Make Another Zelda: Majora's Mask

[Soviet Heavy]

The most standalone Zelda game apart from the CDI Crapfests, Majora's Mask is either considered one of the best Zelda games of all time, or a tedious mess with too much emphasis on minigames and side quests.

I am in the former camp. Compared to the regular Zelda formula, the change to a time travel plot was very welcome. It was actually different. Not just in visual style or context, but the overall game itself managed to build upon the Zelda formula and create a unique setting. Compared to the lush, eternal Hyrule, the world of Termina was desolate and dying.

And of course there was the moon. THAT FUCKING MOON.

Now, this game also receives valid criticism for the excessive minigames, and the time travel mechanic could have been done a bit better when indicating just which day at what time you need to be at a specific place.

However, I feel that there should be more Zelda games like Majora's Mask. Not games following on from the MM story, but more experimental Zelda titles. Majora's Mask managed to be a wholly different beast from Ocarina of Time, despite using the same engine and mechanics. Nintendo took a risk, and it met with mixed results. However, it also delivered a truly unique experience in the franchise, and that same risk taking would be greatly appreciated nowadays.

I'm not criticizing the main Zelda series, but I would like to see more of these alternate world Links, where the games can move in different directions that might otherwise be overlooked.

 

[Scrustle]

As a big fan of the series I agree that Zelda would benefit a lot from having more variation and experimentation. Sometimes the games do seem a bit to formulaic. MM was actually the first Zelda game I ever played, and it started my love affair with the series, despite being fairly unique compared to other games.

But I think Skyward Sword is already mixing things up like MM did, and not only just because it's trying something new. The world is also based around a similar layout. You have the central hub area (Skyloft) joining all the other areas which each lead out to the dungeons. But I have to say that I'm actually not enjoying SS that much personally and I think that MM is the superior game. But I commend Nintendo's attempt to try something different with the series. I just don't like the specific things they have done. Most of what they have done seems to have led the game feeling drowned in unnecessary time wasting rubbish. And I really don't like how they have done the world layout too. The fact they have completely cut off each area feels really restrictive, and having to revisit places is tedious. But at least they are trying to do something different. Hopefully they will build on this and learn for the next Zelda game. Or they might not, seeing as how most reviews are saying that the game is the best Zelda game ever made.

 

[Kae]

I wish they would keep doing unique stuff like that, though I'm pretty sure that it was the atmosphere of dread and doom which made Majora's Mask so special and I personally think the time travel mechanic made it more special because not matter what you did there was always something you were leaving behind, you couldn't save everybody and even if you save everybody you can't save them in the same timeline, which personally made it more special because as I saved the world there was always that burning memory of all the people I left behind some possibly to die but couldn't help because there was a much more important task at hand, that made it more grand and created a strange sense of scale and depth, well at least that's how I feel, it was really something special and definitely the best Zelda game ever made, I don't think Nintendo will ever be able to make another Zelda game like it but I sure wish they tried.

 

[LookingGlass]

This seems like a reasonable place to ask. Does Majora's Mask hold up decently today?

I bought it and Ocarina of Time at the same time, all those years ago, and by the time I'd finished Ocarina of Time I'd had enough Zelda for a while, and didn't play much of Majora's Mask. Never went back to it.

I actually re-played Ocarina of Time immediately before Twilight Princess, and it was still cool. So it shouldn't be too bad, right? I had already played OoT and I barely remember MM though, if that makes a difference.

 

[mrhappy1489]

How about instead of Nintendo releasing one of there games again, they either spend the time making a new Zelda game or, the better option in my opinion, they make a brand new series of games to introduce to a new generation and unblock the stagnated river that is Nintendo. Don't take this as an insult to the games, because they aren't bad, actually quite the contrary, but I would love to see something new come out of Nintendo that is actually new, not a retread, not a sequel, but something new, exciting, BOLD. The time has truely come for Nintendo to reach out into new territory, try new formulas, develop new characters to be beloved by a new generation. Disney hasn't just kept making movies about Mikey Mouse and Valve don't always make games about Gordan Freeman(though a Half Life 2: Episode 3 or actual third installment are meant to be in the wings).

 

[Hiroshi Mishima]

I personally think Majora's Mask is the better of the two N64 titles, and while I can't guarantee you that it has aged well I can say that because of the similarity in visual style and gameplay mechanics it has aged exactly the same as Ocarina of Time.

If someone has a problem with that, I'd ask them to take off those rose-tinted glasses they were wearing when they last played Ocarina of Time.

However, I'd also wager that because MM has larger emphasis on the people you meet, lends more urgency to the overall quest at hand, and has a much more gratifying and satisfying ending... it probably holds up better today than it did at the time it actually came out. My reason for saying this is that when it came out, people complained it was "just like Ocarina of Time" despite the fact that it actually wasn't anything like it except for the general gameplay and interface. That's like saying Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons are the same game when they have different characters, different dungeons and different abilities.. oh, and they look the same.

I would love for there to be another Majora's Mask because it was the first Zelda game to have a genuinely dark storyline and sense of foreboding that really never leaves. The moon is always there to remind you your time is limited, and you're constantly seeing what Majora has done to Termina, instead of it simply being implied. The only other Zelda title to be as dark was Twilight Princess, which is one of the reasons I liked it so much despite finding the final reveal at the end to be bloody stupid.

Skyward Sword also broke it up by having a more centralized storyline, getting more people into what's going on, and also having a bit of a dark edge to it. But I think a game needs to be more than just "dark and edgy". I'd be perfectly fine with a Zelda game that was more lighthearted (ala Wind Waker), so long as it didn't let the storyline faulter and made sure to take advantage of the cast rather than just having them there (like Spirit Tracks).

EDIT: And yeah, Majora's Mask was the first to truly shift away from the normal gaming style by having you play different characters. I'd love to see them come back with something like that, but instead of simply being Link as different forms, literally have more than one character you can play as during the course of the game. Not unlike switching between Raziel and Kain in Defiance, or Mario & Luigi and Bowser in M&L 3.

I'd also like to see a proper Zelda title where you play as Zelda. Maybe more focus on exploration and magic than on sword-fighting. Nobody said that the games have to be 100% pulse-pounding non-stop action, Nintendo. >_>;

 

[Rkngl]

the only thing is they'd nee to wait four years so that February Second would fall on a Tuesday again as the release date.

 

[Tiswas]

How about instead of Nintendo releasing one of there games again, they either spend the time making a new Zelda game or, the better option in my opinion, they make a brand new series of games to introduce to a new generation and unblock the stagnated river that is Nintendo. Don't take this as an insult to the games, because they aren't bad, actually quite the contrary, but I would love to see something new come out of Nintendo that is actually new, not a retread, not a sequel, but something new, exciting, BOLD. The time has truely come for Nintendo to reach out into new territory, try new formulas, develop new characters to be beloved by a new generation. Disney hasn't just kept making movies about Mikey Mouse and Valve don't always make games about Gordan Freeman(though a Half Life 2: Episode 3 or actual third installment are meant to be in the wings).

Some new IPs in the past few years: (going from start of this gen)

Xenoblade Chronicles,
Wii Sports/Fit/Music/Play,
Legend of Starfy
Rango,
Endless Ocean
Magical Starsign
Steel Diver,
Nintendogs,
Rhythm Heaven
Elite Beat Agents,
Disaster: Day of Crisis,
Electroplankton,
Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot here. But it's not like they're not doing anything new. It's just that most of them fade quickly into obscurity because they aren't Mario/Zelda/Pokemon

 

[Twilight_guy]

I have no idea who you are talking to. Everyone I hear always says that MM was the best or second only to Ocarina of Time. Also, I feel that the Zelda games are already fairly diverse, at least as diverse as OoT and MM are. I hears lots of people always saying "be more innovative and different" about just about everything and the more I hear it the less I think people actually knows what they want. Innovation and originality are just kind of generic fluff words that people use when describing art when they don't like it more then an actual concept.

 

[Erana]

This seems like a reasonable place to ask. Does Majora's Mask hold up decently today?

I'd say so.
Yes, it looks like an older game, the characters are roughly animated with no voice acting, and Link handles tightly but inorganically, etc.

The thing is, along with competent gameplay, the game tells tons of little stories in very subtle ways. The repeating timeline allowed the developers to make the NPCs very personal- their stories interconnect and all reflect the state of this doomed world.
Such as the story of Anjou, whose fiancee has gone missing, and she's torn between evacuating the doomed city and waiting for him. They were so meticulous with the detail that she can be found sulking in her room on the night of the second day, even though it is impossible to go into the room until the night of the third day without noclip.
The facts are not just handed out for you, and there are some tragedies that are barely even addressed, but are set up with subtle clues, and you discover on a second playthrough, then feel really really bad about the deku mask...

If you don't find the gameplay or dated graphics offensive, then Majora's Mask can easily appeal to a contemporary approach to understanding the world and story of a game.

 

[Bealzibob]

This seems like a reasonable place to ask. Does Majora's Mask hold up decently today?

I'd never played it till I emulated it mid last year and it has surpassed my love of OoT (Which I had played as a child). I considered it one of the best gaming experiences of last year and perhaps my life. That says a lot when my gaming experiences of last year included Portal 2, Bastion, Skyrim and a metric shit tonne of League of Legends.

OT: I would love another Zelda game that captures the atmosphere of MM cause it was unique to almost any game i've ever played. A unsettling wierdness to the whole world that really made it stand out.

 

[krazykidd]

I don't think nintendo can do it . I seriously don't think they are capable of making another zelda game like that. I personally didn't like MM ( or any zelda game after OOT for that matter), but thats just me . I don't think they would be able to recreate the magic(?) of MM sucessfully . I also think that nintendi knows this and haven't tried to.

 

[Dandark]

I enjoyed Majora's mask. The time travel mechanic was pretty cool and I also liked having all the masks that could transform you into different races. It just seemed like a pretty cool game except for the excess of minigames of course.

 

[ZeroMachine]

Legend of Starfy
Rango,
Magical Starsign
Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland.

Those are, in order:

The localization of a long-running series in Japan,
A movie tie-in,
A sequel to a Japan only GBA game,
A shitty (from what I've heard) spinoff.

They are not original or new IPs for this generation. ESPECIALLY not Starfy. He's been about as popular as Kirby over in Japan.

Anyway, more to the topic, YES. Majora's Mask is my favorite Zelda game. The only two I came even close to enjoying as much were Skyward Sword and Spirit Tracks. I'd love to see another like it.

 

[mrhappy1489]

How about instead of Nintendo releasing one of there games again, they either spend the time making a new Zelda game or, the better option in my opinion, they make a brand new series of games to introduce to a new generation and unblock the stagnated river that is Nintendo. Don't take this as an insult to the games, because they aren't bad, actually quite the contrary, but I would love to see something new come out of Nintendo that is actually new, not a retread, not a sequel, but something new, exciting, BOLD. The time has truely come for Nintendo to reach out into new territory, try new formulas, develop new characters to be beloved by a new generation. Disney hasn't just kept making movies about Mikey Mouse and Valve don't always make games about Gordan Freeman(though a Half Life 2: Episode 3 or actual third installment are meant to be in the wings).

Some new IPs in the past few years: (going from start of this gen)

Xenoblade Chronicles,
Wii Sports/Fit/Music/Play,
Legend of Starfy
Rango,
Endless Ocean
Magical Starsign
Steel Diver,
Nintendogs,
Rhythm Heaven
Elite Beat Agents,
Disaster: Day of Crisis,
Electroplankton,
Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot here. But it's not like they're not doing anything new. It's just that most of them fade quickly into obscurity because they aren't Mario/Zelda/Pokemon

Well I'll concede I'm not as on top of the Nintendo releases as I should be, but most of those (excluding The Wii insert thing, Nintendogs and Steel Diver) aren't actually made by Nintendo, just published. Some of them are new IP, but none are really Nintendos work. When I say I want them to focus more on some alternative IPs, I was referring to the main group of people responsible for the recent Mario and Zelda releases (Various Subgroups beginning with Nintendo then the specific region or sub-subgroup). These are Nintendo's IPs, but they don't directly(haha) affect them. Similar to the whole Square Enix logo popping up in Human Revolution and so on, they Publish and own the name, but they don't make it. I hope that's a more thorough explanation.

 

[00slash00]

majoras mask was my favorite zelda game, second maybe to link to the past. actually its the last zelda game i remember actually having fun playing. what i loved so much about majoras mask was how alive the world felt. it was the only zelda game ive played where the npcs actually felt like people. in the other games they were just kinda there but in majoras mask they had personality and they were all dealing with their looming death in different ways. id made me feel like i wasnt just stopping evil because thats the goal of the game, i felt like i was stopping evil because all these other characters were depending on me. playing it again today, i probably wouldnt be impacted the same way but at the time there was no other game where i felt that kind of connection to the other characters.

 

[DugMachine]

Necroing with thread with that new real or fake trailer for a wiiU version of Majora's mask.

http://youtu.be/-JOChBfhta4


Majora's Mask was my favorite Zelda Game ever. The whole atmosphere of the game just made me depressed and I wasn't even happy when I beat it... but one of my best gaming experiences so far.

 

[OrpheusTelos]

I would LOVE a 3DS version of that game, akin to Ocarina. It's one of the few Zelda games I haven't had a chance to play yet, and it sounds interesting.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Necroing with thread with that new real or fake trailer for a wiiU version of Majora's mask.


Majora's Mask was my favorite Zelda Game ever. The whole atmosphere of the game just made me depressed and I wasn't even happy when I beat it... but one of my best gaming experiences so far.

Jesus, they managed to make the Mask Salesman even scarier.

 

[piinyouri]

Majoras Mask was also I thought the most difficult 3D Zelda title.

It was an accomplishment in atmosphere and tone.

The whole thing very much felt like a mirror world version of Hyrule, which was the intent, so I've always thought it was a great game.