Majora's Mask Why is Majora's Mask So Underrated?

[Hylian Knight]

Personally I love MM and don't see why people bag on it cuz it's different and MM was more about exploring and sidequests and also some masks are really helpful in battle which makes MM more enjoyable. I also like MM for it uniqueness.

 

[Zelway]

Maybe because people hated the time limit, and also when you go back in time you lose all of your items.

Personally though, I really like it and it is my favorite Zelda game.

 

[Djinn]

I have always believed the reason behind Majoras Mask not doing so well was mostly due to the time when it came out and the technology behind it. It was a very latecoming game to the system. At the time when all news was about the amazing new capabilities of the PS2 and upcoming XBOX, people were becoming less and less interested in N64 games.

Plus it was one of the two games on the N64 that required the expansion pack to play. And not many people were willing to go buy a $30+ small piece of hardware so that their nearing obsolete system could play a game that was getting poor reviews at the time. Having to pay an extra $30 to play a $50 game means not many people are going to bother with it, it looks to be a ploy to grab more money from gamers on Nintendo's part. People were not giving it a chance, and many would not spend the extra money to give it a chance, while few could even rent it and try it out because of the expansion pack requirements.

Now all of this on top of reviews stating the game was darker and had a much stranger feel to it. While it did score positively for many reviewers, they still remarked on the "strangeness" of the game and that it was lower in overall quality than OoT. This also leads to people deciding not to give the game a chance at the time. It seems that a lot of people did not play it until it was rereleased on GCube a few years later in the collector's edition.

 

[Ganondorf]

Majora's Mask was fantastic. It succeeded in being an entirely different LoZ game, while still being familiar to all the series basics, while still introducing brand new features and old concepts with fresh new uses. It's, in my opinion, the only Ganon/dorf-less game that's done it right. In fact... I feel like playing it right now...

 

[JuicieJ]

It was living in the shadow of its predecessor, Ocarina of Time, and follow that up with its non-traditional aspects (especially after Ocarina of Time), you get a game that is not appreciated (and even rejected) by most fans. Game reviewers always saw it as it truly is, as they weren't viewing it through biased eyes. Personally, I always loved it, but I didn't realize how good it was when I first played it, as I had played Ocarina of Time (which started my love of The Legend of Zelda) about 4 years before, and it somewhat overshadowed my judgement of it, as well. I realize now that it's basically a perfect game, especially for its time. It didn't get the right kind of attention it deserved upon release, but at least it gets recognition now.

 

[darunia]

I think its under rated because there is no Ganon or Zelda.
Also because the game is so short.
And another reason is that masks play such a big part i this game.
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But the idea of masks for me is a good thing.
Yes the game is short but much tougher that OoT.
Its also a much darker game,more scary.
Heart pieces are harder find and there are more to get as there are much fewer levels.
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It may be under rated for some people but for me its a worthy addition to the Zelda series.
I thought it would not be that good but after playing it i soon changed my mind..

 

[Piebe]

Yes i like it a lot and the three day cycle speeks to my imagination.

 

[JuicieJ]

It was living in the shadow of Ocarina of Time when it was released. Combine that with how different it was (as in "not traditional"), and you've got a fan rejection. The same kind of think happened with Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. None of the critics (this aimed at MM, but it goes for both) gave it bad ratings, in fact, they were phenomenal ratings. It was just the fans that underrated it. (I never did, but I didn't realize how great it was when I first played it, as I had played Ocarina of Time before.)

 

[ChargewithSword]

The game was so different from Ocarina, and the standard Zelda formula. Unlike Zelda 2, which was made in an era when Zelda wasn't a super brand yet, this game had OOT -a game which served as the crown jewel of the franchise- right behind it, to shadow its very movement. This was also one of the earlier mainstream uses of a time system in video games so that was a big cause of lukewarm reception. The simplest answer of course, would be that the hype was just too high.

 

[Piebe]

Frankly i think Link is sort of a little Jesus to gaming, beeing called the chosen one, controlling time and a three day cycle, this is especially evident in MM and the Wind Waker.

The simplest answer of course, would be that the hype was just too high.

I think mainly people wanted to reexperience OOT and that MM was just too ahead of it's time. Because anybody who truelly likes OOT can never hate MM, since the gameplay is basically the same.

 

[Kybyrian]

Majora's Mask is underrated? Every time I ask somebody about Majora's Mask the typical response is praise to high heaven. I've heard people criticize the game, yes, but I've never thought of it as underrated. Overrated, if anything. Majora's Mask didn't appeal to me that much, so I don't see where all the appeal comes from. On our very own "Best Zelda Game" poll here at the forums Majora's Mask is in second place, trailing just slightly behind Ocarina of Time. I don't think that's where it should be. I think that Oracle of Ages and The Wind Waker far surpassed Majora's Mask. From my own experience so many people constantly talk highly of Majora's Mask, but I just don't see the reasoning behind their appeal. The praise I keep hearing about Majora's Mask makes me think of it as overrated, not underrated.

A lot of people, myself included, like the game for it's variation from the normal. It provided a new atmosphere and a sense of overall melancholy that really added to the game. It took the masks idea from Ocarina of Time and improved upon it greatly. Granted that some masks could have been left out or made more useful, but it was a fantastic idea. The new antagonist was a fresh new twist to the game that I think most Zelda fans enjoyed, which is the opposite of what you said. I guess the style didn't appeal to me quite as much as others, but I didn't exactly like the layout of the game's overworld either. I think that, for some reason, that kind of turned me away. The mask idea was great, and I appreciate it, but it wasn't the best for my tastes. It seems that most people praise the game for the masks, the variation, etc. Majora's Mask was a fantastic game, and that's what I typically hear from most people. It wasn't one of my personal favorites, but it most certainly isn't underrated.

 

[MahBoiLink]

Majora's Mask isn't underrated anymore, not by fans anyway. It was underrated "back in my day, sonny" but now it's doing pretty well. I think this is a combination of several factors, most import being access to the game, thanks to the VC, people can play it now and form their own opinions of the game, which are usually positive. Before then many fans had not played it, and so either had no opinion or echoed the vocal haters, who said many things that would make someone who'd not played it think it was bad. Another thing is that the generation who grew up on OOT is old enough now to appreciate MM, since it is for a slightly older audience. Most Zelda fans today do not under-rate Majora's Mask at all, it's ratings on websites sometimes get lowered by the few haters who give it a 0 because they're mad that it's not OOT (even though we already have OOT) or they hate it cause it's a new-fangled confounded three dimensional game (so basically they hate all the newer titles).

It warms my heart, because I do remember when there was much hate for this game, but now there is much love <3

 

[KaeporaGaebora]

MM is so great because it's totally different than OoT. It had six bottles I stead of four( I know not a big deal), the three day cycle, more confusing dungeons and the best character development in the series. If MM was similar to OoT or TP in any way, I would hate it. Zelda 2 and MM are good because they are different. If Zelda games are all basically the same there is no point in playing them. You'd know how the story would go if it was all the same.

 

[Rensch]

I admit it took me at least an hour to really get into the game, and another several hours to really appreciate it. Once you really get into the game however, you realise how truly unique and clever this game really is. Story-wise Majora's Mask is much better and much deeper than any other Zelda title. While not as accessible or epic as Ocarina of Time, its qualities lie in the fact that it actually tries something new, without destroying the classic Zelda formula and does an amazing job at storytelling in the proces.

What got me annoyed, though, was the fact that you have to do many of the stuff done before over and over again. Usually, there is an item or ocarina song that allows you to skip whole parts of the game when going back in time, but you'd better figure out quickly where you can find it before doing so. Furthermore, you'd better get all the fairies in the dungeons on your first try, because you will lose them if you travel back in time. The same goes for items like bombs and arrows. Everything is reset, but you do not always know how to prevent having to do quests again. The time limit can be really frustrating in the dungeons if you're struggling with puzzles and want to get all the fairies and treasure chests.

And, boy, was the Anju and Kafei quest frustrating! One tiny little mistake and you'd have to do the whole darn thing all over again. It really drove me insane to the point I started swearing in frustration.

It is these little frustrations that ultimately make for both a unique and clever, but also at times a really annoying Zelda quest. That's why Ocarina of Time is simply better. It has much more universal appeal. For all it's flaws, though, the concept of Majora's Mask is so brilliant, it is still one of the best games in the series.

I wrote a review of this game on MobyGames.com that explains my feelings about the game in much greater detail. It's a bit of a long read, but with a game like Majora's Mask you need it to be somewhat in-depth to truly grasp what this game is all about and what makes it so unique.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/n64/legend-of-zelda-majoras-mask/reviews/reviewerId,44293/

 

[VGnerd]

I don't see it as underrated or overrated. I'd see it as overlooked. It always stayed in the shadow of Ocarina of Time. Every time I ask someone about it, they compare it to Ocarina of Time as opposed to talking about how unique it is to the series as a whole. It's like when Zelda II came out and it was so different from the first that people didn't favor it as much as the first. When Majora's Mask came out, It was constantly compared to Ocarina of Time and rightfully so as it was the second 3D title in the series. People nowadays like Zelda II because it is different from the first and the rest of the 2D games in the series. It also puts up a great challenge. Majora's Mask is like the black sheep of the 3D games and is like Zelda II in the way it was compared. As far as I know, it will always be overlooked by Ocarina of Time.