I completed
Majora's Mask prior to playing
Ocarina of Time, and I still find the latter to be "the better game." Well, I guess "better" isn't the right word for it, as I consider them equal, but I am having a hard time finding a better way to describe it. To be honest, however, I think the Internet and a series of other popular opinion-based factors play into fans' opinion of MM (and the Zelda series as a whole).
This line denotes tl;dr: ↓
After having completed OoT, I hadn't really formed an opinion as to whether it was better than MM. In my eyes, both of the games were just... equal. Although, I had taken note that MM boasted a lot of improvements over OoT such as acrobatic jumping, a more original story, the ability to actually utilize time in the manner in which the
titular item's name suggests, and lastly... the ability to transform, which essentially felt as if I was assuming the role of multiple characters. With all of that in mind, I still hadn't formed any major opinions, complaints, or anything about either game, much less their popularity...
It wasn't until I got into the realm of the Internet that I really considered any of the things discussed on this forum. Reading others' opinions seems to have [subconciously?] influenced my opinion as to which game is my favorite,
among other things. My somewhat negative opinion of
Twilight Princess might attest to this fact, as my Internet [forum] activity was at its peak around the time of its release.
In summary, I believe that MM's status in the series has a lot to do with popular opinion and its influence on the minds of fans like myself. Tie in the fact that MM broke an assortment of pre-established conventions, and my point is further highlighted. For this very reason, I think that the series has garnered a niche following and has become a
cult hit. That's a really good thing, despite its ambiguously negative connotations. A remake would ruin this...