• Welcome to ZD Forums! You must create an account and log in to see and participate in the Shoutbox chat on this main index page.

Majora's Mask Poll: Pressed for Time or All the Time in the World?

Pressed for time or all the time in the world

  • Pressed for time

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • All the time in the world

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0
Joined
May 27, 2012
I never felt pressured by the moon or three day time limit. Sure, the towns people only have three days, but I have all the time in the world thanks to the ocarina.
EDIT: I think you guys misunderstood the question. :/
 
Last edited:
Joined
Apr 16, 2010
The time limit isn't too bothersome to me, but how the save system was implemented with it irks me a bit. But since you get the Song of Soaring somewhat shortly into the game, I won't gripe too much about it. It was an interesting gameplay aspect, and it surely added to the experience. Although, whether or not I'd like to see it again, I'm not sure.

That being said, I much prefer having all the time in the world. Exploration is a prodigious element of the Zelda franchise, and having unlimited time to explore is very important to complement that. But with the finite exploration that has been provided to us in the most recent Zelda games, it doesn't seem like it is something Nintendo is focusing on, so perhaps a time limit wouldn't maim the exploration that is essential profoundly, if at all.

I suppose I wouldn't necessarily mind having a time limit in a subsequent Zelda release, so long as it doesn't hinder the exploration and the save system is touched up on. Like I said before, it was a cool gameplay element, and it did add to the story and character development very well, so it could be a nice addition to a future game if executed adequately.
 
Joined
Jul 3, 2012
I wasn't bothered by the time limit at all. I actually enjoyed the challenge of trying to meet goals within the three days I had. I do have to agree with Hero of Time that I didn't care for how the save system worked in MM, but if it were adjusted somehow and worked nicely, I wouldn't mind seeing something like it again probably.
 

Ronin

There you are! You monsters!
Forum Volunteer
Joined
Feb 8, 2011
Location
Alrest
I enjoyed being pressed for time just as much I enjoyed having all the time in the world. Majora's Mask stands out like a black sheep amongst the Zelda franchise through its 3-Day system. It's the only game to ever operate on such a set-up, and that alone makes MM's initiative and atmosphere unique. The time limit urged the player to establish an agenda for themselves before they embarked on their quest, whether it be replenishing Link's equipment or completing a sidequest prior to getting back on track. Additionally it also encouraged me, at least, to explore as much as the territories as I could. Very rarely I would stick to the main course because so much in Termina kept beckoning me to investigate. So I didn't mind the 3-Day system one bit; though I agree the Save Statues were an inconvenience at times.

A sweeping overworld with so much to do and all the time in the world is exactly what it takes to get my blood pumping. I hustle from one unexplored area with anticipation flowing through my vessels as I begin to explore, the only action that can quell my excitement. I feel right at home with this liberty because no matter what, even if I rush or take it in stride, time won't get in my way. It's refreshing to simply roam the land after taking on a hard Dungeon, hoping to find some activity that will occupy your mind from the recent hardship.

Even with there being so many more "free time" Zelda titles, these two have remained neck-to-neck in this unending competition. That's not to say that MM is better than the others, but it is indubitably just as great and equal to them.
 
The three day cycle was a sound feature for story purposes but provided for some truly irksome gameplay experiences the least of which revolved around the Goron Elder's son on Snowhead. It was frustrating racing against the clock in the Great Bay and Stone Tower Temples. The problem was compounded with the sidequests that required completion on certain days.

The gameplay of the entire Zelda franchises revolves around the exploration element. The NES original was renowned for thrusting the player into a foreign world brimming with malicious denizens and obscure hidden compartments. Back in a time when the Internet was still in its budding phases and walkthroughs weren't common to come by, the greatest reward was unlocked through discovering a new alcove among the forest or desert.

Being a 100% completionist, Majora's Mask also frustrated me to no end. Rather than perusing every nook and cranny of the sprawling world before me, I was forced to rush with the fate of the world on my shoulders. This peripheral aspect also worries me in regards to New Super Mario Bros. 2. After replaying the DS original I realized how important snagging those Star Coins is and desire not to be distracted with a trivial secondary purpose of collecting one million coins.
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2012
Location
Washington
I felt absolutely no pressure at all! It was kinda annoying have to put the money in the bank every time, but that was the only downside to the time limit, for me.
 

Cel-Shaded Deku

Ha ha, charade you are!
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Location
Rapin' your churches, burnin' your women!
Having no time limit whatsoever is better, but in Majora's Mask as long as I play the Inverted Song of Time and don't play the Song of Double Time I usually never even make it to the third day in one session. I basically never even notice it because they did the time system right.
 
Joined
May 25, 2012
Every time I play it these days I find myself wanting to get up into the moon in one cycle which of course puts you under an enormous time pressure in the first day, after that it's pretty easily done but the challenge then becomes to get as many side quests and masks as possible. The next time I try this I'm going to see if I can get the spin attack, double magic, reduced damage and the fairy sword as well.

But if you're playing it normally and using the inverted song of time then, as has been mentioned, you rarely even get to the third day before returning to the start once more.

So another fun way to play the game is by using the "no inverted song of time" rule. It instantly brings back the feeling of impending doom, cause the time really does fly by.
 

Ventus

Mad haters lmao
Joined
May 26, 2010
Location
Akkala
Gender
Hylian Champion
The time limit didn't bother me; it only increased my enjoyment of the game. Being pressed for time was a non-issue due to the reverse Song of Time, SoDT, SoT and other stuff, but in the event that I ever DID get in that situation it just forced me to love the game or get out. That's what I loved about the 3 Day Limit as well as its haters. <3
 

r2d93

Hero of the Stars
Joined
Nov 10, 2011
Location
Lost Woods
Iabsolutely hated the time limit. it cut down on my exploration so much, and i would've loved if the game had no time limit
 

MW7

Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Location
Ohio
I really loved the 3 day system, and I never felt pressed for time. If I doubted my ability to get something done I'd break it into manageable segments. The game is set up so that you can do this very easily. For instance sometimes I broke Ikana Canyon into three cycles. The first I did the graveyard, the second I completed up to hitting the owl statue outside the dungeon, and the third I'd do the dungeon. I rarely reached the third day by breaking segments of the game into pieces. Every pre-dungeon quest culminates in learning a song, and once you get the song you can always reset time for a full cycle on the dungeon (I suggest hitting the owl statue outside the dungeon first as well).

Also all the dungeons except Great Bay Temple are designed (perhaps coincidentally) so that you can simply stop as soon as you get the dungeon item and not have to repeat most of the dungeon if you reset time. In Woodfall the room east of the central room can get you right back to the 2nd floor, in Snowhead the fire arrow lets you immediately raise the pillar, and in Stone Tower Temple you can play the flipped version right away. The only thing is that stray fairies require almost full exploration of a dungeon, but they're supposed to be challenging anyway (and are optional). On my most recent playthrough in fact I'm just playing up to the dungeon item in the dungeons and then finishing the dungeons in reverse order. Doing it this way I could probably finish all four dungeons in a single cycle since some of them can be significantly shortened with items (well definitely if I break Stone Tower Temple into two cycles).
 
Last edited:

Ventus

Mad haters lmao
Joined
May 26, 2010
Location
Akkala
Gender
Hylian Champion
I felt pressed for time at certain times (I tried doing all of Great Bay and that took me almost two days WITH Reverse Song of Time). It wasn't that I didn't like the three day system, it just felt like I had to rush. Maybe my head was jumbled up, and a second playthrough might fix my qualms?
 

Dio

~ It's me, Dio!~
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
Location
England
Gender
Absolute unit
Now the thing about MM is that it had a really unique timed aspect to it. I felt pressured by it and that created a feeling of tension and urgency, which is exactly how link would have felt. This to me meant that Nintendo did their job correctly in getting the player to feel part of the game world and feel the pressure that everyone else was feeling.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom