Review: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (3DS)

The Zelda franchise is one of my personal favourites, so I have been anticipating the remake of Majora's Mask on the 3DS. Typically criticized as the strangest Zelda and perhaps the most unusual, Majora's Mask takes players on an emotional journey where they are confronted with happiness, grief, and in extreme cases, even death.

It's hard not to give away a few plot spoilers (for a game originally released back in 2000) when reviewing Majora's Mask -- you have been warned.

I originally thought I wasn't going to enjoy this version near as much as the original. Aside from the novelty of the original, there's such a stark contrast in the colour scheme from the N64 original. Majora's Mask 3DS feels at first very bright and vibrant with colour, whereas the original game held a much some somber and dark tone. However as I played through the game I found that the underlying tones and emotion that this game holds as its highest value were not lost. I still get a chill when confronted with the Happy Mask Salesman for the first time, and looking up to the sky the moon appears just as menacing as it always has.

The updated graphics seem to give more life to the environments and the characters that inhabit them. The entrances to the Great Faerie Fountains are no longer just small cracks in the walls, but rather lush and ornate gateways befitting the residents who dwell inside.

Not only did the developers challenge themselves with bringing the graphics of Majora's Mask up to today's gaming standards, but they had to ensure that gamers of this generation would still find the same enjoyment and excitement that the original brought and I feel they have definitely succeeded.

One change I noticed right away was that Clock Town itself was greatly expanded. South Clock Town, the area you first enter once leaving the Clock Tower as Deku Scrub Link, felt so much more open. Several shops had moved around (The Bank had changed location for convenience sake, which I greatly appreciated), the Owl Statue moved locations, and a few other small things had changed which just made Clock Town feel so much more alive.

One of the more subtle changes I picked up on was the sound of the Shop Theme when entering the different stores. The theme was altered in such a way that it sounds as if projected through speakers in the shops, rather than just playing in the background. This is of course something that wasn't technically accomplished very easily on the N64. This small change I find really added to immersing me in the Termina Universe, and helped to get into Link's shoes.

Another big change they made was to the Song of Double Time. Before, it would shift time forward to the closest Half Day/Night point to you, but now, you can pick what time in the day you want to go to (as long as it is forwards, not backwards in time, and is on the same day). This change helps quite a bit when doing side quests for different NPCs as it eliminates just sitting around and waiting for an event to happen, and hoping that you don't miss it while waiting.

Another change is the Bomber's Handbook. This book logs all of the Quests, be it a Side Quest or Main Quest, but unlike the original, this book plays a much bigger role. In the N64 version, the book felt as if it were just there as a reference guide. You could use it, which I highly recommend, but if you didn't it just kind of fell into the background. In this version, every time you meet someone important, the book opens, activates the quest and gives you a description of what you have done or need to do.

The new Bomber's Handbook isn't the only source of aid that Nintendo has altered. They have also introduced a Sheikah Stone (akin to that found in Ocarina of Time 3DS). I found myself using this stone several times throughout the game, as there is so much detail in Majora's Mask, specifically in the side quests.

The only criticism I have for Majora's Mask 3DS is that with the smalls changes that were added, several parts of the game felt less challenging than they did in the original. That being said, I still found myself running right down to the wire on the three day cycle in certain parts, so the game must not be that much easier.

Overall, I very much enjoyed my experience with The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3DS. This remake has been crafted with care and the small criticisms I do have do not detract from the overall game play, nor do they interfere with the story and characters that I love.

- Syd Bolton
Follow @sydbolton

The Good:
- Great revamped graphics and subtle enhancements throughout
- The changes that have been made do not take away from the original spirit of the game

The Bad:
- Fans of the original may scoff at some of the changes that have been made
- The game still creates great moments of stress for the player

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Syd Bolton surrounds himself in thousands of classic video games as Canada's top video game collector playing his games on a 80 inch Sharp Quattron Plus TV. He is also the founder of the Personal Computer Museum (http://www.pcmuseum.ca) in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.