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Ocarina of Time Vs. Majora's Mask: A Comparison

Joined
Apr 3, 2012
Location
Narnia
People are always arguing about which is better, so I'm going to summarize and compare the two here for you.

Note: I may miss some things, it has been a while since I've played the two, so message me corrections/essential editions and I'll try to edit them in.

Ocarina of Time:

Gameplay/Mechanics:
+Great combat system
+Varied, fun mini-games, with great rewards
+Awesome and extremely useful items
+Ocarina songs
-Navi
-"Did you get all that"
+Switching between young and adult Link added layers to the game
+Different weapons, shields and outfits added cool aesthetics and varied combat
+Getting Epona to navigate the Hyrule Field saved the player from having to run around on foot tediously


Dungeons/Side Quests:
+Twelve dungeons if you count Ganon's castle and Gerudo training grounds.
-Water Temple
-Some tedious bosses
+Mostly fun, unique bosses
+Fun side quests with useful rewards


Story/Characters:
+Many great and memorable characters
+Epic, heroic story
+You really feel like you've been on an adventure when you're done. Everything Link had to go through in the end is worth it when Hyrule is finally free and Princess Zelda is saved. Quite emotional and memorable.

Ocarina of Time is the perfect heroic adventure game. It was action packed with loads of dungeons a quest that compelled the player to fight your way through each one of them and reach the game's epic conclusion.
Truly the high point of Link's life.

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Majora's Mask

Gameplay/Mechanics:
+Same great combat as Oot
+Fun, varied, challenging mini-games that give awesome prizes
+Still useful items
+The masks! The masks added such good mechanics to the game, and changed up the Zelda formula in an extremely interesting, fun way.
+Unique, numerous swords
+/- Three day cycle. This is a mixed bag, because you either love it or hate it. I personally liked it because it added a sense of urgency

Dungeons/Side Quests:
--Fewer, less interesting dungeons
+Excellent bosses
++TONS of interesting, fun and challenging side quests. This game was all about the side quests, and each of them added a new level of depth to the story and emotional attachment to the characters.

Story/Characters:
+Excellent 3-dimensional characters. The characters in this game blew Oot out of the water. Even though almost all of them were recycled, MM added a new level of depth to each and every one of them. Truly emotional, epic characters
+One of the most emotional subtly epic stories in a video game ever.


Major's Mask was an extremely emotional game, bursting with deep, complex undertones about life, grief and acceptance. How do you come back from such an epic adventure that was Ocarina of Time?
Well you don't really. Link is coming down from the high point in his life and if some theorists are right, he's going to turn into a stalfos soon.
People separate these two games and try rationalize why one is better than the other, but why? These games have a symbiotic relationship, you can't really have one without the other. The epicness of Oot is accented and complemented by the beautiful letdown that is MM. They're best played together


So tell me your opinions about these two games and my comparison. I personally really don't prefer one of the other
 
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I think I'll take a stab at this thread seeing as how the two N64 games are some of my favorite in the entire franchise. I also very much enjoy the way you structured your post and since I'm guilty of going into ranting paragraphs, I think I'll do the same.

Ocarina of Time:

Gameplay/Mechanics:
+Varied and excellent uses of all items
+Z-Target Lock-On
+Ocarina is easy to use and makes for quick transportation
+Epona controls are seamless
+Time travel twist was a great addition to the franchise and has found its way into many installments since
+Enemy analysis
+Navi (not an annoying companion, imo, but rather a helpful one).
-Difficult to navigate item menu (except in 3DS version)

Dungeons/Sidquests:
+Most dungeons in franchise history after ALTTP
+Varied and interesting sidequests involving Poes, Fairy Fountains, Gold Skulltulas, etc.
+Some of the best bosses in franchise history including Phantom Ganon and Bongo Bongo
-First three dungeons are on the short-side

Story/Characters:
+Major characters are well developed (i.e. Link, Zelda, Ganondorf, Impa, Saria, Darunia, etc.)
-Minor characters have little backstroy
-Story is a bit cliche
+Lots of humor inserted into character dialog (i.e. Talon and Darunia)
+Ending is very sentimental

Ocarina of Time is the high point of the franchise for it not only shifted it into the 3D plane but also invented lock-on via Z-Targeting and is home to some of the greatest dungeons, bosses, sidequests, and characters in franchise history. The story may be a bit cliche with the hero on a journey to save the princess but it nevertheless is executed very well along the way which truly makes it deserving of the title "Best game of all time".

Majora's Mask:

Gameplay/Mechanics:
+Even better use of items than in Ocarina of Time
+Three day cycle adds variety
-Three day cycle makes for a more stressful experience
+Three day cycle adds to sense of hopelessness
+Transformation masks spice things up a bit

Dungeons/Sidequests:
+Some of the largest and most creative dungeon designs in franchise history.
+Bosses are colossal and few fall victim to traditional hack-and-slash patterns.
+Combating Majora as Fierce Deity Link is pure joy.
+Sidequests adds backstory to most characters building a stronger bond with the player and offering a more compelling and believable experience.

Story/Characters:
+Starts out with a bang when the Skull Kid kidnaps Epona
+Many favorites from Ocarina of Time make a return
+Most story elements especially the Skull Kid and Moon are highly symbolic
+Strong appeal to pathos with the world of Termina 72 hours away from destruction

Majora's Mask may not have been as refined as its successor, however, it added an extra layer of gameplay, character, and story depth the franchise has never seen before or since. The world of Termina was an allegory for death, despair, and destruction unto itself.
 

The Joker

<span style="text-shadow:2px 2px 4px Purpl
Joined
Nov 24, 2011
Location
At Amusement Mile
Very well structured and thoughout post. Some of the details you and ALIT have mentioned are exactly what makes me prefer OoT instead of MM. There's no rest time in MM and one of the things I enjoy to do in Zelda games is sit back and enjoy a sunset or sunrise. Or watching the moon go across the sky. I also enjoy just riding around aimless, taking in all the nature.
 

EzikielofHyrule

Ezikiel of Hyrule
Joined
Sep 13, 2011
Location
Its a secret to everyone!
RubenCrapton said:
--Fewer, less interesting dungeons
I dissagree with this statement because some of the best dungeons in the game come from this game with puzzles that cause you to think more than the ones in OoT.(Ex. Stone Tower Temple, Snowhead Temple)
I personally think that that should be changed to
-Fewer dungeons

Also I think the point that MM was made with only two years of development should be made.
 

Majora

The Hero Slayer
Joined
Oct 20, 2007
Location
Canadia
I felt like Majora's Mask's dungeons were way more involved than OoT's. And I think that it's a plus that nearly everyone in Majora's Mask has some sort of purpose and backstory. IMO.
 

Ventus

Mad haters lmao
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Akkala
Gender
Hylian Champion
I agree with your comparison, nothing really needs to be changed in my opinion.

As for me, I'd say that OoT and MM are equal to each other. Everything in one game is present in the other aside from the deep, engrossing characters which OoT lacks. Ocarina is more of the classical hero story whereas one can view Majora's as a story of personal growth beyond heroic proportions. Even if MM reused 99% of OoT's textures and models, it managed to become a game completely separate from it's predecessor (which was very well done in MM's opening scene IMO).
 
Joined
Apr 3, 2012
Location
Narnia
The "less interesting" thing was more my opinion though. I just liked some of the dungeons in Oot better than the four in MM.
 

Dio

~ It's me, Dio!~
Joined
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Location
England
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Absolute unit
The epicness of Oot is accented and complemented by the beautiful letdown that is MM. They're best played together
You are absolutely right, OOT could never be outdone in terms of epicness, but MM did not try to be epic, it was a more emotional and different experience.
 

MW7

Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Location
Ohio
I prefer Majora's Mask but think Ocarina of Time is a better game. The three day cycle brought about many positive side-effects from my perspective. You could replay any part of the game whenever you want, and even dungeons reset keys. This gives Majora's Mask a tremendous "pick up and play" advantage over all the rest of the games in the series. I'm constantly thinking up random parts of various games I'd like to play, and Majora's Mask is designed to never end.

I'm always looking for freedom in Zelda games, and the 3 day cycle offers this as well. Majora's Mask is more linear than Ocarina of Time on the first playthrough, but then you can essentially play through the entire game again with all the items from the start granting you absolute freedom. These reasons and others are why Majora's Mask is my favorite game, and the 3 day cycle is a big reason.
 
Joined
May 10, 2012
Nice read, i've always just considered MM as a expansion to OoT like DLC but better, in fact i think thats what it originaly was gona be till the developer wanted to throw more wrenchs into the project.
 

Mrflamexd3

Wind Waker!
Joined
Apr 6, 2012
Location
California
Most people will choose one over the other for nostalgic reasons. There both great games and they both have things that are better then the other.
I would recommend both to anybody.
 

JuicieJ

SHOW ME YA MOVES!
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Location
On the midnight Spirit Train going anywhere
I personally don't think these games compliment each other. MM was a great follow-up to its predecessor, but saying what you have is like calling it an add-on (imo). That said, I agree on most of the points you made. Just not Navi and MM having less interesting dungeons (save Snowhead Temple).

Btw, OoT's the superior of the two if you ask me.
 
You could compare the two but I think both OoT and MM are symbiotic and playing one without the other would seriously hurt the experience of playing MM before OoT.
The recycled characters and the confusion at their new personalities and that they're alive again etc etc was weird before we knew what Termina was which was lovely. I prefer MM because of its darker tone, surrealism and its stronger enemies, the time limit scared me but I got used to it. But as much as OoT and MM are alike they are very different beasts which is why playing them together in the right order just adds so much mythos and gravitas to the Hero of Time's legend. =]

And MM had Fierce Deity <3
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2012
Location
Washington
I actually really like MM. It might have been very short, but I loved collecting all the masks, stalking everyone, and saving the world, 3 days at a time. :)
 

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