The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

[toythatkills]

And lo, I did start a thread asking ye which Zelda game to play and spake the forum did. Ocarina of Time, I was to play.

And so I did, and I beat it, and it's bloody lovely.

And then I decided to play Majora's Mask because there was muchos love for it in the thread and I hadn't really considered playing it before, but now it made sense.

Do not like.

It's like all the bits of Zelda I hate, with all the bits I love cut down. Temples? Love them. DELETE. DELETE. All we're left with is the utter tedium that occurs in Zelda between dungeons whereby you have to perform some utterly un-signposted, ultra-obscure fetch quests seemingly ad infinitum to no particular end until you reach a trigger of some kind enabling you to enter the next dungeon-lite.

I fear the pirates fortress is to be my downfall. I hated the Gerudo fortress in OoT but I was able to forgive it because the rest of the game was so wonderful but not so here. I get the impression I'm going to be in and out over and over again due to a lack of bottles and with my patience wearing thin (TAKE ME TO THE ACTION) I may not make it.

It's unique, I'll give it that. The save system and restarting, etc, is interesting albeit bloody confusing at first and if I forget to bank my rupees one more time I might scream.

So what is it that you like about this game? I certainly like the plot, the music, the masks, and the quite sinister moments, but I'm really struggling with (the lack of) gameplay

[kryss]

I hated it too. Too much faff and not enough action. Skip to Wind Waker.

[moonwhistle]

I really struggled with it too and gave up after a few hours. As you say, not nearly enough action and constantly having to look up badly written guides every step of the way it just not worth it for me. Pity as I liked the bleak atmosphere.

[johnno15]

Add me to the club I gave this game a few goes but just can not get into it and I adore every other major Zelda game but this one I just cant get into.

I thought it was just me as so many people say its a masterpiece thankfully it appears its not.

[MCE]

Um... I liked it. Anybody else?

I generally like the in-between dungeon bits in Zelda games as much as the dungeons themselves which probably explains why I had a good time with Majora's Mask.

[mekanor]

I am sitting here seething. How can you not like it? WHATS NOT TO LIEK!?

I loved the idea of the different masks, it effectively lets you play as 5 different characters, each different and fun in their own ways.

and the time thing! i loved how that worked. and what do you mean no temples? not quite sure what youre meaning here, its a shorter game but it still has very good dungeons.

having said all that at the start almost none of these seemed to work for me.

i didnt like being a deku scrub until i could choose when i wanted to be him or not.

i didnt like the time restriction until i worked out how to slow time down, deposit rupees into the bank etc

and i did think the game was too short (4 temples or something? been a while) but if you collect all the masks, bottles other items its still a plenty long game (+ the best ever in game reward for collecting 100% of masks)

[angelx]

I am another too who didnt like this, I really detest games with restrictive time, I like to savour a game and not be made to rush through.

[Atticus]

I loved the dark themes in MM, but also struggled to get into it. I've tried a couple of times (will probably try again too), but always grew tired after the 4/5 hour mark. Any other Zelda game usually has me hooked. Maybe it's harder for some gamers to learn/accept a different format in a series so consistently familiar.

[MattyD]

I found it fascinating. It's so surreal and weird, almost like a game of someone's dream about Zelda games. It was a very brave game for toying with such long-established conventions about characters, items, etc and the atmosphere that goes with it really added to the experience IMO. I also appreciated the stern challenge of the dungeons, which are amongst the hardest of any Zelda game.

FYI I loved it enough to finish all the sidequests and get all 20 masks including

->Open Spoiler<-

the Fierce Diety mask

. I really enjoy character sub-quests and there was really only one or two places where I got stuck enough to have to look it up on a FAQ.

[Tetsuo]

I think it's a wonderfully intricate, beautiful adventure, but it's really one for the fans of Ocarina of Time, and certainly nothing I'd ever recommend to any Zelda newcomer. And I think that's the point that I would emphasise again to mekanor and toysthatkill: it's probably the least immediate Zelda there is.

The pacing is all over the place and the dungeons are quite hard if you've not played Ocarina of Time, as they expand a lot of the concepts players' will have been used to in that game. It also feels a lot smaller in comparison to Ocarina, too.

It's definately the weakest of all the 3D Zelda's, and yet..it's still undoubtedly a brilliant game in its own right, with an touching message and brooding atmoshpere that the other's in the series don't explore quite as well.

[Oldgamingfart]

How can some of you not like Majora's Mask? Imo, it's a masterpiece of game design, and the dark, foreboding world gives it some real decent atmosphere.
I found it a lot more engrossing than WW, and a lot harder to complete than OoT (especially all the side-quests/ masks, and heart pieces).
The only problem with it, is that it does feel like somewhat of a very long side-quest, kind of off the beaten track in terms of stand-alone Zelda titles. Still a very enjoyable game if you give it all the attention it so rightfully deserves.

[JP]

It's like all the bits of Zelda I hate, with all the bits I love cut down.

That sums it up perfectly for me. It should really have said that on the back of the box "All the bad bit's of the franchise in one dreary game".

Still beats the ocarinas out of the Twilight Princess though.

[toythatkills]

Here's another thing I just remembered about this game that sucks, unfinishable side quests. It can be fun working through the bombers notebook, but occasionally you'll come across a dead end which means you have to repeat everything you've done to date. The Kafei quest, for example. Spent about an hour posting letters and ferrying crap between people only to find out that since I didn't have Epona there was no way I could get to the place I needed to go to continue that quest, so, what, I have to start it again I guess? What a waste of time. It should alert you when you begin that you can't complete it yet.

It's a masterclass in terrible game design! The time thing is a really awesome idea, but it's so rubbishly implemented, there are so many inconsistencies with it too, and unnecessary stumbling blocks.

I've just got to the water dungeon (the pirates fortress wasn't nearly as annoying as I'd predicted), good grief, it's about 1000x more irritating than the water temple in OoT. Changing masks is so much more cumbersome than swapping boots. Is there some way to stop that bloody animation every single time? It was OK the first time.

The atmosphere and story compels me to play on but, gah. I'm glad I'm not the only one that doesn't think this game is amazing, anyway.

[Goemon]

I have to say I didn't get on with Majora's Mask either. I love the Zelda games to bits but I've never been able to get into this. I've tried multiple times to get through it and I've always quit.
There is a lot of working out in Zelda games and the idea that if you don't work something out in time and have to go all the way back to the start drove me nuts.

Last place I got to I needed to collect something and was miles into some pirate type area, where my time ran out and I had to go all the way back to the start

I just couldn't stand doing to same mundane beginning bits over and over again.

[honeymustard]

Is there some way to stop that bloody animation every single time? It was OK the first time.

Uh yeah.... just press the button again.

I don't get the hate. Majora's Mask is easily the best Zelda game in the series.