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The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask Discussion (Nintendo 64) [game]
 
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask on the Nintendo 64
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The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
I started re-playing Majora's Mask recently (on the VC). I had 100%’d this game back when it released on N64, but this is the first time I play it in 480p (since I gave up playing it on the GCN collector's edition due to the sound glitches and such).

Holy crap, this game is still so amazing. One of the best things about the game is becoming intimately familiar with the daily lives of every Termina citizen. By repeating the same three days over and over... the whole game is structured around a living world where everything always happens according to a set schedule. Yet your actions can alter the fates of people's lives you touch, only to have it washed away every time you leap back in time.

I think from a game design perspective it must be very challenging. The whole game has to be designed around this concept from the very start.

And of course, the whole game is focused on death and doom. And creepy masks. My fiance has enjoyed all the Zelda games we have played together except for this one, just because of the creepiness factor.

Last night I was a bit frustrated because I messed up on the last part of the Kafei side quest. But it's not too bad starting over, since you can skip half day intervals.

-How does Majora’s Mask rank on your list of Zelda games?
-Is it surprising that few games have pulled off a similar gameplay concept to such a successful degree? Chrono Trigger and Radiant Historia are two time travel games that pop into mind that are kind of similar but are still quite different if you know what I mean.

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03/11/11, 04:32    Edited: 03/11/11, 05:19
 
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When I first played Majora's Mask (right when it first released) I wasn't too hot on it. It's weird, you spend a lot of time playing as characters who aren't Link with different gameplay styles, there's a time limit, less dungeons... I just didn't like it all that much.

A few years later, I gave it another shot (on the GC disc) and I loved it -- for pretty much the same reasons I had previously hated about it. The gameplay is varied with the different masks; there are fewer dungeons, but I feel they're much more challenging and better designed; the dark, creepy tone of the game is so unique in the series. And of course, the entire world just feels so alive. Everyone has a schedule, so you can only do things at certain times -- they'll be different places depending on the time of day -- as opposed to Ocarina of Time where those two people are dancing in the same place all the time, day or night. And so the characters feel more real. And as for the time limit, it certainly helps to add a sense of dread. Like MissyPissy said, in Ocarina there's no sense of danger. In Majora's Mask, when I'm fighting Gyorg and the clock is ticking down until the moon is going to crash into the world, well let's just say it's a bit more foreboding than Ganondorf hanging out in his tower. Everything about the game is just fantastic.

I started replaying the game again a few months back (shortly before Christmas) and I just picked it back up again, and played through some of the Ikana Canyon stuff, and it's just awesome. I love everything about it.

While Wind Waker is my personal favorite in the series, there's no doubt in my mind that Majora's Mask is the best with its immersive world, believable characters, challenging dungeons, unique dark tone, and varied gameplay.
03/14/11, 01:41   
missypissy said:


It's a very haunting game. It even embraces it. The color scheme is wacky...

It's one of the characteristics I enjoy so much about the game. Just about every area you go into has some crazy color/ pattern going on.

I mean, just look at the walls in Clock Town! The textures are all over the place. It gives Termina a distinct culture and makes it stand apart from Hyrule in a twisted way.

And I agree about Ikana Canyon/ Castle. The first time I experienced that whole section of the game, it was overwhelming.
Then you start your way up to the Stone Tower and hear this fine piece of music:



Something else I love about the game: the transformations.

Of the 3 basic transformations (Deku Scrub, Goron, Zora), my favorite is probably

Zora Link



For the first time you had a powerful sense of speed and control underwater. Basically the vast ocean becomes your playground to torpedo and spin your way through. You can electrocute enemies with your barrier. Plus, you have taken the body of a talented Zora guitarist.

03/14/11, 07:04   
Edited: 03/14/11, 07:06
Wanted to bring this back up, just because I've recently been playing through MM, partially due to this thread.

There are some things that I really do adore about this game. The whole premise is just so cool. It's basically Zelda meets Groundhog Day. There's such depth to the entire setup, from the people you meet, their different schedules, and the order of events. Sometimes you'll beat a dungeon and some things will become available, and then you reset back to the first day and it's like...nope. All back the way it was. While that SHOULD seem incredibly frustrating, there's something kind of calming about it. I know the first day. I pretty much know exactly what happens to everyone on the first day as I work through the game. It kind of becomes your home.

Now, that being said, there are also some things I cannot STAND about the game, and I remember this every time I play through the game (and forget when I'm not playing it). I'll have to replay Ocarina at some point to see if my complaint stands there...but there is just so much item swapping in this game that it drives me absolutely bananas. Usually, what will happen is, I have one transformation mask, the bow, and then some other item on the C-Buttons. The problem comes in where you have to transform into more than one thing. You need to be Goron Link to hit this switch. Then you need to be Deku Link to hop in the flower thing. Then you need to use the Fire Bow to hit the frozen guy. Then you need to use the regular bow to do something so as not to waste fire. Or maybe you're running around the Spider House in the swamp. I did this after I already had the Zora Mask. You'd think it would make the area very easy (and in a way, it did). But still...get water with the bottle. Make sure you have beans. Transform into Deku Link. I feel like I just wind up doing so much pausing and rejiggering my item setup. There are also times where I want to use the Mask of Truth to read what the Gossip Stones are saying, which makes me either a.) Waste a slot on the Mask of Truth, or b.) Go into the menu screen every time I see a Gossip Stone. These stones are really helpful when you're collecting everything, and I wish I could just read them without the mask on (after I've acquired it).

And just another thing, but this kind of just comes with the territory regarding what kind of game MM is. You can spend hours between dungeons running around and doing things. I wound up going through a Spider-House while I was waiting to meet Romani to defend the ranch. I have done so much in this game the past few days, and while I'm making progress in the game...it's hard to really "feel" that I'm making progress in the game. My progress in the game is almost entirely dictated by how many masks I have, how many hearts I have, and how many items are on the submenu.

While this is true in every Zelda game, I just feel like there are few parts in MM where I REALLY feel like I'm getting somewhere - that is, when you access a new area. How gratifying is it to finally get Epona and make your way to Great Bay? It's a breath of fresh air, in an otherwise claustrophobic kind of game. I'd say there are really only 3-4 times in the game where you're like "Okay, NOW I'm getting somewhere," whereas in other Zelda games, I think it happens more frequently. Of course, with the three day cycle, it's just the kind of game this is. As much as I adore this game though, there are times where I'm just like.....I do not want to be in this world anymore.

Despite the addicting nature of helping the townspeople and finding new things to do, I feel like I can get burnt out on the game fairly quickly. I have learned, however, not to reset the clock so often, and do it only when i have to. You really do have plenty of time to do whatever it is you want to do. I pretty much only reset the clock now when I've run out of things to do on day 2 and 3. It's refreshing just to have it raining, or play the game with a little different color scheme. Still, the Clock Town theme has always grated on me a little, and I can only take so much of it sometimes.

Anywho, this game really does do so many things well. It's pretty ingeniously designed. The dungeons are my favorite of any 3D Zelda game, and they STILL stump me to this day, even after playing through the game multiple times. They feel a little more LttP in nature. Yes, they're much more item driven than LttP, they open up fairly quickly, and often times, I have a whole chunk of the map explored, with me going "What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

Oh, and I guess my biggest gripe with the game is the fact while I love young Link and all...his range is an absolute pain in the ass. I wish there was an easier way to get the Guilded Sword sooner.

Come to think of it, I'm at the point where I can go get it now actually, since I have access to the Goron Races. I won the race last night, but couldn't get the sword because I was on the end of day 3. I pretty much just did it anyway because I'd need the Powder Keg to get into the ranch. Looks like I'll be doing it again. Hopefully I can beat it on my first try like yesterday!

Edit: One more thing...for whatever reason with this play through, I'm paying attention to different things, and man, this game is so fucking depressing. I feel like Bill Murray half the time. "Every year these stupid people gather in Clock Town for the stupid festival blahblahblablhablahablah." Everything in this game is just sad as shit. People actually die, creepy farm guys actually try to assault young maidens on deliveries, dead Zoras walk off to Zora heaven with their Zora girlfriends, butlers grieve over their dead tree sons, people can't get married because they get turned into kids...I'm going to need something happy to balance this game out, haha. It is just STRIKING how far they go in this game sometimes, in terms of people dying and stuff.

It was actually making me think about Illusion of Gaia a little. IoG was kind of similar in some respects. The main plot isn't really that terribly interesting. The end of the world is coming, and you have to stop it. What MADE Illusion of Gaia was all the small stories regarding the characters and their relationships, and the game's look at society and how people treat other people. MM is definitely the more rounded, polished experience (which admittedly a much more clear main storyline), but the games strike similar chords at times.
03/23/11, 06:42   
Edited: 03/23/11, 06:52
This thread didn't have the word lettuce in the title. I am dissapoint.
03/23/11, 10:34   
Majora's Mask was one of my favorite games and provides something way out of left field--particularly for a Nintendo game. It had so many cool moments, a fantastic world, and some really claustrophobic atmospheres. The moon portion was genius and the game really shines with its level of creativity.

It took the same course with the soundtrack and really brought out some interesting music. The recurrent Majora's theme in all of the 4 cardinal areas (but reorchestrated) was very cool and it probably has my favorite mid-boss battle music.

Sooo the point of this is I took the Song of Healing and Majora's Theme and made a remix/arrangement of the two that you might like!

Healing Majora (by Adam Prack / C7)
www.adamprack.com/C7_Healing_Majora.mp3
03/23/11, 19:20   
Edited: 04/09/11, 08:50
Every positive thing said so far about the game I agree with. It's simply brilliant for all of the reasons already stated. So brilliant I have a very difficult time being absorbed with any flaws or getting bored.

One thing I loved to try to do the most was save Termina. Once I figured out everyone's patterns I would try to save everyone that was in trouble and get rid of the evil in each of the four areas. IIRC you can't save everyone, but you can do almost everything.

MM just seems like it was, and still is, ahead of its time. I have not played nor heard of a game as deep as MM. I remember the first time I stepped into Clock Town. I was blown away. It really felt like a living, breathing word with real, down to earth people. This was the first, and probably most influential, reason why MM is awesome. Playing this game in the year 2000 was amazing. And when I think about I haven't played another game that quite matches it. Most other games with a city structure still feel very stagnate, while Clock Town feels alive.

I suppose the closest game I can think of is Assassin's Creed. The difference though, that sets MM apart from every other game, is that you get to know everyone in the city. So it has a personality. The cities in Assassin's Creed do not.
03/24/11, 01:55   
I just finished playing this game all over again after having started it since my original post, and I got all the masks (again). As with other Zelda titles, there’s just something so satisfying about finding all the secrets.

One of my favorite moments in the game:


A big WTF!? kind of moment

Also, the Stone Tower Temple is just an awesome idea for a dungeon. The way you have to flip the tower, such that the sky is now below you. It’s just so surreal.

I love the blur effect used throughout the game, giving the graphics a dream-like quality.

I found this interesting theory. I know there must be a lot of theories out there, and several of you probably have your own theories as to where Majora and Fierce Deity’s Mask came from, and who the Happy Mask Salesman really is. (It’s a bit jarring seeing his animation, when he has one expression/ pose then suddenly has another expression /pose like a bunch of video clips that have been taken apart and clipped at random places). I'm not so sure myself.

Some of other great tracks from this game:

Deku Palace


Astral Observatory


Ahh, and the ending is so poignant. Wrapping up all the loose ends, seeing the whole town come together and celebrate the Carnival.

Skull Kid was not a bad guy, he was just misunderstood, and Majora was easily able to target him. The story is fantastic.

It's been great hearing everyone's opinion on this game!

@Cubed777 Your link is not working at the moment.

@PogueSquadron

Yeah, you point out some of the flaws in the gameplay, yet the game overall still holds up exceedingly well. And I agree, this game is really dark. Death pretty much permeates throughout the game.
04/09/11, 08:26   
Edited: 04/09/11, 08:31
@roykoopa64

Excuse me, I forgot the http:// in the url. It is working now!

http://www.adamprack.com/C7_Healing_Majora.mp3
04/09/11, 08:51   
So, I'm replaying Majora's Mask for the first time in years. I just beat the first boss but I ran out of time before I was able to collect the prize from the Deku Shrine after returning the princess to her father. I had to use the Song of Time. Do I have to beat the boss again in order to gain access or can I just go to the Deku area and everything will be fine?
12/08/14, 07:00   
@sirmastersephiroth

You have to beat the boss again, but it won't be a major issue.

If you've played it before, you should know why .
12/08/14, 07:23   
@sirmastersephiroth

Couldn't hold out for the 3DS version?
12/08/14, 07:37   
Just wanted to be able to see how it fares against the original. I haven't played it in a very long time and I've only finished it once.
12/08/14, 08:16   
For whatever reason I ended up talking about Zelda games with a couple of guys at the mall a month or so back, I am shocked by how many people are unable to wrap their minds around the 3-day clock and how to work with it. Yeah the clock can take a little bit of work to understand but a little planning pretty much negates it.
12/09/14, 15:59   
The clock is one of the things I love most about this game because of the depth and meaning it adds to everything else. It's also fleshed out well with everything that revolves around it and uses it. Wish they would bring it back for another game but I doubt they will.
12/09/14, 16:13   
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