Gossip Stone: Minor Masks in Majora’s Mask 3D

Majora’s Mask is well known for, well, having a lot of masks. 24 to be exact, four of which being the main transformation masks, and 20 being considered “normal” or “minor” masks which aid with the multitude of side quests throughout the game. While players find a variety of uses for each of Link’s transformation masks, save maybe Fierce Deity, some of the minor masks seem to come up short in usefulness. Yes, the Blast Mask allows for infinite bombs and the Great Fairy Mask helps a great deal when collecting the Stray Fairies in the dungeons, but what about the others, such as the Don Gero and Couple’s Masks, where their only function is to trigger a single cut scene for a piece of heart? Would Majora’s Mask 3D benefit from fleshing out the usefulness of some of these minor masks, and in what ways could we see them shine? Hit the jump to see a few ideas!

Firstly, let’s take a look at how some of the other minor masks have multiple purposes to them. The Bremen Mask, while enabling Link to obtain the Bunny Hood from the Romani Ranch chicken coop, allows for the sheer satisfaction of parading various animals around to a catchy tune. Beyond that, the mask facilitates an Easter egg in the form of making King Ikana’s soldiers march to the beat during the battle in Ikana Castle. Those are three solid uses, creating a fun and effective minor mask.

The Bunny Hood allows Link to run twice as fast and jump twice as far when worn, which in and of itself is universally useful in traversing Termina. Furthermore, wearing the mask allows players to see the full 10 second timer during the Postman’s Timing Game, which many could say is one of the most frustrating mini games to win in Majora’s Mask, making the game a bit easier. The Bunny Hood has both a specific use in helping to complete the game 100%, as well as an ambiguous use of just generally improving Link’s cardio game, showcasing another satisfactory minor mask out of the lot.

Let’s take a look at the Postman’s Hat, the All Night Mask, Don Gero Mask, and, say, the Couple’s Mask. What do these masks, and I’m sure a few others, have in common? Singularity in usage. Use this mask to obtain a piece of heart, then file it away in your inventory for the rest of the game because you will not need it ever again. These sorts of masks are disappointing and have such potential to either flesh out into intricate side quests with helpful rewards, or hide some more Easter eggs for player enjoyment, but fall short because of their lack of versatility.

For the Postman’s Hat, I want to race the Postman like we did in Ocarina of Time, or work his route for a day. I want the All Night Mask to, when worn when the clock strikes midnight, give the entirety of Clock Town insomnia with side quests to ensue. Sure, one could claim that the process of obtaining the Couple’s and Don Gero masks are amusing enough, but they are useless after you get the heart pieces associated with them, save for the aesthetics of simply wearing them around Termina. We should be able to help the frogs with some sort of problem beyond reuniting. We should be able to, after all the work it takes to obtain the mask itself, use the Couple’s Mask to change the dynamics of Clock Town by facilitating relationships between different citizens through the mask’s powers, making the game unique for everybody.

There are already a few confirmed and rumored changes to Majora’s Mask 3D, but I hope some of those changes come in the form of making some of these masks have new and exciting purposes to the game. Similarities between the original and the remake cause nostalgia, but improvements make the game new again.

Do you think Majora’s Mask 3D should switch up the ways some masks are used? How do you think these masks could be improved, and how would they benefit the overall experience of the game? Comment and let us know!