Majora's Mask is amazing

[Himu]

Sorry for the long post.

I originally played a bit of this game in 2001. I came right off of Ocarina of Time, which amazed me. I just couldn't get into it. I could not comprehend the concept of tension in the game, I couldn't stand the 3 day cycle thing because I felt it made the game restrictive...

But, I've been meaning to give it another shot for the longest.

So I obtained the Zelda Collectors Edition disc that contains 4 Zelda titles in it including Majora's. I mostly got it for Ocarina so I could replay that classic, but I still wanted to give Majora's another chance. So last night, after completing Castlevania and our election party was over I booted up Majora's Mask...

I didn't go to sleep until 2.

A few of my more recent complaints with the Zelda series has been:

1. The formula, they really need to expand upon the item -> dungeon -> item -> dungeon, rinse repeat formula. What's more, I hate how in Zelda games the only reason you ever visit the dungeons is to ALWAYS resurrect something or gain some power. Visit 3-4 dungeons and you can get the Master Sword! We've seen this in multiple games. It has become canned as hell. Your reasons for visiting dungeons is often so vapid in the games sometimes I wonder why I am in them. The formula in general has become stale.

Majora's Mask, however, places emphasis on sidequesting and exploration. When you actually go into a dungeon you feel as if you have an actual means for being there beyond gaining some new power or item. Despite coming out in 2000 Majora's Mask still feels fresh due to its unique 3 day formula. When you're in the middle of a dungeon on the final day and you finally make that boss succumb, it feels so rewarding. The tension really adds to the game, and what's more, makes you prioritize actions more so than you normally would in a Zelda game. I've been playing it almost like how I would Dead Rising - placing priorities as I juggle what I want to do next or whether I want to do something at all because I don't have the time for it.

2. The stories are almost always the same. Link has to save the world, okay. Neat. Every time. But this time I actually care. His fairy friend is awesome and not annoying like Navi, the game is full of npcs with more personality than any Zelda game before or after it. Right now I'm trying to find some guy named Kafei. I have his mask, I know where he is, but I have no clue how to talk to him or make him take off that damn Pikachu mask. And that's Majora's Mask in a nutshell - almost every single action I'm doing is to satisfy my own curiosity to unravel the game's world piece by piece. The game doesn't rely on Zelda or Ganon either which gives MM bonus points.

3. The more recent games (TP, WW..as much as I like them) are entirely too simplistic. Every thing in MM, however, works because every thing has an inkling of depth to it. The pre-dungeons are in depth, the first dungeon was the deepest first dungeon I've seen in a Zelda game - it wasn't particularly complex but it was still more advanced than the average first dungeon in a Zelda title, the first boss was far annoying than the typical first Zelda boss which often stray too far on the easy side (either that or I was fighting him wrong), the sidequests are in depth requiring a tremendous amount of work and effort to see everything.

When beating the first dungeon, you're told the Deku Royal Family's butler has a surprise for you. I went to him expecting him to just give it to me, as is typical of Zelda games, but no - I had to chase him through a giant mini-dungeon in order to reach my reward; a task that took several retries before I could get there. In order to gain new powers you have to visit Fairy's but unlike other Zelda games where you simply have to go find where they are, in MM you have to seek out their body parts to restore them, and *then* get that ability or item you want. The game requires a level of commitment in order to rewarded far more than the typical action adventure game.

So far I've beaten the first dungeon only, but I've acquired a few songs and a few masks (Giant Fairy, Pig, Kufei, Animal / Eagle thing, Deku), a few abilities (like the ability to charge my sword up to orange). I'm trying to see everyone's daily routine and do a few sidequests before I continue on to the next dungeon.

This game rocks. I hope the next Zelda is like Majora's Mask. Seriously. This game contains pretty much every thing I've wanted from a Zelda. Hopefully it keeps this up.

Tips would be welcome!

[Junpei the Tracer!]

I got stuck on the third dungeon boss  :'(

[Rman]

Amazing game.  Such a fresh air from the overused Zelda formula.

[Himu]

The next Zelda needs to be like Majora's Mask.

[Rman]

The next Zelda needs to be like Majora's Mask.

As far as consoles, EAD usually follows traditional Zeldas with more fresh approaches.

[Himu]

True.

[Rman]

True.

Nintendo has hinted that next Zelda would be more ''fresher''.  I just hope it is not dumbed for casuals, which is my fear. 

[TakingBackSunday]

I think they know that a console Zelda has to...how should I say...NOT go down that route.

[Crushed]

Majora's Mask was so great. The atmosphere and world they built was so awesome.

[Oblivion]

I mention this a lot, but they DID make a MM like Zelda recently:




Not that I care if they decide to do another spinoff game, but for fuck's sake, have a non-shitty final boss for once (or bosses in general).

[Positive Touch]

PH is nothin like MM.

MM is a great game, but I wish the dungeons didn't suck (sorry Prole) and that they could have incorporated time without making it so repetitive.  And I wish that the Cube port was rendered unplayable by the random crashes.

[Jabberwocky]

First EB thread I've agreed with in a longass time. The N64 Zelda's were both incredible. Majora's Mask had some of the most memorable, unforgettable characters of the entire series, and wasn't matched until Twilight Princess in my opinion.

And please don't mention that fucking abomination Phantom Hourglass. Twilight Princess was the swan song of the series, whereas PH marked the death of it, giving only a glimpse to a future exclusively filled with gimmick-ridden, uninspired entries.

[Oblivion]

Of course, PH isn't like MM in that it doesn't have the 3 day thing or whatever. But it's different like MM is without the usual Zelda cliches, etc.

[tiesto]

Still the only Zelda I have never played. Waiting for the inevitable VC release, as I hear the GC collector's edition is too glitchy, and don't want to buy the original cartridge and play in ugly 320x240 with composite cable on the N64

[Greatness Gone]

One of the few good Zelda Nintendo games. I'd like something like this on the Wii.

[TakingBackSunday]

Still the only Zelda I have never played. Waiting for the inevitable VC release, as I hear the GC collector's edition is too glitchy, and don't want to buy the original cartridge and play in ugly 320x240 with composite cable on the N64

Eh, I'd just go ahead and find the collector's disc.  It's glitchy, but I've only had problems like twice in my like 10 playthroughs of that game with that disc.

[Smooth Groove]

Didn't you just buy a PS3? 

[Himu]

Didn't you just buy a PS3? 

Last year when I got a 360 I was mainly playing ps2 games. 60 dollar games you can beat in 6 hours or 20 + hour games that cost a lil more than 20 bucks. The choice is yours.

[cool breeze]

I paid $75 for Wave Race 64 way back when and it was totally worth it.

Of course, PH isn't like MM in that it doesn't have the 3 day thing or whatever. But it's different like MM is without the usual Zelda cliches, etc.

Yeah, but it's different in a bad way.

Dead Rising is the closest thing to a Manjora's Mask sequel.

[demi]

bet it looks wykd in S-Video

[Crushed]

Actually restarted playing Phantom Hourglass yesterday after like six months of not touching it. I had been going to get the final map from the Temple of the Ocean King and was just so pissed at the repetition. But yesterday I manned up and finally started to make progress again.

Now I'm almost at the final boss. And frankly, this final stretch of the game isn't as bad as the rest.


• The last item you get is awesome. It's an awesome floating hammer you can maneuver around. It's really powerful, and it can charge up.

• The dungeon where you get the hammer. It's really short for a penultimate dungeon, but considering the rest of the game, I'm not complaining. You use your fuckawesome hammer to flip yourself and giant boulders on see-saws. Seriously, they should have given you this thing a whole lot earlier.

• That dungeon's boss is also like 10x more fun than the other shitty bosses. It looks just like a Colossus from SotC, and you flip yourself into the air to pulverize its various pieces with your floating hammer.

• This part isn't really so much "the end" of the game, but it still should've been available at the beginning: FISHING. There's a lot of funky stuff about it (you have to be over a fish icon to actually be able to fish, and only one fish appears each time) and it could have been a lot more fleshed out, but even in its basic form it adds much-needed variety to the shitty overworld (and I liked WW's ocean).

• When you finally get the second and final sword (only right before you fight the final boss, WTF), it lets you kill the Phantoms in the Temple of the Ocean King. Before, you could stun them with an arrow in the back, or use a puzzle or switch to kill certain ones.

...WHY DID THEY WAIT THE ENTIRE GAME BEFORE GIVING YOU THIS ABILITY.

Forcing you to stun and avoid enemies until you get the item that kills them: that's a gimmick used for a single dungeon. Not a central mechanic for a dungeon that you have to replay many times over the course of the game. When you have to constantly redo what's essentially an timed, extended stealth mission with puzzles, making the enemies invincible is so goddamned loony that I just don't know what the shit.



Even when I compliment this game for getting kinda better at the end, it just makes me angry for the rest being so distinguished mentally-challenged. Like how you get millions of Rupees but there's never anything really worth buying. Even though that means there's little incentive to collect lots of Rupees, the game still use Rupees as the standard method of rewarding you for small tasks, making them feel unrewarding (same thing affected Twilight Princess). It's still technically a good game, but as a Zelda it's really disappointing.

[Himu]

nice post crushed. I've never played PH but I've been meaning to. It's just that the game still costs like 35 bucks.

[Himu]

WOWOWOWOWOWW

SNOWHEAD TEMPLE



Zeruda

[laesperanzapaz]

majora mask is the one zelda that puts quality clearly above quantity

it's the best 3d zelda, and t eh second best overall zelda, the first being LTTP, which puts quality AND quantity on a true pedestal

every temple [four of them] is huge, complex, and cerebral.  you will shit when you get to the water temple.

oh and dont try to complete the Kafei sidequest, which requires you to have advanced items you wont get until much later.  The Kafei sidequest is the longest, the most involving, and the most emotional.  its ending :'(

[Himu]

I'm trying to find the water dungeon now. Can't find it or how to activate it. They talk about beavers on top of a waterfall. I see a waterfall and have no fucking clue how to get up there.

[Yeti]

you need to get the hookshot to get up the waterfall, go infiltrate the pirate base.

[TakingBackSunday]

Yeah, but before you go to the pirate base, go to Ikana and use your Lens of Truth to find an invisible guard.  Give him a red potion and you'll get the stone mask, which makes you invisible.  Makes the pirate base a whole lot easier.