Majora's Mask Three Day Cycles: Do You Love It or Hate It?

[Jimmy]

Hey people, I need some well thought opinions from you for something I'm writing at the moment. Clearly the three day cycle mechanic is such a big part of Majora's Mask that your opinion on it probably defines whether or not you love the game or hate it. I'm sure everyone who has played it has an opinion on it. What's yours? Do you love it? Hate it? Why? What works for you? What doesn't?

Brownie points for anyone who posts an insightful response.

 

[Sonicbowling]

I love it personally. Every time you play Majora's Mask you can set goals for accomplishing certain things in a given time, which adds to the overall experience IMO. Plus, if you want to do a sidequest again, you're free to do so unlike other Zelda games. And I also think that the time cycle makes things much more exciting and intense than other Zelda games that I've played.

 

[Pocket Asian]

The three day cycle was surely an interesting concept in Majora's Mask. Majora's Mask makes my favorite 3D Zelda game because of it. The three day cycle is one of the factor that defines Majora's Mask. It adds more depth to the game, and more character development to the non-playable characters as the days pass by. Side-quests rely on the three day cycle; some side quests can only be done at a certain time. What's more is that the three day cycle adds anxiety to the player because Termina is destroyed at the end.

I personally loved the three day cycle. At first it was something I hated, but after seeing how it alters different things in the game, it grew onto me. There were several things that I liked about it. Besides the things mentions in the first paragraph, you were also able to slow down time, which gave you about three times more than the normal flow of time, so that gave you the time you needed to complete any dungeon. Not only that, you were also able to speed up time. I can't think of anything that didn't work for me, though. If I do, I'll post an edit.

 

[Elvenknight]

I loved the three day cycle! I do best under pressure, but with three days, I was so much under pressure I was panicking. It was also a better use for the Song of Time.

 

[Deku man]

The three-day cycle was sure a new type of game play. It didn't necessarily allow you to mess around in between parts of the game, unless you intend to just screw around. I'm not personally fond of it, because I don't feel as free, and am limited to only completing the game, unable to explore, or play the games in town. I felt very rushed, even when I slowed down time. The cycle definitely was interesting at first, but I later found a bunch of side-quests that can only be completed at a certain time, and realized that I would have to start the cycle over again many times to complete them all. The Anju and Kafei quest annoyed me because I messed up a lot at the end, and had to do it over. Overall, I think that it was great to many, but I like to take my time on games.

 

[JuicieJ]

It has its positives and negatives, but it definately wasn't a bad idea. It was perfect for the game. I mean, you've gotta go back in time anyway, so why not save it there. Yeah, it could get annoying as you couldn't save in the middle of a dungeon, and the Owl Statues were only "quick-saves," and losing all your items wasn't very fun, but it was very realistic. That's how it would work if it were an actual scenario. It was original and unique and doesn't get the put downs it gets.

 

[zeldahuman]

i really liked it, because it gave you that nervousness of "I NEED to finish this", and i loved that how the time of day changed what was going on. And one thing i really liked was the ability to slow down the three-day cycle by playing the song of time backwards. that made playing MM fun and it kept you on your toes in a sense that you don't want the moon to crash into Termina, causing an Apocalypse. so overall, the three-day mechanics worked really well with the game



(props to whoever still owns the n64 version and not the wii virtual console download. and even MORE props to whoever owns the GOLD n64 cartridge, like me!)

 

[navi_the_fairy]

At first, I hated it because I don't like the pressure of being timed.
However, when I began talking to people during different parts of the cycle and seeing their emotions towards their impending doom, I began to love it. The emotions were so raw. You don't see that a whole lot in games. It made the whole quest mean more to me. I actually found myself tearing up at certain parts, like during the Anju and Kafei quest and the conversation between Romani and Cremia on the third day.

 

[Scotts897]

I loathed it and I never played thru the game more than once because of it. Doing a dungeon on a timer? No thanks. Not to mention that I hate the 3d dungeons to begin with because they are so puzzle based and each room takes a long time to navigate. The idea of Zelda that it's supposed to be a garden of secrets that you are to explore and be rewarded for finding secrets. This does not work well with a timer. In any case, the game needed to be different from OoT but yeah. I am not so excited for the Zelda series these days because I truly preferred the way that LoZ, ALTTP, and LA was designed with an overhead view.

 

[Zelway]

I absolutely love the three day system.

The reason is because everything is always going to be on time.

For example, if you are waiting for the mailman to deliver something to Kafei you know exactly what time it's going to be.

 

[Deniro]

Overall, I liked the three days system, and I've never found it a problem (so far, haven't completed MM yet...) having too little time in dungeons and stuff, but loosing all your ammo all the time could be irritating seeing as you for example needed bombs or arrows for something and couldn't do it because you just went back in time, I also find it irritating to not being able to save when I want, forcing you to do dungeons in one sitting

 

[dadude1200]

i was a bit iffy about it at first, but it adds lots of replay value.

 

[blackice_cc]

The three-day cycle was definitely a good thing. Obviously, MM couldn't be anything like it is if not for the time limit, and the game was really fun. It certainly made MM a totally unique game in the series, and although I'm glad the Zeldas after it didn't all incorporate the same idea, it was a nice change in the formula that freshened things up a bit: it was especially welcome in this game, where the gameplay and even the graphics are almost identical to OoT. It needed that to stand out from the shadow of its predecessor.

 

[romani64]

i LOVE the 3 day thing!!!you can do you faveorit sidequests whenever you want!you can relive the epic boss battles you had! and it really...never gets old. MM is da best. forever. some of those stories make me really sad, happy, or even scared. but thats what MM is about. diffrent people comming together on one day of every year, to share stories of happyness and sadness. no matter who they are. lolz :triforce:

 

[Ganondorf]

I liked how it gave the sense of urgency, but never that its all the time you get. I also like it because of how each day was different and people had schedules, something highly unusual for games of that time. That, and funny how the number three seems so symbolic in the LoZ universe, and how each day was. That I also like.