Is Majora's Mask Underrated?

[ChargewithSword]

I can't believe no one made a thread of this.

Majora’s Mask is a game that people take for granted much to often. The game has been criticized as a bad game by whiners all over, and worse is that it is overshadowed by Ocarina of Time. So is Majora an underrated game… DUH, it’s the most underrated Zelda we have.
For starters, people criticize the time limit of the game as restricting when in truth, you can bend it to your advantage. The time limit can be slowed using the Song of Time Reversed and doesn’t become that much of a problem. Here is other advice for turning the time to your will: As soon as you get a new song that is important, go back in time and that’s all you will need to get into the dungeon. Don’t forget to get the bunny hood when you first become Hylian again, just wait until the 3rd day and use the Bremen’s Mask like you are supposed to.
Honestly I can’t see how people can criticize this game as incredibly bad. It may not be OOT for some people but it sure as well deserves praise as a great game.
For starters, the story is absolutely freaking amazing and makes Majora stand out as the darkest Zelda yet. The story goes into touchy subjects of death and hopelessness beyond whatever OOT had put out, the characters thoughts on everything that was happening was exactly how most of us would have reacted (panic.) The story is influenced by your actions more than you know, every character is dependant on you or else, disaster strikes. The characters truly show you their colors when this disaster strikes, if you just didn’t do anything until the 3rd day and talked to everyone you’d find how depressing it is when you don’t help people.
The story also takes a good turn on the fact that there are more than 5 important characters that the story takes attention to (Romani, Cremia, Anju, Kafei, Postman, Darmani, Mikau.) My explanation as to why I added the mask characters is because you basically live through them and see their lives as they were supposed to see it. The side quests usually involve a personal struggle in characters which adds depth to them as time goes by and breaths life into them.
The areas in the game each have different amounts of life into them that makes them all so wonderful. Here’s an example of one of my favorite areas in an old post of mine:
“Ikana kingdom is the land of those who have been damned. The history is stained in the blood of a rivalry that goes far back with regrets and sadness.
The soldiers must wander forever in the midst of battle with only the aid of their captain to free them.
Igos is trapped in the void of darkness of hoping for his kingdom's rebirth.
The same goes for the shells of the Garos who refuse to die without fufilling their tasks.
To forever wander in the darkness that their kingdom had been reborn, when in truth all that had been reborn was the sad memories that had plagued the past with blood.”
Let me also add this, the villain is one of the most mysterious and wonderful Zelda villain I have ever seen. Majora has many theories put behind her because of her sketchy past, in truth most of us are unclear about her.
I believe Majora is the most sadistic and cunning villain yet. She doesn’t care much for life and kills people often but she does it stylishly. She makes sure that her targets suffer before they die, she makes sure that they leave this life with regrets and pain surrounding them. She is cunning because of how she manipulates her toys into thinking that they have control. She stays in the sidelines instead of coming out into the open like Ganondorf, in truth she is twice as dangerous as Ganondorf in terms of how she performs. (Ganon could probably defeat her but that’s another story.)

Ok, I suppose I should get to the point of talking about the gameplay. The gameplay at it’s roots is basically OOT what with similar sword play and platforming. The masks however now add to the depth of the gameplay.
There are 3 different masks with different styles of fighting and control mechanics. This adds a whole new piece of depth to the game which I don’t understand how people can’t see. The Deku may be the only mask people would dislike, but how can you dislike the Zora or the Goron. The Zora can fight with his own personal boomerang fins and is able to swim faster than normal Link could, he also has the ability to breath underwater which you have to admit is fun as heck. His fins are very useful for certain boss fights such as Gyrorg and the first Majora. Then there is the Goron; despite him not being able to swim, he is very strong and can roll faster than even the bunny hood. His rolling speed and strength can get you through enemies faster than normal which make him very useful if your battling Iron Knuckles.

The game is basically OOT (in gameplay terms) that has been upgraded (however it adds a beautiful twist to it), so I don’t know why people should hate this game. So there you have it, my take on this whole thing.

 

[jdgjordan]

i think it is its a great game its darker and is the first game to have some one else be the villain instead of ganon

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

I would go as far to say that Majora's Mask is the most underrated Zelda game we've ever had. It's always been overshadowed by Ocarina of Time, and I truly believe that it never gets the credit it deserves. Of course, I've always liked Ocarina of Time better, but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to enjoy Majora's Mask, and I really did enjoy it. Mainly the transformation masks are what made the game for me, and I'm glad that Nintendo has stuck with the idea of transforming Link. I wasn't too keen on the antagonist, but that was just a very small part of the game. While I didn't find the plot to be as absorbing as other Zelda titles, it certainly kept my interest throughout, and provided a level of realism and maturity that I would love to keep seeing in newer Zelda titles. Perhaps if there had been more time between it and Ocarina, it wouldn't remain as overlooked as it is today. Because it really deserves just as much praise.

 

[the walrus cat]

Yes. Majora's mask had the best plot in my opinion, let you play as a zora, goron and even deku. The time system was interesting, the thing I didn't like about it though, was it made me feel slightly rushed. The different places were actually worth messing around at since there were many things to collect and the bank let's you store your rupees away.
But OoT stole some (you could easily say most) glory from it.

I wonder how much reception of ocarina and majora's would change, possibly switch, if mm came 1rst.

 

[General Lee]

Majora's Mask, in my mind is a very underrated Zelda game. I hounestly do not like it alot, becasue of the time limit aspect, but houneslty its alot different from the game most people would think of when you say "Zelda". It has a way darker atomophere and feel to it. And really, with how popular Ocarina of Time is/was, Im supprised you hardly ever hear about Majora's Mask. I mean you ask anybody really who had a N64, and was not really a Zelda fan, they would more then likely remeber Ocarina of Time instantly, but very few would even know/recall Majora's Mask. I think its highly underrated for how popular Ocarina of Time was/is. The fighting style and graphics were all the same, so Im not sure why its so underrated. I actually like the dark aspect, as like I said it was new to a Zelda game. That and the time limit made it different (obivoisly besides the storyline etc.), but yet its still highly underrated.

 

[(◕‿◕✿)]

I think most people see the surface only - that is, only looking at the fact it involves time so much, and seem to almost entirely ignore the rest of the game. The story of the game is excellent, and even the gameplay was great.

Over all, it was rather original. I think one of the things that makes MM so interesting and original is the fact that it was darker and used the intertwined story of the characters to build up the plot, rather than using the single story of a hero who travelled through time, it relied on the smaller aspects.

Something that interested me quite a bit about the game - and kept and keeps me interested - is how everything seems to have a cause and effect relationship, such as doing something, or not doing something, for that matter, can effect the outcome of an event later on. This applies particularly in the side-quests.

I don't think other games in the series like Ocarina of Time are bad, only, I think the way Majora's Mask presented and conveyed its story and meaning were done in a more unique way, unlike most others.

All in all, I found Majora's Mask to be very absorbing, each detail seemed to be important, or at least interesting in most cases, and I think this is what makes the game what it is. Ocarina seems to almost always overshadow it, its 'being first' and what-not seeming to blot out its sequel.


There were also a lot of other things that I really liked about Majora's Mask that Ocarina did not contain. Perhaps minor things, but somewhat interesting and even nice features of the game, nonetheless.
For one, I enjoyed the addition of the Clock Town Bank. I was always somewhat frustrated that I couldn't do much with my saved rupees in Ocarina. I mean, the game is absolutely brimming with them, there are so many ways to earn rupees it is ridiculous, yet it seems there is nothing to be done with them.

I also liked the addition of the masks and their effects. Even the more 'secondary' or minor masks seemed to have some sort of purpose, for example, the Kamaro mask, or Bremen, etc. And, as I said before, these small aspects seemed, in my opinion at least, to benefit the game. Even if you were not playing the main quest, there always seemed to be something other to do as well, be it maturing chickens or providing closure to Kafei and Anju in the sidequests.

Lastly, there were the bosses. Whilst Ocarina had quite a bit more dungeons and consequently bosses, I felt Majora's more unique and even more fun. This doesn't mean I don't like the former game's bosses, I liked several a bit, but I liked how you had a certain amount of time to complete them. The time limit, when applied alongside the bosses, seemed to give your adventure - if that is even the right word - a sort of feel of hopelessness. I felt like there was nothing I could do, even I beat this boss, the world still ends. Yet this made me more determined to complete the game.

Basically, I think Majora's Mask is never really recognised for its more unique plot and storyline, as well as gameplay.

 

[Kybyrian]

Actually, even though Majora's Mask isn't one of my personal favorites, I think it is typically underrated. I see a lot of people who say that Majora's Mask is their favorite game, but I see a lot of people that say that they hate it and have barely even played it. I kind of used to be like this once. The whole mask theme and the bosses and the different boss aside from Ganondorf was a really good twist. Most people just cast the game aside without trying it because they've played Ocarina of Time first, and Majora's Mask, with the graphics and stuff seems too much like an Ocarina of Time type game to them, but they know that Ocarina of Time is good and they just decide to not even play this, either that or when they do play it, after playing Ocarina of Time first, they don't like the theme of the game and then rate it lower. Most people need to really take more time to go through the game and explore and really appreciate it.

 

[Skull_Kid]

People tend to overrate MM because they find it too hard, or don't like the 3-day clock system.
This game is my favorite, so my opinions may be a little biased.
People also tend to use the argument "lack of dungeons" as well.
Well, it packs up that lack with a ton of sidequests, some long ones(*cough*anju*cough*and*cough*kafei*), and lots of other stuff to do, specially if you want the Fierce Deity mask

 

[Toon_Link]

I agree with everyone here, this game is underrated, I still haven't completed everything in it I still need to get the Great Faries sword, and get all of the heart pieces, usually by now, I have most of everything, and I'm playing over again. (For the millionth time) it's not my favorite, and this game wasn't my "favorite" Zelda game in the beginning, but the 3 day thing isn't THAT annoying it only gets in the way if you miss something on a certain time and day.

 

[Immortal_One]

It's definitely one of the most underrated game in the entire series. So many people shy away from it just because of the time factor, I know I did at first, but that's hardly an issue if you know how to play the song of time.

The only way to truly understand the game it's meant to be understood, you have to look at the storyline of just that game. It's lessons are unique in the Zelda series, I don't know any other game that can teach you acceptance, understanding and kindness. This game gave me a feel that I only got from Final Fantasy games, a thing that makes you look at the game itself, not the game within the other games. It's soundtrack was also amazing. It was nothing like Ocarina of Time's soundtrack, which was mystical and wondrous, but Majora's Mask's soundtrack was one that made you think, made you feel, it let you understand the immient danger that was about to happen, but still, you couldn't help but feel bad for the skull kid, and not to mention Tatl and Tael, even though Tatl was a jerk in the beginning. Majora's Mask was one of the deeper games of the series, one that made you think about the game itself, rather than the series in it's entirity.

 

[HeroofAges]

Absolutely.. I think a lot of people simply didn't like the setting and lack of Ganon/dorf after the fantastic story of OoT

 

[Zeruda]

Most people who haved made a post in this thread agree that it is underrated. I, however, think differently, and I hope you'll take what I have to say about it as an opinion and nothing more. Don't want to get flamed, y'know.

Majora's Mask brought about a lot of change in Zelda, mainly in its overall mood. Aonuma is a fan of darker themes, and his ideas are what made the big changes. Some like the darkness. Some do not. Some, such as myself, enjoy darkness in games, but in my opinion, there was just too much of it for a Zelda game. I feel that it should have been balanced out more. Of course, the impending doom of the game called for anxiety, desperation, hopelessness, and fear... but perhaps there should have been more of a reward at the end to balance the darkness.

We got to see Anju get married, but we never got to see Kafei's face. We don't know how Lulu copes with the loss of her lover. We never know if Cremia can be happy for Anju and just let her love for Kafei go. I feel that those are issues we got so involved in, but we were never given closure.

That's not to say that it didn't have its strong points:
For one, character development was greatly increased... but the reason for its increase was not for Majora's Mask, but for its predecessor, Ocarina of Time. As Aonuma stated, it was so that we could become better acquainted with the parallels back in Hyrule. We knew better knew Malon's personality through Cremia and Romani, the cucco lady through Anju, the carpenters through their Terminan parallels, Adult Ruto through Lulu, and so on and so forth.

It was neat to use a time factor, especially since that certain Link was the Hero of Time in his previous adventure. But again, it's just another way to pay homage to Ocarina of Time. Even with the constant time control, the game was awfully short. There were few dungeons, and most of the sidequests didn't feel as rewarding as they are in other games.

It was neat that things we experience in every day life- such as romance, drama, fear, indecision, etc- were implemented into the game. Characters had their own agendas, and that's definitely one of its stronger points. There were tragedies like losing loved ones and spending the last moments of life in a lover's arms. Hardships like running a business, raising a younger sibling, and watching Cremia's best friend (Anju) marry the man she wanted for herself (Kafei) were things people face every day. The events that happen in this game are reflections of what we live through, and that allowed us to relate to the characters.

Majora's Mask was great because it brought about some great and unique changes, not only to Zelda but to games in general. Overall, though, it didn't quite feel like a true Zelda game. On its own, yeah, it'd have been just as fun. But this game was more of a sidequest and sidestory than a game of its own, and while it was unique, many of its unique factors were to contribute to OoT and not this certain game.

The game was pretty good, great even, but I hardly think that it's underrated.

 

[Caleb, Of Asui]

(Wow, I'm so surprised Shnappy hasn't posted in this topic. He LOVES Majora's Mask.)

Zeruda, how can you say that Majora's Mask is such a great game, but not say it's underrated? The terms underrated and overrated refer specifically to the comparison to something's actual quality and how it's generally percieved. Majora's Mask is an absolutely wonderful game. Shnappy claims that it's the greatest game ever made, and I know he's definitely not a dumb kid. Now, look at the way the game's generally percieved - it's often rated as a not-so-great game. The general rating of the game is far under the true quality of Majora's mask, so it's obviously underrated.

 

[Megamannt125]

Majora's Mask is a spectacular game and is the most hardcore Zelda game there's ever been.
However most people don't like it because they get tired of repeating the three days over and over, and I admit it's one of the faults of the game but that doesn't make it a bad game at all, the funnest part of the game is completing the sidequests, it's pack full of all sorts of sidequests to get masks, heart pieces, and other items, sometimes I debate with myself whether I like MM or OOT better. Majora's Mask deserves more credits than it gets, so yes I think it is very underrated.

 

[Abyss Master]

(Wow, I'm so surprised Shnappy hasn't posted in this topic. He LOVES Majora's Mask.)

Zeruda, how can you say that Majora's Mask is such a great game, but not say it's underrated? The terms underrated and overrated refer specifically to the comparison to something's actual quality and how it's generally percieved. Majora's Mask is an absolutely wonderful game. Shnappy claims that it's the greatest game ever made, and I know he's definitely not a dumb kid. Now, look at the way the game's generally percieved - it's often rated as a not-so-great game. The general rating of the game is far under the true quality of Majora's mask, so it's obviously underrated.

I think you're kinda mistaken here. Majora's Mask is percieved as a good game by most people (online anyways) - it may be that it's just not viewed as the best.

There's a fine line between being the best game in the series and being a bad game. As far as I'm concerned, there hasn't been one person who's claimed that Majora's Mask is a bad game (who I'd trust to have his head on straight anyways) but I've seen plenty of people who say "yeah, it was good, but I prefer <insert title here>". Majora's Mask is generally percieved as a stand-out Zelda title that offered a darker experience than Ocarina of Time did. From there on it's very hard to tell what the masses think of the game. However, going by the online Zelda community, this game is anything but underrated. Hell, at times I'd swear it's close to overrated. The whole depth with the NPCs are nice and stuff, but it's almost as if people forget that it's supposed to be played and not just watched

No, I do not think Majora's Mask is underrated. It receives praise all over the Zelda online community, to the point where I'd almost say it's overrated a little.