Nintendo’s latest remake is of the oddest entry in the Zelda, heralded by some as the best. Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D is still a fine game, although its mobile remake isn’t without its issues.
The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask frequently makes the top of people’s lists of “best” Zelda games, at least partly due to its quirky time-based gameplay and notably darker tone. Any “best” list is of course an entirely subjective exercise, and while I wouldn’t put Majora’s at the top of the Zelda tree, it’s certainly different from the norm. It’s also one of only a handful of Zelda games that was very much built on an existing engine and within a continuity, being a direct sequel to Ocarina of time itself.
You’re once again Link, once again racing to save the day, this time in Termina rather than Hyrule. You’re also not directly facing Ganondorf. Instead, absolute annihilation is heading your way in exactly three days in the shape of a moon that’s going to crash into everything in destructive fashion.
Yeah, this is a dark and gloomy Zelda game, and that scores it some points in at least being different. The trick with Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D is that three days is not long enough to get everything that you need to accomplish. Link achieves this via Ocarina of Time’s Ocarina, which allows you to play the song of time and reset the game back to the start of your 72 hour quest. Doing so resets small objectives, but larger ones, such as the masks used to manage transformations are yours to keep.
It’s an interesting gameplay mechanic compared to “regular” Zelda games, and it’s one that won’t immediately grab every single gamer, because Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D is a game that requires rather careful time planning. You’re provided with the tools to manage your time, including songs that’ll specifically warp you around as needed, along with the classic Zelda accoutrements, which means that you’re still fighting your way through dungeons, finding keys, weapons and masks which enable Link to change his form into a number of classic enemy types.
In its 3DS incarnation, Nintendo’s tweaked a little around the edges, making saves easier and adjusting a few map areas ever so slightly. Not so much that you’d notice them if you’d never played the game before. The shifts will be noticeable to longer-term fans of the game, although none of them are changes that detract from the overall gameplay experience.
Nintendo’s given Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D a fresh coat of bit paint for its 3DS outing, which you’d expect, but not everything is perfect. I’ve played through The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D on a New 3DS XL, and if I’ve got one primary criticism, it’s that the 3D effect, that the New 3DS XL usually manages quite well, is shuddery and poor in The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D. The camera often clips, and the 3D depth effect sometimes mis-triggers, leading to double images, even if only fleetingly. That’s not what you want, and it’s curious given Nintendo’s usual efforts to produce quality 3D titles.
As with any Nintendo remake, the question as to its overall value very much rests with the gamer themselves. If you’ve never played Majora’s Mask before and you’re already happy with the Zelda games, it’s well worth your while as long as you can wrap your head around the core time travel mechanics. If you’re already quite au fait with Majora’s Mask, then The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D will drop you in familiar territory, and that’s no bad thing per se. Just look out for that 3D effect, because it’s problematic.
Do I think it’s the best Zelda game? No. I’d still personally rate both Ocarina Of Time and Link To The Past as better overall game experiences, but there’s no denying that in The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D, Nintendo stretched the concept into a new and different frame, and came out with a classic.