It is basically two games in one. The Clocktown/‘sidequest’ time loop game, and the traditional Zelda dungeon game. I tend to agree that the latter is mostly just not good. The dungeons don’t improve with the existence of the time mechanic - in fact they needed to add a mechanic to slow time down because of how poorly the two designs mesh, which is kind of antithetical to the whole initial conceit, in my opinion.
The Clocktown Game, on the other hand, I think is really cool. You get to see all the routines and problems that characters have over those three days, and nudge events towards desired outcomes. Exploring how all their lives intersect, and how they react in the literal face of impending doom, allows for some really cool stories and moments.
It’s a Clocktown game trapped in the body of a Zelda game.
The devs actually thought of that. There are two auxiliary time control songs. One slows down time by ~50%, the other jumps ahead to the next dawn/dusk. MM3D revised the latter to allow to jump to any top of the hour across the next 12 hours.
Any of the scarecrows around town teach it to you just by talking to them, but they do so by describing the songs, not teaching you the notes
I realize this. What I meant is, ‘that’s why it was added’, rather than ‘I wish that this existed.’ Relying on the time slow is recognizing that the dungeon wasn’t really designed around the time loop in the first place. It just doesn’t feel like a very cohesive design.
I really loved oot, I can’t imagine the amount of hours I spent playing it. I’m looking forward to giving that another go. In fact, I’ll probably start tomorrow.
Majora’s mask is really all about the side quests. There is not actually very much repetition of stuff required, I’m not sure where you got that idea. If that’s your main objection you should really have given them more of a shot.
Getting the golden sword, or whatever it is called, was annoying. I had to fight the boss a second time to thaw the snow again to do the race.
I’m not even sure it’s possible to get that sword and only fight the boss once. Since you need to leave the razor sword to be upgraded.
I ended up fighting that boss three times, the first and third time were super easy, but the second attempt had bad rng and I died pretty quickly.
I also had to go and get the moons tear twice for something. It just felt like this big chore. After that, I kind of just pushed myself to finish the game, but I’m too burned out.
You can do it. I watched someone get it on a single no-glitch playthrough doing a single 3-day cycle (no rewinding). You just have to plan it all out ahead.
I only used a guide to help me get past random parts that I could not figure out. The game is decently cryptic. I don’t even have a full row of hearts and I don’t think I’ve really seen any heart pieces the way you would in other Zelda games.
Majora's Mask is my favorite game. Not just favorite Zelda, but favorite game, period. It always breaks my heart to see people not being able to enjoy it the way I enjoy it, because there's so much excellent storytelling in that game. While Nintendo deconfirmed the "stages of grief" fan theory, it's still a lot more fun playing through the game with that theory in mind, because it truly fits the game so well, and adds a lot of depth to the experience.
For what it's worth, the 3DS version is far superior to the original N64 release. Lots of QoL improvements (though I'm actually not a fan of how the bosses were redesigned) and some progression elements were streamlined a bit. I feel like most people playing MM for the first time are doing themselves a disservice playing the original.
I’ll look up the quality of life changes. One random thing that I really struggled with was the music. I think it was partly due to the way it’s mapped on the switche and the “a” button is low on the music scales but high on the switch controller.
Nintendo 'deconfirmed' it because that would be sad and they don't want to publically say "yes Majoras Mask is a sad." Doesn't fit the brand. That being said, Majoras Mask is about grief. The lead Dev lost his daughter right before production, whether it was intended or not the game is absolutely chock a block with this constant repeating theme and it's why the game is special.
I don't think the 3DS is far superior at all. There's nice QoL for sure. The change to Zora swimming to use magic was a dumb decision and the deku scrub water jumps feel terrible. Not to mention the whole game is brighter compared to the N64 version, which ruins the atmosphere to me. I like both versions, but the 3DS is more accessible, not superior imo. Here's a good video about it if anyone is interested https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=653wuaP0wzs
Did you make much use of the Inverted Song of Time? I was in the same situation as you the first time I really played MM, I putzed around in the game as a young kid and then actually tried to beat it as an adult. I’m no pro gamer by a long shot but the inverted song of time basically made the time mechanic a non-issue for me.
When you’re thinking about what to do next, try to divide the game into major milestones (pre-temple stuff, temples themselves, etc) and then follow the loop of (1) slow time (2) do major milestone (3) go back to town, deposit money, start over. It’s a little tedious, I know, but tbh I think taking small breaks to collect yourself between major milestones is a good way to approach adventure games anyways.
And, as the others said, you’re shooting yourself in the foot if you ignore the side quests completely. If you do all of them, the final boss will be one of the most fun, one-sided beatdowns in video game history :D
Since I’m dreading the side quest stuff, I’m thinking of just getting a complete save file so I can check out the final boss fight. Since I beat it as a kid, I don’t feel bad about cheating to get to it.
I would recommend at least playing through, or maybe watching a video of, Anju and Kafei’s Quest. No other video game side quest has depressed me as much as that one did lol
You made it further than me. I was an absolute completionist in OOT and when I started MM, I just extremely put off by the reset time and do things over again. I wanted to finish what I was in the middle of, but having to be interrupted and even plan what I was going to do rather than just explore and fumble through things really bothered me. I really don’t think I made it through more than a handful of time resets before I gave up
Curious, but do you know about the song that slows down time?
The reset is annoying but I usually have a few goals based on what time an event starts each cycle.
To restock on supplies I go right outside of clock town and roll around in the grass as a Goron which replenishes most things pretty quickly.
All in all I get not liking it though. It can be both fun and incredibly tedious. I’ve probably beaten it two or three times in my lifetime compared to OOT which I’ve beaten easily over a dozen times
I was actually wondering if I knew about that song as a kid.
I start each reset by playing that song.
Another commenter put it into perspective for me.
I really like exploring a game to find all the secrets, but the time aspect makes me feel like I can’t. I feel rushed to get through everything. So in a way I’m being forced to play the game in a style that I don’t enjoy.
I think this game would be so much more enjoyable for me if the time mechanic was removed. But I’d still like to not need to redo tasks.
The way I think about Majora’s Mask as a Zelda game is that in addition to exploring the physical world, you’re also exploring time. That does necessitate “backtracking” by forcing time resets and a lot of waiting around if you don’t immediately know what you can be doing in parallel (though the two time control songs make that part easier).
With the exception of the dungeons themselves, the game typically fast tracks getting you back to where you were when you just reset. Some mechanics like that the game forces on you pretty quickly (song of soaring fast travel), others it lets you figure out on your own (dungeon boss instant warp after beating them the first time).
Side quests can be a bit more troublesome to deal with if you have to reset part way through, but each interaction point that you have to go through offers you another way to handle things (or to not and let another sequence of events happen).
To your last point, the game really throws refillable items at you in the overworld, so a lot of times you can skip that (I’m not saying stocking up doesn’t take forever on reset, it does. You just don’t always have to)
All in all I really love the time mechanic of the game and that let’s me forgive some of the other flaws of the game. If it fell flat, then yeah I can see how the game quickly becomes a chore. But I adore the game, hence the username
I’ve played and finished almost every Zelda game, one of the things I love about the Zelda saga is that every game has lots of common points with other games. But also it has its unique mechanics and feel.
Majora’s Mask is among the most complex games with its time mechanics and timed events. Also the atmosphere is quite opressing and strange compared to other games. Also you need to knowledge that N64 Zeldas almost belong to first generation 3D games which compared to new adventure 3D games aren’t as intuitive or playable.
I love Majora's Mask. It's unironically genius, particularly for an N64 game. Not... fun to play, admittedly.
The worldbuilding, storytelling, atmosphere, psychology, writing and (partly) soundtrack are incredibly good, though, and makes MM one of my favorite games that I never really feel like playing. I don't think it's all that good as a Zelda game, but it's more than good enough to deliver the awesome parts.
I'll never not cry like a little bitch about the Anju/Kafei story - love corrupted by random shit luck and greed, turned into confusion, doubt, loss and insecurity. If you follow the quest all the way to the end and manage to pull it all together, they're still stoically accepting their death - as long as they get to be together and are no longer worried they've been stood up or won't be accepted by their spouse.
The rest of the game is basically more of that, fixing sometimes heartbreaking problems caused by the mask - one at a time, several at a time, dealing with setbacks and resets. Every plotline you resolve does revert back to the miserable start, but you're also left with something "lasting" for each one, until you finally clear the game.
The denialism and eventual panic of the townspeople is really well done, the Clock Town music taking different forms depending on the day, where the third day is explicitly dark and ominous. People are panicking, going about their business as usual, taking refuge, worrying about unsettled scores, blustering and arguing...
It's a bit of a trippy experience wrapped in not-always-riveting gameplay, but the parts that work work extremely well, and if you're in the right frame of mind the game can get pretty philosophical.
Majora’s Mask is a hidden gem if you ask me, it doesn’t get nearly the same praise as OOT because the latter was more friendly with the public, and this one is… Well weird, but the perfect one for Halloween season no doubt.
I have only played the 3DS version and I enjoyed it, as others have pointed out, you really need to do the side quest as they are a huge bunch of the game, I completed it 100% I think, but I always had a guide on my hand because I’m dumb.
As for the replayability time… Yeah I don’t see myself coming back to his one in the near future (maybe on Halloween though), other Zelda titles like OOT and Twilight Princess? Sure!
I really like this one. Figuring out where to spend the cogs is difficult though - you can’t just resolve to never buy ammo, and yet there’s so many bonuses to spend on.
I liked the vibe of the PS1 FMV opening, I almost wish we could get more of those, where a game is telling a story that it will frequently “up the budget” for when something important is happening.
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