Majora's Mask

[PureChaos]

A friend and I were having a debate last week about this game and it compared to other Zelda games. I don't think too much of it whereas my friend thought it was great. We started to compare it to Ocarina of Time and I thought OoT was much better, he thought MM was better due to the side quests and, granted, the side quests were better in MM than the ones in OoT but the main game wasn't that good whereas OoT was great from the start. however, the fight against Majora's Mask/Incarnation/Wrath is one of my favourite fights (when not using the Fierce Diety mask!). We then brought Wind Waker and Twilight Princess into the mix.
For me it would go MM, WW, OoT, TP
For him it was WW, OoT, MM, TP

but it was Majora's Mask that we seemed to have the biggest discussion, and difference of opinion, .

What's your opinion of it?

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

It's an interesting concept with the 3 day time limit thing to it and the use of the masks to have different powers to make it through the world was good to. But i still hold Ocarina of Time to one of the best Zelda games. The other two holding the top spots are Link to the Past and Legend of Zelda for NES.

 

[Vianyte]

Well for one thing, I'd say Majora's Mask is a far better antagonist than Ganondorf.

The idea of the mask's was also unique, changing forms offers a fresh gameplay element to the Zelda series.

 

[xmbts]

I really liked it because it experimented with a different formula then the traditional, '3 dungeons, master sword then another 4-6 dungeons'.

Also it was very dark, which I liked.

 

[Gralian]

Majora's Mask has always been the black sheep of the series. Its darker moods, tones and themes really permeate an otherwise fairytale chronology of games that have a clear hero, villain, princess and so on. In MM, there is no princess. The hero doesn't really 'develop' over the course of the game. There is no big revelation or triforce. It's just you against the clock and it's very oppressive, accentuated by the moon's face angrily glaring over the town.

I enjoyed Majora's Mask, but it didn't really feel like a Zelda game. Because it doesn't really fit with the LoZ series and yet is lumped in there, i think that's why people tend to dismiss it.

Just my two pence!

 

[Heart of Darkness]

Majora's Mask is a base-breaker when it comes to the Zelda games. I personally didn't like it because the three-day concept got old really fast, the reused assets bothered me, and some of the controls really sucked (the Goron mask in particular).

I think the best part of the game for me was the beginning with the Happy Mask Shop Salesman, but that's about it.

 

[Danzaivar]

I wanted to like it, but when I actually tried the game I just couldn't figure out where the hell you was meant to go or what you was meant to do. Just ended up hoarding rupees for 3 days then resetting time and doing it over again.

 

[Aiden_the-Joker1]

Majora's Mask is my favourite Zelda game from start to finish I thought it was better. Also It has one of the best endings in any game.

 

[MGlBlaze]

Probably one of my favourite games of all time, actually. That may be effected by nostalgia, though. I can admit that some of the things you need to do could be quite confusing (I didn't have so many problems because I had a guide, though), but I loved the story, the atmosphere, the other characters in the world and how there were a number of people represented in the game that made you feel like they actually had lived, rather than most of the NPCs in OOT (or even many other Zelda games) that were just... there.

It's the kind of thing that is a powerful motivator and gives meaning to saving Termina.

Wind Waker also felt like the NPCs there had lives to live while you weren't around. TP... It kinda straddles the line between "These people have lives" and "These people are just there". It goes back and forth; there are many characters you have to interact with in some way throughout the story, but most of the NPCs that don't have some direct involvement in the plot are fairly inconsequential, with a few exceptions. Agatha springs to mind, as does the woman who runs that fishing area.

Of course this is all subjective.

So, between the four you mentioned, my favourites in order of most to least;
MM, WW, TP, OoT

 

[Sixties Spidey]

One of my favorite games. It's a large improvement over quite a lot of the elements Ocarina of Time introduced, and I think it's a hell of a lot better than Ocarina of Time. That's not to say I dislike OoT, I just found the 3 Day mechanic to be the coolest game mechanic ever introduced in a Zelda game.

 

[MikailCaboose]

I always liked MM better than OoT, if not for the absolutely crap start to OoT. Plus the story felt good and fresh. There was something about OoT that just felt a little...samey to me. Don't know why either.

 

[A Pious Cultist]

I actually owned a disk with Ocarina Master Edition and Majora's Mask for the gamecube but due to it requiring a 60hz TV (which I had access to but it would have meant taking my console downstairs) and the time requirement thing sort of scaring me off I never played it.

I somewhat regret it now.

 

[CheesusCrust]

A friend and I were having a debate last week about this game and it compared to other Zelda games. I don't think too much of it whereas my friend thought it was great. We started to compare it to Ocarina of Time and I thought OoT was much better, he thought MM was better due to the side quests and, granted, the side quests were better in MM than the ones in OoT but the main game wasn't that good whereas OoT was great from the start. however, the fight against Majora's Mask/Incarnation/Wrath is one of my favourite fights (when not using the Fierce Diety mask!). We then brought Wind Waker and Twilight Princess into the mix.
For me it would go MM, WW, OoT, TP
For him it was WW, OoT, MM, TP

but it was Majora's Mask that we seemed to have the biggest discussion, and difference of opinion, .

What's your opinion of it?

Wait a minute. You said you liked OoT better than MM and your friend preferred MM over Oot. But on your list it says you prefer MM over OoT and he prefers OoT over MM. I'm confused.

OT: I really enjoyed the game, but the overall darker atmosphere that it gave off actually made me feel less comfortable playing it. The whole 3 day time limit was always casting a shadow over my gameplay. I know the game was supposed to do this and I respect the game for it; it made it unique, but I'm much happier in sunny, non-sentient moon Hyrule

 

[Toriver]

I always preferred Ocarina of Time, but OoT is my favorite game of all time, so that's not taking much away from Majora's Mask. I really liked Majora's Mask too, but the three day time limit more annoyed me than anything else. And you're never really given much context into why Majora's Mask is so wicked. You know it's an evil menace that's planning to crush Termina unless the 4 giants can save it, but aside from that, there's not much you know. The concept of playing as not only Link in the form of different races from the game but actual members of those races is really interesting and adds a nice touch. It even gave me some inspiration to attempt to create some mechanics for a Legend of Zelda tabletop RPG with those races included based partly on what you can do with them as Link in Majora's Mask. Anyway, I still prefer OoT, but MM is a fantastic game that easily ranks #2 among the Zelda games I have played.

 

[TheSEPH88]

I loved Majoras Mask for ir's dark tones, it's characters and it's mystery. I enjoyed Ocarina of time for it's gameplay and for it's immersion with the world you played in.

 

[Darkhill]

Yeah, darker and more complex, full of sinister overtones. A strange quest in a strange land, even the owl didn't seem too optimistic about Termina. After all, Termina=terminal/terminus/terminate=The End. I've always had trouble deciding between Oot and MM, namely because they play out so differently. I blew through TP too fast (my fault), and without the epic time travel mechanics from Oot/MM, it just felt linear. Or maybe it's just nostalgia...

 

[FallenJellyDoughnut]

A friend and I were having a debate last week about this game and it compared to other Zelda games. I don't think too much of it whereas my friend thought it was great. We started to compare it to Ocarina of Time and I thought OoT was much better, he thought MM was better due to the side quests and, granted, the side quests were better in MM than the ones in OoT but the main game wasn't that good whereas OoT was great from the start. however, the fight against Majora's Mask/Incarnation/Wrath is one of my favourite fights (when not using the Fierce Diety mask!). We then brought Wind Waker and Twilight Princess into the mix.
For me it would go MM, WW, OoT, TP
For him it was WW, OoT, MM, TP

but it was Majora's Mask that we seemed to have the biggest discussion, and difference of opinion, .

What's your opinion of it?

Wait a minute. You said you liked OoT better than MM and your friend preferred MM over Oot. But on your list it says you prefer MM over OoT and he prefers OoT over MM. I'm confused.

OT: I really enjoyed the game, but the overall darker atmosphere that it gave off actually made me feel less comfortable playing it. The whole 3 day time limit was always casting a shadow over my gameplay. I know the game was supposed to do this and I respect the game for it; it made it unique, but I'm much happier in sunny, non-sentient moon Hyrule

I think it's least to most, not most to least. Kinda weird but OK

OT: I preferred Ocarina of Time, mostly because I like to explore and the time limit in Majora's Mask didn't allow for much of that.

 

[PureChaos]

A friend and I were having a debate last week about this game and it compared to other Zelda games. I don't think too much of it whereas my friend thought it was great. We started to compare it to Ocarina of Time and I thought OoT was much better, he thought MM was better due to the side quests and, granted, the side quests were better in MM than the ones in OoT but the main game wasn't that good whereas OoT was great from the start. however, the fight against Majora's Mask/Incarnation/Wrath is one of my favourite fights (when not using the Fierce Diety mask!). We then brought Wind Waker and Twilight Princess into the mix.
For me it would go MM, WW, OoT, TP
For him it was WW, OoT, MM, TP

but it was Majora's Mask that we seemed to have the biggest discussion, and difference of opinion, .

What's your opinion of it?

Wait a minute. You said you liked OoT better than MM and your friend preferred MM over Oot. But on your list it says you prefer MM over OoT and he prefers OoT over MM. I'm confused.

OT: I really enjoyed the game, but the overall darker atmosphere that it gave off actually made me feel less comfortable playing it. The whole 3 day time limit was always casting a shadow over my gameplay. I know the game was supposed to do this and I respect the game for it; it made it unique, but I'm much happier in sunny, non-sentient moon Hyrule

other way round, it goes from least favourite to favourite

 

[Palademon]

I think it was nice to be different, but I'm not begging for another Zelda game to be like that.