and I really appreciated it.  What a great game!

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

Now it's my turn to respond to my own thread.

Even though I do prefer Ocarina of Time in terms of the story, locations, and characters, Majora's Mask does a way better job with the immersion, the use of transformations, focusing more on minor characters, and giving off a sense of true urgency what with being in a doomed world. The 3DS version improves on so much that I would recommend it is as the definitive version though some might not like the fact that it's on a handheld.

Be cautious of the Gamecube port and quite possibly the Wii and Wii U ports. Because the game originally required the Expansion Pak in order to play it properly, the ports are an emulated version that didn't take this into account. Because of that, there were sound glitches and on rare occasions, the game would crash.

[Will Guide 21,325]

41 minutes ago, Ganondorf8 said:

Now it's my turn to respond to my own thread.

Even though I do prefer Ocarina of Time in terms of the story, locations, and characters, Majora's Mask does a way better job with the immersion, the use of transformations, focusing more on minor characters, and giving off a sense of true urgency what with being in a doomed world. The 3DS version improves on so much that I would recommend it is as the definitive version though some might not like the fact that it's on a handheld.

Be cautious of the Gamecube port and quite possibly the Wii and Wii U ports. Because the game originally required the Expansion Pak in order to play it properly, the ports are an emulated version that didn't take this into account. Because of that, there were sound glitches and on rare occasions, the game would crash.

I think you're referring to the GameCube collection edition which contains Zelda one Zelda 2 the adventure of Link, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, right? I'm pretty sure it's only the GameCube version that got released all those years ago around the time of Wind Waker that had those game crashing problems

As far as I know the Wii version and the Wii U version of Majora's Mask never crashed on me unless you were actually doing some illegal glitches that actually does crash the game due to program not knowing what to do next 

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

3 hours ago, Will Guide said:

I think you're referring to the GameCube collection edition which contains Zelda one Zelda 2 the adventure of Link, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, right? I'm pretty sure it's only the GameCube version that got released all those years ago around the time of Wind Waker that had those game crashing problems

As far as I know the Wii version and the Wii U version of Majora's Mask never crashed on me unless you were actually doing some illegal glitches that actually does crash the game due to program not knowing what to do next 

Which is why I said 'quite possibly' with regards to the Wii and Wii U versions. I had a feeling that I was wrong about those so thanks for the clarification. I am definitely correct about the Gamecube version as I have experienced it personally.

[Shigaraki 270]

Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask is one of the best! It's in 4th place on my favorite Zelda game list.

[Steve Piranha 28,778]

Majora’s Mask held the place as my favorite Zelda game until BOTW came out. There’s a lot of merit of making a copy paste game on the surface, but it’s an entirely different game altogether . Lovely the immersion, following a short timeframe, but each character having their routines and activities, not to mention their personal problems that make you empathize and help. Sunny would LOVE this game 

[Will Guide 21,325]

15 minutes ago, Steve Piranha said:

Majora’s Mask held the place as my favorite Zelda game until BOTW came out. There’s a lot of merit of making a copy paste game on the surface, but it’s an entirely different game altogether . Lovely the immersion, following a short timeframe, but each character having their routines and activities, not to mention their personal problems that make you empathize and help. Sunny would LOVE this game 

Exactly.

And about Sunset Shimmer in that music festival special, I had no idea what major plot points were going to happen. But when she woke up the next day and Rainbow Dash announced it's the first day of the festival (unintentionally smacking Sunny in the butt), I cheered that this special was going to be a Groundhog Day Loop story.

And it's all thanks to Majora's Mask for introducing 10-year-old me to this "Reliving the same day over and over" concept

[Troblems 5,608]

Majora's Mask is best Zelda, fight me IRL. I didn't get most of the themes when it came out, but 6th grade me liked the dark aesthetic better than OOT. I tried playing it on DS rerelease, but they broke the deku mask jump, and I was so heartbroken.

[Will Guide 21,325]

On 11/23/2020 at 10:18 AM, Troblems said:

I tried playing it on DS rerelease, but they broke the deku mask jump, and I was so heartbroken.

I think I know what you mean. when I'm trying to cross the lily pads in the N64 version, if I spin across the lily pad it'll build up momentum making my jumps cover much more distance. but in the 3DS version even if I spin across the lily pad it doesn't build as much momentum as it used to.

This is especially noticeable with the lily pads around the Deku Palace gardens. but on the plus side I don't have to sneak past the guards to get to the bean seller since there's actually an 2nd hole right near the spot where the bean is to be planted to reach the upper levels

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

On 11/23/2020 at 10:18 AM, Troblems said:

Majora's Mask is best Zelda, fight me IRL. I didn't get most of the themes when it came out, but 6th grade me liked the dark aesthetic better than OOT. I tried playing it on DS rerelease, but they broke the deku mask jump, and I was so heartbroken.

It's that dark aesthetic that makes it stand out. Most Legend of Zelda games don't delve too much into themes of sorrow and misery yet Majora's Mask does that sort of thing at every possible opportunity. Everywhere you go, there is sorrow all around (Not to mention from above).

The 3DS remake also nerfed swimming as a Zora.

[MidnightFire1222 1,682]

25 minutes ago, Ganondorf8 said:

It's that dark aesthetic that makes it stand out. Most Legend of Zelda games don't delve too much into themes of sorrow and misery yet Majora's Mask does that sort of thing at every possible opportunity. Everywhere you go, there is sorrow all around (Not to mention from above).

The 3DS remake also nerfed swimming as a Zora.

To be fair, Twilight Princess KIND of did and Breath of the Wild did the same in its own way, but nowhere near the same sort of impact as Majora's Mask. (Twilight Princess is still my favorite Zelda game though. Majora's Mask is a close second though.)

[Jonny Music 3,308]

This calls for a celebration!  A patron of mine requested me to work on this, so I figured, why don't I reshare it as a way to pay some sort of tribute to such a legendary game as Majora's Mask?

Hope you all enjoy it.
 

 

Edited November 25, 2020 by Jonny Music

[Justin_Case001 4,855]

I loved MM.  It's was an underrated, underappreciated gem.  I never understood why Ocarina is held up as this beloved, legendary classic, but MM seems to be kind of universally hated.  I mean, a lot of those 64 era 3D games are pretty rough and didn't age well, but, y'know, that's true of Ocarina as well.  But the world, art, and music of MM was so good.  I think people seemed to dislike the 3-day time system, but I loved it.  I guess the game's gonna flop for anyone who didn't like that system.  I really loved the whole 3-day time limit and resetting the world thing.  I didn't think I'd like it going it, but it was great.  I enjoyed the whole idea of trying to make the most efficient use of your time and fitting in as much as you could before you have to rewind.  It made things feel more... meaningful, I think.  It added a realistic layer of meaning and pressure when you'd have to look at the clock and think, "Do I have time for that?  Yeah, I think I can squeeze it in."  And then you'd learn more and plan your next 3-day stretch to be even more efficient.  I liked that.  I guess that's why I also loved Final Fantasy 13: Lightning Returns, and most people hated it.  Same system.

The world of MM was definitely one of the more whimsical in video game history.  Very memorable and joyous to explore.  And the time reset mechanic made for more replayability because you could do a quick tour and kill all the bosses again without having to play the whole game over.  I loved that.  My only quibble is that I wish the final boss had been a little more badass instead of a walking piñata with stick legs. 

[MidnightFire1222 1,682]

Anyone have a favorite area in Majora's Mask. I loved the Great Bay, and I actually adore the Great Bay Temple while most people seem to hate it. I find it easier to navigate than the Water Temple in Lake Hylia in OoT. I think my most favorite area is Ikana Kingdom/Valley. I guess I just have a thing for the darker and more macabre places and attached stories (MM on a whole is dark yes, but Ikana's backstory takes the cake). And I love the Stone Tower Temple. Yes it's a bit hard to navigate and get all the stray fairies (which I've done multiple times. I love the Great Fairy Sword design) but I just love the inspiration for it. Tower of Babel I think, where people tried to build a tower to reach/defy god and because of their defiance god cursed/forced upon them multiple languages so the builders could no longer understand one another.

I...may be wrong about the story, but I THINK that's the gist of it, and the theory I love concerning the Stone Tower is that it was being built in defiance of the Three Golden Goddesses and they cursed it so that when it's flipped they're actually building toward hell/the underworld instead.

I may be wrong about the theory too, but I think that's also the gist of it.

[Will Guide 21,325]

18 hours ago, MidnightFire1222 said:

I...may be wrong about the story, but I THINK that's the gist of it, and the theory I love concerning the Stone Tower is that it was being built in defiance of the Three Golden Goddesses and they cursed it so that when it's flipped they're actually building toward hell/the underworld instead.

While the theory makes sense I don't see the termians as people who wanted to oppose the Golden Goddesses or outright defy them!

I just see the world of Termina as a parallel universe that was in desperate need of help. and it made me feel really good when I filled out the bombers notebook both in the original and the 3DS version. Helping out all those people. Even if some of them don't exactly get the ideal happy ending. My condolences for your son's spirit, Deku Butler.

[Kadae 655]

Majora's Mask is certainly underappreciated, but I think with time, as more peeps get a chance to have a go at saving the world, its charm becomes apparent. I love this entry in the series and I think it makes for a fantastic sequel to OoT!

On 11/25/2020 at 7:33 PM, MidnightFire1222 said:

Anyone have a favorite area in Majora's Mask.

I always thought Great Bay was a fun stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee, so I have a fondness for it that extends past the game! I really like Stone Tower Temple, with its open design. It's a big contrast to the depressingly dark themes, and think that's just kinda neat! Ikana Canyon is also really cool, and I just really love the scenery. It reminds me a lot of certain more mountainous sections of OoT and I always loved those, so that evokes some nice memories, but the area itself stands on its own.

Deku Palace is a pretty neat place also! I have a fondness for the scrubs outside the palace that you see when you first arrive there.

Also another place I really like is Goron Village, expecially the Lone Peak Shrine which I think is where you get the Lens of Truth. I think I'm rambling a little and listing quite a lot of places, but I really just like the whole vibe, y'know?

 

Edited December 7, 2020 by Kadae