Daily Debate: Does Majora’s Mask 3D Handle Bosses Better Than the Original?
Posted on February 22 2015 by Rod Lloyd
Spoiler Warning: This article discusses boss mechanics in Majora’s Mask 3D, including major changes made from the Nintendo 64 version.
From some of the earliest trailers, we knew that Majora’s Mask 3D would change the bosses from what was seen in the original. We learned that each of the four temple bosses would feature large eyes as weak points and the pace of the battles would change to better communicate strategies to players. With the game finally released, it is now time to decide if making these changes was really the right choice for players.
Let’s get the obvious change out of the way first: all bosses do indeed have large eyes that Link must strike to inflict damage. Each boss handles the placement of these eyes differently, but they all essentially serve the same purpose. They are only vulnerable when a boss takes enough outside damage and serve as indicators of how much actual damage Link has done in the battle. If the eye is attacked enough times, the boss is defeated.
While the eyes are interesting stylistic choice (as they signify a common theme with Majora), some may find that the pacing of battles has changed too drastically. Personally, I disliked the new Odolwa boss fight because I found dropping Deku Nuts on the boss’ head-eye too easy. However, others in the Zelda Informer staff thought this change made the boss more involved and more satisfying.
The placement of eye weak points is not the only difference however, as the mechanics for some bosses have changed as well. For example, Gyorg now has a completely new phase in which the center platform descends into the water and Zora Link must outsmart the boss with mines. Even more drastic were the changes made to Twinmold. Link must now subdue the blue worm with arrows to unlock the Giant’s Mask during the battle. He can then don the mask and wrestle the red worm in hand-to-hand combat.
You can see all the new boss battles explained in our Majora’s Mask 3D walkthrough. The changes do add a new, satisfying “a-ha” moment for when players find the correct strategy for victory. The new phases arguably make the bosses more fun to fight, but at the same time pad out the battles to last longer. Majora’s Mask purists may find the changes unnecessary and too video game-y.
So, I leave you to decide whether these changes made the bosses more enjoyable or not. Are Majora’s Mask 3D‘s boss fights better than those found on the N64? Join the Daily Debate!
Rod Lloyd is the Editor-In-Chief at Zelda Dungeon, overseeing the news and feature content for the site. Rod is considered the veteran of the writing team, having started writing for Zelda Informer in 2014 as a Junior Editor. After ZD and ZI officially merged in 2017, he stepped into the Managing Editor role and has helped steer the ship ever since. He stepped up to lead the writing team as Editor-In-Chief in 2023.
You can reach Rod at: rod.lloyd@zeldadungeon.net
