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

[Ultimatium]

I disagree about Majora being easy. He's anything but easy if you don't know what's coming, like any other boss on a lot of games. If you read about him on a guide or something before facing him, it makes it way easier.

But less fun and less challenging, though. Just fill up a couple of bottles with faeries and he is easy.

 

[Ramaral8]

I like it and think its a great game, but to me it was just an expansion pack to OoT.

 

[Oracle of Time]

I was one of the lucky ones who got to play MM as a veteran player so naturaly... I loved it! It's, to this day, my alltime favorite Legend of Zelda game yet! The entire feel of the game kept me playing, even in the bleakest parts of the game. All in all, this game to me is a masterpeice!

 

[squirrelguys]

I love Majora's mask because of the somewhat darker story then OoT. The mask Idea is great in my opinion.

 

[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.

 

[Ultimatium]

So, i have witnessed a couple of people around various boards, who seems to dislike MM because of the timeline cycle. I don't seem to get this, since the timeline is what made the game, i mean without it there would basically be no storyline. Maybe it's not as straight forward as OoT, perhaps some people dislike that. Another suggestion could be that MM is on a bit darker note than OoT, personally i loved MM for all these elements, ultimately it comes down to individual preference.

 

[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.