Legend of Zelda Is Majora Mask really that good?

[Shog]

I will make this short: I played it back and I played it now: I can't get past the ****ing annoying beginning. Does the game really gets better later on? I hate this games beginning so much ugh. I hope if they ever make a remake, the beginning changes.

 

[InfiniteTripping]

YES it does. I had your exact complaint. The beginning is TERRIBLE. I totally agree and it took me several times to get beyond how bad it was. But as the game progresses it really gets better and better. I don't want to give away any spoilers... but I had the exact same problem with the game and once you get past the beginning parts, it gets really cool. Better than Ocarina in fact.

 

[HotelWaffle]

Its the best Zelda IMO. What wrong with the beginning? :o

 

[Sari]

The beginning section when getting through the first day cycle isn't that bad when you use the scarecrow dance to speed it up (imo, Twilight Princess had the worst beginning in the entire franchise). Aside from that, it's probably the best N64 game, as well as the best Zelda game.

 

[Shog]

Its the best Zelda IMO. What wrong with the beginning? :o

You have to be ****ing kidding right? Is that a stupid bait troll joke? I am not into this mood right now, here have your fun, I rage, congratz.
Gosh I am still mad at trying to play this game again, I feel like I will never get past that beginning. I hope it gets fixed in a future remake

@ InfiniteTripping It is good to hear that, and don't worry, just being 10 secs on other Zelda forums = You know about the best mask (Fierce Diety)and final boss forms...but I didn't get spoilered about the Dungeons and the Sidequest which gets praised. And Dungeons and Sidequests are what makes Zelda games for me(And funny items and exploring )

@ Sari It is bad, even with double the time cut off. Again, it is so bad that it puts me in a bad mood for this game so I can't even continue. You know I never put down my controller out of frustation on a Zelda game usually.

 

[HeavyLobster]

The beginning certainly isn't ideal, as it can be confusing for newcomers while being on a time limit, and it's annoying for veterans as well. However, you can speed through it with relative ease if you know what you're doing, so it isn't that bad if you use internet walkthroughs to help you speed through it. I don't think it ruins the game, but the game does do a poor job of explaining important mechanics like the Inverted Song of Time, and these kind of things do definitely hurt the experience for newer players. In that respect it's a little like the first Zelda in terms of being rather arcane. I suggest using a bit of outside assistance to help you get your bearings so you can try to figure out the rest by yourself.

 

[InfiniteTripping]

The beginning is terrible because it is just a bunch of busy work, and you have to do it as perhaps the worst mask in the game. It's like, you want to get out there and explore the world and you have to do a very specific set of things in order to get past it. As a lame deku shrub that gets attacked by wild dogs and is pretty much hated by everyone. It's tedious and depressing. But the game really rewards you for sticking with it.

 

[HeavyLobster]

The beginning is terrible because it is just a bunch of busy work, and you have to do it as perhaps the worst mask in the game. It's like, you want to get out there and explore the world and you have to do a very specific set of things in order to get past it. As a lame deku shrub that gets attacked by wild dogs and is pretty much hated by everyone. It's tedious and depressing. But the game really rewards you for sticking with it.

The beginning is good from an artistic point of view, because it does a really good job of making you feel like an outsider and does a good job setting the tone for the rest of the game, but from a gameplay perspective it isn't good at all, because it isn't very interesting, you're both limited in terms of your ability to either speed through it or slow down and experiment with everything, and as a tutorial doesn't do a great job of explaining some of the gameplay mechanics. The people who go crazy over Majora's Mask do so because they tend to look at the game from a more aesthetic point of view and gloss over some of the clunkier gameplay aspects. (They also tend to prefer "darker" games, which is why they praise Majora's Mask as opposed to Wind Waker, which is similarly amazing artistically but not quite as good in terms of gameplay) The good news is that the opening's only 20-30 minutes as opposed to a few hours like Twilight Princess, so it could be worse.

 

[InfiniteTripping]

The beginning is good from an artistic point of view, because it does a really good job of making you feel like an outsider and does a good job setting the tone for the rest of the game, but from a gameplay perspective it isn't good at all, because it isn't very interesting, you're both limited in terms of your ability to either speed through it or slow down and experiment with everything, and as a tutorial doesn't do a great job of explaining some of the gameplay mechanics. The people who go crazy over Majora's Mask do so because they tend to look at the game from a more aesthetic point of view and gloss over some of the clunkier gameplay aspects. (They also tend to prefer "darker" games, which is why they praise Majora's Mask as opposed to Wind Waker, which is similarly amazing artistically but not quite as good in terms of gameplay) The good news is that the opening's only 20-30 minutes as opposed to a few hours like Twilight Princess, so it could be worse.

Yeah, in retrospect it makes more sense to start the game like that but I went into Majora's Mask thinking it was released just to prolong the life of the N64 and that it was a barely updated version of Ocarina, even down to using some of the same skins and models of the townspeople. So I wanted it to hit me with all it had and starting out as a Deku Shrub was just really frustrating and caused me to focus on all of those poor elements of the game even more. But that's also what I really like about the game, too - that it progressively gets better and better until the unforgettable ending. Some games, the best moments are in the middle of the game and then it just gets worse from there. This one had a perfect progression of awesomeness and the worst part of the game is literally the beginning.

 

[LinkSword93]

I didn't have a problem at all with the beginning. Honestly, you really need to chill.

 

[Shog]

I didn't have a problem at all with the beginning. Honestly, you really need to chill.

If something grinds your gears, do you chill, too? No? Than why bother replying?

 

[LinkSword93]

I'm talking about your second post. There's no reason to be hostile to another user just because they don't get what's "grinding your gears". Your hating the beginning of Majora's Mask is not a scientific fact but an opinion, after all. So why would his question be "troll bait", just for disagreeing?

So there you have it. I bothered replying because I find it unreasonable. And yes, if being annoyed at a game makes you lash out at random people, you do need to chill.

 

[Hana Na Tahou]

-->IMO<-- Majora's Mask is about as over rated a Zelda game as Sonic CD is a Sonic game. But i only played through it once about 4 years ago and i thought it was garbage with the gameplay and all the time stuff and the...abstract and dark tone? It just felt like a chore and the Great Bay Temple(IIRC that's the correct name of it).......ugh. The final Boss fight was actually way too easy if you ask me. Ikana Castle i liked though. The Gibdos at the Orgel House place and Redeads everywhere (like Ikana Castle and the Stone Tower Temple, but you can make them dance so yay?) Graphically it's wonderful, but this is making me wanna play it again to see if my opinion will change, and i think i will actually.

 

[Firus]

I'm talking about your second post. There's no reason to be hostile to another user just because they don't get what's "grinding your gears". Your hating the beginning of Majora's Mask is not a scientific fact but an opinion, after all. So why would his question be "troll bait", just for disagreeing?

So there you have it. I bothered replying because I find it unreasonable. And yes, if being annoyed at a game makes you lash out at random people, you do need to chill.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. Honestly, there was something that I've always really liked about the simplicity of the beginning Majora's Mask. I'm not saying there aren't issues with it from an objective standpoint, but that also won't stop me from loving it. You've got to take into account the fact that your opinion is not going to be everyone else's, and be civil when people express disagreements. You're not going to get far by assuming everyone who disagrees with you is just a troll.

 

[HotelWaffle]

You have to be ****ing kidding right? Is that a stupid bait troll joke? I am not into this mood right now, here have your fun, I rage, congratz.
Gosh I am still mad at trying to play this game again, I feel like I will never get past that beginning. I hope it gets fixed in a future remake

@ InfiniteTripping It is good to hear that, and don't worry, just being 10 secs on other Zelda forums = You know about the best mask (Fierce Diety)and final boss forms...but I didn't get spoilered about the Dungeons and the Sidequest which gets praised. And Dungeons and Sidequests are what makes Zelda games for me(And funny items and exploring )

@ Sari It is bad, even with double the time cut off. Again, it is so bad that it puts me in a bad mood for this game so I can't even continue. You know I never put down my controller out of frustation on a Zelda game usually.

Not trolling just my opinon I love it. I want a 3ds remake so bad! My second would be Twilight princess.

 

[finalark]

I feel like Majora's Mask is a game that's loved for all the wrong reasons. I might be raising my unpopular opinion flag pretty damn high here but I think that most people who like the game are highly tied up in the great "games as art" debate and just fawn all over this particular title because its relatively grim. Unfortunately, that comes from a rather rudimentary understanding of art.

The real shame is that MM, mechanically at least, its pretty damn solid. I just wish I could talk about the game without having it's more enthusiastic fans constantly point to the game's tone as why it's "artistic."

 

[Trickerhere]

Yeah it is pretty good still waiting for that Majoras Mask 3DS remake lol

 

[Shog]

I want to play a remake of this game, if the beginning is fixed (...and more dungeons, seriously, one 3 in Orig. Game? Why? I just read that somewhere. Maybe there are more and my source is wrong?)

 

[finalark]

I want to play a remake of this game, if the beginning is fixed (...and more dungeons, seriously, one 3 in Orig. Game? Why? I just read that somewhere. Maybe there are more and my source is wrong?)

There's actually five dungeons in the game. That's because MM is meant to be a game that can be beaten quickly because the bulk of your play time will be spent doing post-game side quests and optional mini-dungeons.

And the beginning doesn't need much fixing. Maybe tweak the hide and seek game because that's tedious as **** but aside from that it can be blown through pretty quickly, even if it is your first time through the game.

 

[Vashimus]

I like MM because while there are a lot of things you have to do, it never really feels like a chore like it does in the other games. The world is much more condensed and easier to travel through, which makes exploration a lot more fun. Song of Soaring warps you to past locations easily, rolling as Goron never gets old, the Bunny Hood is godlike, Zora Link has some of the best swimming controls I've experienced in a video game, etc.

I don't know if it's the best Zelda game, but a lot of people I've known that have played it say it's definitely one of their favorites. It's just really really really fun to play.

 

[OBI1JABLOMI]

Its better than ocarina, but Link's Awakening is the best zelda

 

[Shog]

Its better than ocarina, but Link's Awakening is the best zelda

High Five! I like Awakening a lot, that nostalgia!!

 

[greatbernard]

Majora's Mask is really that good. It's one of my favorites.

The thing about MM is that its a more complex game structurally and since it diverges so much from the other Zelda games, it takes time to get used to. Playing through the game the first time has its share of frustrations but then you can cut through subsequent plays like butter.

 

[etecoon]

It gets better but, the beginning really isn't bad at all. If you had that much trouble with it then yes, quit now.

 

[Shog]

It gets better but, the beginning really isn't bad at all. If you had that much trouble with it then yes, quit now.

That is the most pointless thing I have ever read on this forums despite the quality of the others, congratulations.
I
wrote
that
I
quitted
the
game.

 

[PeterJude]

You have to be ****ing kidding right? Is that a stupid bait troll joke? I am not into this mood right now, here have your fun, I rage, congratz.
Gosh I am still mad at trying to play this game again, I feel like I will never get past that beginning. I hope it gets fixed in a future remake

@ InfiniteTripping It is good to hear that, and don't worry, just being 10 secs on other Zelda forums = You know about the best mask (Fierce Diety)and final boss forms...but I didn't get spoilered about the Dungeons and the Sidequest which gets praised. And Dungeons and Sidequests are what makes Zelda games for me(And funny items and exploring )

@ Sari It is bad, even with double the time cut off. Again, it is so bad that it puts me in a bad mood for this game so I can't even continue. You know I never put down my controller out of frustation on a Zelda game usually.

To be honest, if they "fixed" the beginning I simply wouldn't buy such a remake.

Loved the game from start to finish, easily the best Zelda game they made.

 

[WolfieXVII ❂]

To be honest, if they "fixed" the beginning I simply wouldn't buy such a remake.

Loved the game from start to finish, easily the best Zelda game they made.

In it's defense, most Zelda games are slow to start up. I still can't get into Wind Waker.

 

[PeterJude]

In it's defense, most Zelda games are slow to start up. I still can't get into Wind Waker.

It's part of the pacing, and personally I quite like it.

The funny thing about them "fixing" games for release though, imagine if they made a remake of Melee, but "fixed all the bugs". Now that would be classic.

 

[HyrulesLegend]

MM is my favorite game in the franchise, I do admit, I can see how the beginning can be annoying. However, afterwards the game is so open, literally you can spend an hour after getting the Deku mask getting other masks, bags, etc.

 

[etecoon]

I
wrote
that
I
quitted
the
game.

All things considered, don't think you can blame me for not reading most of your posts

 

[mangamusicfan]

In my opinion yes it is.
Its the zelda I like the most.

 

[Erotic&Heretic]

In it's defense, most Zelda games are slow to start up. I still can't get into Wind Waker.

This. Zelda games all have a tutorial which is part of the story. Majora's Mask one is quite different because it's not a slow, quite peaceful start.
Exemple: SS. Everything is cool, you are a student who have fun riding birds and almost getting the love interest at the beginning. You learn the basics, and then Zelda is missing, Link goes on an adventure.

In Majora's Mask hovewer, the triggering element comes quickly, you don't really have time to understand what happens to Link. He suddenly get attacked, his lose his ocarina, and he is transformed into a Deku scrub. While this is part of the tutorial, it continues during the first 3 days cycle, to understand the said cycle and the functionning of Clock Town. It's only at the end of this cycle that the quest really begins: save the giants.

They all have slow starts, it's just that this one is more disturbing and confusing for various reasons.

 

[Shog]

Hey, Majora Mask 3D is revealed, I get this game because I bet they fixed some stuff. Will Edit this later

 

[finalark]

I wouldn't' bank on that. Aside from the addition of Master Quest (which was already in the GCN version of the the game) there wasn't a whole lot of changes made to OoT3D as far as I know.

 

[Himynameisisaac]

You have to be ****ing kidding right? Is that a stupid bait troll joke? I am not into this mood right now, here have your fun, I rage, congratz.
Gosh I am still mad at trying to play this game again, I feel like I will never get past that beginning. I hope it gets fixed in a future remake

@ InfiniteTripping It is good to hear that, and don't worry, just being 10 secs on other Zelda forums = You know about the best mask (Fierce Diety)and final boss forms...but I didn't get spoilered about the Dungeons and the Sidequest which gets praised. And Dungeons and Sidequests are what makes Zelda games for me(And funny items and exploring )

@ Sari It is bad, even with double the time cut off. Again, it is so bad that it puts me in a bad mood for this game so I can't even continue. You know I never put down my controller out of frustation on a Zelda game usually.

I think you're being a little dramatic, no? I mean yeah, the beginning isn't the best but it isn't as bad as you're making it seem. I mean it took me a couple years to beat TP because of the beginning of the game was such a chore to cover. So if anything.... TP has the worst beginning and MM isn't that bad.

 

[GeZ]

I feel like Majora's Mask is a game that's loved for all the wrong reasons. I might be raising my unpopular opinion flag pretty damn high here but I think that most people who like the game are highly tied up in the great "games as art" debate and just fawn all over this particular title because its relatively grim. Unfortunately, that comes from a rather rudimentary understanding of art.

The real shame is that MM, mechanically at least, its pretty damn solid. I just wish I could talk about the game without having it's more enthusiastic fans constantly point to the game's tone as why it's "artistic."

Implying liking a video game for its artistic value is wrong.
Implying people who have a contrary opinion to yours about the aforementioned subject just don't understand art as well as you.
Really, implying all of this while sporting a Gravity Falls avatar image.

Good job guy.
You're totally right, people who value artistic impression in video games are wrong.
Just like people who think that symbolism in movies is pointless, what a bunch of nerds.

 

[finalark]

Implying liking a video game for its artistic value is wrong.
Implying people who have a contrary opinion to yours about the aforementioned subject just don't understand art as well as you.
Really, implying all of this while sporting a Gravity Falls avatar image.

Good job guy.
You're totally right, people who value artistic impression in video games are wrong.
Just like people who think that symbolism in movies is pointless, what a bunch of nerds.

This is probably troll bait, but I'm going to take this opportunity to elaborate on my opinions.

I am not against the idea of games as art. As somebody who loves to make homebrewed tabletop games and has tried his hand at making an RPG many, many times I am aware of how much effort, creativity and expression goes into making a game. I never once said that MM is not art. I personally believe that the reason why it is praised as such is for reasons I don't entirely agree with.

Many people praise MM for the feelings that it evokes. That pressure, that constant gloom and dread hanging in the air, people really seem to cling to that. Now, let's take a look at another game in the series, Wind Waker. That game brings out a lot of emotions. Adventure, wonder, that constant thrill of discovery as you sail through that vast ocean, ready to explore whatever islands lie just beyond the horizon. That joy of finally saving your sister, or the curiosity that envelops you as you uncover the mysteries of the great sea.

And yet WW almost never comes up in a "games as art" discussion.

I believe that the biggest reason for MM getting as much attention as it does is simply because its dark. Now don't get me wrong, dark things can be artistic but being dark does not make it so. I believe MM, along with damn near ever Zelda game, is art. All of them have evoked a wide verity of emotions in me ever since I was a kid. Of course, there's also the expertly crafted mechanics in each game to consider. The way the feel, the way they let you interact with the world and what they represent. That too is art.

Really, in the end, I just wish people would just stop parroting the "OMG MM IS SO DARK THAT MAKES ITS ART" mantra and find their own things about the game that affected them instead of jut repeating whatever else has already said. I might be wrong, but I think most of these people are just hopping on a bandwagon.

 

[T0MMY]

The beginning section when getting through the first day cycle isn't that bad when you use the scarecrow dance to speed it up (imo, Twilight Princess had the worst beginning in the entire franchise). Aside from that, it's probably the best N64 game, as well as the best Zelda game.

I was going to like your post until the last sentence. Did you forget that Smash bros. was born on the N64? All the N64 Zeldas combined doesn't hold a candle to Smash 64, imo, the only reason to own a 64.
TP beginning was really terrible though, it wasn't until a year later that I finally picked it back up and played through the rest of the game. Not a big fan of MM though, so staying with Smash 3DS for a very long time, the same as when I was playing Smash 64 instead of MM back in the day.
Here's a suggestion: Turn MM upside down and you get a very good Zelda game: WW
;^D

 

[GeZ]

This is probably troll bait, but I'm going to take this opportunity to elaborate on my opinions.

I am not against the idea of games as art. As somebody who loves to make homebrewed tabletop games and has tried his hand at making an RPG many, many times I am aware of how much effort, creativity and expression goes into making a game. I never once said that MM is not art. I personally believe that the reason why it is praised as such is for reasons I don't entirely agree with.

Many people praise MM for the feelings that it evokes. That pressure, that constant gloom and dread hanging in the air, people really seem to cling to that. Now, let's take a look at another game in the series, Wind Waker. That game brings out a lot of emotions. Adventure, wonder, that constant thrill of discovery as you sail through that vast ocean, ready to explore whatever islands lie just beyond the horizon. That joy of finally saving your sister, or the curiosity that envelops you as you uncover the mysteries of the great sea.

And yet WW almost never comes up in a "games as art" discussion.

I believe that the biggest reason for MM getting as much attention as it does is simply because its dark. Now don't get me wrong, dark things can be artistic but being dark does not make it so. I believe MM, along with damn near ever Zelda game, is art. All of them have evoked a wide verity of emotions in me ever since I was a kid. Of course, there's also the expertly crafted mechanics in each game to consider. The way the feel, the way they let you interact with the world and what they represent. That too is art.

Really, in the end, I just wish people would just stop parroting the "OMG MM IS SO DARK THAT MAKES ITS ART" mantra and find their own things about the game that affected them instead of jut repeating whatever else has already said. I might be wrong, but I think most of these people are just hopping on a bandwagon.

Not troll bait. I just get aggressive when people make broad claims about certain mediums, in this case, art.

I can understand your frustration with people regurgitating one explanation for why they like MM, but I don't think that people praise it as art just because it's dark. That's really short selling what the game evokes.

I agree that many of the LoZ games can be stirring and expressive, but MM comes up the most when talking about this because it's the only LoZ game that really went as far as to be oppressive. Games that are just dark and edgy don't get as much praise as MM, and that's because it's usually something difficult to express without getting trapped in tropes.

MM is really good because it's the most atmospheric LoZ, and one of the most atmospheric games, imo. There's no forgetting that what you're doing is futile, that you're on a timer, that the people you help sincerely need it, and when you reset the time they lose that help.

It does a great job of instilling this bleakness of spirit on the player, because you're not making a difference. You solve the main conflict, but only through discovering an overall emptiness, or neediness in all of the townspeople. They have very real, very human problems, and you solve them, but the only evidence of that help is the rewards you get to further your quest. Once the day is reset they're just as ****ed as they were.

Even on top off all that, the story is about being lost, and losing. It's about link looking for his fairy companion, and you have to understand that while he saves the town and world over the story, he never finds what he was looking for, and the ending of the game is just him wandering off once again.

This isn't even mentioning the tie in with Twilight Princess, where the Majora's link is the dead warrior move tutor.

Again, I understand being angry that neckless idiots regurgitate the same explanation for why this game is the best, but don't fault the game, because it's legitimately well put together.

 

[finalark]

Not troll bait. I just get aggressive when people make broad claims about certain mediums, in this case, art.

I can understand your frustration with people regurgitating one explanation for why they like MM, but I don't think that people praise it as art just because it's dark. That's really short selling what the game evokes.

I agree that many of the LoZ games can be stirring and expressive, but MM comes up the most when talking about this because it's the only LoZ game that really went as far as to be oppressive. Games that are just dark and edgy don't get as much praise as MM, and that's because it's usually something difficult to express without getting trapped in tropes.

MM is really good because it's the most atmospheric LoZ, and one of the most atmospheric games, imo. There's no forgetting that what you're doing is futile, that you're on a timer, that the people you help sincerely need it, and when you reset the time they lose that help.

It does a great job of instilling this bleakness of spirit on the player, because you're not making a difference. You solve the main conflict, but only through discovering an overall emptiness, or neediness in all of the townspeople. They have very real, very human problems, and you solve them, but the only evidence of that help is the rewards you get to further your quest. Once the day is reset they're just as ****ed as they were.

Even on top off all that, the story is about being lost, and losing. It's about link looking for his fairy companion, and you have to understand that while he saves the town and world over the story, he never finds what he was looking for, and the ending of the game is just him wandering off once again.

This isn't even mentioning the tie in with Twilight Princess, where the Majora's link is the dead warrior move tutor.

Again, I understand being angry that neckless idiots regurgitate the same explanation for why this game is the best, but don't fault the game, because it's legitimately well put together.

The thing is, I actually completely agree with you. I'll be honest though, I never really felt most of the things that people praise this game for when I played it as a kid. Likely because, even back then, I tend to look at games mechanically first. Or perhaps it just flew right over my head.

But that doesn't mean that the game didn't affect me, or that I didn't feel something from the game. While most people would point to the timer, the moon or the fact that nobody's issues are ever truly resolved none of that ever bothered me as a kid, or even today. Such is the nature of time travel stories.

The thing that got me, the thing that makes MM art to me, my own personal experience, was failing the alien quest. Never in my entire life have I felt such crushing shame and despair. They could have just thrown a simple "game over" or "try again" screen at you, but not in this game. Failing that quest made you witness the consequences of your failure. It made sure that you understand how much that family relied on you and how much worst off they are because you failed.

MM isn't a bad game. It's actually a very good game, one of the strongest in the series IMO. I just wish people would take away their own experiences instead of repeating everyone else's.