Is majora's mask a bit underappriciated?

[Ultimatium]

I'd like to say that i have read a few comments on various message boards, where some people suggest that majora's mask is merely the shadow of ocarina of time. I personally have a somewhat different opinion. I'd say that ocarina of time, while without doubt being one of the best games ever made, is a bit superficial, at least compared to majora's mask. If you look at the story in ocarina of time, then it's faily straight forward, with link saving hyrule from ganondorf, but it doesn't really have the same characters or atmosphere as majoras mask. If you put it a bit in perspective, it seems that ocarina of time was missing some of the depth from majora's mask. If you look at the story in majora's mask, it starts out with link being seen riding through the lost woods, where he begins on a more personal journey.

 

[Azure Sage]

Dude, I couldn't agree more. I love Ocarina of Time, but it just didn't have the same feeling of desperation that Majora's Mask gave me. In OoT, I had to travel through time in order to awaken the six Sages so I could gain the power to defeat the King of Evil who has basically enslaved all of humanity, and in MM, I had to stop an apocalypse of the moon crashing down that would kill everyone in a blazing inferno in just three days. Both of these concepts give me the same sense of determination, but MM is the the one that truely gives me the sense of desperation, as Judgement Day is approaching, like you said. As far as I'm concerned, Majora's Mask is on Ocarina of Time's level, and deserves to be there as well.

 

[darunia]

I must say MM is better than just a shadow of OoT.
Apparently it was only a stop gap which is very unfair.
I will say u was not expecting it to be that good.
But i was very wrong.

Even though there was no Ganon which i felt would make much worse it was not the case.
To me its a deserved addition to the Zelda series.
It has really good music, listen to he music for Ikana canyon suited it so perfectly.
Not many levels but they where hard compared to OoT'S
.

Heart pieces where harder to get even though the game is not as big.
Plenty of masks which i love about the game,some are funny some are scary looking.

 

[Zelway]

It most definitely is an underrated game.

My friend played OoT and I asked If he was going to play MM and he hadn't even heard of it. D:

I was so disappointed when he said that. :shake:

 

[romani64]

MM is amazing. it scares my friend,(he is for some reason, scared of nintendo64 games graphics,so MM scares the hell out of him.!!!its really funny actually...) and i another got one of my friends to play it.they loved it.
MM is underrated game ......everyone loves OoT. i like it too but......MM is BETTER THAN OOT!!!!!!LIKE, BY 100000x's!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Caleb, Of Asui]

It's funny how Majora's Mask is so universally considered underrated. People seem to shout "no, it's not inferior to Ocarina of Time" without realizing the absence of the voice saying "Ocarina of Time is better." I suppose maybe non-Zelda-fans claim that Ocarina of Time is the greatest game of all time, but on that same token not many people who aren't really Zelda fans have played Majora's Mask.

I would agree that Majora's Mask was an improvement on Ocarina of Time. The time travel system was much more involved, the sidequests and characters were choreographed beautifully, and the whole mask system was unique and really very cool, allowing for more different ways of controlling Link than Ocarina of Time allowed for. I really loved the story, too - not to say that Ocarina of Time's story was bad, but it seems Nintendo comes up with some very fresh and new ideas when they step away from the long timeline-centric plotline, and Majora's Mask is a wonderful example of this.

I think the fact that it's not timeline-centric, that it's a side-story, and the fact that it's a shorter game are both part of what creates the idea that it's seen as inferior. Certainly, if you haven't played it, it just seems like an extra thing that has something to do with Ocarina of Time, but in reality, once you play Majora's Mask you'll know that it's a spectacular game.

 

[pupairo12]

I have to agree that Majora's Mask is better. The game is full of dread yet hilarious at the same time. Also, I agree with Caleb here, the time travel system was much more in depth than Oot.

 

[Sarianae]

What I've generally seen is that within Zelda communities, there is an extreme love for MM, while among those that are not Zelda fans, it is the complete opposite--underrated. It seems to be living at two completely different extremes between those who are Zelda fans, and those who are not. Usually people either completely love or utterly despise it; I hardly ever see anything in between.

Though it DID explode in popularity last year, didn't it? I guess people started looking back more and realizing all the merits they overlooked. It won game of the decade I remember...

I don't see why everyone always has to tear their hair out over whether OoT or MM is the better game. I think each game excels in different categories, and I enjoy them both for different reasons. It would be nice if people could agree that they are both excellent, instead of always honoring one while shooting down the other.

 

[Unlucky Monkey]

I only owned Ocarina of Time on the N64. A former friend of mine owned Majoaras Mask. But I've never played it until 2010 by myself. I've downloaded the game for Wii's Virtual Console. Finally.

I think the game is not suitable for younger gamer. Maybe it is (judging by the atmosphere) the most adult Zelda ever. It's like a David Lynch movie. Or like a Suda51 game. It really impressed me (only played a few hours).
I would love to see more of these strange ideas. The surreal scenery is great.

 

[Midna_twilight]

MM is a great game not going to deny that. thing is i will always prefer OoT. simply because it was the first zelda game i have ever beaten. athough i love MM i have to admit it stressed me out with the time limet thing. though i think OoT songs were better. the MM ones seemed unfinshed at times

 

[dadude1200]

majoras mask was better than oot. FULL STOP.

 

[GerudoDesert]

What if things were the other way around ( MM being released first, and OoT being released later ) would this change your opinion?

Sorry Ultimatium, but Majora's Mask wouldn't make ANY sense with out Ocarina of Time. In Ocarina of Time, they introduce an object that has such great power, it can compete with time. In the beginning of Majora's Mask, Link had to the Ocarina because Zelda gave it to him. It wouldn't make sense if you randomly had it. Plus, do I have to mention the flashback Link has after getting his Ocarina back?

 

[Molfino]

Majoras Mask was a fantastic game, and by far one of the most underrated games followed by the Oracle series. The Erie feeling you got while playing the game was (At the time) Something very new to Zelda. For me it's in my top 2 Zelda games.

 

[DuelMark]

Yes and no
Underrated by gamers in general
Overrated by the fanbase

 

[Wolf Sage]

I played Majora's Mask first, so I automatically thought OoT was the better game (for some reason). I've read around that MM isn't as popular (as OoT). It could almost be considered a cult classic, I guess. With its somewhat bizarre story and gameplay, it definitely was different. A lot of "in the box thinkers" probably wouldn't approve. With respect to all I just typed, I would definitely say it was underrated.