Majoras Mask 3ds

[Galuf]

this is a discussion thread of the very soon to be released Majora's mask 3d

it may be released in US or something but here in Europe we have to wait till Friday the 13th of Febuary.

anyway we can discuss some MM here and stuff.( sorry if someone has already made this thread)

( and yes i have played the N64 version, incase you were wondering)

[Leigh]

I played a little bit when it was released on the N64 all those years ago. I am sure Nintendo will do a worthwhile 'remaster' for more coinage. They may be repetitive, but they seem to make high quality repetition.

I don't have a 3DS, but I am contemplating the idea of getting the New 3DS, and trying out a few games. I don't know if Nintendo lends itself to an experience that I am searching for though. They tend to be rather shallow on the plot front. Unless CiTV/cBBc villains are all you want in terms of character depth. Ha.

[Electroshock Therapy]

Nintendo doesn't make games for the plot. They make games for the gameplay. They want to immerse the player not with a story, but with the controls and mechanics to make you feel awesome. To them (and I agree with them), story comes second. However, Zelda games have been getting more story-driven lately.

And Majora's Mask is one that, while it's light on story, what it does have sticks with you. Majora's Mask if full of "feels" with rich side-quests that's mentally and emotionally rewarding.

I was at Gamestop earlier today and spent a couple minutes with their Majora's Mask 3D display with the New 3DS. They had three demos and I played the Odolwa battle. Yep, they really changed that boss. I won't go into details, though. But the controls were still nice, yet more fluid than the N64 version. And the graphics were a definite upgrade. As if the game needed more colour and visual detail, they really added a lot more to that boss room. I'm not complaining, though. It was beautiful! I didn't try the other demos though. I just wanted a quick two minute teaser and Odolwa seemed the best option for a fast play.

[Pumpkin]

I absolutely love this game, it's one of my favourites of all time. With that being said, I have the N64 version and I don't really want the 3DS one. I do wonder about buying it anyways just to show financial support for such an excellent game, but I'll never play it on my 3DS

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I'm getting the New 3DS and this game tomorrow! I'm pretty excited!

[Electroshock Therapy]

How are the 3D effects in this game? Is it an improvement over Ocarina of Time 3D?

I just got Ocarina of Time 3D, and while I love the visuals and I love 3D mode, I do notice one issue. When the screen is mostly dark, the models that give off light have ghostly copy figures of themselves around the actual figure. For example, if Link is outside a dungeon entrance, you can see multiple ghostly figures of Link and Navi against the pitch-black entryway. It's not really annoying, and I can look past it as this rarely occurs.

But still, is this is still a problem with 3D games and Majora's Mask in particular?

[NeoCracker]

Having the New 3DS, the 3D doesn't blur as much as the original model did. It was exceptionally bad if you moved around a lot.

Majora's is looking absolutely wonderful on the New 3DS, can't comment on how it would look on the other models though. Not perfect, but a big improvement.

[Skyblade]

So, finally getting to play this game for the first time (I spent maybe five minutes on an emulator playing the original, that's it).

It's a good game, with some great atmosphere. It's also got some really, really questionable design elements.

I've spent most of my time hanging around Clock Town, discovering quests and what not. So I wind up trying to hunt down Kafei. Now, I know where Kafei is. He's wearing a Keaton mask in the Laundry Pool. He mails a letter at the start of the first day, and then sits inside 95% of the rest of the time. You can't talk to him, even if you call him out with the bell.

I know Anju is looking for him. She hangs around the lobby of the Inn, then on later days takes trips out to the Laundry Pool to cry. So I try talking to her, she acknowledges that I'm looking for Kafei, and continues to cry. Fantastic. After following her for pretty much the entire last two days, I reset and go follow her from the beginning. I talk to her and she mentions how, starting at noon, she's waiting for a letter from the Postman from Kafei. Easy enough. I wait around exploring the inn until noon. She's nowhere to be seen. Frustrated that I missed something AGAIN, I turn back time and follow her meticulously. It turns out "waiting for a letter" apparently translates to "having lunch upstairs" (which the Bomber's Notebook Journal totally contradicts, saying she's in the lobby the whole time).

So I eventually see the Postman deliver the letter, and now I get a letter to post and watch where it's delivered to so that I can hunt down Kafei. Which means I post it, then get to wait at the mailbox for several hours for the postman to come by.

Why? Why why why why why?! Why does the game force you to spend essentially an entire three day cycle following each person so that you can figure out everything that happens to them, and notice the one exact moment you can talk to them?! This game is so frustratingly restrictive about when and where it will let you go and talk to people to progress things.

Now I'm having to spend ANOTHER three day cycle waiting outside Romani Ranch to see how long it takes for the rock to be broken open so that I can go inside. Because, surprise, last time I got in on the third day, it was already too late and the ranch had already suffered some disaster.

I don't mind the repetition. I don't mind the time based events. But it's really, really annoying having to spend an entire cycle following each character and each plot event just to know what to do.

And I still have no clue how to get into the first dungeon. I followed the swamp and forest through, found a collapsed witch, but I apparently need a potion to cure her, and I have yet to find an empty bottle, so...


It's got a fantastic atmosphere, some great characterization, and the quests themselves are fun. It just has an absolutely horrid interface and does not convey things well at all.

[Galuf]

well i got it on friday. and im taking my time. when i played it on N64 i got as far as the Gerudo pirate fortress. now on this version im just done Great bay temple ( actually going back looking for all the stray faires) its good i like it and i also like how they changed the layout of some places rather than just retexture them.

[Pumpkin]

post

This was one of my favourite things about the game. I love that I can replay the 3 day cycle over and over and discover new things and see everyone's routine. I used to spend hours just following everyone around and I loved every minute of it.

If you need any help, I've played this game so many times that I know it like the back of my hand, so feel free to message me.


This game is so awesome

Also, Imma spoiler help you out here if you need me too. Just clicky


Go speak to her sister after you find her. Her sister will give you a potion and a bottle to go help her out.
The rock for Romani Ranch will always open naturally on day 3 when it's too late. You need to wait until further in the game before you can open it up earlier.
The Anju and Kafei quest is one of the longest and most involving and you won't be able to complete it until much later in the game.
Make sure to take advantage of the reverse song of time and the song of double time

[Skyblade]

post

This was one of my favourite things about the game. I love that I can replay the 3 day cycle over and over and discover new things and see everyone's routine. I used to spend hours just following everyone around and I loved every minute of it.

If you need any help, I've played this game so many times that I know it like the back of my hand, so feel free to message me.


This game is so awesome

Also, Imma spoiler help you out here if you need me too. Just clicky


Go speak to her sister after you find her. Her sister will give you a potion and a bottle to go help her out.
The rock for Romani Ranch will always open naturally on day 3 when it's too late. You need to wait until further in the game before you can open it up earlier.
The Anju and Kafei quest is one of the longest and most involving and you won't be able to complete it until much later in the game.
Make sure to take advantage of the reverse song of time and the song of double time

Thank you for the help.

Again, I like the repetition and characterization aspects.

The big problem is that you never know why something goes wrong. Did you forget a step? Are you missing something obvious? Do you have to progress the game further? Or is there just a five minute gap of time where you have to be in the exact right spot in order to go on to the next step?

That's what's really bugging me, I never know why something's going wrong.

Right now, for example:
I've delivered Kafei's pendant to Anju, and when I go back to Kafei, he tells me he's waiting for the stolen mask to show up in the Curiosity Shop. So I wait and wait for that stupid shop to open. The thief comes in... And sells the Big Bomb Bag, which he had stolen from the old lady on Day One because I was on a different cycle from when I stopped him. So, reset cycle, do ALL the preliminary stuff again, but make sure to rescue the old lady, and now I'm back at the shop waiting. Is he going to come deliver the stolen mask instead? Or do I have to do something else? I don't know, and it's really frustrating having to do EVERYTHING all over again every time I mess up.

I'll find out in a bit, I guess.

As for the Ranch: I know you get a Goron transformation. Once you get that mask, will the bomb shop Goron sell you the big bomb to get into Romani Ranch?

Anyway, thanks for the key bit of help with the dungeon, because I was seriously about to give up on the game. Complete the Kafei quest and whatever else I can do around town (which, to be fair, is a LOT of stuff, I'm finding), hope I find a bottle, and if not, give up.

[Electroshock Therapy]

I would almost like to say I know this game like the back of my hand, too, but I still sometimes find something new in someone's routine. And I always love that! I've played this game so many times, yet I still find something new, however miniscule. I almost don't want to know everything.

Definitely my favourite Zelda game, by far.

[Pumpkin]

post


You'll easily enough be able to get the big bombs for Romani Ranch after a certain point with the Goron Mask. But in the meantime, if you haven't done it, try to get the Bunny Hood from there on the third day. With the time limit it it is immensely helpful. And again, don't worry about the Kafei quest now. You need to be close to the end to get it all done. But some of the quests tie together. The sister will give you a bottle with the potion so no worries there.

Again, my biggest advice, to anyone really, is DON'T worry about finding everything and doing everything right now. A lot of the answers just come naturally as the game progresses. Because of the cycle and being able to start over again, you can go back and do most stuff. The most annoying would be having to redo dungeons if you miss stuff, but you can redo those too and they are usually easier when you get things from the other dungeons.

I'm not a completionist myself so I played through several times before I got everything, but the game is extremely flexible because you restart time and if you miss something, you just do other stuff, reset time, and try it again. So if there comes an issue that you just can't seem to find the solution too, try going forward with the game and then trying again. You might have just needed to wait for a certain item or something

I will say the most annoying aspect is the things you need to do in post-dungeon areas are the most annoying. You only have limited time to do them because when you reset, you'll have to complete the entire dungeon again to get access to them. That can be annoying. So advice for that would be um... complete dungeons as quickly as possible :D

[Electroshock Therapy]

I will say the most annoying aspect is the things you need to do in post-dungeon areas are the most annoying. You only have limited time to do them because when you reset, you'll have to complete the entire dungeon again to get access to them. That can be annoying. So advice for that would be um... complete dungeons as quickly as possible :D

You only have to fight the bosses again, not the whole dungeon. The mask tiles in the entrance of the dungeons transport you immediately to the boss, provided you've beaten them before.

[Pumpkin]

Oh wow I actually didn't know that. I've never gone back to do the dungeons because they're my least favourite part :lol: I just wait until my next playthrough and get the stuff then

Good advice, thank you :up:

[Edge7]

Has anyone noticed that Tatl's enemy advice is a lot less... sassy than it used to be? She used to make fun of you for not knowing staple Zelda enemies, which always made her more fun than Navi in my mind.

[Skyblade]

So, I have to say...

It's a good game.

Other than that, I completely disagree with almost everything that everyone has to say about it.

It's not even close to being the darkest Zelda game, the themes of the game are massively off from a lot of what I've been told about, and the popular "exploration of Link's death" theory completely overlooks almost 90% of the game's content.


One thing people bring up about this game is the constant, looming threat of the moon hanging overhead and how it shapes everything. Except...it doesn't. The moon threatens Clock Town, and that's about it. The Deku shrubs? They're upset about the kidnapping of their princess. Once that's resolved, they look to the poisoning of the swamp, and are relieved that it's ok. That it. They never even mention the moon. The Gorons? Well, they're worried about their lost elder, their fallen hero, and the fact that their entire land is frozen. Again, they don't care about the moon at all. Heck, they'd probably welcome a big wave of fire warming up their land.

What's more, the moon only hangs over Clock Town. From anywhere else in Termina, even on the third day, it is distant and tiny. It doesn't feel like a looming threat because it's not overhead, and it's not hovering over you. It's hanging over Clock Town (and it's about the size of Clock Town as well, seriously tiny moon in Termina).

This is made worse by the fact that the moon never falls. I've run through the three day cycle at least fifty times. Apart from getting the Ocarina of Time back on the first day, I think the closest I've gotten to it falling is six hours away. It's way too easy to just rewind time and start again. Heck, most of the sidequests are time-based and can't even be worked on late into the third day, so why would you bother hanging around? Just rewind time and start again. I don't see how anyone could actually see the moon fall unless they were outright trying to see it.

The moon isn't a threat to you, because it is dead simple to rewind time to avoid it. It isn't a threat to the rest of Termina because no-one cares about it. It's only a threat to Clock Town, because those are the only people who directly react to it. And, admittedly, Clock Town's reaction to it and the way the town changes over the three days is really good. But the moon is a completely unengaging part of the game apart from that. When the timer started to run low in the first dungeon, my thought wasn't "oh no, I have to hurry and save Termina", but rather "oh no, if I don't find this last lost fairy fragment soon, I'm going to have to redo this entire frelling dungeon again". It was more an annoyance than a threat.

This is where I feel that some of the other games portray the threats better, and convey a darker tone because of that. I mean, look at Twilight Princess. You see the land consumed by twilight. You see the people form resistance movements and fret about the troubles, or waste away to shadows and ghosts when the twilight comes. You see Link himself cursed twice, Zelda possessed, and the spirits of light, the great guardian forces there to aid you, turned into weapons against Link. That conveys a dark tone and atmosphere far better than a hovering moon that no-one every addresses or cares about.



The other big thing is that Link is completely outside of Termina. Termina is a world doomed to a dismal fate. Yet Link is beyond this fate, and everything about him and the game centers around this theme. Heck, the owl reinforces it several times, outright stating that Link is not bound to Termina's fate and is free to change it. It feels more like the setup for Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning, an exploration of one person's ability to change everything.

It's all about working over people's troubles. You don't help people work out their feelings towards a doomed fate, you're averting that doomed fate at every step. The Deku, for example, were supposedly representing the anger phase of grief. Yet their anger is not an aspect of grief or related at all to their impending demise. What's more, once you finish the dungeon and save the princess, their anger is over and they resolve all their troubles without any further development or in depth reaction.



The game is more about healing and mending troubles rather than coming to accept or cope with them. And, in that regard, it's great. It's very fun, the characterization is excellent, and the quests are incredibly well designed (and, overall, very mature). There are some conveyance problems, and a little bit of pacing trouble early on, but those are minor complaints to an overall very solid game. But I was primed for this incredibly dark and depressing experience, and it just really doesn't hit those notes with me at all.

[Pumpkin]

I do find it incredibly dark and depressing and part of that is BECAUSE you can rewind time. You go through all that trouble to save the swamp and it's back to poisoned again a few hours later. You go through all that trouble to save the Gorons and a few hours later, they're freezing to death again. But because you move on with the game this time, no one consoles that poor crying child, no one rescues the freezing gorons, the swamp stays poisoned, the witch never finds her sister, no one reunites Anju and Kafei, that old woman gets mugged, and it all happens over and over and over again until you beat the game. And that one spoilery part that happens anyway

It's just different perspective I guess but if I could rewind time and the time period in which I could do it was a loved one on their death bed for example, I wouldn't suddenly be "well I'm not sad because they won't die since I can rewind time" even if the reason I'm looking to rewind time is to have more time to find a cure for example, because I'm still watching the person die slowly over and over again.

Also it's mentioned about the moon thing and Clock Town. That's why a lot of them thing they can leave Clock Town and be safe, because the moon IS less imposing everywhere else, but ignorance to it doesn't make it less of a threat. It kills them all if the moon drops, not just Clock Town.

But I'm not trying to argue with your opinion, how you feel is how you feel and I'm glad you're enjoying it :D Just explaining what feelings it evoked for me personally. Until the very end it does feel very desperate and depressing for me. Especially the final dungeon, that place is creepy

[Skyblade]

The primary game mechanic serves as a very interesting counterpoint to Ocarina of Time. In Ocarina, Link is robbed of his youth, his chance to mature. Seven years blink by, and he never gets to experience them, learn, or grow. In this game, he gets almost an opposite experience. Everyone else is unaware of the time passing for Link as he experiences those three days over and over again. He's constantly learning from his journey, and I almost feel that this personal growth is one of the game's main themes.

Never given the chance to grow up, or a parental figure to teach him, this Link is completely inexperienced in the complexities of humanity. The only parent figure he had, the Great Deku Tree, wasn't even worth much in this, as many of those things, like loss and death, didn't occur in the forest or affect the Kokiri.

Yet, on this quest, over the course of these three days, Link gets to see so many sides of humanity. Despair, loss, love, friendship, sorrow, regret, teamwork, and joy. It lets Link learn how those things affect people, how they change, how they cope. In OoT, he goes from a perpetually unchanging world to one where everything is different in the course of a few days. In this game, he gets to experience those changes, see how a world can be reshaped, how lives can change, or how a world can be turned into an apocalyptic nightmare, in the course of a few days. It's a chance for him to grow up, and come to terms with his own feelings. To find where he fits in the world, and move forward in life, moving past the loss that drove him to run in the first place.

I do see a weird duality between these two games, and I really like it.


It's really a testament to the game's depth how differently people can interpret it.